These are the 7 best cell phone plans for high school and college students for 2024:
When you’re a student, you’ve got unique needs.
Whatever your situation is, I’ve got you covered.
I got into researching cell phone plans as a student myself.
It was 2015. I was in high school. I had an iPhone 5 (remember those?) on a talk and text only plan from T-Mobile.
Yes, it was affordable at just $15 per month. But there was a huge problem:
It had no cellular data.
Have you ever tried to use an iPhone without cellular data?
Good. Because you can’t.
Basically nothing works.
In a state of emergency, I started researching cell phone plans to find something I could afford and that included cellular data.
Ten years later, and here I still am, researching cell phone plans with the goal to help one million people save $10 per month or more on their cell phone bill.
Today, I hope that person is you. I hope to help YOU find a low-cost cell phone plan to meet your needs as a student.
Because I know what it’s like. 🫡
Right before we dive into the best cell phone plans for students, there are two essential things you need to do first:
These are super easy and will take you five minutes.
Cell phone carriers make the most money by having people overpay for cellular data they don’t need.
They sell top-tier unlimited data plans at expensive rates, knowing that most people only really use about 5GB to 20GB of data per month.
So this is your chance to save money.
By checking how much cellular data you currently use each month, you can grab a cell phone plan perfect for your needs and save heaps of money in the process.
How do you know how much data you need?
Simple.
Check your phone’s settings.
Here’s a guide on how to check your cellular data usage on iPhone.
Not an article person, or have an Android phone?
No sweat, this 5:54 video below will walk you through how to do it:
If you’re feeling lazy, or, as I like to think of it, time efficient, then according to Ericsson’s 2024 Mobility Report the average data use in North America was 19GB per month in 2023, so you can use 19GB as your number.
Or, if you wanted to, you can also just grab an unlimited data plan and never need to think about your usage again.
I’m not a fan of this because you will overpay for your plan, but considering unlimited data plans start at $25 per month right now, it’s not too bad of a deal.
Check out my article on the best unlimited data plans to see my current top picks.
When you’re a student, you may be moving to a different city or perhaps even a different state to attend school.
Getting a cell phone carrier with great coverage in your new location is essential for staying connected.
Thankfully, this is also super easy.
Simply download the free Coverage Map app for iPhone or Android and head on over to the Search tab at the bottom.
Then, enter the state, city, county, or ZIP code that your school is in. Tap on the location and the app will instantly show you the top ranked carrier in that area.
There is one super important thing to keep in mind here:
All cell phone plans in the United States will run on either the AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, or Dish Wireless networks for coverage.
Yep.
Even those low-cost prepaid cell phone plans.
The way it works is the big carriers will lease access to their cellular networks to the smaller carriers.
I explain more about how this arrangement works, and why it benefits the big carriers in my article How Can Some Cell Phone Plans Cost So Much Less Than Others?
All you need to do is take note of which carrier ranks first in the area you looked up.
Let’s pretend it is Verizon.
Now, all you need to do is grab an affordable plan from a prepaid carrier that uses the Verizon network for coverage.
Speaking of affordable plans, let’s dive in to the best cell phone plans for students.
I think US Mobile Unlimited Flex is the best overall cell phone for students.
It is an annual plan that comes out to just $17.50 per month with all taxes and fees included.
The plan includes 10GB of high-speed data, 5GB of hotspot data, 480p video streaming, and free international calls and texts to 200+ destinations. Add-ons are available for data roaming in Canada and Mexico (starting at $5 for 1GB for 7 days) as well as for roaming internationally (starting at roughly $10 for 1GB for 7 days).
International add-on data amounts and durations vary from country to country.
This is an exceptionally great-value plan for its price point.
Competing plans from Mint Mobile, Boost Mobile, Red Pocket, and Tello come out to roughly $16 per month and only include 5GB of data.
So you get double the data with US Mobile’s plan.
Plus, US Mobile allows you to activate on either the Verizon or the T-Mobile network for coverage. And you can even switch between networks at any time you want to for a $2 fee with US Mobile’s Teleportal feature.
If you’re a student and looking for an optimal price-to-performance ratio, I think this plan is it.
The biggest downside is that this is an annual plan. It costs $210 upfront.
US Mobile Unlimited Flex pros
US Mobile Unlimited Flex cons
If you are a student balling on a budget (I see you) then US Mobile’s 2GB plan is made for you.
It’s just $10 per month.
Flat.
Taxes and fees included.
What do you get for the price?
You get unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, 2GB of high-speed data, hotspot included, and free international calling and texting to 200+ destinations.
Is 2GB enough data?
For lighter users on Wi-Fi most of the time, yes, you should be fine. (And there is a high-probability that is you because we both know you’re spending too much time on campus these days where there is Wi-Fi everywhere).
That said, if you do need extra high-speed data, then you can add more at any time for just $2 per GB.
US Mobile’s 2GB plan is the perfect affordable option for a lot of people because of its features, flexibility, and affordability.
You can even enable the auto-top-up feature to have extra data be added to your plan when you hit your limit.
This plan is available on either the Verizon or the T-Mobile network.
Runner-Ups:
US Mobile 2GB pros:
US Mobile 2GB cons:
If you are a student and you need unlimited data, Visible Base is for you.
It costs just $25 per month, taxes and fees included.
The plan includes unlimited high-speed data, unlimited hotspot data at 5Mbps, 480p video streaming, and free international calls to
You can get unlimited talk, text, and 2GB per day of data roaming in Canada and Mexico for $5 per day, and you can get unlimited talk, text, and 2GB of data roaming internationally for $10 per day.
Adding an Apple Watch line costs $10 extra per month.
You won’t find a better deal for unlimited high-speed data than Visible Base.
Visible is owned by Verizon and uses the Verizon network for coverage.
As a bonus, it even includes access to Verizons 5G Ultra Wideband network with speeds up to 400Mbps. That’s 16x faster than Verizon’s own Unlimited Welcome plan, which tops out at 25 Mbps on 5G Ultra Wideband.
You can even grab the annual version of Visible Base for just $22.92 per month ($275 upfront for 12 months) to save some extra cash.
If Verizon coverage is not great where your school is, then check out these three runner-ups:
Visible Base pros
Visible Base cons
Visible+ is the best plan with a premium network experience.
It includes unlimited priority data when you’re connected to Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband and 50GB of priority data when you’re connected to Verizon 4G LTE or 5G Nationwide.
What is priority data?
Priority data is an allotment of cellular data where your phone’s connection is prioritized over other connections on the network.
What does this mean in practice?
It means that you’ll get faster data speeds during times when the network is busy.
To demonstrate this, I went to Costco at 2:00pm on a Saturday, one of its busiest times, and I ran a test on a plan with priority data (Verizon Unlimited Plus) and a plan with deprioritized data (Verizon Unlimited Welcome).
During peak congestion, I got speeds of around 8.0 Mbps on the plan with priority data and a pitifully slow 0.2 Mbps on the plan with deprioritized data.
So in this scenario, having priority data can be the difference between a usable connection and an almost unusable connection.
But keep in mind, these speed differences only happen when the network is busy.
When I went back to Costco at 5:30am the next morning (yes, that’s how dedicated I am) I got speeds of 200+ Mbps on both the plan with priority data and the plan with deprioritized data.
I also feel priority data really only makes a meaningful difference on the Verizon network and does not make much of a difference on the AT&T or T-Mobile networks.
If you’re interested, you can read more about priority data in my artcile What is ‘Premium Data’? Network Priority Levels Explained.
Back to Visible+.
In addition to priority data, Visible+ also includes:
Yeah, Visible+ is stacked with features.
It is a premium cell phone plan at an unreasonably good price.
You can also grab the Visible+ annual plan, which includes all the same features and drops the price down to just $32.92 per month ($395 up front).
Visible+ pros:
Visible+ cons:
If you are interested in a cell phone plan with a free phone, I think Boost Infinite is your best choice.
The plan costs just $60 per month (before taxes) and you get a free phone today with no trade-in.
Then, after your first year of service, you can trade in the phone you got and upgrade it to the new model also for free.
It is kind of a great deal to always have the latest and greatest iPhone or Samsung phone in your pocket at all times.
The phones Boost Infinite includes for free are the entry-level models. That means the iPhone 15 and the Galaxy S24.
If you want the iPhone 15 Pro or Galaxy S24 Ultra, then you will still get a steep discount on the phone, about $800 off, and you will just have to pay the difference in price.
Of course, as with any “free” phone deal, the phone is not actually free.
Here are the five “gotchas” you need to know about for Boost Infinite’s deal:
All of these caveats are common for carrier phone deals.
Okay, but what do you get with the cell phone plan?
Boost Infinite’s plan include 30GB of high-speed data before unlimited data at 512 Kbps, 480p video streaming, free international texting to 200+ destinations, free international calling to 80+ countries, and 5GB of free data roaming in Canada and Mexico.
Enabling the mobile hotspot feature is a $10 add-on and allows you to use all 30GB of data as hotspot data.
You can also add international data roaming to the plan. The international roaming add-on costs $20 and includes unlimited talk, text, and 1GB of high-speed data around the globe. You can add up to 9GB of extra international data for $10 per GB.
There is one more thing we need to talk about: coverage.
How is coverage on Boost Infinite?
When you sign up for Boost Infinite, you will be activated on one of three networks:
If you are activated on the Boost Wireless network, your phone will default to using the Dish 5G network for coverage. Then, in areas where the Dish 5G network is not available, your phone will automatically switch to using either the AT&T or the T-Mobile network for coverage. This gives you really good nationwide coverage.
If you are activaetd on the AT&T network, then your phone will use AT&T’s 4G LTE and 5G networks for coverage.
If you are activated on the T-Mobile network, then your phone will use T-Mobile’s 4G LTE and 5G for coverage.
Boost Infinite uses an algorithm on the back end to try and activate you on the best network in your specific area. Unfortunately, you will not know what network you will be activated on until you sign up.
Overall, I think Boost Infinite is an excellent option for those who always want to have the latest iPhone or Galaxy in their pocket.
Plus, getting a free phone today with no trade-in is a super nice value proposition for consumers just getting their first phone with minimal upfront costs (just the taxes on the MSRP of the phone).
Boost Infinite Pros
Boost Infinite Cons
If you want to stay in touch with friends or family members that live abroad, you’re going to want a plan with great international calling.
And I think that plan is US Mobile’s 10GB plan.
US Mobile’s 10GB plan costs $20 per month and includes all taxes and fees. It comes with 10GB of high-speed data, support for the mobile hotspot, 480p video streaming, free international texting to 200+ destinations, and, most importantly, free international calling to 200+ destinations.
The only caveat with US Mobile’s plan is that the included international calling minutes vary depending on what country you are calling.
For example, you get 15,150 minutes for calling Canada but only 180 minutes for calling Israel.
Check US Mobile’s website to see exactly how many minutes are included for the countries that are important to you.
You may also consider using free apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Skype, Google Meet, or Zoom to stay in touch with your friends and family abroad for free and with unlimited minutes.
US Mobile 10GB Pros
US Mobile 10GB Cons
Traveling internationally for spring break to remember? Or doing a semester abroad?
Then US Mobile Unlimited Premium is for you.
It has the best international roaming features at the best price point of any cell phone plan I have encountered so far.
For $44 per month (taxes and fees included), US Mobile Unlimited Premium bundles in 500 minutes, 500 texts, and 5GB of high-speed data in 181 countries.
Other plans people commonly look at for international travel are Google Fi Unlimited Plus and T-Mobile Go5G Plus.
Google Fi Unlimited Plus is $65 per month before taxes, so $21 to $31 more expensive than US Mobile, but it does include an impressive 50GB of high-speed data and unlimited texts anywhere in the world. A downside to Google Fi is that international calls are billed at $0.20 per minute. Plus, Google Fi has been known to shut off service for people who use the service abroad for too long of a time frame, making it not ideal if you’re doing a full semester abroad.
T-Mobile Go5G Plus is another popular option for international travel. It comes with unlimited minutes and 5GB of high-speed data per month in 215+ supported destinations. The two downsides are that calls are billed at $0.25 per minute, and the plan itself costs a whopping $90 per month.
I think US Mobile’s Unlimited Premium plan is easily the better option.
Plus, here in the United States, US Mobile Unlimited Premium is packed with features.
It comes with 100GB of high-speed data before unlimited data at 1 Mbps, 50GB of hotspot data, 480p video streaming, free international calls and texts to 200+ destinations, and 10GB, 1,000 minutes, and 1,000 texts of roaming in Canada and Mexico.
The one thing you need to know about is that you need to activate the Unlimited Premium plan on the T-Mobile network to make and receive calls and texts while abroad.
If you activate on the Verizon network, you will still get 5GB of data in 181 countries, but it will be data-only. Calls and texts will not be available.
If you’re traveling abroad for a week or a semester, you will definitely want to give US Mobile Unlimited Premium a look.
As a bonus, you can get the Unlimited Premium annual plan for just $32.50 per month ($390 upfront for the year), which is such a good value.
US Mobile Unlimited Premium pros:
US Mobile Unlimited Premium cons:
