The best military phone plans

The Verizon Unlimited plan ranks as the best overall, and maybe even the best with unlimited data because a basic unlimited package costs $60 per month with the Verizon military discount and access to one of the strongest 5G networks in the country.

With Verizon’s basic plan, the Welcome Unlimited, you get unlimited access to the company’s nationwide 5G network; you can talk, text, and use data in Canada and Mexico; and you can text from the U.S. to more than 200 countries around the globe. And, to receive the military discount, all you have to do is verify your eligibility.

Additionally, Verizon has some of the best coverage in the U.S. According to a J.D. Power survey, Verizon had the fewest network quality problems in all six regions across the country. However, if you consider customer service survey ratings of big and small carriers, Verizon ranks near the bottom.

For that basic package, you’ll spend $60 before taxes, but for $10 or $20 more per line per month, you will get a variety of streaming packages like Hulu and Disney, significantly more mobile hotspot data, premium network access, an international pass, and cloud storage.

The AT&T Unlimited Premium package ranks as the best for overseas because coverage extends not just to Canada and Mexico, but to Latin American, as well. Plus, with the plan, you get access to a handful of coverage options for more than 210 destinations around the globe.

For a single line, the Unlimited Premium package costs $63.75 with the AT&T military discount. That saves you a little more than $21 per month. And since it’s a premium package, you get the most benefits out of all of AT&T’s Unlimited packages. In addition to unlimited talk, text, and data on a 5G network, it includes a 50-gig mobile hotspot and 4K streaming.

For international coverage, you have a few options. If you’re traveling, you can buy a $10 per day pass to talk, text, and use data in any location covered in the plan. Additionally, if all you want to do is call international numbers, you can pay an optional $15 per month per line for the service. And, you can also get the AT&T Cruise Package if you want to vacation at sea.

Overseas, AT&T’s network covers almost all of Europe, 19 countries in Central and South America, and huge chunks of Asia, Africa, and Australia. In the U.S., though, coverage is top-notch. In fact, a J.D. Power study found AT&T had the second fewest network quality problems in six regions. However, AT&T also ranked near the bottom for customer satisfaction.

Active-duty troops and reservists can access the AT&T military discount by using their .mil email addresses or verifying their status in person at a storefront. Veterans must verify their status in person, as well.

The Cricket Unlimited + 15GB Mobile Hotspot plan ranks as best for active duty, but take it with a grain of salt. With this recommendation, we’re assuming that you’re a junior enlisted making less than $25,000 a year. We picked the Cricket plan because for a single line, it costs $60 per month and you join a 5G and 4G LTE network, get a bunch of features, and you can drop the service at any time.

We also want to point out that Cricket offers four plans, but we picked its premium package. The first two cap data at five and 10 gigs per month, and the third offers unlimited data but none of the frills as the Unlimited + 15GB. And for the extra $5, we think it’s worth it — primarily, the 15 gig mobile hotspot, 150 gig cloud storage, and HBO Max streaming service. And it’s still a good package even if you add lines. The plan will cover five lines for $160 per month.

While Cricket does not offer a military discount, you might qualify for a discounted rate if your annual household income is less than $12,880. That means if you are providing for one or more people with less than $25,760, then you qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which can lower your phone bill by $30 each month.

Additionally, Cricket’s coverage across the U.S. is solid with only a few chunks missing in rural parts of the country (it actually uses AT&T’s network). Plus, Cricket’s customer satisfaction ratings can’t be beaten. The company took first and second in the surveys we reviewed to rank carriers.

The T-Mobile Magenta plan ranks as the best for families because the T-Mobile military discount actually reduces the price per line — which isn’t always the case — and you can add as many as five lines. In the end, you’ll pay a total of $110 per month (including taxes and fees) for unlimited data and a whole lot of benefits.

T-Mobile offers two Magenta military plans. While they come with the same basic services — unlimited data, talk and text; 5G access; data and texting abroad; service in Canada and Mexico; Netflix; and more — the Magenta Max comes with 4K streaming, 40 gigs of hotspot access instead of five, and Apple TV for an extra $10 per line per month. Also, you don’t need a family for the family plan. The added lines could be used to connect a tablet and/or smartwatch.

Additionally, out of all of the carriers we looked at, T-Mobile ranks third highest for customer satisfaction. However, T-Mobile’s service does have a couple of drawbacks. First, a study by J.D. Power found that it had more network quality problems than average in four out of six regions in the U.S. That means T-Mobile customers had issues with one in every 10 connections.

And, second, if you look at T-Mobile’s coverage map, you’ll see a Nebraska-size hole in it. According to the Solid Signal blog, T-Mobile’s lack of coverage in the Cornhusker State is because of its 2020 acquisition of Sprint, which failed to expand its network into rural areas like other cellular companies did. Since then, T-Mobile has focused on updating Sprint’s network rather than expanding it.

To be eligible for T-Mobile’s military discount, the serviceman, woman, or veteran needs to be the primary account holder and verify their status at a T-Mobile store. Plans start at $55 and $70, respectively, for a single line, but the price drops $15 for the second line, and then $10 for each additional line after that.

When it comes to the best budget options for cell phone plans, it’s really a buyer’s market. However, we picked Boost Mobile because out of all the value options, it actually ranked on customer satisfaction surveys. It isn’t to say it’s the very best budget option, but rather it’s one we can quantify.

While Boost Mobile took the penultimate spot on the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s 2022 survey and J.D. Power ranked it fifth out of eight for that same year, there are still a dozen carriers that didn’t make the cut for one reason or another.

As for Boost Mobile’s plan, the cheapest option is $8.33 per month, or just shy of $100 annually. For that price, you get unlimited talk and text, one gig of data, and a mobile hotspot. If you opt to spend $80 more per year, you’ll get five gigs of data per month. And if you spend $360 per year, you get unlimited data and a 12-gig mobile hotspot.

Additionally, with all of Boost Mobile’s plans, you get access to T-Mobile’s 5G and 4G networks. If you read our entry on T-Mobile’s plan, you’ll learn the carrier’s national coverage is extensive, but largely skips over Nebraska.