"Unlimited" can be a bit misleading. While unlimited cell phone plans promise a lot, they often come with a lengthy list of terms and conditions. Thankfully, the major carriers have mostly removed throttling for their top-tier plans, and all unlimited plans now provide access to 5G data. However, the offerings can still vary significantly between the carriers and even within their different tiers.
Cheaper "unlimited" tiers usually include unlimited talk and text, but they have restrictions on how much data you can actually use before they start to slow you down. Some plans might even throttle your data at any time. Data throttling is when your data speeds are reduced after you exceed a certain amount of usage in a month or during peak times. This practice has been around for years.
Below, I’ve outlined what each of the major carriers offers for individual and family "unlimited" plans to help you determine which one fits your needs and budget.
The Best Unlimited Plan Right Now: T-Mobile
T-Mobile Essentials, Experience More, and Experience Beyond Plans
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Essentials plan (with autopay, taxes/fees not included):
- 1 Line for $60/month
- 2 Lines for $90
- 3 Lines for $90
- 4 Lines for $100
- 5 Lines for $125
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Experience More (with autopay, taxes/fees not included):
- 1 Line for $85/month
- 2 Lines for $140
- 3 Lines for $140
- 4 Lines for $170
- 5 Lines for $200
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Experience Beyond (with autopay, taxes/fees not included):
- 1 Line for $100/month
- 2 Lines for $170
- 3 Lines for $170
- 4 Lines for $215
- 5 Lines for $260
T-Mobile boasts the best 5G coverage and speeds among the big three carriers, along with the fastest downloads and solid overall reliability, as reported by OpenSignal and Ookla. They also highlight their value when you consider added perks like entertainment bundles, in-flight WiFi, and emergency satellite data access.
This year, T-Mobile rebranded its unlimited plans but still offers three options: Essentials, Experience More, and Experience Beyond. Only the two Experience plans provide true unlimited 5G data without throttling or deprioritizing, which means your device won’t be pushed to the back of the line during peak usage times.
If you’re more focused on cost than additional features, and you don’t travel internationally often, the Essentials plan is the best fit for larger families. It’s straightforward—just your phone service, without added costs for streaming or international fees. Hotspot usage is capped at 3G speeds, which could be a key factor if you rely on it for work, and video streaming is limited to 480p. However, at that price point, Essentials offers premium data (up to 50 GB) that won’t experience throttling. If you have home WiFi, that 50 GB should suffice for most users, and it might even encourage your teens to save their data and ask for the WiFi password instead. Just a heads-up: data speeds in Canada and Mexico might be slow, making it feel like you’re using an old flip phone.
