New AT&T and T-Mobile unlimited plans vs Sprint and Verizon 5G prices

by Daniel Petrov / Nov 08, 2019, 8:39 AM

New AT&T and T-Mobile unlimited plans vs Sprint and Verizon 5G prices

TL:DR

With price wars drawing to a close, your hunt for the best unlimited data plan comes down to coverage and perks now more than ever.

Verizon already revamped its unlimited data plan choices to embrace its budding 5G network, and now AT&T is following suit with the new Starter and Extra plans released on November 3rd, followed by the Elite one which will include an HBO Max (coming May 2020) subscription.

The current More Premium plan stays as the top option for the moment, but its offer of free HBO, Showtime or Spotify is dwarfed by the perks that Sprint or T-Mobile offer. Speaking of the Un-carrier, it also rebranded its One plans to Magenta and a Plus version, keeping the free Netflix, and the generous throttling or hotspot allocations.

Here's how the new Starter and Extra plans of AT&T stack up against the unlimited offers from Verizon, as well as the revamped T-Mobile Magenta plans, plus Sprint's unlimited offerings.

The cheapest unlimited data plan - Verizon vs AT&T vs T-Mobile vs Sprint

As usual, Sprint is the price king among the most afforable unlimited data plans, and offers the most perks to boot. Its coverage area may be a deterrent where you are though, while Verizon and AT&T may get more expensive the more lines you add, but they'll offer you signal in the boondocks.

Still, the best tradeoff between coverage and price comes with T-Mobile's basic 4-person family plan offering you great signal in the city, and decent blanketing in-between for $120 in total.

	AT&T Starter	Verizon Start	T-Mobile Essentials	Sprint Basic
1 line	$65	$70	$60	$60
2 lines	$120	$120	$90	$100
3 lines	$135	$135	$105	$100
4 lines	$140	$140	$120	$100
5 lines	$150	$150	$135	$100
5G	No (Business plans only)	No ($10/month add-on)	No (coming December 6)	No
Throttling	Any time	Any time	Any time	>50 GB
Freebies	-	Apple Music (6 Months)	T-Mobile Tuesdays	Hulu (basic)
Video streaming	SD (480p)	SD (480p)	SD (480p)	SD (480p)
Hotspots	-	-	3G speeds	0.5 GB 4G speeds

*All prices are after Auto Pay and w/ paperless billing, include unlimited talk&text in the US

The middle child now comes with 5G

The middle-of-the-road plans are a good tradeoff between affordability and perks, with T-Mobile's Magenta and Verizon's Play More plans leading the pack when it comes to perks and coverage. Still, with the exception of Sprint, the difference comes down to ten bucks or less, so if you are in an area with spotty coverage, better go for the larger carriers.

	AT&T Extra	Verizon Play/Do More	T-Mobile Magenta	Sprint Plus
1 line	$75	$80	$70	$70
2 lines	$130	$140	$120	$120
3 lines	$150	$165	$140	$130
4 lines	$160	$170	$160	$140
5 lines	$175	$200	$180	$150
5G	No (Business plans only)	Yes	No (coming December 6)	Yes
Throttling	>50GB	> 25GB/50GB	>50 GB	>50 GB
Freebies	-	Apple Music/Trial (6 months) -/500GB Verizon cloud storage	Netflix (standard) T-Mobile Tuesdays	Hulu (basic) Tidal
Video streaming	SD (480p)	HD (720p)/SD (480p)	SD (480p) video streaming	HD (1080p)
Hotspots	15GB	15GB	3GB	50GB

*All prices are after Auto Pay and w/ paperless billing, include unlimited talk&text in the US

The best unlimited data plan - Verizon vs AT&T vs T-Mobile vs Sprint

Now that we've arrived to the heavy hitters, the differences in pricing are more pronounced. From Sprint's least expensive $180 pack for a family of four, to Verizon's most expensive $220 one, these offer the most perks, the highest hotspot and throttling thresholds, and the top quality video streaming.

Still, the price and perk differences aren't worthy of you losing signal over them, so if the most affordable option has coverage in your area, go ahead, otherwise stick with the widest blanket that a carrier can offer, and here AT&T's Premium offer looks like the best bargain.

	AT&T More Premium	Verizon Get More	T-Mobile Magenta Plus	Sprint Premium
1 line	$80	$90	$85	$80
2 lines	$150	$160	$140	$140
3 lines	$170	$195	$170	$160
4 lines	$190	$220	$200	$180
5 lines	$225	$250	$230	$200
5G	No (Business plans only)	Yes	No (coming December 6)	Yes
Throttling	>22GB	>75GB	>50 GB	>50 GB
Freebies	Free HBO, Showtime or Spotify 35+ channels of live TV	Apple Music	Netflix (standard) T-Mobile Tuesdays In-flight Wi-fi	Hulu (basic) Tidal Amazon Prime
Video	HD (1080p)	HD (720p)	HD (1080p)	up to 4K
Hotspots	15GB	30GB	20GB	100GB

*All prices are after Auto Pay and w/ paperless billing, include unlimited talk&text in the US

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7 Comments

1. Bernoulli

Posts: 4362; Member since: Sep 01, 2012

I don't get it, on the last part you say Sprint THROTTLESat 50 GB BUT their hotspot is 100 GB? Please clarify, otherwise why would a company offer something they'll throttle half way? It'll be impossible then to use the whole 100 GB !

posted on Nov 08, 2019, 9:03 AM 0

6. shade12

Posts: 2; Member since: Nov 08, 2019

I think Mobile data usage is different from the personal mobile hotspot usage. MH has its own dedicated GB.

posted on Nov 08, 2019, 12:19 PM 3

2. tuminatr

Posts: 1164; Member since: Feb 23, 2009

One thing that I would like to point out is Sprint is still offering its Unlimited Kickstart at $30 per month after a $5 autopay discount and offers unlimited everything. if the merger goes through (I think it's likely) it would probably be a good place to be. The only downfall is you need to BYOD

posted on Nov 08, 2019, 9:41 AM 0

3. tuminatr

One other comment I would like to make is ATT offers a program called ATT Thanks and I have won a few awesome things. Like front row and backstage & meet & Greet tickets to Jennifer Lopez and The Chainsmokers as well as many deals at restaurants weekly. Verizon offers a rewards program and so does Sprint I don't have the details on them but if you are going to mention one companies reward program do your research and mention them all.