T-Mobile Prepaid’s Plan Updates Are a Mixed Bag and You Probably Shouldn’t Sign Up for Them

T-Mobile is rolling out new prepaid plans starting June 24. Thanks to Max Hietpas for sharing the early details with BestMVNO.

The update includes three revised (or new) plans, while one existing plan appears to be on the chopping block. As expected, T-Mobile is marketing the revisions as improvements. However, these changes involve a mix of feature upgrades, downgrades, and price hikes.

T-Mobile Prepaid's Pending Plan Changes

Here's a breakdown of what's changing at each price point:

$40 Plan

Moving forward, the $40 plan will be known as Starter Monthly instead of just T-Mobile Prepaid 10GB. The plan is getting a data allotment increase to 15GB and presumably will still have hotspot use. Unfortunately, the base price of the plan is no longer $40/month, it is being increased to $45. In order to get it at $40 you'll need to enable autopay billing.

$50 Plan

The $50 plan will be called Unlimited Monthly. Nothing is changing with this plan except the price which will still be $50/month, unless you enable autopay billing to lower it to $45/month. It will continue to include unlimited hotspot at 3G data speeds.

T-Mobile claims (and correctly) that it is now the lowest price carrier branded prepaid unlimited data plan on the market. Verizon and AT&T's branded prepaid plans start at about $5/month higher.

$60 Plan

The $60 plan will keep its name, Unlimited Plus (Monthly). Outside of that, this plan is seeing the most changes. It does gain talk and text roaming while traveling in Canada and Mexico and there are two negative changes. The base price will now be $65/month without autopay billing enabled, and $60 with it enabled. Full speed hotspot on the plan is being downgraded from 10GB to 5GB.

Taxes and fees will continue to cost extra for each plan. T-Mobile is introducing a 5-Year price guarantee for all plans matching the guarantee it recently added to its Metro plans. The updated unlimited plans will continue to include 50GB of premium data before being deprioritized and video streaming remains at 480p.

$55 Plan

Absent from T-Mobile's press release is a mention of their $55/month plan, which includes unlimited talk, text, and 5G data, 3GB of full speed hotspot, and talk and text roaming in Canada and Mexico. With some of these features appearing in the revised plans, it’s likely this plan is being phased out.

Why You May Want to Avoid These Plans

Most customers seeking service on T-Mobile's network should probably skip these T-Mobile Prepaid offerings and look elsewhere for their service needs. T-Mobile's other prepaid brands including Metro by T-Mobile, Ultra Mobile, and Mint Mobile will offer you more value for less. For instance, Metro by T-Mobile offers a truly unlimited data plan for BYOD customers for $25/month although it does lack hotspot. However, that's half the price of T-Mobile Prepaid's base unlimited plan and the Metro plan actually includes taxes and fees. Metro also has a $40/month unlimited plan.

Mint Mobile is offering a truly unlimited plan at a deal price of just $20/month when prepaid for annually. It renews at $30/month and it does include hotspot access. This is half the price of T-Mobile Prepaid's flagship unlimited plan although having to prepay for a year of service in advance to get it is not something I'm a fan of.

Ultra Mobile has a similar plan offering available with a focus on more international features. It's also on sale for $20/month as an annual plan offering but renews at $40/month. Aside from the annual plan commitments, and this goes for Metro's plans too, the plans also lack any priority data access. However, I don't think that's worth paying double for, particularly on T-Mobile's network.

Alternatives to T-Mobile Prepaid's Monthly Starter Plan

Some T-Mobile MVNOs like Google Fi, US Mobile, and Tello will also offer you much better values.

• Google Fi: 30GB premium data plan for $17.50/month (first year, normally $35). No hotspot included, but includes priority data.
• Tello Mobile: 35GB high-speed data (5GB hotspot) for $15/month (3-month promo pricing; regular price is $25/month).
• US Mobile: 35GB with 10GB hotspot for $25/month (taxes and fees included).

T-Mobile’s revamped prepaid lineup is a mixed bag. While there are a few small upgrades, they come with price hikes and reduced features in some cases, especially if you don’t use autopay. Compared to what’s available from other T-Mobile-powered carriers, it's this author's opinion that most customers will find much better value by skipping these T-Mobile Prepaid plans. Do you agree with that assessment or has some other hidden value of the plans been overlooked?