The Ultimate Guide to Patriot Phone Plans

Many cell phone carriers have emerged in the fairly-recent past. There’s been a large surge of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) that provide cheaper wireless coverage by renting the towers owned and operated by major companies. More on that later. If you are either looking to start your first phone plan and are looking for a carrier or are thinking of switching to save money, it is hard to keep track of all of the options. 

It is absolutely worth your while to check out the market, see what all the providers have to offer, and pick the choice that best suits you. This article will serve as your ultimate guide to Patriot Mobile’s phone plans and if the provider is right for you. 

Feeling lost? Check out our guide on how to choose the best phone plan! 

Patriot Mobile is one of the more opinionated phone carriers. They are a great fit for Christians and conservatives, as their proceeds are partially donated to a variety of causes like pro-life organizations, organizations supporting first and second amendment rights, and organizations supporting veterans and first responders. If that’s a good fit for you, this article will cover topics including

• Patriot mobile phone plans
• What makes Patriot Mobile phone plans successful
• How MVNOs work 
• Pros and cons of switching phone plans

‍

Patriot Mobile

‍

Patriot Mobile was founded in 2012 and runs on T-Mobile’s nationwide network. Patriot Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator, which is explained later in this article. They are a month-by-month service and don’t have any contracts on their website. It is important to note that they are very forthcoming about their political and religious beliefs. They are a heavily Christian and conservative business, and it is reflected in every aspect of their company. 

This section will go over all of Patriot Mobile’s plans, their pros and cons, and how they hold up to other plans by their competitors. 

Patriot Mobile Plans

Patriot Mobile has four significant plans. Each plan comes with unlimited talk and text, as well as the same 5G and 4G LTE coverage that T-Mobile users get. The phone plans at Patriot Mobile are competitively priced and come with a variety of benefits and shortcomings, just like their competitors. Their four significant plans are

• 22 GB data, 22 GB hotspot — $55 a month
• 10 GB data, 10 GB hotspot — $45 a month
• 3 GB data, 3 GB hotspot — $35 a month
• 0.5 GB data, 0.5 GB hotspot — $25 a month

‍

22 GB data, 22 GB hotspot — $55 a month

Patriot Mobile’s flagship plan, their 22 GB plan, comes with a substantial mobile hotspot as well as a tremendous amount of data each month. While not an unlimited plan, the great majority of people operate using far less than 22 GB of data each month. The 22 GB hotspot is the highlight of this plan, letting you connect to other devices and consume a significant amount of data in the wild each month. 

That being said, this is a relatively expensive plan for what you get. A lot of other carriers offer unlimited data plans at a lower price point than $55 a month.  

10 GB data, 10 GB hotspot — $45 a month

Patriot Mobile’s second most expensive plan comes in strong with the same big hotspot as their primary plan. This plan offers a better deal for fewer data, perfect for those who aren’t going over their allocated amounts each month. For every plan except the 500 MB plan, users who go over their allocated amount of data are allowed to continue using data at 2G speeds. While it is nice not to get cut off, 2G is incredibly slow, bottlenecking your ability to do something as simple as ordering an Uber. 

3 GB data, 3 GB hotspot — $35 a month

As we travel down their plans we get to their second tier plan, the first on the list that works best for those who really don’t use a lot of data each month. A ton of phone apps are incredibly data-heavy and will fill out your 3 GB allocation in no time if you aren’t careful, so with this plan you definitely want to make sure you aren’t using all your data at the beginning of the month. Take advantage of times when you are in Wi-Fi zones, and make sure you don’t stream any video when you are out and about. 

This is a bit less than a 30% savings from Patriot’s most expensive plans, but it is good to know that you don’t get charged for overages if you exceed your data. Patriot does not do any contracts, so you can change your plan month-to-month as you figure out which plan is right for you. 

0.5 GB data, 0.5 GB hotspot — $25 a month

Patriot Mobile’s cheapest phone plan is 500 MB of data each month for $25. Unlike the other plans, this one hard caps you at 0.5 GB, cutting off your ability to use mobile data completely when you hit your monthly quota. At half a GB, that’s not very much, especially when paying $25 on an MVNO carrier. 

Each of Patriot Mobile’s four plans have something to offer, and it really depends on how much data you use each month. Patriot mobile does not currently offer any discounts on multi-line plans.

Plan Add-Ons

Patriot Mobile currently offers an add-on called Patriot Care which allows customers to protect their devices. They have five levels of care: 

• Essential — $4.99
• Standard — $6.99
• Smart — $8.99
• Premium — $14.99
• BYOD — $14.99

‍

It is unclear how each plan differs, but Patriot Care allows customers to run a software and hardware check on their phone and back up their device to a cloud operated by Patriot Mobile. 
‍
Patriot Mobile offers an International Calling plan at $10 a line, Wi-Fi calling, and Mobile Hotspot data that is available for purchase if you ever need more. Once your data allotment is up, you have to wait until the next month if you want to increase your plan. The Patriot Mobile website is difficult to navigate, making it hard to understand what exactly they offer in terms of plans and phones. If you have a cellular device that works on T-Mobile’s network and it is unlocked, it will work for Patriot Mobile as well!

The majority of users most likely do not need add-ons for their cell phone plan. If you do, you may want to consider looking at other MVNOs on the market. 

Pros of Patriot Phone Plans

Patriot Mobile runs off of T-Mobile’s mobile network, providing excellent nationwide coverage. The major benefit to joining Patriot Mobile is if your values align with theirs, as their company is very forward about Christian and conservative values. You can visit their website to read about their values, the organizations they support, and much more. It is difficult to find exactly what their phone plans and offered phones are as their website is hard to follow. 

One benefit is, however, that you will never wonder what they support. They do not try to hide their affiliation with the Christian religion and the conservative party. It may seem like we are repeating ourselves often about their policy, but it is emblazoned on the front page of their website and is very well-documented throughout their website’s various pages. 

‍

Donation to Organizations

Patriot Mobile donates to the organizations that they support. If you also support those organizations, subscribing to Patriot Mobile is a great way to add a continual donation to what you may already make, or it can turn your phone bill into a bit of a donation as well. Unfortunately, the plans at Patriot Mobile are not competitively priced with those offered by other MVNOs. Unlimited plans at MVNOs often range from $30-$50, with low GB plans (ranging from free to 5 GB) costing anywhere as low as free to $15 a month. 

The lack of any multi-line discount is a reason to turn away from Patriot Mobile. Some of the best deals in all of wireless come from multi-line plans, such as the supreme savings on Cricket Wireless family plans. The up-front cost of each plan is the same for one line as it is for three or five lines. 

‍

Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO)

‍

‍

Mobile virtual network operators are the names given to all of the phone companies (of which there are many) that operate through another major company's network. The major networks in the United States are AT&T, Verizon, T Mobile, and US Cellular. The major benefit of MVNOs are lowered costs while the major downside is that the major network’s customers get priority during times of high bandwidth usage which results in slower speeds for MVNO customers at that time. 

Over the years, MVNOs became a very popular and viable option for getting a quality phone plan. This section will discuss how they work as well as some pros and cons of using an MVNO instead of a major cellular network. 

How Does an MVNO Work?

An MVNO is a phone company that supplies phone plans but does not have a network of its own. MVNOs piggyback off of existing cell phone towers of one or multiple major network providers. Patriot only uses T-Mobile’s network, but others, like Google Fi, utilize multiple networks depending on where they have the best coverage. This will result in customers either getting assigned a network based on where they are located, or, with certain devices, switching from network to network based on which one is fastest where they are. 

MVNO customers have access to the same high-speed network as customers of the parent network, but since the parent network’s customers are prioritized, sometimes their cellular runs slow.

Patriot Mobile

Patriot Mobile provides phone plans with T-Mobile’s network, providing comprehensive network coverage all over the nation and fast speeds almost all the time. 

Patriot benefits from T-Mobile’s network while continuing to provide moderately cheap phone plans to its customers. 

Pros of MVNOs

The big pro of an MVNO is that it can offer cheaper plans than major carriers. Alongside that, MVNOs are able to operate in a different sphere. T-Mobile is competing mainly with Verizon and AT&T for its customers while Patriot is mainly competing with other MVNOs. In terms of service, there are not too many differences between getting your cellular plan through an MVNO and getting it through one of the major providers. 

Patriot Mobile phone plans are so cheap because they don’t have to run their own network. They can focus on providing high-quality and affordable plans with all of their perks and incredible multi-line discounts since they are an MVNO and not a major service provider. 

Alongside that, MVNOs are not a new kind of service provider. They have provided great service to lots of people for decades, making them a reliable source of affordable phone plans. 

Cons of MVNOs

The major con of using an MVNO is the deprioritized service. When a major company is under stress from high data usage, the MVNOs are the first customers to experience a slowdown in internet speeds. Of course, this does not affect Wi-Fi speeds, just the speed of your cellular data. 

MVNOs also do not always support the wide variety of different phones that are supported by major carriers. You can check here for the list of phones that are compatible with Patriot phone plans. 

‍

Switching to Patriot Mobile

‍

‍

Patriot Mobile phone plans come with a list of pros and cons just like phone plans from major networks. They are, however, a different set of pros and cons. Fortunately, the process of switching to a Patriot phone plan is very easy and straightforward. Switching away from your current provider can be more of a hassle. 

Pros and Cons of Switching Your Phone Plan

The major pro of switching phone plans is that you can shop around and find the one that is perfect for you. If you are looking around, it is probably because you are either paying too much for your phone plan, which often means it is giving you something you don’t need or want, or is just not a good plan for you. Once you decide that you don’t want to continue with your current plan it opens up a lot of doors as to where to go, what to pay, and what you want to prioritize.

Patriot Mobile offers a unique platform that works for a lot of customers in the United States. If Patriot Mobile is right for you then switching when you can is a good way to save money compared to many plans offered by major carriers. 

Keeping Your Number

Good news — switching to a Patriot Mobile phone plan is possible while keeping your current number and contacts! You can bring your own phone or purchase a new one when you switch, and you can activate it with your current number to save out on having to switch numbers and start from scratch. If you decide that one of Patriot’s phone plans is the right place for you, switching can be done all online and with minimal hassle!

‍

‍

Key Takeaways

Patriot Mobile brings its own cards to the table, but it is not for everyone. There are plenty of reasons to stick with a major carrier like T-Mobile and not switch to one of its MVNOs or, if you are looking to switch, switch to one of the other many MVNOs that offer premium service at low rates. Patriot Mobile’s four plans offer a diversity of mobile and hotspot data, but there are not many features that differ between the plans.  

Unfortunately, Patriot Mobile’s lack of multi-line discounts makes it hard to rank as high as other MVNOs. The ability to save a flat rate on each line makes family plans a very enticing prospect in MVNOs that Patriot is not able to match. 

Patriot Mobile offers a variety of add-ons to their accounts to increase their customizability. This helps keep their plans cheaper and you won’t have to pay for extra features that you aren’t interested in. 

As an MVNO, Patriot uses T-Mobile’s network. MVNOs are able to provide cheaper prices because they do not control their own network, rather they use an already established network. This allows there to be a lot of MVNOs that offer a wide variety of plans at a wide variety of low rates. 

‍