Hey friend,

Stetson here.

Every January I go through my database of over 1,000 cell phone plans and update them all.

I update prices. Data amounts. International perks and features. I’ll even go through the checkout process to update the total price after taxes and fees.

It’s not exactly glamorous work. (Some may call it a touch tedious).

But I enjoy it.

One of the things I enjoy most is seeing exactly WHAT changed year-over-year between plans.

So, during the process I take notes of exactly that.

Here are all my notes for the plan changes we saw in 2025:

P.S. - Before the LONG list of everything that changed, I want to let you know I am going live TONIGHT at 8pm ET and picking out the best cell phone plans for 2026. Join the live stream and vote on what plans you think are best!

Cell Phone Plan Changes in 2025

• Affinity Cellular

  • $20 3GB → 5GB

  • $25 5GB → 7GB

  • $35 10GB → 12GB

  • Broadband facts indicate new $0.03 per MB data overage charge ($30 per GB)

• Astound Mobile

  • $25 3GB → $20

  • Unlimited+ $50 → $40

• AT&T

  • NEW Age 55+ plan

    • Unlimited minutes, texts, data, & 10GB hotspot for $40

    • $70 for 2 lines ($35/line)

• AT&T Business

  • Business Unlimited Advanced

    • $70 → $55*

    • 50GB priority → 75GB priority

  • Business Unlimited Premium 2.0

    • $80 → $65*

  • Business Unlimited Premium 2.0 with Turbo → NEW

  • *the discount is only because AT&T is giving customers a $15/mo discount when you purchase a smartphone on a 36-month financing agreement

• AT&T Prepaid

  • $25 16GB annual plan → $20

  • $33 8GB 3-month plan → discontinued

  • $50.99 Unlimited Level Up → $25 Unlimited Basic

  • $45 Unlimited Basic → $40 Unlimited Essentials

  • $50 AT&T Prepaid Unlimited → Discontinued

  • All monthly AT&T Prepaid plans are now eligible for AT&T Level Up

    • AT&T Level Up: Pay on time for six months and when you’re ready, move to postpaid to get access to the latest phones with $0 down and interest-free financing—regardless of your credit score

• Black Wireless

  • Taxes & fees included → excluded ($2.97 flat fee on all plans)

  • $10 talk & text plan → NEW

  • $30 3-month talk & text plan → NEW

  • $100 12-month talk & text plan → NEW

  • $15 200 mins, 200 texts, 500MB → discontinued

  • $30 10GB → $50

  • $40 22GB → $70

• Boom Mobile

  • Boom Red $13 1GB, 1200 minutes → $15

  • Kind of weird, but all Boom plans went from $39.99 → $40 (for example); no more $.99 pricing

  • Boom Purple $10 1GB, 1200 minutes → NEW

  • Boom Purple $53 50GB → $50

• Consumer Cellular

  • $45 20GB → NEW

• Credo Mobile

  • Credo Mobile has a $36 activation fee?!!

• Eco Mobile

  • $50 unlimited → 30GB (it was probably 30GB the whole time and I just had it entered incorrectly)

• FirstNet

  • $40 Unlimited Standard → $43 FirstNet Unlimited

• Flex Mobile

  • Flex Basic → Flex Standard (just a name change)

• Gen Mobile

  • $20 4GB → 5GB

  • $30 7GB → 11GB

  • $40 16GB → 17GB

  • $50 35GB → 45GB

  • $60 35GB → 45GB

  • Primary coverage appears to be T-Mobile. In-store resellers may be able to offer AT&T SIMs.

  • Gen Mobile now charges a $39 activation fee for all 1-month plans (guys, WHAT?)

    • Activation fee is waived for 3-month versions of the plans

• Good2Go Mobile

  • Good2Go Mobile officially shuts down its T-Mobile network and becomes and AT&T-only MVNO

• Google Fi

  • NEW Unlimited Essentials

    • $35 for 30GB high-speed data

    • No hotspot

    • Free smartwatch line

  • Simply Unlimited → Unlimited Standard

    • 35GB → 50GB high-speed data

    • 5GB → 25GB hotspot

    • 35GB in CAN & MEX → 50GB in CAN & MEX

  • Unlimited Plus → Unlimited Premium

    • 50GB → 100GB high-speed data

    • Included hotspot → 50GB hotspot

    • 50GB in CAN & MEX → 100GB in CAN & MEX

• H2O Wireless

  • Added support for talk, text, and data roaming in 80+ countries

  • Free international calls to 70+ countries → 100+ countries

• Lyca Mobile

  • T-Mobile network → AT&T network

  • $15 500MB → 1GB

  • $19 3GB → 5GB, talk and text in Canada & Mexico

  • $23 5GB → 8GB, talk and text in Canada & Mexico

  • $29 10GB → 15GB, talk and text in Canada & Mexico

  • $33 12GB → 18GB, talk and text in Canada & Mexico

  • $39 15GB → 25GB, talk and text in Canada & Mexico

  • $49 40GB, 10GB hotspot → 15GB hotspot, 5GB roaming in Canada & Mexico

  • $59 60GB, 10GB hotspot → 40GB, 25GB hotspot, 5GB roaming in Canada & Mexico

• MobileX

  • $30 30GB → 50GB

  • New 3-, 6-, and 12-month options available with 5%, 10%, and 20% discounts respectively for the Unlimited 10 and Unlimited 30 plans

• Optimum Mobile

  • $25 3GB → 5GB

  • Hotspot appears to have been removed from the 1GB and 5GB plans (previously was 600Kbps hotspot data)

  • The unlimited plans previously said "priority data” on the BestPhonePlans website, but I think that was a mistake. I believe these are QCI 7 (deprioritized) on the T-Mobile network, with speeds slowed to 512Kbps after you reach your high-speed allotment.

• Red Pocket

  • $10 1GB → 3GB

  • $20 10GB → 20GB

  • $30 50GB, 5GB hotspot → 50GB then unlimited @ 150Mbps (AT&T only, T-Mobile and Verizon stop at 50GB), 10GB hotspot

    • Roaming in 25+ countries → roaming in 60+ countries

  • $40 50GB, 20GB hotspot → discontinued

• Simple Mobile

  • $25 3GB 

    • 3GB → 15GB

    • No international texting → free international texting

    • International calling to 69 countries → 100 countries; plus $10 calling credit

    • No roaming in Canada → 300 minutes, unlimited texts, 3GB in Canada

  • $30 5GB

    • 5GB → 20GB

    • No international texting → free international texting

    • International calling to 69 countries → 125 countries; plus $10 calling credit

    • No roaming in Canada → 300 minutes, unlimited texts, 5GB in Canada

  • $40 15GB 

    • 15GB → 30GB

    • No international texting → free international texting

    • 15GB in Mexico → 5GB in Mexico

    • No roaming in Canada → 300 minutes, unlimited texts, 5GB in Canada

  • $50 Unlimited + 5GB hotspot 

    • 5GB hotspot → 20GB hotspot

    • No international texting → free international texting

    • International calling to 69 countries → 200+ countries; plus $15 calling credit

    • Unlimited in Mexico → 5GB in Mexico

    • No roaming in Canada → 300 minutes, unlimited texts, 5GB in Canada

  • $60 Unlimited + 15GB hotspot

    • Deprioritized data → priority data

    • 15GB hotspot → 30GB hotspot

    • No international texting → free international texting

    • International calling to 69 countries → 200+ countries; plus $20 calling credit

    • Unlimited in Mexico → 10GB in Mexico

    • International roaming in 17 countries → 10GB in 140+ countries

    • No roaming in Canada → 300 minutes, unlimited texts, 10GB in Canada

• SmartLess Mobile

  • $15 5GB → discontinued

    • There was already a $15 10GB plan, so made no sense for there to be a 5GB plan at the same price

  • $30 30GB → NEW

• Spectrum Mobile

  • Spectrum Mobile Unlimited Plus

    • 5GB in Canada & Mexico → 10GB

    • Pay-per-use international data → 10GB in 190+ countries

• Straight Talk

  • $25 Unlimited → discontinued (I think it was a promotional plan)

  • Silver Unlimited

    • $130 ($43.33/mo) 3 months → $120 ($40/mo)

    • $255 ($42.50.mo) 6 months → $210 ($35/mo)

    • $495 ($41.25/mo) 12 months → $360 ($30/mo)

  • Does the Bronze 10GB plan include hotspot data??? Before I have noted it was 5GB

  • Gold Unlimited

    • Deprioritized → priority data

  • Platinum Unlimited

    • Deprioritized → priority data

    • International calls to 200+ countries → 60+ countries

  • Unlimited International → discontinued

• T-Mobile

  • Go5G → discontinued

  • Go5G Plus → discontinued 

  • Better Value Plan → NEW

  • Experience More → NEW

  • Experience Beyond → NEW

• T-Mobile Business

  • New business plans launched August, 2025

  • Business Unlimited Select → discontinued

  • Business Unlimited Advanced → discontinued

  • Business Unlimited Ultimate → discontinued

  • Business Unlimited Edge → discontinued

  • CoreMobile → NEW

  • ProMobile → NEW

  • SuperMobile → NEW

• Tello

  • Tello Unlimited

    • 35GB → 50GB

    • 5GB hotspot → 10GB hotspot

• TextNow

  • $1 for 300MB 1 hour pass → discontinued

  • $5 for 2GB 24 hour pass → discontinued

  • $9 for 5GB 1 week → new

  • $40 10GB → $36 20GB

• Ting

  • $55 35GB → 33GB

• Total Wireless

  • $60 5G Unlimited+ added an extra $10 of international long distance calling credit

• Tracfone

  • $50 unlimited data, 15GB hotspot → NEW

  • International talk & text to Canada and Mexico added to the $40, $30, and $20 plans

  • $17 2GB per 3 month plan → discontinued

• Trump Mobile

  • Taxes and fees decreased from $14.52 to $4.12

• Ultra Mobile

  • $15 250MB → Discontinued

  • $13 500MB → NEW (only available in 3, 6, or 12 months though, no 1 month option)

  • $19 3GB → 4GB

  • $24 5GB → 8GB

  • $29 10GB → 12GB (temporary promo makes it 25GB)

  • $39 15GB → 24GB

  • International texting increased from 90+ countries to 200+ countries

  • The one-time international roaming credit increased from $10 to $15 on Unlimited+

  • The one-time international roaming credit increased from $5 to $10 on Unlimited

• Unreal Mobile

  • Plans were previously only available in 3-month or 12-month options; now they are available in 1-month and 12-month options

  • Taxes & fees extra → taxes & fees included

  • The Mini

    • $15 5GB (12 months) → $20 10GB (12 months)

    • 100MB in Canada & Mexico → 1GB

  • The Midi

    • $25 20GB (12 months) → 25GB

    • 5GB hotspot → use all 25GB as hotspot

    • International calling to 80+ countries → international calling to 20 countries

    • 100MB in Canada & Mexico → 1GB

  • The Max

    • $30 30GB (12 months) → $35 50GB (12 months)

    • International calling to 80+ countries → international calling to 20 countries

    • 100MB in Canada & Mexico → 1GB

• Visible

  • Visible+

    • $45 → $35

    • Annual price $395 → $375

    • 50GB priority → Unlimited priority

    • 480po/720p video streaming → 720p/1080p video streaming

    • Apple Watch included → $10 add-on

    • International texting to 200 countries → Canada & Mexico only

    • 500 minutes international calls to 30 countries → Canada & Mexico only

  • Visible+ Pro → NEW

    • $45/mo

    • $450/year

    • Unlimited priority

    • 15 Mbps hotspot

    • 1080p/4K video streaming

    • Apple Watch included

    • International texting to 200 countries

    • 500 minutes to 85 countries

    • 2GB/day in Canada and Mexico

    • 2 international days per month

• Xfinity Mobile

  • $50 Unlimited Premium → NEW

    • 100GB priority data

    • 30GB hotspot

    • 4K video streaming

• Xfinity NOW

  • Taxes & fees extra → included (they could have also been included this whole time, idk)

• Walmart Family Mobile

  • $19.88 4GB → NEW

  • $25 5GB → $23.88 8GB

  • $30 10GB → $33.88 20GB

  • $40 40GB → discontinued

  • $50 unlimited → $47.38

Help me pick the best cell phone plans of 2026!

After updating the cell phone plans, I think it’s time to pick out which ones are the best ones.

Join me live tonight at 8pm ET to vote on your favorite plans and which ones you think are best!

→ Tune in here

I hope you found this email helpful!

Happy Monday,

Stetson

P.S. - Download the free Coverage Map app for iPhone and Android to see which carrier has the best coverage in your area