Can AT&T’s discounts compete with prepaid prices?

• Unlimited data for heavy users

  AT&T

  With vast LTE coverage and solid international features, AT&T can be a solid value for families. AT&T even allows you to mix and match its plans so you can optimize your multi-line plan without giving up discounts.

  Pros

  • Plenty of data for heavy users
  • Plans can be mixed and matched
  • Strong rural coverage on the AT&T network

  Cons

  • Very expensive for a single line
  • The 4GB plan is a poor value
  • Taxes and fees are extra

• 

  Savings for lighter users

  Ultra Mobile

  Ultra Mobile has a wide range of prepaid plans starting with just talk and text on the low end and up to 60GB of data with the top unlimited plan. Each plan comes with international calling 90+ countries as well.

  Pros

  • Strong 5G performance on the T-Mobile network
  • Solid multi-line savings
  • Strong international calling and texting features

  Cons

  • No truly unlimited plan
  • Taxes and fees are extra

AT&T is one of the Big Three wireless carriers, and is, without a doubt, one of the most influential. AT&T’s network is massive with strong rural and urban coverage and a growing 5G footprint that’s adding speed and capacity to its network.

Ultra Mobile, on the other hand, uses T-Mobile’s network for its domestic coverage. Ultra Mobile offers a wider range of plans than AT&T in general, but doesn’t offer a truly unlimited plan to compete with AT&T’s most premium plans. Still, there are a lot of people who would benefit from choosing Ultra Mobile over AT&T.

Mobile carrier features

One of AT&T’s best features is its coverage. AT&T has stronger rural coverage than the T-Mobile network used by Ultra Mobile, even if T-Mobile’s speeds average out higher. Even so, T-Mobile has been working hard to catch up, and for most people, T-Mobile will provide excellent coverage.

AT&T’s postpaid plans mostly come with unlimited data on LTE and 5G, with the pricier plans coming with more premium data, hotspot data, and security features. AT&T’s top plan even comes with talk, text, and data in 11 Latin American countries. This is in addition to the unlimited talk, text, and data in Mexico and Canada included with all unlimited plans.

AT&T has standard multi-line discounts for families and plans can even be mixed and matched, so you can get everyone on the plan that makes the most sense for them. AT&T’s largest plan can even get an extra discount from its Signature Member program that partners with employers and organizations. Naturally, there are additional savings for veterans, first responders, teachers, nurses, and physicians. If you can get any of these discounts, be sure to take advantage of them.

Ultra Mobile keeps its plans and discounts a lot simpler with fairly standard data bucket plans with multi-month discounts. All plans get unlimited domestic talk and text, plus talk and text to 90+ international locations, including Mexico and Canada. Depending on your plan, you’ll even get a monthly international calling credit with international roaming credits available.

Ultra Mobile isn’t all that cheap if you look only at its monthly prices, but you can get your Ultra Mobile plans in three-, six-, or 12-month increments, with greater discounts for longer terms. If you have a family, you can save with the Ultra Family Plan built on its Unlimited plan. Ultra Mobile even has a $30 Tourist Plan for those visiting the United States with 3GB of high-speed data, available only on eBay.

Coverage and reception

AT&T, as one of the Big Three carriers, builds and maintains its own LTE and 5G network. Luckily, AT&T’s network has some of the best coverage of any carrier, with excellent rural coverage and fast 5G in cities. While its 5G still lags behind T-Mobile, it’s making up a lot of ground with mid-band 5G in larger cities and low-band 5G in more rural areas. Even if you’re still only covered by AT&T’s LTE, you should still get usable speeds overall.

Check AT&T’s coverage map to get a better idea of the type of coverage you can expect from the carrier. While AT&T itself doesn’t offer a free trial, you can get a free trial with AT&T’s prepaid brand Cricket Wireless.

Ultra Mobile, on the other hand, uses the T-Mobile network for its coverage, and for the most part, that’s an excellent decision. Ultra Mobile offers 5G coverage for most of the population, with faster mid-band 5G making its way to even smaller towns. Check Ultra Mobile’s coverage map to make sure there’s good coverage where you live and work.

Phone compatibility

Both AT&T and Ultra Mobile support a wide range of phones thanks to their highly compatible networks. On AT&T, you can take a look at AT&T’s phone compatibility list (PDF) to make sure your current phone, or the one you plan on buying, is supported. AT&T supports a lot of models, including Google Pixel phones, Samsung Galaxy phones, and even the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R.

Both carriers support physical SIMs and eSIM activation, so you can be up and running in just a few minutes without waiting for a SIM to ship or heading to a store.

If you’re ready for a new phone, Ultra Mobile sells a solid range of Android phones with flagship models like the Google Pixel 8 series, the Galaxy S24 series, and affordable Motorola phones. Ultra Mobile phones can be bought outright or paid off using Affirm financing. You could also bundle your phone with the service for some additional savings.

AT&T also sells a wide range of Android phones, but unlike Ultra Mobile, AT&T carries iPhones. No matter your phone needs, you can surely find one that fits at AT&T. Just keep in mind that AT&T’s best deals are only available with specific plans and 36-month payment plans. At least the carrier lets you pay a little bit extra for an early upgrade if you don’t want to get one of the best Android phones unlocked instead.

Plans

AT&T mostly sticks to unlimited data with its postpaid plans, only offering differences in premium data and hotspot data. AT&T also offers improved international and security features with its top plans. Most of AT&T’s discounts are for multiple lines, but there are also some other discounts for veterans, teachers, first responders, and more.

Ultra Mobile, like most prepaid carriers, keeps its plans simple, with the biggest difference between them being how much data you get. Ultra offers all of its plans either monthly, or with multi-month discounts for three, six, or 12 months.

AT&T’s plans

AT&T offers five postpaid plans and seven prepaid plans under its main AT&T brand. For prepaid, you can start with as little as 5GB of data for $30 per month, or you can get a 15GB plan for $40 per month. If you pay for three months, you can get an 8GB plan for $33 per month, and if you’re willing to pay for a year, you can get unlimited data with 10GB of hotspot data.

Finally, there are three unlimited plans starting at $40 per month with no 5G speeds. Unlimited with 5GB of data at 5G speeds comes in at $50 per month. Unlimited MAX gets 25GB of hotspot data, plus HD streaming video and 100GB of cloud storage.

Moving on to postpaid, AT&T’s 4GB plan is technically cheapest at $50 per month. This plan is basic with no 5G access, but at least you get usage in Mexico and Canada. If you bring four lines, the price drops to $40 per month.

If you can dig between the cushions and come up with another dollar, the Value Plus VL plan makes a lot more sense for most people and comes in at $50.99 for the first line. With four lines, that comes down to $30.99, which makes it AT&T’s cheapest unlimited plan. You don’t get any hotspot data, however.

Unlimited Started SL is a small step up with unlimited data and 5GB of hotspot data for $65.99 for the first line. If you bring four lines, this plan comes down to $35.99 per line. If you’ve only got one line, Value Plus VL makes a lot more sense, but if you can use the hotspot data, it could be worth an extra $6 with four lines. Moving up, Unlimited Extra EL adds in 75GB of high-speed priority data and 30GB of hotspot data. This plan starts at $75.99 for a single line, but comes down to $40.99 per line with four lines.

Unlimited Premium PL makes all the data high priority and takes the hotspot data up to 60GB. This is also the only AT&T plan with HD video streaming enabled. Unlimited talk, text, and data is included for 11 Latin American countries as well, so if you travel a lot, you might not need to pay for any extra data. AT&T’s Active Armor security gets an update beyond blocking spam calls as well, with a VPN for public Wi-Fi and ID monitoring.

AT&T requires autopay and paperless billing for the prices listed, otherwise, you’ll need to pay $10 more per line. Credit card auto-pay only comes with a $5 discount, so you’ll want to link a checking account for the full discount.

Ultra Mobile’s plans

Ultra Mobile’s plans are a lot simpler than AT&T’s with six main options. You can start with the Talk & Text plan offering just 250MB of data and unlimited talk and text for $15 per month, paid monthly. If you pay for a year, it’s only $10 per month, or $120. Likewise, Ultra Mobile’s other plans follow this discount structure with higher one-month prices, but increasing discounts for those that pay for three months, six months, or 12 months.

These plans all get unlimited talk and text in 90+ countries with usage in Mexico and Canada included. The plans are hotspot-capable, and use your main pool of data. These plans come with an international calling credit every month, as well as an international roaming credit once.

Ultra Mobile’s unlimited plan comes with 40GB of high-speed data at $49 per month for a single month or $40 per month when you pay for a year. This plan also gets 10GB of hotspot data to share with other devices. If you bundle with a phone, there’s also a pricier Unlimited+ plan with 60GB of high-speed data and 20GB of hotspot data.

If you’re looking for multi-line savings, Ultra does have a family plan based on its unlimited plan. For the family plan, you pay $49 for the first line, and $24 per line after that. If you’ve got a family that needs a lot of data, this family plan could be a solid deal. With four lines, it works out to be a few dollars cheaper than four lines of Value Plus VL on AT&T, but keep in mind that both carriers tack on taxes and fees at the end.

Which should you buy?

If you’ve got multiple lines and a big appetite for data, AT&T can be the right choice. AT&T’s postpaid plans, like its unlimited Value Plus VL plan, make a lot of sense for families with strong multi-line savings, and no need to count usage. AT&T’s network is massive with strong rural coverage, so if you live in the country or drive through it a lot, AT&T could be worth the extra money over Ultra Mobile.

It must also be mentioned again that AT&T has a lot of other discounts for people, such as teachers, first responders, and even students. Teachers can get up to 25% off their bills, so if you can take advantage of these discounts, you could save a lot at AT&T.

If you’re a lighter user who doesn’t need unlimited data, you can save by going with Ultra Mobile. Ultra’s plans start much smaller than AT&T’s and are a lot cheaper, especially for a single line. Ultra Mobile’s multi-month discounts on all plans make it an easier choice for single-line users. A yearly Talk & Text plan could also be perfect for keeping elderly users, like your grandparents, connected without spending a fortune on features they don’t need.