PureTalk: What Are the Pros and Cons?
- Plans to meet a variety of needs
- Throttled data speeds on all plans faster than most at 256Kbps
- Supports tablets, hotspots, and watches
- Discounts on phones available
- Family plan discounts available
- Pricing a little on the expensive side
- No in person customer support
Phone Plans
Data Only Plans
How PureTalk Plans Work
PureTalk was founded in 2004 originally as Pure TalkUSA and it is a subsidiary of Telrite Holdings as is its sister brand H2O Wireless. It is owned and operated by a USA veteran. The company asserts that they “proudly support our active-duty military and veterans by partnering with numerous military organizations.”
PureTalk operates as an AT&T MVNO, which means that if you signup for a plan with PureTalk you will get service on AT&T’s network.
In early October of 2020, Pure TalkUSA launched a redesigned website, a new logo, and rebranded to just PureTalk. A new tagline was also launched: “Simply. Smarter. Wireless.”
Risk-Free Guarantee
The company prides itself on being able to offer USA based customer service and a risk-free guarantee. New customers have until either their next month’s bill or 500 minutes or 500MB of data usage, whichever comes first, to request a refund if they are unhappy with their service. Refunds are credited back to the original payment method. Service plans, SIM cards, and any applicable taxes are all eligible to be refunded. Customers must not port out to another provider before requesting a refund. Devices and phones are not included in the risk-free guarantee. However, devices can still be returned for a refund as long as the customer contacts customer service and requests a refund within 14 days of receiving the device. Customers must pay for return shipping.
PureTalk Offers 7 Phone Plans
PureTalk offers 7 standard phone plans.
- $20/month – 3GB high-speed data, 2GB of dedicated hotspot data
- $25/month – 5GB high-speed data, 2GB of dedicated hotspot data
- $30/month – 10GB high-speed data, 5GB of dedicated hotspot data
- $35/month – 15GB high-speed data, 5GB of dedicated hotspot data
- $45/month – 25GB high-speed data, 5GB dedicated hotspot data
- $55/month – 60GB high-speed data. 25GB dedicated hotspot data.
- $60/month – 60GB high-speed data. 30GB dedicated hotspot data.
Taxes and fees are not included in the prices and will cost extra. All plans include dedicated mobile hotspot data that does not count towards the plan’s 5G/4G LTE on-device high-speed data usage.
All of the standard plans include the same basic features.
In late January of 2022, PureTalk added support for eSIM devices on iPhones only with support for Samsung Galaxy phones added later.
Basic Features Included With Every PureTalk Plan
- Unlimited talk, text, and data
- Mobile hotspot
- WiFi calling
- VoLTE HD voice calling
- Ability to add international calling to a plan
- 1080p HD video streaming
- No data prioritization policies
Fine Print You Need To Know About Every Plan Feature
Although all plans include unlimited data, data speeds are not unlimited at high-speeds. Each plan comes with a finite amount of high-speed data which is highlighted in the plans listed above and further down below. Once that threshold is reached, data speeds get reduced to 256Kbps for the remainder of the subscriber’s billing cycle. Subscribers are billed on the same date every month. Data speeds at 256Kbps are best suited for emails, light web usage, basic social media, streaming audio, and possibly low-resolution video streaming. PureTalk updated and improved its throttled data speeds from 128Kbps to 256Kbps in January of 2022.
According to PureTalk, customers can expect high-speed data speeds to be in the range of 1 to 35 Mbps. Download speeds should vary between 4 and 35Mbps and upload 1 to 5Mbps. Network latency should be less than 60ms. Data speeds are said to remain stable during network congestion as PureTalk does not use data deprioritization. Data prioritization is typically used by other providers to temporarily slow a subscriber’s data speeds down during times of heavy network traffic but PureTalk says this won’t happen to its subscribers.
WiFi calling is supported with all plans on both Androids and iPhones.
Mobile hotspot is also supported and enabled for all iPhones. Android users will need to contact PureTalk to ask them if it can be enabled. Not all Android devices will support hotspot, and some Android phones bought from another carrier may have the feature blocked by the phone’s firmware when attempting to use it with another provider.
International calling is supported but customers must contact customer support to purchase an international PIN to enable the feature. International texting is not supported.
Videos stream at a resolution of 1080p. Tablets plans are also available.
$50 Customer Referral Program
PureTalk runs a pretty generous referral program. Those that refer a friend receive a $50 account credit. Customers can accumulate an unlimited number of referral credits. Subscribers will not receive their referral credit until after their referee completes their second month of active service.
Multi-Line Discounts Are Available
Customers who have multiple lines are eligible for a group plan discount. Adding a 2nd line gives 10% off, 3 lines 15% off and a 4th line 20% off the total cost of the combined plans price.
Secret Discounts, Plans, And Bonus Offers
Those who are members of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) are eligible for special plans and promos from PureTalk. AMAC subscriptions start at $16/year. AMAC members have the option to purchase an additional PureTalk phone plan that is not readily available directly through Pure Talk’s website. The extra plan is the following:
- $10/month – 400 minutes, 300 text messages, 300 MB of monthly data
Like PureTalk’s other plans, this AMAC exclusive plan does include unlimited data at 2G speeds or 128Kbps once the plan’s high-speed data allotment gets consumed.
Besides the bonus phone plan, exclusive phone deals are sometimes available for AMAC members. One example has included the ability to get an iPhone SE for free, whereas on the PureTalk website it was being offered for $149.99 to non-AMAC members. New PureTalk subscribers that are currently AMAC subscribers can also get a 3-year renewal of their AMAC membership paid for by PureTalk. The membership renewal fee is valued at $42.
The discounted plans can be purchased through AMAC or through a special page on PureTalk’s website that also gives you a free 3-year AMAC membership.
PureTalk
This wireless plan's guide is part of BestMVNO's comprehensive coverage of PureTalk. See BestMVNO's coverage of the latest PureTalk news or visit the links below to sign up for service, or configure your APN settings.