Let’s Talk wants you to have the best possible plan for your family, and that’s why we regularly curate and update the hottest family plans from over 30 carriers. To choose the perfect family plan, you need to consider many things like your budget, data usage, and carrier coverage.

This guide will walk you through multiple family plans and help you decide which one is best for you and your kids—all while saving you money along the way.

The best family plans for December 2021:

Happy child holding up cell phone


Best overall plan: T-Mobile Magenta

Value for Money: ★ ★ ★ ★
Coverage: ★ ★ ★ 
Features & Perks: ★ ★ ★ ★

Costing just $140/month, the 4-line T-Mobile Magenta Plan is a huge steal. Combine great network coverage, all-in pricing (taxes and fees included), and nice travel perks, and you get T-Mobile’s Magenta Plan. Everyone on this T-Mobile family plan can enjoy:

  • Unlimited high-speed data
  • 3GB of 4G LTE hotspot, then unlimited 3G hotspot
  • Netflix subscription
  • 5GB of 4G LTE data in Mexico and Canada (unlimited 2G data)
  • Free international texting and 2G data in 210+ countries
  • Free Gogo in-flight texting & WiFi

This plan costs $70/month for a single line, which means 4 individual lines would typically cost $280/month. However, T-Mobile discounts the family plan, saving you $140/month. We don’t know about you, but we think this family plan sounds like a very smart choice.[/vc_column_text]

T-Mobile Magenta Plan pros

  • Unlimited 4G LTE data
  • Unlimited international texting and data
  • Roaming in Mexico and Canada
  • Netflix subscription
  • Excellent coverage aboard T-Mobile’s network
  • 5G access
  • $35/month per line

T-Mobile Magenta Plan cons

  • Meager 4G LTE hotspot allowance
  • Netflix subscription includes just one screen

 

Best prepaid family plan: Metro by T-Mobile Unlimited

Value for Money: ★ ★ ★ 
Coverage: ★ ★ ★ 
Features & Perks: ★ ★ ★ 

With prepaid phone plans, you pay for your service upfront prior to using it. One of the benefits of a prepaid plan, such as this 4-line Metro by T-Mobile family plan, is that you are able to avoid the nuisance of a credit check. For just $120/month, this Metro by T-Mobile plan gives you coverage on T-Mobile’s powerful network, unlimited data, and much more. The Metro by T-Mobile Unlimited family plan includes:

  • Unlimited 4G LTE data
  • 15GB hotspot
  • 100GB of Google One cloud storage
  • Amazon Prime
  • Access to T-Mobile’s expanding 5G network

For just $30/month per line, this family plan has incredible value, especially considering the fact that an Amazon Prime subscription costs $12.99/month. With Amazon Prime, you can enjoy free 2-day delivery, 1-day delivery, and even same-day delivery, access to thousands of movies and TV shows on Prime Video, and plenty more.

Metro by T-Mobile Unlimited pros

  • Unlimited 4G LTE data
  • Nice hotspot allowance
  • No credit check
  • Amazon Prime
  • Access to T-Mobile’s 4G and 5G networks
  • $30/month per line

Metro by T-Mobile Unlimited cons

  • No international or travel benefits

 

Best value: Mint Mobile 8GB Plan

Value for Money: ★ ★ ★ ★
Coverage: ★ ★ ★ 
Features & Perks: ★ ★ 

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better value family plan than Mint Mobile’s 8GB plan, which you can turn into a 4-line family plan, which costs $20/month per line. That’s a grand total of just $80/month for your whole family. Mint Mobile is a low-cost MVNO that operates on T-Mobile’s powerful network and offers 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month plan bundles that you must pay for upfront. Consequently, this Mint Mobile family plan is a 3-month plan, so you pay $240 upfront for 3 months of service. While paying a larger sum upfront may not be your cup of tea, it makes it worth it when you pay just $80/month for a great family plan that includes:

  • 8GB of high-speed data per line (then slowed)
  • Free calling to Mexico and Canada
  • Mobile hotspot
  • Automatically connects to 5G or 4G, whichever is strongest

At the end of your 3-month family plan, your $80/month price will increase. But if you want to keep that same incredibly low price, then all you have to do is renew your family plan on the 12-month bundle.

Mint Mobile family plan pros

  • Hotspot capability
  • No credit check
  • Unlimited calls to Canada and Mexico
  • Access to T-Mobile’s 4G and 5G networks
  • $20/month per line

Mint Mobile family plan cons

  • No roaming perks
  • Must buy a 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month plan
  • Plan price increases after the introductory period

Best entertainment: Verizon Play More Unlimited

Value for Money: ★ ★ ★ 
Coverage: ★ ★ ★ ★
Features & Perks: ★ ★ ★ ★

At $180/month, the Verizon Play More Unlimited family plan is the most expensive on our list but for good reason. This 4-line family plan includes an outrageous amount of entertainment features to keep the whole family happy. Here’s what you get:

  • Unlimited high-speed data
  • 15GB of 4G LTE hotspot, unlimited at 600Kbps
  • HD streaming
  • Disney+
  • Hulu
  • ESPN+
  • Talk and text to/from Mexico and Canada
  • Up to .5GB/day of 4G LTE roaming in Mexico and Canada

One of the great things about Verizon’s unlimited family plans is that you have the chance to add on a Verizon Just Kids line, which includes unlimited data, unlimited talk and text to 20 approved contacts, and tons of parental controls. Plus, if everyone doesn’t want the Play More Unlimited plan, you can mix and match the Verizon unlimited plans to suit everyone’s needs.

Verizon Play More Unlimited pros

  • Countless entertainment features
  • HD streaming
  • Coverage on the top network in the country
  • Mexico and Canada privileges
  • $45/month per line
  • Ability to mix and match Verizon unlimited plans

Verizon Play More Unlimited cons

  • More expensive than other family plans on our list

Best mix and match: AT&T Prepaid Multi-Line Monthly Plan

Value for Money: ★ ★ ★ 
Coverage: ★ ★ ★ ★
Features & Perks: ★ ★ 

So, what do you do if not everyone on the family plan needs the same amount of data? To keep from overpaying for data you’ll never use, you can sign up for an AT&T Prepaid Multi-Line Monthly Plan and mix and match your data allowances. This month’s AT&T mix and match plan beats out all the others due to competitive prices and perks. With a range of $80/month to $180/month for a 4-line family plan, each family member gets unlimited talk and text and can choose between 1GB, 8GB, unlimited data, and unlimited data plus hotspot. You don’t have to worry about overage charges because if you exceed your data allowance, your data speeds will just be slowed until the next billing cycle. This AT&T prepaid mix and match family plan also gives everyone free unlimited texting to Canada, Mexico, and 100 other countries and free calls to Mexico and Canada. Not to mention, all of the plans except for the 1GB plan include data roaming over the border.

AT&T Prepaid Multi-Line pros

  • Versatile plan options
  • Unlimited talk and text on every line
  • Free texting and calls to Canada and Mexico
  • Skip a credit check
  • Great coverage aboard AT&T’s robust network

AT&T Prepaid Multi-Line cons

  • No entertainment perks
  • Can be pricey

 

Honorable mention: Visible Unlimited Plan


Visible is a newish MVNO that offers just one plan—an unlimited data plan, which is available as a family plan. Visible’s 4-line unlimited plan costs $100/month, or $25/line per month, and includes unlimited talk, text, and data, as well as unlimited hotspot capped at 5Mbps, which isn’t super fast but will likely suffice for most activities. While the plan itself doesn’t include the bells and whistles of other plans on this list, the real seller here is that Visible runs on Verizon’s robust network, which covers over 71% of the country. There’s a reason people pay top dollar for Verizon plans, and if you’re looking for all the benefits of Verizon’s incredible coverage for a fraction of the price, this Visible plan is the one for you.

Visible Unlimited family plan pros

  • One of the lowest-priced family plans on the market
  • Excellent coverage aboard Verizon’s network
  • Unlimited mobile hotspot
  • Each person can manage their own account

Visible Unlimited family plan cons


Picking the Best Family Plans: Methodology

Let’s Talk looked at 20+ multi-line phone plans, ranging from 2 to 4 shared lines. We considered each plan’s monthly cost and how that breaks down into price per line. We also looked at each plan’s talk, text, and data allowances. Lastly, we considered extra features such as entertainment subscriptions, 5G network, access, and mobile hotspot data, among others.


How Many Young Adults Are On Their Parent’s Cell Phone Plan?

It’s become known as the “Failure to Launch” syndrome: young adults who are unable—or unwilling—to establish financial independence from their parents. As millennials take longer to move out of the house, pay off their debts, and get married, they’re also taking longer to get their own cell phone plans.

Our survey found that almost half (49%) of all 18-24-year-olds are on their parents’ (or other family member’s) cell phone plans. This percentage drops steeply to 16% in the 25-34-year-old age bracket, and 7.5% in the 35-44-year-old age bracket.

parents cell phone plan

About Our Finding

We expected a significant percentage of young adults to be on family plans, but this 50% figure is startling nonetheless. It speaks not only to young adults’ financial reliance on their parents but to the popularity of family plans.

73% of all respondents, and nearly 79% of 18-24-year-olds, indicated they’re on family plans.

percentage of people on family plans
Family plans can dramatically reduce the costs as you add lines; some 4-line plans can effectively halve individual cell phone plan costs. Check out our picks for the top family plans on the market at the moment.

Methodology

To gather our data, we surveyed 1,000 Americans across all age groups about their cell phone plans. We then sorted this data according to age: 18-24-year-olds, 25-34-year-olds, 35-44-year-olds, and 45+ year-olds.

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