What carriers run on the T-Mobile network?

T-Mobile is known for having the cheapest plans out of all three of the major postpaid carriers by a fairly wide margin. Unfortunately, the Uncarrier’s prices have crept closer to its competition recently. While T-Mobile still offers competitive pricing, the cheapest way to enjoy T-Mobile is to use a T-Mobile MVNO.

In this guide, we explain what a T-Mobile MVNO is, why you might want to consider one, and finally, we take a brief look at the best carriers on T-Mobile’s network.

What is a T-Mobile MVNO?

T-Mobile not only provides its own plans and services, but it also sells its network capacity in bulk to other businesses. These businesses can then do whatever they wish with this capacity, including creating their own mobile virtual network operator (or MVNO). That’s just a fancy way of saying it’s a carrier that piggybacks off another network.

These carriers typically use the prepaid model for payments, meaning you pay for services ahead of each month instead of receiving a bill for charges at the end of a billing period.

A T-Mobile MNVO might use T-Mobile’s network, but it is still completely responsible for its own marketing, customer service, promotions, phone selection, activations, and more. You can learn more in our guide to MVNOs.

The pros and cons of using a T-Mobile MVNO

So why use a T-Mobile MNVO instead of getting service directly from a carrier? There are several pros and cons. Let’s start with the pros:

• You can save a lot of money! Prepaid carriers tend to charge significantly less for service.
• You can easily switch networks if you find a better deal, as there are no contracts or commitments typically.
• You don’t need good credit to qualify for a plan, though you’ll have to pass a credit check if you want to add a device payment plan (for those MNVOs that offer it).

Of course, there are also some notable cons:

• There are fewer extras. T-Mobile offers several streaming perks and other incentives with its plans. Most MVNOs won’t be able to say the same. You’re getting fewer extras, but again that’s part of why you are saving money!
• Throttling and deprioritization could be an issue for some prepaid carriers. While the T-Mobile Essentials plan actually has less priority than some MVNOs, the majority of T-Mobile’s plans have top priority.
• Customer service is typically weaker than what you’ll get from T-Mobile. Brick-and-mortar stores are a rarity, if available at all, and some carriers only do customer service via the web.
• Phone options often are weaker on prepaid carriers, though this isn’t the case for all of them.
• You’ll get better roaming arrangements from T-Mobile directly. Many prepaid options will either have no roaming or very limited options.

Now that you know the pros and cons, let’s take a look at some of the best T-Mobile MNVOs at a glance.

Metro by T-Mobile isn’t actually an MVNO, as it is owned directly by T-Mobile itself. There are many reasons to consider Metro, including decent pricing and a few potential perks like international texting. Although the carrier offers limited or no data “Heritage” plans, in most cases, we recommend going with an unlimited plan. 

Here are more details on what you get with Metro’s unlimited options: 

Need more reasons to consider Metro?

• Metro has brick-and-mortar locations across the country. There are only a few prepaid carriers out there, like Cricket, that can match this. 
• Above-average customer support. Not just because of brick-and-mortar access. Metro is also known for its great online and phone-based customer service.
• You get T-Mobile extras like T-Mobile Tuesday discounts and other benefits that are typically reserved for postpaid carriers.
• All the prices include taxes and other fees, so there is nothing hidden to worry about.

There are a lot of T-Mobile MVNOs, but there are a few that stand out above the rest. Here are some of our favorites:

Google Fi Wireless offers both limited and unlimited data plans. For most users, we recommend Simply Unlimited. At $20 per line for four lines, you’ll get unlimited talk, text, data, and 5GB of mobile hotspot service per device. There’s also free roaming in Canada and Mexico. 

Mint Mobile has cheap pricing, though the catch is you have to pay far in advance to get the best pricing. For example, you’ll pay $360 a year for unlimited data, which works out to just $30 a month. This is one of the cheapest unlimited plans on T-Mobile’s network and actually enjoys pretty decent prioritization. All of Mint’s plans aren’t bad, as long as you’re willing to pay for a year all at once.  

Ultra Mobile offers monthly plans as well as steeper discounts for those who want to pay 3, 6, or 12 months ahead. Yearly limited data plans will run you as little as $10-30 per month if you pay for a year in advance. Unlimited plans aren’t quite as impressive, at the equivalent of $40 per month if you pay for the year all at once. We’d recommend Ultra Mobile primarily for those interested in limited data. 

Boost Mobile offers a range of plans, including a yearly plan for $100 (equal to $8.33 a month) that gives you just 1GB of data each month. The Unlimited Plan is probably the best value at just $25 a month, though be aware it has somewhat aggressive deprioritization during peak times or in majorly congested areas.