Technologies
Best Cellphone Plans of 2023: Our Top Picks
A one-stop shop for figuring out which carrier is best for you.

Picking or changing a phone plan isn’t easy. There are overwhelming number of options from the three main players, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon; as well as an exponentially larger assortment from prepaid and smaller mobile virtual network operator options like Mint Mobile, Visible, Google Fi and more. Sorting through it all is a hassle, which could very well be why you’re paying more for service you don’t need — or are not maximizing what you are paying to get the best value for your money.
Let’s try and fix that. We’ve been covering the latest in wireless plans across a host of providers and plans — from breaking down how to switch carriers, to the top unlimited and prepaid plans to knowing which network the smaller carriers use. Here is our guide for sorting through the madness and some of our picks for what we think are the best unlimited and prepaid plans available right now.
What’s the difference between «prepaid» and «postpaid» plans?
When choosing a phone plan there are generally two main options: a postpaid carrier like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile (plus cable options like Spectrum Mobile and Xfinity Mobile) and prepaid providers such as Mint Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, Google Fi and Cricket.
The difference boils down to this: With postpaid you are paying for your plan after you’ve used your service, while prepaid lets you buy that allotment in advance.
Prepaid providers are generally cheaper than postpaid options, though they also often (but not always) are more limited when it comes to additional streaming perks, hotspot data or device discounts. To get a several hundred dollar trade-in credit toward a new iPhone, Pixel or Galaxy, you often will need to commit to a postpaid plan from one of the big three carriers and be willing to stay with that provider for 24 to 36 months.
All three of the major wireless carriers also offer a variety of discounts on the plan pricing depending on age, employment, military or veteran status or if you or someone on your family plan are a nurse, teacher or first responder. You can find those details here: AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon.
What about networks?
Look at a zoomed-out map of the US on AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon’s respective websites and you’ll likely see it pretty well colored in by their respective color. Zooming in is where things get a bit more complicated, which is why we can’t offer blanket recommendations for one carrier over another. T-Mobile’s service in New York may be excellent, but if you’re in a rural area in Colorado, Verizon could be more reliable.
All three, however, offer 5G and ever-increasing coverage and data speeds as they all ramp up deployments of the latest wireless flavor. It’s quite possible that a decade ago you left a network complaining about its weak service, but now it’s beefed itself up because of that race to acquire customers.
This is also why we recommend talking to friends, family or colleagues that have a different provider where you live, as locally your mileage may vary. You could also go to a carrier’s store and see if it offers any free ways to try out the service before switching over, such as T-Mobile’s Network Pass. Verizon now offers a similar 30-day «Test Drive» program, while the Cricket prepaid service has rolled out its own trial program that lets you sample parent AT&T’s network.
As for the smaller carriers, they often use the networks of the larger providers. This includes the prepaid options owned by the big carriers (AT&T owns Cricket, Verizon owns Tracfone, T-Mobile owns Metro) as well as smaller options like Mint Mobile (which runs on T-Mobile), Google Fi (which runs on T-Mobile and US Cellular) and Boost Mobile (which runs on AT&T, T-Mobile and parent company Dish’s 5G networks). We explain this all in more detail here.
Why get unlimited?
If you’re on T-Mobile, all of your plans are unlimited, and Verizon no longer lets new users sign up for a shared data plan. Only AT&T still offers some tiered data plans and… it’s not great.
It has a 4GB-per-line plan that runs $50 a month for one line ($160 for four lines). Each line here gets 4GB of data, but if you go over that threshold in a month you’re paying $10 for every 2GB. AT&T’s plan also does not include access to its 5G networks.
Although everyone’s wireless needs are different, for most we think unlimited plans make the most sense, especially when it comes to choosing a new plan.
AT&T’s basic unlimited plan, called Unlimited Starter, is $65 a month for one line or $140 for four lines.
If you have one or two lines and don’t use a lot of data, you may be fine with one of these plans, though if you have just one line we’d recommend switching over to AT&T’s $50-per-month Value Plus option or T-Mobile’s Base Essentials. Two lines of that T-Mobile plan runs $80 a month, which is $10 cheaper than two lines of AT&T’s 4GB plan and comes without the worry of navigating how much data you use.
Best Postpaid Phone Plans
Sarah Tew/CNET
T-Mobile has a cheaper unlimited plan for those who don’t need three or more lines. Called Base Essentials, this plan has unlimited talk, text and data including 5G. While the data is unlimited, only the first 20GB each month are at high speed — if you go over that threshold, your speeds will slow to 1.5Mbps for the remainder of your billing period.
While perks like free Netflix or the bundling of taxes and fees into the sticker price are not included, you do get unlimited hotspot at «3G speeds,» a free year of Paramount Plus, and unlimited talk, text and 2G data in Mexico and Canada.
Priced at $5 less per month for a single line than AT&T’s Value Plus plan, this could be a solid option for those looking for a single line without frills. The carrier also allows for multiple lines via this plan, with two lines running $80 a month (if you need three or more you may want to look at one of T-Mobile’s other plans, which could be cheaper thanks to various promotions the carrier regularly runs).
T-Mobile keeps this plan surprisingly under wraps, but you can find it by heading to the «Plans» section of its website and clicking «lowest priced plan.»
Sarah Tew/CNET
Those looking to save the most on unlimited service from the major carriers may be best with T-Mobile’s Essentials. Unlimited talk, text and data are included for all of the carrier’s base unlimited plans. In this price-focused comparison, T-Mobile’s option comes in at $60 for a single line, $5 a month cheaper than AT&T’s Unlimited Starter and $10 less than Verizon’s 5G Start.
In addition to being $5 less than AT&T’s option, T-Mobile’s Essentials includes unlimited mobile hotspot (albeit at slower «3G speeds»), giving you a little more flexibility. All three carriers offer 5G access with their base plans. We should note that Verizon’s 5G Start doesn’t support its fastest forms of 5G.
You can always reevaluate your options as the three major carriers roll out the latest updates to their respective 5G networks over the next couple of years.
The savings of T-Mobile’s plan also become more pronounced the more lines you add. Two lines of Essentials is $90 a month, while a similar offering from AT&T or Verizon runs $120 a month. Three lines will also run $90 at T-Mobile thanks to a promotion, compared to $135 monthly at AT&T or Verizon. The four-line option is $100 at T-Mobile, compared to $140 at the other carriers.
These prices do come with a couple of caveats: Unlike T-Mobile’s Magenta or Magenta Max plans, taxes and fees are not included in any of these prices, making the final total a little higher. All the deals also require that you set up AutoPay and paperless billing.
Sarah Tew/CNET
If you’re looking for freebies with your wireless service, Verizon has one of the most aggressive bundles out there with its Play More plan ($80 a month for one line; $45 a month if you have four lines, you aren’t bringing your own phone and you’re switching to the carrier).
Verizon’s Play More plan includes unlimited talk, text and data and 25GB of higher-speed 5G and 4G LTE hotspot data. Among the perks are a free subscription to the Disney bundle (Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu) and either Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass.
All told, the perks quickly add up if you use any of these services. The Disney bundle normally runs $14 a month, and Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass each cost $5.
That’s potentially $19 a month in services. Verizon offers these benefits as part of its Play More and Get More plans, but for most people, the Play More choice is the best fit. Get More runs an extra $10 a month ($90 a month for a single line, $220 a month for four lines) and adds an extra 25GB of high-speed hotspot data, 50% off a connected device (like a monthly plan for tablet or smartwatch) and 600GB of Verizon’s Cloud Storage. Get More also includes a subscription to Apple Music, normally $10 a month.
Something to note: These perks are often limited to one per account, so only one line on a family plan would qualify to open a Disney Plus account and get it covered by the carrier.
Verizon also lets you mix and match plans when you have multiple lines.
If you have four people on your family plan, only one needs to have Play More to get the perks for the whole family. The rest can be on the cheaper 5G Start, which would make four lines $140 a month — as opposed to $180 a month if all four lines have Play More.
You can also combine these plans with Verizon’s other discounts for teachers, nurses, military and first responders to save a bit more.
Lastly, Verizon has a «One Unlimited for iPhone» plan geared toward Apple fans that includes the Apple One bundle (Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade and iCloud storage). The pricing on that plan ($90 per month for one line, $200 a month for four lines) is higher than Play More, however, and the One plan lacks the ability to put other lines onto cheaper plans. Combining those two factors makes this option a worse deal than the Play More plan.
Best Prepaid Phone Plans
Sarah Tew/CNET
Boost Mobile has added an unlimited plan that offers unlimited talk, text and data to new users for $25 per month with taxes and fees included. Unlike Mint Mobile’s 12-month plan, our previous pick in this slot, Boost’s plan isn’t tied to 12-month increments. You do, however, need to be a new Boost customer to get this offer.
The plan includes 5G access and 30GB per month of high-speed data (if you blow through that, your data will slow until your next billing month starts). Hotspot is included as well, with that data pulling from your high-speed allotment. One thing worth noting: You need to set up automatic payments to get the $25-per-month rate.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Google’s cellphone service got a pricing revamp that makes it a much more appealing alternative to major providers. For a family of four, you can now get its Simply Unlimited plan for $80 per month ($20 per month, per line) which includes not only unlimited talk, text and data but also 5GB of mobile hotspot access. There also is free roaming in Canada and Mexico, though taxes and fees are not included in the sticker price.
Google Fi runs on T-Mobile’s and US Cellular’s networks and its service includes 5G access, though we should note that iPhones running on Google Fi can’t use 5G.
Sarah Tew/CNET
When it comes to data under 10GB, Mint once again has the best value if T-Mobile’s network is solid in your area. Whereas Metro and Cricket charge $40 per month for one line and Boost has a $35 plan for 10GB of data, Mint beats them all on price.
Getting 10GB of 4G LTE/5G monthly data is $20 per month at Mint when purchased in 12-month increments for new users. After that, you can buy three more months at $35 per month ($105 total), six months at $25 per month ($150 total) or another year at $20 per month ($240 total).
Sarah Tew/CNET
If you’re looking for service for a backup phone that’s rarely used, TextNow has a free plan. Running on T-Mobile’s network, the service offers free unlimited talk and unlimited texting, though ads are placed in its app which you use to call and text people. There isn’t any data included with this option and removing the ads without adding data would run you $10 a month. If you want to watch YouTube, FaceTime, or surf the web make sure to connect to Wi-Fi.
Text messages are also done through the company’s TextNow app, not through iMessage or WhatsApp which makes sense as those services require data.
Getting 1GB of high-speed mobile data starts at $9 a month, with the company throttling you down to «2G speeds» if you use that up before your billing cycle resets. If you are largely on Wi-Fi, this could be a good option. 2GB runs $16 a month, with the company offering up to 5GB of high-speed data for $28 a month.
Technologies
Tariffs Explained: Latest on Trump’s Shifting Import Tax Plan, and What It Means
Technologies
Apple, I’m (Sky) Blue About Your iPhone 17 Air Color
Commentary: The rumored new hue of the iPhone 17 Air is more sky blah than sky blue.

I can’t help but feel blue about the latest rumor that Apple’s forthcoming iPhone 17 Air will take flight in a subtle, light-hued color called sky blue.
Sky blue isn’t a new color for Apple. It’s the featured shade of the current M4 MacBook Air, a shimmer of cerulean so subtle as to almost be missed. It’s silver left too close to an aquarium; silver that secretly likes to think it’s blue but doesn’t want everyone else to notice.
Do Apple employees get to go outside and see a real blue sky? It’s actually vivid, you can check for yourself. Perhaps the muted sky blue color reflects a Bay Area late winter/early spring frequent layer of clouds like we typically see here in Seattle.
«Who cares?» you might find yourself saying. «Everyone gets a case anyway.» I hear you and everyone else who’s told me that. But design-focused Apple is as obsessive about colors as they are about making their devices thinner. And I wonder if their heads are in the clouds about which hues adorn their pro products.
Making the case for a caseless color iPhone
I’m more invested in this conversation than most — I’m one of those freaks who doesn’t wrap my phone in a case. I find cases bulky and superfluous, and I like to be able to see Apple’s design work. Also, true story, I’ve broken my iPhone screen only twice: First when it was in a «bumper» that Apple sent free in response to the iPhone 4 you’re-holding-it-wrong Antennagate fiasco, and second when trying to take long exposure starry night photos using what I didn’t realize was a broken tripod mount. My one-week-old iPhone 13 Pro slipped sideways and landed screen-first on a pointy rock. A case wouldn’t have saved it.
My current model is an iPhone 16 Pro in black titanium — which I know seems like avoiding color entirely — but previously I’ve gone for colors like blue titanium and deep purple. I wanted to like deep purple the most but it came across as, in the words of Patrick Holland in his iPhone 14 Pro review, «a drab shade of gray or like Grimace purple,» depending on the light.
Pros can be bold, too
Maybe the issue is too many soft blues. Since the iPhone Pro age began with the iPhone 11 Pro, we’ve seen variations like blue titanium (iPhone 15 Pro), sierra blue (iPhone 13 Pro) and pacific blue (iPhone 12 Pro).
Pacific blue is the boldest of the bunch, if by bold you mean dark enough to discern from silver, but it’s also close enough to that year’s graphite color that seeing blue depends on the surrounding lighting. By comparison, the blue (just «blue») color of the iPhone 12 was unmistakably bright blue.
In fact, the non-Pro lines have embraced vibrant colors. It’s as if Apple is equating «pro» with «sophisticated,» as in «A real pro would never brandish something this garish.» I see this in the camera world all the time: If it’s not all-black, it’s not a «serious» camera.
And yet I know lots of pros who are not sophisticated — proudly so. People choose colors to express themselves, so forcing that idea of professionalism through color feels needlessly restrictive. A bright pink iPhone 16 might make you smile every time you pick it up but then frown because it doesn’t have a telephoto camera.
Color is also important because it can sway a purchase decision. «I would buy a sky blue iPhone yesterday,» my colleague Gael Cooper texted after the first rumor popped online. When each new generation of iPhones arrive, less technically different than the one before, a color you fall in love with can push you into trading in your perfectly-capable model for a new one.
And lest you think Apple should just stick with black and white for its professional phones: Do you mean black, jet black, space black, midnight black, black titanium, graphite or space gray? At least the lighter end of the spectrum has stuck to just white, white titanium and silver over the years.
Apple never got ahead by being beige
I’m sure Apple has reams of studies and customer feedback that support which colors make it to production each year. Like I said, Apple’s designers are obsessive (in a good way). And I must remind myself that a sky blue iPhone 17 Air is a rumored color on a rumored product so all the usual caveats apply.
But we’re talking about Apple here. The scrappy startup that spent more than any other company on business cards at the time because each one included the old six-color Apple logo. The company that not only shaped the first iMac like a tipped-over gumdrop, that not only made the case partially see-through but then made that cover brilliant Bondi blue.
Embrace the iPhone colors, Apple.
If that makes you nervous, don’t worry: Most people will put a case on it anyway.
Technologies
Astronomers Say There’s an Increased Possibility of Life on This Distant Planet
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers are working to confirm potential evidence of life on a distant exoplanet dubbed K2-18b.

Astronomers are nearing a statistically significant finding that could confirm the potential signs of life detected on the distant exoplanet K2-18b are no accident.
The team of astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, used data from the James Webb Space Telescope (which has only been in use since the end of 2021) to detect chemical traces of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and/or dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), which they say can only be produced by life such as phytoplankton in the sea.
According to the university, «the results are the strongest evidence yet that life may exist on a planet outside our solar system.»
The findings were published this week in the Astrophysical Journal Letters and point to the possibility of an ocean on this planet’s surface, which scientists have been hoping to discover for years. In the abstract for the paper, the team says, «The possibility of hycean worlds, with planet-wide oceans and H2-rich atmospheres, significantly expands and accelerates the search for habitable environments elsewhere.»
Not everyone agrees, however, that what the team found proves there’s life on the exoplanet.
Science writer and OpenMind Magazine founder Corey S. Powell posted about the findings on Bluesky, writing, «The potential discovery of alien life is so enticing that it drags even reputable outlets into running naive or outright misleading stories.» He added, «Here we go again with planet K2-18b.Um….there’s strong evidence of non-biological sources of the molecule DMS.»
K2-18b is 124 light-years away and much larger than Earth (more than eight times our mass), but smaller than Neptune. The search for signs of even basic life on a planet like this increases the chances that there are more planets like Earth that may be inhabitable, with temperatures and atmospheres that could sustain human-like lifeforms. The team behind the paper hopes that more study with the James Webb Space Telescope will help confirm their initial findings.
More research to do on finding life on K2-18b
The exoplanet K2-18b is not the only place where scientists are exploring the possibility of life, and this research is still an early step in the process, said Christopher Glein, a geochemist, planetary researcher and lead scientist at San Antonio’s Southwest Research Institute. Excitement over the significance of the research, he said, should be tempered.
«We need to be careful here,» Glein said. «It appears that there is something in the data that can’t be explained, and DMS/DMDS can provide an explanation. But this detection is stretching the limits of JWST’s capabilities.»
Glein added, «Further work is needed to test whether these molecules are actually present. We also need complementary research assessing the abiotic background on K2-18b and similar planets. That is, the chemistry that can occur in the absence of life in this potentially exotic environment. We might be seeing evidence of some cool chemistry rather than life.»
The TRAPPIST-1 planets, he said, are being researched as potentially habitable, as is LHS 1140b, which he said «is another astrobiologically significant exoplanet, which might be a massive ocean world.»
As for K2-18b, Glein said many more tests need to be performed before there’s consensus on life existing on it.
«Finding evidence of life is like prosecuting a case in the courtroom,» Glein said. «Multiple independent lines of evidence are needed to convince the jury, in this case the worldwide scientific community.» He added, «If this finding holds up, then that’s Step 1.»
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