Best Family Cell Phone Plans
Finding the right cell phone plan for your family is key to keeping costs down. We scoped out the best family cell phone plans in several categories. Prices don’t include phones, taxes, fees or other charges, such as insurance.
» MORE: Find quick and easy ways to save on your cell phone bill
Best family plans for average users
These are the best plans for a family of four. We only considered plans that offer enough data to cover average users, each of whom typically go through 2 to 5 gigabytes per month.
- Plan name: Cricket Basic with Group Save
- Price (monthly, four lines): $110
- Plan at a glance: 5GB of data per line, plus unlimited minutes and text messages
- Why we like it: An affordable, no frills option for a family of four.
- Plan name: AT&T Unlimited Choice
- Price (monthly, four lines): $165; $155 with $10 autopay discount
- Plan at a glance: Unlimited data, minutes and text messages
- Why we like it: It’s an affordable, entry-level unlimited plan on a top-notch network
THINGS TO KNOW:
- Cricket: This prepaid carrier is owned by AT&T and uses AT&T’s network. Customers may be able to bring their own phone, or they can buy a new one at retail price. New customers may have to pay a $25 in-store activation fee.
- AT&T: Video streams in standard definition. You can save $10 per month if you opt for automatic payments.
HOW OTHERS COMPARE:
 | Unlimited for $180; $160 with autopay discount |
 | Unlimited for $180; $175 with autopay discount |
 | Unlimited for $140 |
[Back to top]
Best family plans for two people
These options are a great fit for two average users. Those who need more than a few gigabytes may want to explore an unlimited plan.
- Plan name: Republic Wireless 2GB
- Price (monthly, two lines): $50
- Plan at a glance: Unlimited talk and text; 2GB of data per line
- Why we like it: It’s a cheap, no-frills plan.
- Plan name: Boost Mobile 3GB
- Price (monthly, two lines): $60
- Plan at a glance: Unlimited talk and text; 3GB of data per line
- Why we like it: Each line gets its own data package, for a total of 6GB, plus unlimited music streaming from select services
THINGS TO KNOW:
- Republic: Republic’s base plan is $15 per line for unlimited talk and text. Data is billed at a rate of $5 per GB and can be added or removed at any time via the carrier’s mobile app. Republic defaults to Wi-Fi for all calls, texts and data. If Wi-Fi isn’t available, the carrier falls back on the cellular networks.
- Boost: Sprint owns Boost Mobile, and the two carriers share the same network.
HOW OTHERS COMPARE:
 | Two lines with unlimited talk and text and 6GB of shared data for $100 per month |
 | Two lines with unlimited talk, text and unlimited high-speed data for $110 per month; $100 with autopay discount |
| Two lines with unlimited talk and text and 4GB of shared data for $90 per month |
| Two lines with unlimited talk and text and 5GB of data per line for $70 per month |
[bBack to top]
Best family plans with unlimited data
Unlimited plans are an increasingly affordable option for families, especially if your total usage exceeds 10GB per month.
- Plan name: AT&T Unlimited Choice
- Price (monthly, four lines): $165; $155 with autopay discount
- Why we like it: It’s an affordable, entry-level unlimited plan on a top-notch network
- Plan name: MetroPCS Unlimited
- Plan price (monthly, four lines): $100
- Why we like it: It’s at least $40 cheaper than other unlimited plans
THINGS TO KNOW:
- AT&T: Video streams in standard definition. Data speeds are capped at 3 megabits per second. Average LTE speeds in the United States are around 10Mbps and can be much higher depending on your area and coverage quality. High-speed mobile hot spot data is not included.
- MetroPCS: Video streaming is limited to standard definition. Mobile hot spot data is not included. You’ll have to pay full retail price to buy a new phone, or you can bring your own if it’s compatible. MetroPCS is owned by T-Mobile and uses T-Mobile’s network.
HOW OTHERS COMPARE:
| Unlimited for $180; $160 with autopay discount |
| Unlimited for $180; $175 with autopay discount |
| Unlimited for $140 |
[Back to top]
» MORE: Best unlimited data plans
Best prepaid family plans
Want a family plan without the taxes, fees and multiyear commitment? These prepaid plans offer just that. Going prepaid will save you on monthly costs, but it does cost more at the beginning because you must pay full retail price for each phone upfront.
- Plan name: Cricket Wireless Basic (with Group Save discount)
- Price (monthly, four lines): $110
- At a glance: Unlimited talk and text; 5GB of data per line
- Why we like it: It’s an inexpensive, no-surprises plan with a reasonable amount of data
- Plan name: MetroPCS Unlimited
- Plan price (monthly, four lines): $100
- Why we like it: It’s at least $40 cheaper than other unlimited plans
THINGS TO KNOW:
- Cricket: Cricket operates on AT&T’s network, but it caps its Long Term Evolution data speed at 8Mbps. You’ll likely notice the difference only when trying to stream high-definition videos or do other things that need a lot of bandwidth.
- MetroPCS: Video streaming is limited to standard definition. Mobile hot spot data is not included. You’ll have to pay full retail price to buy a new phone, or you can bring your own if it’s compatible. MetroPCS is owned by T-Mobile and uses T-Mobile’s network.
HOW OTHERS COMPARE:
| Unlimited for $170 |
| Unlimited for $140 |
 | Four lines with unlimited talk and text for $65. Data is an additional $10 per GB. |
[Back to top]
» MORE: Best prepaid cell phone plans
Best family cell phone plans: summary
| Carrier | Plan | Best for | Monthly price (4 lines) | Get started |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cricket Wireless Basic (5GB data per line) | Average users and people who want a prepaid option | $110 | |
| AT&T Unlimited Choice | Average users and people who want unlimited data | $165; $155 with $10 autopay discount | |
 | MetroPCS Unlimited | Unlimited data and people who want a prepaid option | $100 | |
 | Republic Wireless (2GB per line) | Two people | $50 (for two lines) | |
| Boost Mobile 3GB | Two people | $60 (for two lines) |
Updated March 5, 2018
METHODOLOGY
We evaluated more than 200 cell phone plans offered by the following carriers: AT&T, Boost Mobile, Consumer Cellular, Cricket, GreatCall, Google’s Project Fi, MetroPCS, Net10, Republic Wireless, Sprint, Straight Talk, T-Mobile, TracFone, Verizon Wireless and Virgin Mobile. To determine the best plans, we looked at the monthly plan price before taxes and fees, the price per gigabyte and features such as unlimited video streaming or rollover data. We considered only national carriers, which ruled out regional providers like U.S. Cellular. For family plans, we looked at plans with at least 6 GB of data and calculated pricing for a family of four.
