Individual vs. Family Cell Phone Plans: The Benefits of Each and the Essential Plans

It’s almost impossible to meet someone who doesn’t have a cell phone plan, whether they have their own plan, or if they’re part of a family plan. A cell phone plan is a crucial part of everyday life and you can use it to communicate with loved ones, scroll through social media, or to even play games on.

There are individual and family cell phone plans to choose from, and there are a ton of pros and cons to each. From saving more money with family plans, getting entertainment perks, paying for cheaper unlimited data for individual plans, we have plenty of options.

Choosing a cell phone plan shouldn’t be hard, so let’s check out some of the best reasons to choose an individual plan or a family plan, and which carriers to go through!

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Pros and Cons of Both Individual and Family Cell Phone Plans

It is important to choose a cell phone plan that perfectly fits all of your needs, whether it’s an individual or family one!

It can be difficult to find the best cell phone plan that fits  your budget and is great for either just you, or includes the features that your family needs. Individual and family plans are very popular to choose from, but it’s also important to know what the pros and cons are of each of them.

Add as Many Lines as You Need for a Family Plan

The main difference between a family plan and an individual plan is that it can hold two or more lines, while an individual plan is for one singular person. While this is self-explanatory, it is important to note that to qualify for a family plan, you don’t need to have four or more lines and you can have as little as two to consider it this type of plan.

Individual Plans Are Inexpensive

If you just need a cell phone plan for yourself, an individual plan is the best thing to get. Depending on the carrier that you choose to have a plan through, you can pay ultra low prices since you’re only paying for yourself. Family plans tend to run higher due to the fact that they consist of two or more lines. The perk with family plans is that most carriers offer a deal where the more lines that you add on your plan, the more money that you can save in the long run. 

The Same Features Can Be Included in Both Types of Plans

A great perk when it comes to selecting either an individual or family plan is the fact that you both get the same benefits. Just because someone has a family plan doesn’t mean that they get more features that their family can utilize, people with individual plans can enjoy all of the same features.

There are a ton of features that are included in a cell phone plan that can consist of the following:

• Unlimited talk and text
• Set data allotment or unlimited plans
• Free and unlimited talk and text to Canada and Mexico
• International talk and text available
• Mobile hotspot available
• 4G LTE and 5G data usage available
• Bring your own phone or purchase a new smartphone
• And more!

Can Choose a Large Carrier or MVNO for Both

Another great thing about choosing either an individual cell phone plan or a family one is that you can go through either a large carrier, such as AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon Wireless, or a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO. 

While with a plan through a larger carrier, you will tend to pay more, you will get some of the best service and coverage that is extremely reliable. An MVNO is a carrier that shares one or more of the networks of the big three, but the main difference is that the price of their plans are significantly less. For example, you can save up to $600 per year just by switching to an MVNO without having to sacrifice good network coverage.

Top 3 Best Individual Cell Phone Plans

Choosing an individual plan can be tough, but here are three that you won’t want to miss out on!

Choosing the best individual cell phone plan shouldn’t be difficult. There are many plans to choose from that will agree with your wallet and are perfect if you’re in a budget-friendly situation. 

Check out these top three best individual cell phone plans that can work well for your wallet no matter what you’re looking for!

Mint Mobile

One of the best individual cell phone carriers that can help you save hundreds of dollars per year is through Mint Mobile. These prepaid plans are great in both price, and also with what features are offered. You can choose a three-month, six-month, or a year-long plan. 

There are so many incredible features that are included no matter what plan you choose through Mint Mobile:

• Unlimited talk and text
• Set data allotment plans or unlimited plans offered
• Three-month, six-month, or year-long plans available
• T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G coverage
• High-speed 5G data 
• Free calling to Mexico and Canada
• Free 3-in-1 SIM card included when you sign up
• Free mobile hotspot included in all plans
• Wi-Fi calling and texting
• Keep your current phone or buy a new one
• Keep your current phone number or get a new one
• Keep your contacts, photos, and apps when you switch plans
• Mint Mobile app available to make payments and more

Here are some of the best plans that you can choose through Mint Mobile:

• $15 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and 4GB of data
• $20 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and 10GB of data
• $25 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and 15GB of data
• $30 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and data

Tello

If you want to enjoy some of the lowest priced cell phone plans that you can find, then Tello is the best MVNO for you. Known for offering some of the best priced prepaid plans for as low as $10 per line per month, you can enjoy T-Mobile’s fast and reliable service and coverage and unlimited plans as well.

Tello offers many features on their plans depending on which on you sign up for, but they can include all of the following:

• T-Mobile’s fast high-speed 5G nationwide service and coverage
• 4G LTE and 5G speeds available depending on your cell phone
• Unlimited texting available on all plans
• Free mobile hotspot included on all data plans
• Can use minutes in over 60+ international countries
• Plans automatically renew every thirty days
• No contract prepaid plans
• Can cancel at any time with no early termination fees
• Can upgrade or downgrade plan at any time with no extra fees
• Wi-Fi calling available
• Bring your own cell phone and number
• Buy smartphone if needed through online store
• Incredible customer service

With so many cell phone plans to choose from through Tello, here are some of the most noteworthy plans to choose:

• $10 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and 1GB of data
• $14 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and 2GB of data
• $19 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and 5GB of data
• $24 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and 10GB of data
• $29 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and data

Google Fi

Are you someone who travels a ton, whether it’s all around the country, or internationally? If you’re looking for a plan that has some of the best international benefits, is affordable, and also has some of the best unlimited plans, Google Fi is a great choice. One of the biggest perks of Google Fi is that you can use Verizon Wireless, AT&T, or T-Mobile’s network depending on what is available in your area.

Some of the features that are included in almost all of the Google Fi plans range from:

• Unlimited talk and text
• Unlimited high-speed 5G data
• T-Mobile’s 5G nationwide service and coverage
• No contracts or activation fees
• Built-in VPN and spam blocking
• Data budgets available
• Contact controls available
• 24/7 customer support
• Easily switch plans whenever you want to
• Use Fi app to manage your account anytime
• Mobile hotspot available on some plans
• Entertainment perks available
• 100GB of cloud storage available on some plans
• Free unlimited international talk and text to Canada and Mexico
• Free talk and text to over 200+ countries on some plans

There are three main plans to choose from Google Fi that include a pay-as-you-go data plan and two unlimited ones:

• Flexible - $17 per line per month plus for unlimited talk, text, and $10 per GB of data used 
• Simply Unlimited  - $20 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and data
• Unlimited Plus - $40 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, data, and mobile hotspot

Top Three Best Family Cell Phone Plans

There are many family cell phone plans that are perfect no matter how many lines you need on your plan!

Just like with individual plans, there are also a ton of family plans that you can choose from with features that will please everyone. No matter if you just need two-lines or up to five-lines, everyone in the family can enjoy some great features, including entertainment perks, and even unlimited data.

Let’s check out three of the best family cell phone plans that will fall right in your budget!

T-Mobile Magenta 

If you love T-Mobile’s reliable service and coverage, one of the best cell phone plans that you can get that perfectly fits any family is by picking one of their Magenta plans. T-Mobile’s Magenta plans all have access to unlimited 5G high-speed data and they’re all starting at great prices too.

T-Mobile’s plans come with some of the best features out of any other carriers you’ll come across:

• Unlimited talk, text, and data
• Truly unlimited 5G data on all plans
• International calling to Canada and Mexico
• Up to 40GB of a mobile hotspot
• Nationwide 4G LTE and/or 5G high-speed data
• Taxes and fees included in monthly price
• Exceptional customer service
• Bring your own cell phone and number
• Entertainment perks
• Scam shield to protect you against scammers
• T-Mobile Tuesdays for exclusive perks
• Travel benefits

There are a few different options when choosing a T-Mobile Magenta plan where they even have a line specifically for if you need four-lines:

• Essentials Plan - $60 per month for four-lines for unlimited talk, text, data, and mobile hotspot
• Essentials Four Line Plan - $100 per month for up to six-lines for unlimited talk, text, data, and mobile hotspot
• Magenta Plan  - $70 per month for four-lines for unlimited talk, text, data, mobile hotspot and 100GB of premium data
• Magenta MAX Plan - $85 per month for four-lines for unlimited talk, text, data, 40GB of premium high-speed mobile hotspot, 100GB of premium data, and Netflix

Visible

Verizon Wireless is known for having some of the best and most reliable service, coverage, and high-speed 5G data throughout the country. If you don’t want to pay a large amount of money for one of their plans, their MVNO, Visible is one of the best family plans to choose because of the price and the unlimited data.

Visible plans include plenty of features that you can enjoy on both of the plans that they offer:

• Unlimited talk, text, and data
• 4G LTE or 5G nationwide coverage
• Unlimited mobile hotspot
• Spam protection
• Unlimited talk and text to Mexico and Canada
• 5G ultra wideband on their most expensive plan
• Unlimited roaming in Mexico and Canada on most expensive plan
• International calling and texting to 30+ countries
• International texting to 200+ countries
• 24/7 access to customer service
• Add a smartwatch for and extra $5 per month
• No hidden fees 

Since there are only two plans to choose from with a Visible cell phone plan, it’s an easy decision to make depending on what you’re family needs:

• Visible Plan - $30 per month for unlimited talk, text, data, mobile hotspot, and 4G LTE and 5G nationwide coverage
• Visible+ Plan - $45 per month for unlimited talk, text, data, mobile hotspot, 4G LTE and 5G nationwide coverage, 5G ultra wideband, and premium network experience

US Mobile

If you’re on a tight budget, but need a cell phone plan for your family, then US Mobile is the perfect choice. When it comes down to family plans, US Mobile offers some of the best service, and you can have a plan on either Verizon Wireless or T-Mobile’s network coverage depending on what is the ideal for your area.

You will love US Mobile because even though they’re an MVNO and super affordable, you can get some of the best features:

• Uses Verizon Wireless or T-Mobile’s 5G nationwide coverage
• Unlimited talk and text plans
• Set data allotment plans and unlimited data plans available
• Free SIM card with phone purchase
• 30-day risk-free trial
• Mobile hotspot available on most plans
• 24/7 customer service available
• Entertainment perks for video streaming, music, and gaming
• Discounts on more than two-line plans

US Mobile offers you some of the best cell phone plans where there are many to choose from, but some of the best include:

• $10 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and 5GB of data
• $15 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and 15GB of data
• $20 per line per month for for unlimited talk, text, and 25GB of data
• $35 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and data
• $45 per line per month for unlimited talk, text, and high-speed 5G data

Choosing between an individual plan or a family one relies solely on what you need for a plan and how many people you plan on having on it. There are many carriers that can provide both individual and family plans with the same service, coverage, and features.

Make sure that you know which plan you need and choose the best individual or family plan for you!