Are the bundles worth it?

• Pay for multiple months to save

  Mint Mobile

  Mint Mobile is a prepaid T-Mobile carrier with plans focused on multi-month savings and sensible data amounts. With up to 40GB of high-speed data on the top plan, Mint Mobile has a plan for most people.

  Pros

  • Multi-month single-line savings
  • Strong 5G coverage with T-Mobile
  • Mint Family makes discounts more accessible

  Cons

  • Taxes and fees are extra
  • Must buy a minimum of three months
  • No truly unlimited options

• 

  Bundle to save

  Xfinity Mobile

  With plenty of data for most people and solid bundles with home internet packages, Xfinity Mobile could be the right pick for those already using the service. This carrier even offers multi-line discounts.

  Pros

  • Strong Verizon coverage plus Xfinity WiFi
  • Solid discount for additional lines
  • Bundles available for Xfinity Internet customers

  Cons

  • Taxes and fees are extra
  • Expensive pay-as-you-go plan
  • No truly unlimited option

Xfinity is a well-known cable provider in the US, providing service for millions of people with TV, home internet, and home phone service. With Xfinity Mobile, Xfinity wants to be your only provider for communications, and with bundles, it may be worth it. Still, Xfinity Mobile isn’t perfect; its plans don’t offer the same high-end features as a postpaid carrier like Verizon, and it also isn’t priced as well as other prepaid options, like Visible or Mint Mobile.

Mint Mobile, on the other hand, is owned by T-Mobile and solely focuses on mobile data. Mint Mobile has a handful of plans with up to 40GB of high-speed data with discounts for those willing to pay for multiple months of service in advance. Mint’s approach means you’ll need to pay more upfront than most other carriers, but if you can afford it, you’ll save money in the long run.

Mobile carrier features

Mint Mobile was, when it came out, a fairly unique carrier with simple data plans and an easy-to-understand discount system. With Mint, you choose the plan you want and pay for three, six, or 12 months upfront with lower overall prices for those willing to pay for a longer term.

You really want to sign up for a 12-month plan, if possible, and if you’re looking to bring multiple lines, you can get those lower 12-month rates every three months, which can make it a lot easier on the checking account if you’re getting service for more than one line.

Mint Mobile is owned by T-Mobile, and as such, uses the T-Mobile network for all of its coverage. While T-Mobile’s rural coverage isn’t the best around, it’s still a strong carrier with some of the best 5G speeds and expansive mid-band 5G coverage. Mint Mobile also gets full 5G speeds, so there’s no upsell to priority data. If you need a new phone, you can even bundle a few months of service if you buy it through Mint.

While Mint includes free calling to Mexico and Canada plus texting to 190+ countries, it lacks free international roaming. With a so-called Minternational Pass, you can get international roaming for one day, three days, or 10 days for a fee.

Source: Comcast

Xfinity Mobile, owned and operated by Comcast, requires and is only for existing Xfinity Internet customers. Xfinity Mobile uses the Verizon network for LTE and 5G coverage, though Xfinity has a sizable network of public Wi-Fi access points its customers can access that don’t count against data usage. It also has a chunk of 5G spectrum and a partnership with Samsung for RAN equipment, but has yet to significantly deploy its own 5G.

When you sign up for Xfinity Mobile, you’ll also need to pick an Xfinity Internet package if you don’t already have one. Xfinity offers bundles and deals frequently to make its plans a better value. For example, at the time of writing and in my area, if you get home internet and two lines of unlimited data at Xfinity Mobile, you can get the second line for free for a year, which is a savings of $20 per month.

If you need a new phone, Xfinity often runs deals on them with trade-ins or bringing your number from another carrier. You can even finance phones (without using Affirm) for 24 months with Xfinity Mobile. With so many carriers moving to 36-month payment plans, it’s nice to see Xfinity sticking to 24 months for the time being.

One thing to keep in mind with these two carriers is that taxes and fees are extra on both. This extends beyond just taxes and emergency calling fees as well with recovery fees on both for each line. Recovery fees are not taxes and are not mandated by the government. For reference, multiple other prepaid carriers like Cricket Wireless, Visible, and US Mobile don’t tack on these fees.

Mobile coverage and reception

Mint Mobile is owned by T-Mobile and uses its network for all of its coverage. T-Mobile has been working fast to deploy its 5G network and has built the fastest 5G network available with strong coverage thanks to its low-band spectrum and earlier access to mid-band spectrum that Verizon had.

Still, if you’re used to T-Mobile coverage, you should still double-check Mint Mobile’s coverage map, as some rural areas don’t get the same level of roaming coverage as postpaid T-Mobile customers. For most people who stick to cities and suburbs most of the time, T-Mobile coverage should be good.

Xfinity Mobile, on the other hand, uses Verizon for most of its on-the-go coverage. Since Xfinity requires a home Wi-Fi connection, customers will use Wi-Fi for most of their data at home and around their neighborhood. Local businesses that use Xfinity may also have Xfinity Mobile Wi-fi available. Since your phone will be able to connect to these automatically, you don’t have to worry about seeking out these hotspots either.

It must be said that if you’re an Xfinity customer already, you can use these Xfinity WiFi access points already, so you don’t need to use Xfinity Mobile to take advantage of them.

Verizon is used for the rest of Xfinity Mobile’s coverage which means strong nationwide coverage with soldi 5G coverage in cities and towns across the country. While you’ll likely see more LTE with Verizon for the next couple of years, Verizon is still a strong pick for many, especially if you live further out in the country.

Phone compatibility

Since Mint Mobile is a T-Mobile carrier, it supports the vast majority of phones released in the North American market. T-Mobile’s 5G coverage primarily uses band n71 for slower coverage 5G and band n41 for faster Ultra Capacity 5G. T-Mobile may also use some of its other bands with carrier aggregation for higher speeds in some markets. There’s also some mmWave coverage in a handful of big cities and arenas.

Xfinity’s Verizon coverage means that most phones designed for the US market should work without issue, including many of the best Android phones, though some international models, like the Nothing Phone 2a, won’t work well or at all.

Verizon’s 5G coverage uses a lot of shared spectrum between LTE and 5G coverage with bands n2, n5, and n66, but the real start of the show is C-band 5G coverage with band n77. C-band is part of Verizon’s Ultra Wideband 5G coverage and offers its best speeds apart from mmWave, which is available in some city centers and places like professional sports arenas.

Still, there are a good number of phones to choose from, such as the Galaxy S24, the Pixel 9, the latest iPhones, and even some Motorola phones. Check your IMEI on Xfinity Mobile’s site to be sure your phone will work with the carrier. You can also check your phone with Mint Mobile’s BYOD tool if you want to be sure your phone will work.

Plans

Mint Mobile’s plans all follow the same structure with the option to choose between three, six, and 12 months of service for a single payment. Mint’s plans are best for those who have a decent idea of how much data they need on a monthly basis, and most importantly, have enough flexibility in their finances to pay for multiple months at once.

Xfinity Mobile’s plans often complement its Home Internet service with Xfinity WiFi hotspots around the country and at home. Its unlimited plans, however, are fairly cheap when adding lines.

Mint Mobile’s plans

Mint Mobile has four data plans with fixed data amounts for the three cheaper plans and up to 40GB on device and 10GB of hotspot data with the unlimited plan. With Mint, you get a certain amount of high-speed data per month with slow 2G speeds after that. On the cheaper plans, features like mobile hotspot share data with the primary pool. You get unlimited talk, text, and data with all plans.

Starting with Mint’s cheapest 5GB plan, you’re looking at $180 for 12 months, which breaks down to $15 per month. If you only want to pay for three months, that’s $75, or $25 per month. Moving up to the 15GB plan, you’re looking at $20 per month, $240 total, for a year of service. With just three months, it’s $35 per month, or $105. The 15GB plan is the sweet spot for most average users, but if you need more, you’ve got options.

Mint’s biggest fixed data plan comes with 20GB, and for the vast majority of users, it offers more than enough data. You can get this 20GB plan for $300 for a year, which works out to $25 per month, or $135 for three months, which is $45 per month.

Check how much data you typically use to find out which plan is the best fit for you. If you’re a bit over, you may be able to make up the difference by using Wi-Fi at home or downloading media before leaving your home Wi-Fi network.

Last is Mint’s unlimited plan. Unliminted, as it’s sometimes written, comes with 40GB of high-speed data to use on your phone, plus 10GB of mobile hotspot data. For most heavy users, this is plenty of data and, in some ways, Unliminted is a better deal than the 20GB plan. For example, Unliminted costs $40 per month for three months, $35 for 6 months, and $30 per month for the whole year.

At three months, Unlimited is $5 cheaper than 20GB, and at six months, it’s the same cost.

Xfinity Mobile’s plans

Xfinity Mobile has three plans to choose from, and really, only two good ones. Starting with the least impressive option, the By-the-Gig plan comes with 1GB of data and unlimited talk and text for $20 per month. With a few dollars in fees added on and a steep $20 per gigabyte of extra data, it’s hard to justify this plan over something like Mint Mobile’s 5GB plan, even for three months.

If you’re offered a solid bundle for this plan or are willing to pay a bit more to keep everything on a single bill, this plan could still be a solid option for light users.

Moving up to Xfinity’s cheaper unlimited plan, called Unlimited, you get 30GB of high-speed data with unlimited talk and text. After your 30GB, speeds are slowed to 1.5Mbps, which is fairly quick compared to other prepaid unlimited plans, including Mint. You also get unlimited 3G-speed hotspot data, which isn’t going to be suitable for streaming Netflix, but is fine for receiving emails on a work computer or light browsing.

This plan also comes with usage in Mexico and Canada, so if you’re heading north or south of the border, you don’t need to track down a travel SIM.

Unlimited Plus takes the high-speed data up to 50GB, and even comes with 5GB of high-speed data in Mexico and Canada. If you use your 50GB of data, your speeds are slowed, but only to 5Mbps down, 2Mbps up. You also get a 15GB high-speed hotspot followed by unlimited 3G speeds. Video streaming is updated to HD, too, which makes this a solid plan for those who watch a lot of video streams, or gaming streams that benefit from higher bitrates.

Xfinity Unlimited comes in at $40 per month for the first line with additional lines coming in at $20. Unlimited Plus starts at $50 for the first line with $30 add-on lines after that.

Which should you buy?

When it comes down it it, Mint Mobile makes the most sense for those coming from an expensive postpaid carrier, with lower prices on average for data and simple multi-month savings. Mint keeps its plans simple with hotspot data on all plans. With T-Mobile coverage that works fine for most people, Mint’s 5G coverage is strong, and its network is fast with strong compatibility for Android phones.

Mint’s 15GB plan is the sweet spot for most people, with plenty of data for an average user and a low price that makes its savings worthwhile over postpaid carriers. If you can get by on 15GB of data and don’t mind paying for up to a year of service all at once, Mint Mobile 15GB is a good starting point. Plus, if you think you need more data, you can start with the 15GB plan and upgrade mid-cycle if you need to by paying the difference.

Mint Mobile

With multi-month savings and the strong T-Mobile network behind it, Mint Mobile can help a lot of people save. You can even get its multi-month discounts renewed every three months with Mint’s family plan.

If you’ve got multiple lines or want to keep your billing simple, Xfinity Mobile can still be a strong option for some. Its unlimited plans come with plenty of data for the majority of users, and the fact that Xfinity WiFi hotspots don’t consume your data makes it last even longer.

Xfinity Mobile, while it slows your speeds after using up your data, has some of the fastest throttled speeds of any carrier, with 1.5Mbps on Unlimited and 5Mbps on Unlimited Plus. To put that into perspective, you get barely usable 2G speeds if you use up your data on Mint, and still slower 1Mbps on a carrier like US Mobile. If you’ve got a great deal on a bundled service sitting in your inbox from Xfinity, service should be great.

Xfinity Mobile

Xfinity Mobile can be a solid option for those already using Xfinity at home with solid speeds on Verizon, Xfinity WiFi hotspots, and affordable prices for adding a line.