Mint Mobile: what is it, and is it worth it?

Mint Mobile: what is information technology, and is it worth information technology?

(Prototype credit: Future)

Mint Mobile is the new cool kid on the block when it comes to talking about cheap prison cell phone carriers. No doubt the service'south fairly contempo association with function-owner Ryan Reynolds has helped information technology gain some notoriety in the usually cut-and-dried earth of inexpensive phone plans. If you're wondering what all the fuss is well-nigh, or are peradventure researching Mint Mobile for a potential switch, this folio should exist a fantastic starting point. We've summarized everything you need to know nigh this carrier in an like shooting fish in a barrel-to-read 101 guide.

Simply put, you don't need any prior knowledge of Mint Mobile to make use of this page. We're breaking downwards what Mint Mobile is exactly, how this company operates, and how much you'll exist looking to pay per month - should you lot sign up. We're also including links to the free trial, information on Mint Mobile's coverage and network, and also a couple of worthy competitors to check out considering Mint Mobile isn't the but inexpensive prepaid carrier in town correct at present...

Visit Mint Mobile'south prison cell telephone plans page

Mint Mobile 101

What is Mint Mobile?

Mint Mobile is a prepaid cellular provider
It operates under the larger T-Mobile network
With Mint Mobile plans, yous pay upfront for a set amount of months
Three month, six month, and yearly plans are available
The longer the service programme, the cheaper the cost per month on average
There are no service contracts with Mint Mobile
Mint Mobile plans offer 5G, mobile hotspotting, and competitive data allowances
Yeah, information technology'due south partly owned by Ryan Reynolds...

How much does Mint Mobile cost?

Mint Mobile plans range in cost from $15 to $30 per month, depending on how much data y'all program to use and how fast you plan to chew through information technology. Here'due south a detailed breakdown of what the company'southward four price package take to offering:

Is Mint Mobile any skilful?

Value
Mint Mobile really stands out from the crowd when it comes to value. To put it bluntly, Mint Mobile's plans offering a ton of data for the money - way more than than some pay-per-month competitors. To requite you some idea of what we're talking near, Mint'southward unlimited data plan comes in at $10 a month cheaper than Visible Wireless (probably its main competitor), and about half the toll of a postpaid plan at AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon. Add in complimentary mobile hot-spotting and 5G information speeds and you lot're getting a lot for your money at Mint Mobile.

No contracts and simple pricing
Like most prepaid carriers, Mint Mobile has a fairly what-you-see is what-you-get way of operating. All y'all basically demand to do is order a SIM card, activate information technology in your phone, and you lot're essentially skilful to become. There are no contracts to sign, no hidden fees, and if you want out all you have to do is terminate paying for the service. Of course, the multi-month payment scheme will mean you'll lose a bit of that initial investment if you decide to jump transport earlier your months are upward - but it's still a much more consumer-friendly prepare than having to pay off the huge fee that'south often incurred at i of the bigger carriers.

What are the drawbacks to Mint Mobile?

Accept to pay upfront for multi-month
Paying upfront for a multi-month plan tin be a significant investment, especially if you're looking at signing up for a whole twelvemonth. For example, sign up for a year of the Mint Mobile unlimited data programme and you'll exist looking at paying $360 upfront. Of course, you won't be billed once again for the elapsing of your plan, only that'south non exactly chump alter for most people. However, if you do have the cash to pay for a yr upfront, we strongly recommend doing so as it'll work out as the cheapest pick in the long run should you stick with Mint.

Deprioritization
Equally with all smaller prepaid carriers (MVNOs, short for mobile virtual network operators), Mint Mobile is subject to something chosen 'deprioritization'. Put simply, the parent network that Mint Mobile uses - T-Mobile in this case, volition boring down smaller network users data speeds when traffic is heavy in favor of their ain client's speeds. This isn't unique to Mint Mobile, in fact nearly all smaller companies accept this caveat, but it'south worth bearing in mind overall. Your mileage is going to vary wildly based on your local network traffic as well.

Mint Mobile: FAQ

Mint mobile plans best cheap — (Paradigm credit: Mint Mobile)

What network does Mint Mobile use?

Mint Mobile uses the T-Mobile network simply operates independently as its own company. Mint Mobile is what's commonly referred to as an 'MVNO', which is a company that provides cellular service but doesn't actually own the infrastructure itself. Simply put, if you happen to become good T-Mobile coverage and so you'll be good-to-become with Mint Mobile (also see Mint Mobile's coverage page).

All phones compatible with the GSM networks (AT&T, T-Mobile) should be fully compatible with Mint Mobile, granted they're unlocked. If y'all'd similar to come across whether your phone is compatible, and then you tin can utilize this handy page over at the Mint site.

How is Mint Mobile and then inexpensive?

Dissimilar traditional carriers, Mint Mobile doesn't operate out of whatever physical stores nationwide - which probably ensures they can proceed those running costs downwardly to a bare minimum. Mint also probably doesn't have to pay budget for physical maintenance on the network they utilize, beingness essentially a renter on the larger T-Mobile network. The business also historically hasn't paid much to run ads through traditional means - although we know this is of grade changing at present, with various high-profile TV ads being aired recently.

Information technology'south probable the Mint Mobile pricing system is a contributing gene to overall toll likewise. Selling jail cell telephone plans in increments of three, six, or twelve months probably keeps subscribers retained at a higher rate in comparing to the traditional prepaid pay-monthly model, and allows them to have a more consistent revenue stream. If that's the instance, then it could but exist high time we saw this sort of pricing system being implemented at other carriers presently.

How can I endeavor Mint Mobile?

The Mint Mobile free trial! Dissimilar nearly prepaid carriers, Mint Mobile will allow yous to sign upwardly for a costless vii-day trial to see whether the service is for you. Of course, being but 7-days and with an allowance of 250MB data, 250 minutes, and 250 texts doesn't exactly make it the longest of trials, just hey - information technology's free and a cracking style to try your luck.

Note - yous will need to provide your credit card details to exist eligible for the Mint Mobile costless trial, but y'all won't be charged unless y'all determine to carry on your trial after your vii-days are up.

What practice customers say nearly Mint Mobile?

Luckily for us, customers across the internet are pretty eager to leave their ain Mint Mobile review on a number of sites - especially Trust Pilot, where the service maintains an overall score of 4.7 stars out of 5. All in all, that's a pretty stellar score overall - particularly when compared to other carriers like Visible (1.vi stars), Verizon (1.3 stars), T-Mobile (1.vi stars), and AT&T (1 star). Nosotros read quite a few of these Mint Mobile reviews when compiling this article, and so far it seems that, as expected, the overall value is the standout area of praise with the service.

That said, we did find a few examples where customers left a negative Mint Mobile review. Trust Airplane pilot examples like this and this singled out the service equally existence patchy and fairly slow, and we as well found some other good case over at the Mint Mobile subreddit. The good news is, notwithstanding, that with all examples nosotros found the Mint Mobile client service was proactive in responding to whatsoever negative feedback left via Mint Mobile reviews.

What alternatives to Mint Mobile should I consider?

We'd single out Visible Wireless equally the primary competitor to Mint Mobile right now when it comes to great value prepaid plans. Visible only offers 1 plan - an unlimited data plan - but what it lacks in options it makes up in the fact information technology's completely unlimited, uses the Verizon 5G network, and has options to go the price as low as just $25 per month. While normally priced at $40 a month, if you parcel your plan together with iii other Visible customers via the Political party Pay organization (like a pseudo 'family plan') you lot'll pay merely $25 a month. That'due south quite frankly outstanding value but it's worth noting that existence under the Verizon network (while Mint operates under T-Mobile) means that not all devices will be compatible with both services.

For a straight-up alternative to Mint Mobile that uses the same T-Mobile infrastructure for its service, yous'll desire to check out Metro. This prepaid carrier is a direct subsidiary of T-Mobile and offers a few more options all around for those on a upkeep - starting with the 10GB programme for $40 a calendar month. In general, Metro's plans are a piffling more 'premium' than Mint'southward with things like gratis streaming service subscriptions and such. Unlike Mint Mobile, Metro'south unlimited information plan doesn't characteristic any soft information caps, although coming in at $60 a month makes information technology a much costlier option.

If y'all're looking for some other 'buy-in-bulk' prepaid carrier, you could also consider AT&T'southward prepaid service. That starts at just $25 a month for the 8GB plan if yous pay for the 12-month plan although you will have to forgo things like 5G access here. That's a real bummer in our optics, just if you do happen to go the all-time service with AT&T in your area, it's definitely a stronger option if you lot're on a upkeep than the traditional postpaid plans.

If yous're looking for even more options, nosotros recommend checking out our main best prepaid phone plans page.

Verdict: Is Mint Mobile worth it?

Mint mobile phones best — (Paradigm credit: Mint Mobile)

Verdict: Is Mint Mobile worth information technology?

If you're looking for an inexpensive, no-frills prepaid cell phone program then the respond is definitely yes - Mint Mobile is absolutely worth it. As a service, it'southward definitely non the most characteristic-laden - especially when compared to rival carriers - but for sheer value, it definitely takes some beating.

Mint Mobile is, in our opinion, specially good value on the set data allowance plans - especially the 10GB/mo and 15GB/mo plans, which should sit in that Goldilocks zone for most people. If you lot don't need tons of information, both of these are good options since they generally come in cheaper than the competition and Mint's ain unlimited plan.

Speaking of which, the Mint Mobile unlimited programme is also bang-up value coming in at, on average, $10 a calendar month cheaper than the completion. Strict information speed caps after 35GB and limited mobile hotspot assart (just 5GB) volition exist a big drawback for some, however, and it's hard to recommend it as a 'true' unlimited data plan like Visible, for example. Notwithstanding, with a relatively low barrier of entry thanks to the starter kit being so cheap, Mint Mobile is an like shooting fish in a barrel recommendation.

More pages on Mint Mobile to check out

Here at TechRadar, nosotros've got a page covering every aspect of this great prepaid carrier. Our guide to this month's best Mint Mobile plans is here to help yous decide how much information yous need, and also cover bones queries near what's exactly in the fine impress. Our page on this calendar month's Mint Mobile deals is great if you're all set with Mint and desire to cheque out the best ways to save some cash on a new device. And finally, our guide to the all-time Mint Mobile phones is perfect if you're wanting some handy recommendations on what device to pair up with Mint to brand the most of that speedy 5G connectedness.

Alex is deals editor at Future PLC and an accommodating adept at one affair - saving readers as much greenbacks as possible while scoring them the best products for their needs. With content that's always packed total of helpful data, no-nonsense expertise, and of course deals, Alex has also written for other leading sites such as T3 and GamesRadar. At work, y'all'll find him generally covering computing, gaming, and advising people on how to save on their cell telephone plans. Exterior of work, yous'll find him playing guitar, indulging his dear for music, or down at the local climbing gym mostly hanging off boulders far also difficult for his abilities.