Is AT&T’s own prepaid brand better value?

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  High-priority data

  AT&T

  AT&T’s network isn’t the fastest you can get, but with strong coverage, including in rural areas, AT&T is still a strong pick for many people. AT&T’s unlimited plans come with plenty of data for most people, and the plans can be mixed and matched.

  Pros

  • Plenty of premium data on postpaid plans
  • Usage in Mexico and Canada
  • Postpaid plan mix and match

  Cons

  • Taxes and fees are extra
  • Low high-speed data caps on some prepaid plans

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  Same network, lower price

  Cricket Wireless

  Cricket is a prepaid carrier that uses AT&T’s network for coverage with a solid range of fixed data and unlimited plans. You can save by bringing multiple lines, or you can pick up a multi-month unlimited plan to save with a single line.

  Pros

  • Solid multi-line and multi-month savings
  • Nationwide 5G on all plans
  • Taxes and fees are included

  Cons

  • No hotspot on annual plans
  • All plans stream video in SD

If you want to use the AT&T network, but feel like AT&T’s postpaid pricing is too high, Cricket is the obvious second choice. Cricket Wireless is a prepaid carrier owned by AT&T that exclusively uses the AT&T network.

AT&T has a wide range of prepaid and postpaid plans, but Cricket still offers a strong value for single-line and multi-line accounts alike. Cricket even has physical stores, so if you don’t feel confident signing up online, you can get set up in person.

Mobile carrier features

As one of the Big Three carriers, AT&T has a wide range of unlimited plans with features to match just about anyone’s needs. The biggest plans come with a sizable chunk of premium data, called high-speed data, which is set at a higher priority than data on cheaper plans.

AT&T also sets its plans apart with hotspot data that can be shared with other devices. AT&T’s top Unlimited Premium PL even takes the hotspot data up to a massive 60GB. All of AT&T’s postpaid plans come with free usage in Mexico and Canada, but the top Unlimited Premium PL plan adds unlimited usage in 20+ Latin American countries as well.

Cricket’s plans look more like a postpaid carrier than prepaid, as it has multiple unlimited options and multi-line discounts. Cricket plans get nationwide 5G connectivity, so you can get quick data speeds. If you’ve got just a single line, you can save by paying for the standard unlimited plan for three months, or a year of service upfront.

Usage in Mexico and Canada is included, though you may see much lower speeds than you would get domestically. Still, it’s nice that you don’t need to worry about tracking down a SIM if you travel to either of these countries.

Coverage and reception

Both of these carriers use AT&T’s LTE and 5G networks for coverage, so you can expect identical coverage. Cricket even has access to roaming coverage, so you’ll be covered nearly anywhere in the country with either carrier. While AT&T’s network isn’t known for its speed, it should be plenty fast for just about anything you do on your phone.

Keep in mind that the quality of any cellular network is dependent on a lot of factors, so it can be hard to know what coverage will be like in your area until you try out the carrier. You can check out AT&T’s coverage map or Cricket’s coverage map to get an idea, but if you have an unlocked phone with eSIM support, you could also try out Cricket for 14 days for free.

AT&T’s 5G coverage includes both low-band, mid-band, and mmWave spectrum, with mmWave mostly reserved for city centers and sports venues. For most people, the important information will be the low-band and mid-band coverage using bands n5 and n77. Most 5G phones from the past couple of years support these bands, so if you’re bringing your phone to either Cricket or AT&T, it will probably work fine.

Phone compatibility

AT&T and Cricket Wireless essentially support the same phones since they run on the same network. If you’re looking to bring your own phone to the carrier, you can check AT&T’s list of compatible phones (PDF), or enter your IMEI into Cricket’s BYOD tool. Both carriers support physical SIM and eSIM activations.

If you’re ready for a new phone, you can pick one up at AT&T with discounts on many models for those willing to pay over 36 months. There are also solid trade-in deals available, so if your current phone is fairly recent, it can get you a discount. AT&T sells the most popular devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S24 and even the Google Pixel 8.

Cricket’s phone selection is smaller, but has solid options for most people. For example, you can pick up something a little cheaper, like a Moto G Stylus 2024 or a Galaxy S24. Both carriers also have the latest iPhones. Cricket has some discounts for new customers, but charges full price for upgrades. If you’re looking for monthly payments, Cricket phones can be purchased through Affirm.

Plans

As you might expect, the biggest difference between these two carriers is the plans. While both have prepaid plan options, Cricket’s prepaid plans generally offer better value than AT&T prepaid. AT&T’s postpaid options, on the other hand, could still be a better pick for some users, since you can choose who is on what plan, and still get multi-line discounts.

AT&T’s plans

AT&T has both prepaid and postpaid plans, but the prepaid plans aren’t as straightforward as you might expect. AT&T prepaid plans don’t include taxes and fees and also require auto-pay for the lowest price.

AT&T Prepaid’s cheapest plan is the 5GB plan for $30 per month. Talk and text are unlimited, and Rollover Data ensures you won’t lose the data you haven’t used. Above that, the 15GB comes in at $40 and has the same features as the 5GB plan, except usage in Mexico and Canada is included.

Also at $40 per month, the base unlimited plan gets unlimited talk, text, and data with usage in Mexico and Canada. It may seem like an obvious choice over the 15GB plan, but data speeds are limited to just 3Mbps for the first 30GB, which is really quite slow, and then 1.5Mbps after that.

The next Unlimited + 5GB hotspot data plan takes the price up to $50 per month, but it’s a big upgrade with 5G data and 5GB of hotspot data thrown in. For $5 more per month, you can get Unlimited MAX + 25GB hotspot data plan. This plan also gets 50GB of premium data with HD video streams available.

There are also two multi-month plans, starting with the 8GB plan at $99 for three months. This is a solid plan for a light user with hotspot data enabled and HD streaming available. It even gets Rollover data like 5GB and 15GB plans. If you’re willing to pay $300 for 12 months, or around $25 per month, you can get the Unlimited + 10GB hotspot data plan. Oddly, only the first 16GB of data runs at full speed, then 1.5Mbps after that.

Moving on to postpaid plans, AT&T’s cheapest point of entry is its 4GB plan for $50 per month for the first line. This plan isn’t great for most people joining AT&T, but it does get multi-line discounts, so some people might be happy with it.

The worst thing about the 4GB plan is that the AT&T Value Plus VL plan costs just $0.99 more, $50.99, for the first line and comes down to $30.99 if you have four lines, which is cheaper than the 4GB plan. Value Plus is a simple unlimited plan and doesn’t include hotspot data, but for most people, it should be fine.

If you need some hotspot data, Unlimited Started SL comes with 5GB of high-speed hotspot data with unlimited data on your phone. This plan comes in at $65.99 for the first line, but with four lines, it’s down to $35.99 per line. Streaming is limited to SD quality and no high-speed data is included, so you may see some slowdown on congested towers with this plan.

Unlimited Extra EL adds a few nice features on top of that for $75.99 for a single line, and $40.99 if you’ve got four lines. This plan adds in 75GB of high-speed premium data that won’t slow down on a congested network. It also gets a bump up in hotspot data to 30GB.

Unlimited Premium PL is AT&T’s most complete plan with unlimited high-speed premium data and a massive 60GB of hotspot data. It starts at $85.99, which is expensive, but it’s worth noting that both Verizon and T-Mobile have more expensive plans. This is the only postpaid AT&T plan that doesn’t have a streaming video limitation, so you can watch in 4K on your phone if you want. Roaming in 20 Latin American countries is also included.

AT&T’s plans are pricey, but there are a handful of other discounts that could bring it back into contention. For example, nurses, physicians, first responders, members of the military, veterans, and teachers all qualify for a 25% discount. Students can save $10 per month as well.

Remember that AT&T’s postpaid plans can be mixed and matched, so you can put one member of the family on the top plan while keeping others on a cheaper plan. It’s also worth remembering that taxes and fees are extra with AT&T, so your final price will be a bit higher.

Cricket’s plans

Cricket’s plans are a lot simpler, with essentially two fixed data plans and two unlimited plans. The fixed data plans start at 5GB for $30 per month. This first plan is pretty basic and doesn’t even let you use your data in a hotspot. There’s also no international usage. Since there are no multi-line discounts, this plan really only makes sense for single-line users who only need a small amount of data.

The 10GB plan comes in at $40 for the first line and is much the same as the 5GB plan with double the data. This plan, however, does get usage in Mexico and Canada, plus there are multi-line discounts, so you can save with multiple lines. You can also add a Cricket International add-on if you need to call abroad.

Moving up to the unlimited plan, you’ll need to pay $55 per month for a single line, and $100 per month with four lines. No hotspot data is included, though an add-on is available. You also get usage in Mexico and Canada with calling to 37 countries. If you only have one line, you can pay for this plan annually for $300, saving $360 over the standard price. You can also get the same rate paying for three months at once.

Cricket’s top plan is Unlimited + 15GB hotspot data for $60 per month for a single line or $130 for four lines. Data is a higher priority than the base unlimited plan, so you can expect higher speeds in congested areas. MAX streaming video with ads is also included for free.

Which should you get?

If you’re looking for the better value, Cricket stands out due to its lower prices for unlimited data and multi-month options for single-line users. Cricket offers mostly the same coverage as AT&T, so expect usable speeds for streaming and browsing social media. That said, if you’re looking for the best 5G speeds, it’s unlikely to be with any AT&T carrier, with many of the best value data plans using Verizon and T-Mobile coverage.

Still, Cricket is good for most people, and even its top plan with high-speed data and mobile hotspot data ends up cheaper than most AT&T unlimited plans, especially with four lines. With a free trial available, there’s not much reason not to try Cricket Wireless out.

If you’re looking for the fastest data options and the best international features, AT&T comes out ahead of Cricket. Most AT&T plans come with usage in Mexico and Canada, and the top plan, Unlimited Premium PL, comes with international usage in more than 20 Latin American countries. If you’re thinking about taking a trip across the American continent, AT&T could be the perfect companion.

It’s also worth remembering that, with AT&T, you can mix postpaid plans. If, for example, Mom and Dad want some of the features of AT&T’s Unlimited Extra or Premium, you can still save by keeping the kids on Unlimited Starter.