Top AT&T and T-Mobile Plans Compared

Before we dive into the details to help you compare and pick the AT&T or T-Mobile unlimited plan for you, let's talk about the balance between plan price and plan features.

A great monthly price is a big part of the value equation, no question about it. But so are features and capabilities. Understanding your own needs is the most important aspect of finding the plan that offers you the best fit and overall value. But if you don't feel like getting into the details, we have the top three picks for you in this head-to-head competition for unlimited plans. Comparing:

• Entry Level plans: lighter data users who still want unlimited data for a great price.
• ‍Middle of the Road plans: for users who want the best of both Entry Level and Top of the Line plans.
• ‍Top of the Line plans: for those heavy users (i.e., families with gamers and streamers and those who use their phone for business) who want the very best network all of the time, along with a wide variety of features and perks.

Would you rather visit a dentist, or find a new wireless plan? Tough one, huh? Sometimes it feels like you need an advanced degree in wireless phones, plans, and networks to figure out what to do.

The good news is you've simplified part of the journey. You've decided to look at the differences between just two carriers: AT&T and T-Mobile. But you are still confronted with figuring out how much premium data you need; how much hotspot data you need; whether T-Mobile or AT&T have perks and features you want that could save you money; and whether being on a certain plan makes you eligible (or not) for smartphone promotions—sorting through all that can be understandably overwhelming and just plain tiresome.

Navi is here to help!

When shopping for the best phone plans, the trick is to have an idea of what matters most to you before you start comparing. The clearer your idea of what you need, the faster you can sort through all of the options and figure out what to do.

AT&T and T-Mobile are two of the premier wireless carriers in the United States, and for good reason. They each have great networks and service plans that include options for value seekers, top of the line data users looking for the very best data experience all the time, great hotspot bandwidth, and tons of add-ons and included streaming services. First, let's take a look at the most important things to consider when you're looking for a new phone plan:

Unsurprisingly, how much a phone plan costs is super important. But there's more to it than that. Here are some other things to consider:

Does a plan get more affordable than others as you add more lines? In the case of AT&T and T-Mobile, their plan pricing (across all their plans) drops by $5-10 per month for each additional line up to 5 lines. So, if you are just one person subscribing to T-Mobile's Essentials plan, you will pay $60 monthly. But, if you are a family of five, that same T-Mobile plan will cost you $24 per line or $120 monthly.

Does your plan price include taxes and fees? T-Mobile's Go5G and Go5G Plus plans include taxes and fees. That's a big deal and saves you an additional 10-12% depending on your state and city.

Does subscribing to a certain plan allow you to take advantage of lucrative smartphone promotions? Some plans, like AT&T’s Value Plus and T-Mobile's Essentials Savings plans, do not allow subscribers to take advantage of lucrative smartphone discounts and promotions. All other plans generally do.

Do a plan's perks and add-ons save you money in other areas of your family budget? T-Mobile’s Middle of the Road and Top of the Line plans offer a variety of streaming services, like Apple TV, Netflix, and others, that saves you as much as $10-20 per month by canceling your stand-alone subscriptions if you have them.

When comparing AT&T and T-Mobile, T-Mobile generally has lower per-month pricing. But the point here is that you need to understand plan pricing in context to get the right plan for you at the best price!

Cellular Data is a really important aspect of choosing the right plan for your needs. AT&T and T-Mobile offer primarily unlimited data plans. Even within unlimited data plans, though, the “type” of unlimited data can vary significantly; all unlimited data plans are not created equal. We’ll explain why:

AT&T and T-Mobile’s Top the Line unlimited plans offer "premium data" 100% of the time. That means your data will get the very best treatment the carrier can offer you and you are never at risk of being "deprioritized," even during periods or in places where the network is heavily congested. Quite the opposite is true for Entry Level plans. Your data is still unlimited for Entry Level plans, but you might be "deprioritized" when networks get busy. But, fear not, being "deprioritized" is very different from being "capped" (as was standard practice ten years ago). Deprioritization is a temporary slowdown in your data speeds, while a cap restricts you from using data at all past a certain consumption threshold. The difference in speed is typically small enough that 95% of users will not recognize that they are being "deprioritized." As you might guess, Middle of the Road unlimited plans offer a combination of premium and deprioritized data, where you’re guaranteed a certain number of premium GBs before you run the risk of slowdowns in times of congestion.

The most crucial decision in selecting a wireless service plan is determining whether you are in that 95% category and can live with being "deprioritized" occasionally during times of network congestion.

Remember that T-Mobile's Essentials and Essentials Savings plans offers deprioritized data up to 50GB. Beyond 50GB, T-Mobile says the user will experience further speed reductions. It is unclear what that means ... but it is something less than "deprioritized" data speeds. That said, 50GB is a huge data allotment sufficient for most users, who use far less data than that during an average month.

One of the most important considerations when comparing AT&T to T-Mobile is one you've no doubt thought of already... which carrier offers better coverage in your area. Unfortunately, when comparing coverage, there isn't a quick and easy method to getting an accurate assessment. Network quality is very, very localized. So localized that one side of your home could have terrific network performance and the other side of your home miserable network performance. Coverage maps don't help with that!

Great network quality and coverage are a combination of factors that determine what kind of experience you will have. Below, we’ll explore the main five contributors in more detail, but at a high level, the takeaway is that measuring the quality and experience you’ll have on a specific network is a combination of the following; each impacting you in a unique way that makes measuring coverage impossible to do accurately without measuring on an individual level.

• Signal Strength (i.e. “bars” on your screen): Is your smart phone receiving a strong signal from the nearest cell tower?  As you know, poor signal reception means poor service.
• Signal Congestion: How much cell phone traffic is there in your neighborhood?  The more people near you on your carrier's network, the worse it is for you.  You can have super signal strength but poor service, which is usually the result of excess network congestion.
• Frequency Band: Your carrier generally has 4-6 frequency bands that your phone can attach to at any time. So a nice question to know is what frequency band is your carrier putting you on most often?  Certain frequency bands are like a super highway - with very high data throughput.  Other frequency bands are more like a country road - with slower data speed but better at penetrating walls and other heavy structures.  
• Reselection: With many frequency bands available, carriers often switch you back and forth depending on a variety of factors (like network congestion).  Sometimes this is good but a lot of the time this is not good.  
• 5G: All carriers are rolling out 5G which is the latest wireless technology.  Carriers have generally integrated 5G technology onto their higher frequency bands.  But, if your phone isn’t within range of one of these higher frequency bands, you will not have access to 5G service.  

Considering all the above factors, measuring coverage is tricky and varies from person to person and location to location. For this reason, Navi is hard at work developing a first-of-its-kind tool to compare coverage from different carriers where it matters most to you simultaneously. But if you’re trying to get a better understanding of what coverage you can expect from AT&T or T-Mobile now, here are a few tips:

• Compare services with friends and family that have different carriers. Invite them into your house and run speed tests in different locations.
  
• Check out blogs and forums in your area to find out what other people are experiencing on different carriers.
• Check out carrier coverage maps (but this is only useful for trying to anticipate generally areas with poor coverage).

Carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile offer very different packages of international calling features.  If you are a frequent foreign traveler or frequent foreign caller look carefully at the fine print because it could save you or cost you a lot per month.  Last but not least there is video quality … Top of the Line plans have better video quality / streaming speed  - generally 2160 Mbps.  Entry Level plans generally have video quality / streaming speed of 480 Mbps.

While our picks for best phone plans focused on overall value–taking into account all the features we mentioned above to give you the ones that check the most boxes, you may have something specific in mind. Whether you’re looking for a specific price range, list of features or something in between, we’ve got you covered below.

If price is the most important factor for you and you’re looking to compare plans solely on that basis, T-Mobile’s Essentials and AT&T’s Unlimited Starter plans are both great options. While these plans are both great value for their price, Navi’s ultimate recommendation in the comparison of these two is AT&T Unlimited Starter.

T-Mobile Essentials is less expensive than AT&T’s Unlimited Starter ($60 per month compared to AT&T’s $65), but those savings come at an immediate cost in terms of data allotment. AT&T Unlimited Starter provides unlimited deprioritized data, while T-Mobile Essentials only guarantees 50GB of already deprioritized data before customers are subject to their speeds being slowed even further. As discussed above, the exact meaning of that further slowdown is unclear, but the small fraction of customers using more than 50GB of data per month should take note of that distinction. AT&T Unlimited Starter also edges out T-Mobile Essentials on hotspot connectivity by including 3GB of high-speed hotspot data while Essentials includes only 3G hotspot, the latter of which is not usable for typical modern use cases.

If you want to pay even less because you don’t need any additional features in your wireless service plan besides talk, text, and data, consider downgrading to either T-Mobile’s Essentials Savings plan or AT&T’s Value Plus. At $50/month for single lines, Essentials Savings comes with 50GB of deprioritized data, while Value Plus - priced identically - comes with unlimited deprioritized data. Neither plan has useful hotspot capability, and neither plan allows subscribers access to lucrative smartphone promotional offers. Travelers going abroad are afforded exactly the same capabilities on Essentials Savings or Value Plus that they would be on T-Mobile Essentials or AT&T Unlimited Starter, respectively. A significant constraint for Value Plus is that it is only available for single lines; multi-line customers are not eligible for this plan.

So, the bottom line on these very low-end plans: if you’re a single line account and really need unlimited deprioritized data instead of the 50GB threshold for further slowdowns, Value Plus may be a better fit. If you have multiple lines or don’t use 50GB of data per month (the vast majority of wireless customers do not), then T-Mobile’s Essentials Savings plan could work best for you.

If you’re a heavy data user (i.e., a streamer, gamer, or big time business user) and need a Top of the Line wireless service plan with a ton of connectivity or additional features, then you’re likely to prefer service plans closer to the top of the market. In this case that means either AT&T’s Unlimited Premium plan or T-Mobile’s Go5G Plus plan are worthy of your consideration. These plans are similar in that they are AT&T and T-Mobile’s most feature-packed plans, suited for customers willing to pay top dollar for a plan that offers a ton of great features. They are different in some important ways, though, so let’s examine them more closely so you can decide which one is right for you. Navi’s recommendation in this plan category is T-Mobile Go5G Plus.

Price is the first factor to consider, and while T-Mobile’s Go5G Plus appears more expensive at first blush, look closely and see that its advertised single line price of $90/month includes taxes and fees, meaning that $90 is the final price you pay. AT&T’s Unlimited Premium has a lower advertised top-line price of $85/month for single lines, but keep in mind that that $85 is not inclusive of taxes and fees, which can be up to 10-12% extra on top of the advertised price. So, while AT&T’s Unlimited Premium has a lower advertised price, the inclusion of taxes and fees in Go5G Plus means that most customers will actually pay less for the Top of the Line T-Mobile option. T-Mobile’s Go5G Plus also often runs a “third line free” promotion, meaning you can get three lines on your account but only pay the price of two lines. Check on this promotion when you’re transacting, as it changes frequently. The bottom line on price is that Go5G Plus is slightly cheaper because it includes taxes and fees, and it gets even more attractive if you’re looking at a multi-line account.

Both plans rate evenly on their data and hotspot connectivity, sporting unlimited premium data that is never subject to slowdowns based on the quantity that you use and 50GB of LTE/5G hotspot data (more than enough for even the top echelon of hotspot users every month).

AT&T Unlimited Premium and T-Mobile Go5G Plus also both offer international capabilities while you’re traveling abroad. If international capabilities are a top priority, AT&T ultimately wins out here because it provides unlimited talk, text, and high-speed data while you’re traveling in 19 Latin American countries and Canada. That said, it’s a close call because T-Mobile’s Go5G Plus provides unlimited talk, text, and a more limited 5GB of high-speed connectivity while you’re traveling in over 200 countries around the world. So, if you’re staying in the Americas, AT&T’s Unlimited Premium and its unlimited high-speed data will get you further, but if you’re traveling further afield, consider T-Mobile’s Go5G Plus, which may be a better fit in that case despite being capped after just 5GB of data.

T-Mobile’s Go5G Plus is the better choice if included perks like streaming services or other subscriptions are your top priority. Go5G Plus includes both Netflix and Apple TV+ subscriptions as well as a year-long membership to AAA, the latter of which includes an option to renew at the typical price after the year expires. AT&T’s Unlimited Premium currently offers only a subscription to AT&T ActiveArmor advanced mobile security.

If you're looking to combine a packed set of plan features with the ability to upgrade your phone every year, consider stepping up to T-Mobile's Go5G Next, which is more expensive but has the same set of features as Go5G Plus and also guarantees both new and existing customers to upgrade their device after just 12 months. That's a huge feature for customers always looking for the latest and greatest smartphone.

If you want to balance between a great price and the right set of features, consider the Middle of the Road plans in AT&T or T-Mobile’s inventory! Middle of the Road plans strike a great balance between competitive pricing, reasonable amounts of premium data and hotspot connectivity, and a modest number of add-on services like perks or streaming services. So if your goal is somewhere between saving money and a rich set of features, AT&T’s Unlimited Extra and T-Mobile's Go5G plans are both fantastic options. We give Go5G the edge over Unlimited Extra in this matchup.

T-Mobile’s Go5G plan wins on price in the Middle of the Road category. At $75/month for one line including taxes and fees, it narrowly edges out AT&T’s Unlimited Extra, which also advertises a $75 monthly price but does NOT include taxes and fees. Over the life of your wireless plan subscription, that 10-12% of savings that you would be paying on top of the advertised price in the form of taxes and fees will add up! T-Mobile Go5G plan customers also benefit from T-Mobile’s frequently offered “Third Line Free” offer, making its multi-line pricing especially competitive. Please check that this promotion is available when considering T-Mobile’s Go5G plans.

T-Mobile’s Go5G also wins on data, including 100GB compared to just 50GB on AT&T’s Unlimited Extra. Please remember that most users do not consume more than 50GB of data per month, so AT&T’s plan would probably be sufficient for most customers - but if you are in that top echelon of data users, that 100GB with T-Mobile will get you further.

Go5G and Unlimited Extra rank evenly on hotspot allocation, each providing 15GB of LTE/5G hotspot connectivity. They both also offer unlimited hotspot data at slower speeds, but keep in mind that anything 3G or slower is not adequate for doing anything useful.

International features vary across offerings in this category too. AT&T’s Unlimited Extra includes unlimited talk, text, and data in Canada and Mexico, while T-Mobile’s Go5G includes better connectivity while you’re traveling overseas: talk, text, and 5GB of high-speed data while you’re traveling in 11 European countries, or 10GB of high-speed data while traveling in Canada and Mexico. Both options include talk, text, and data to Canada and Mexico while you’re in the United States and unlimited international texting from home.

T-Mobile’s Go5G is the clear winner if you’re focused primarily on included perks like streaming services and other subscriptions. It includes access to Netflix Basic for multi-line accounts, 6 months of Apple TV+, and a year-long AAA membership. AT&T’s Unlimited Extra offers access to AT&T ActiveArmor advanced mobile security.