The best prepaid phone plans for kids

Are you thinking about getting your child their first prepaid phone plan? As technology becomes more widespread, children are getting their first phones at younger and younger ages. You might be looking for a cheap prepaid phone plan for your child to use. But what do children need out of a phone plan? What features should you look for?

In this article, we will discuss:

• What features your child needs out of a plan 
• Screen time usage and how much data children use 
• The best plans for children 

What features does your child need?

Spam protection and call filtering helps to keep your child safe. 

Out of all the features carriers have to offer their users, one of the most important ones is spam protection and call filtering. Many cybercriminals like to target children for their scams, as they’re more likely to fall for sketchy offers. Spam protection prevents a lot of these instances from happening to you and your family. 

For example, AT&T offers AT&T ActiveArmor, which protects users from fraud calls and risky public WiFi connections.

You also may want to invest in a plan that offers higher streaming qualities for your child. According to Common Sense Media, Youtube and other streaming companies are often the highest used websites among children. WiFi connection automatically improves your streaming connection, but certain carriers offer better streaming quality on data connections than others. 

How much data does your child use?

Data use depends on your child’s age and screen time use. 

While there isn’t much research on how much data children use, findings from Common Sense Media state that the average child ages 8 to 12 clocked in 4 hours and 44 minutes of screen time daily. Teenagers ages 13 to 18 devoted 7 hours and 22 minutes daily to screen time.  

Much of this screen time can be assumed to occur with access WiFi connection, as the National Center for Education Statistics reports 95% of children ages 3 to 18 have at home internet access, and 99% of public schools offered internet access by fall of 2001. With this much access to the internet, it's reasonable to conclude that much of this media use is with WiFi. As such, children do not use as much data as the average person. 

However, many parents worry about their children accidentally using too much out of a data plan. This can lead to overage fees and larger expenses. You may want to go with a limited data plan that doesn’t charge you or even an unlimited plan because of this. If this is a concern, do not go with a flexible or pay-as-you go plan. 

Still, the best course of action is to measure how much data your child uses. This may take some time with tracking their behavior, but there are several ways to keep track. Active monitoring will help you figure out what specific plan is best for your child. 

The best prepaid plans for kids

With spam protection, price, and varying data amounts in mind, several carriers offer great data plans children can use with their first phone. All of these carriers allow you to bring your own device when you sign up, so you can save money by bringing an old phone or buying a cheap one. They also do not charge overage fees on these plans if you go over your limit, but you will experience slower speeds. 

Let’s go over some of the best plans to benefit your wallet as well as your child’s needs:

US Mobile 15GB 

US Mobile offers some of the best deals on data. As an MVNO with access to all three networks, they can offer better deals than many other carriers. This plan gives you 15GB, and your data access stops after the 15GB. The plan doesn’t offer hotspot access, but it can be included through an add on. It also allows for 720p High Definition streaming quality. While it doesn’t offer spam protection, this plan offers one of the best deals on the market. 

This plan costs $20. You get 15GB at $1.33 per GB. 

Tello 10GB 

One of the perks with Tello is that you can customize your plan completely. From data, to the number of texts you can send and receive, to the number of talking minutes, you can choose whatever you want. If you want complete control of what your child is getting with a phone plan, Tello is the way to go. 

This plan offers unlimited talk, text, and 10GB of data. Data slows to 64 kbps after the cap, which is almost unusable, but they offer hotspot access for all plan data. You can also utilize up to 4k Ultra HD resolution streaming quality. This plan also comes with spam protection. 

The plan costs $24 per month. With this plan, you get 10GB per month for $2.40 per GB. 

Connect by T-Mobile 12GB

Connect by T-Mobile is a specific section of T-Mobile’s prepaid plans. This plan gives you 12GB of premium data per month, which stops entirely once you reach the cap. You can use this data as hotspot data, and you also get 480p Standard Definition streaming quality. Your plan data will also increase by 0.5GB each year until 2026. This plan also comes with spam protection with T-Mobile’s Scam Shield. 

The plan costs $35 per month, and you currently get 12GB for $2.92 per GB. 

Mint Mobile 5GB 

Mint Mobile is an MVNO of T-Mobile, and it's one of the most popular carriers because of its amazing deals on data. This plan offers 5GB, but honestly any limited plan of theirs will be good for children. You can still send texts and browse the internet, but streaming video and playing games without WiFi will be difficult. 

It's important to note that Mint Mobile does not offer spam protection, but the price of its plans causes it to make the list. You can also use all of the plan data as a mobile hotspot connection. This plan also gives you streaming quality of up to 4k Ultra HD resolution. 

With Mint Mobile, you have to purchase several months of service upfront in 3, 6, or 12 month packages. The plan costs $15 per month, and $45 for the first 3 months. After, 3 months of service will cost $25 per month, 6 months will cost $20 per month, and 12 months of service for $15 per month. With the 12 month price, you get 5GB for $3 per GB.

Visible Base 

Visible, an MVNO of Verizon, is a great MVNO that offers great deals for their users. This plan comes with unlimited, but deprioritized, data. This means that your connection to the network will slow down if you’re in an area of high traffic. This includes amusement parks, busy shopping malls, and concerts. The plan also comes with unlimited mobile hotspot data, which is also deprioritized. It also includes call filtering and spam protection. The plan gives users 480p Standard Defintion streaming resolution. 

However, if you’re looking for a family plan, Visible only offers single-line plans. 

The plan costs $30 per month, and comes with a $5 welcome discount for the first month.

AT&T Prepaid 8GB - 3 months 

AT&T also offers prepaid plans. This plan requires you to purchase 3 months of service at once for $99, or $33 per month. This plan offers AT&T ActiveArmor, which blocks spam calls and protects users from shady WiFi connections. The plan allows you to use all 8GB of data as hotspot data, and to stream at a quality of 720p High Definition resolution. 

AT&T Prepaid also offers data rollover. If your child doesn’t use all of the data they have for the month, the remaining data will be added to the next month. If you run out of the 8GB, your speeds will slow to 2G. 

The plan costs $33 per month, and $99 for 3 months. With the monthly price, you get 8GB per month for $4.13 per GB. 

Verizon Prepaid 15GB 

Like AT&T and T-Mobile, Verizon offers a prepaid selection of plans. After you use all 15GB of this plan, your speeds slow to 2G. This plan also gives you hotspot access with all data. You also get spam protection and 480p Standard Definition streaming quality. 

This plan originally costs $45, but users get a $10 discount by signing up with Autopay. With the discount, you get 15GB per month for $2.33 per GB. 

Boost Mobile $25 Unlimited

If you’re looking for an unlimited plan for your child, Boost Mobile offers a great deal. You get 30GB of high speed data, which slows to 3G speeds after that limit. This still allows you to send texts and use social media, but streaming video and playing games will be slower. You can use up to 30GB of your data as hotspot data before access stops. The plan streams video at 480p Standard Definition resolution. 

It's important to note that the plan does not include spam protection, but the price is hard to beat. 

The plan costs $25 per month, and you get a 50% off discount for the first month when you sign up. For the full price, you get 30GB per month for $0.83 per GB. Autopay is required for this plan. 

Want to compare more plans?

Really.com compares plans between several features, coverage, price, reviews, and more! 

If you still aren’t sure what plan you want to choose for your child, really.com allows you to compare different plans between several carriers. Whether you want specific features or have a budget in mind, Really has everything you need to help!