AT&T: Which plan is the best one for you?

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AT&T is one of the most well known phone carriers in the game and offers great 5G coverage across the country. AT&T offers several different plans, but which plan is best for you?

In this article, we’ll cover:

  • What each AT&T plan offers 
  • What deals AT&T offers for its users
  • Which AT&T plan is the best deal

Unsure of what you need out of a phone plan? Read our guide on how to choose the best one to suit your needs. 

What to expect from AT&T

AT&T offers premium data and spam protection.

Like most phone carriers, AT&T offers deprioritized data. With this kind of data, you can expect your service to slow down in high network traffic areas like stadiums, restaurants, and busy stores. AT&T also offers premium data as well. Premium data doesn’t slow down no matter how high the network traffic is in your area – you’ll still get full speeds. All plans include Active Armor access, which filters calls and blocks spam. They also include unlimited talk and text with all of their plans. 

Their plans offer up to 4k Ultra High Definition resolution when streaming. AT&T plans offer talk, text, and roaming data in Mexico and Canada as well as access to international texting services. 

Coverage

AT&T’s network gives users great speeds across the country. 

AT&T offers great speeds across the country, but the best coverage for you comes down to your location. It’s important to compare between providers on a coverage map of your specific city. Ookla’s coverage map allows you to see where cellular towers are located and which company owns them. Comparing tower locations can help you determine which of the big 3 network providers meet your needs. 

The Plans 

AT&T offers Autopay discounts with all of their plans. 

The average phone user uses about 20GB of data per month, so all of these except for the 4GB plan will work well for most phone users. AT&T also offers a $10 Autopay discount on their plans. The prices below do not take this discount into account.

4GB

$60
data
4GB
Hotspot access
All plan data (access stops at 4GB)
Best for:
Light data users
More Details

Value Plus

$60
data
Unlimited deprioritized data
Hotspot access
Not included
Best for:
Average to heavy data users
More Details

Unlimited Starter

$75
data
Unlimited deprioritized data
Hotspot access
3GB
Best for:
Average to heavy data users
More Details

Unlimited Extra

$85
data
50GB premium
Hotspot access
15GB
Best for:
Heavy data users
More Details

Unlimited Premium

$95
data
Unlimited premium data
Hotspot access
50GB
Best for:
Heaviest data users
More Details

Let’s talk about each AT&T plan individually, and what they offer for their customers. 

Best Overall: Unlimited Premium 

This is the biggest and best plan AT&T has to offer, as they give users unlimited premium data. No matter what, whether it be the amount you use or the network traffic, your speeds will not slow down. They also give 50GB of hotspot data with this plan, and speeds slow to 2G once you run out for the month. With 2G speeds, users can still send texts and emails or browse the internet. However, it’s difficult to stream video or play games without access to WiFi. 

This plan costs $95 per month before the discount, and $85 with Autopay. 

Pros: truly unlimited data

Cons: hotspot limit

Conclusion: best for heaviest data users

Runner Up: Unlimited Extra

This plan gives users 50GB of premium data, then unlimited deprioritized data after. You also get 15GB of hotspot data, which slows down to 2G speeds after that cap. 

This plan costs $85 per month before the $10 Autopay discount, and $75 per month after. You get 65GB per month for $1.30 per GB at full price. 

Pros: premium data

Cons: data limits

Conclusion: best for heavy data users

Unlimited Starter

AT&T offers deprioritized unlimited data with this plan. Like Value Plus, your speeds won’t slow down because of any data cap – only because of high network congestion. This plan also offers 3GB of hotspot data, which slows to 2G speeds once you run out. 

This plan costs $75 at full price, and $65 with Autopay. 

Pros: hotspot access

Cons: deprioritized 

Conclusion: best for average to heavy data users 

Value Plus

With the Value Plus plan, users get unlimited deprioritized data. While you won’t get your speeds slowed down due to the amount of data you use, your speeds may slow down if network traffic is high. It does not come with included hotspot access. 

This plan costs $60 per month at full price, and $50 with the included Autopay discount. 

Pros: unlimited data

Cons: no hotspot access

Conclusion: best for average to heavy data users 

4GB

This is the smallest plan AT&T offers. Each month, you get 4GB of full speed data with included hotspot access. Once you reach the limit, both data and hotspot access stop until the next month. 

It costs $60 per month at full price, and $50 with the Autopay discount. With this plan, you get 4GB per month for $15 per GB. 

Pros: hotspot access

Cons: expensive

Conclusion: best for light data users 

Family Plan Offerings

AT&T allows users to mix and match plans for each line. 

AT&T allows up to 5 lines on one account, and users can choose a different plan for each line. You can also take advantage of multi-line discounts, making the best plans significantly cheaper than they would be with one line. 

Features

AT&T’s offered features come with all of their plans – with one exception. 

The only feature that isn’t available on all AT&T plans is 4k Ultra HD streaming quality. The features that users can take advantage of include: 

feature

Domestic Roaming
Mexico and Canada Talk
Mexico and Canada Text
Mexico and Canada Data 
International Talk
International Text 
International Data 
Streaming quality 
Device Financing
WiFi Calling

details

Included
Included
Included
Included
Add-on available
Included
Add-on available
4k Ultra HD resolution on Unlimited Premium, 480p SD resolution on other plans
Included
Included

Customer Service

AT&T offers customer service both online and in stores. 

AT&T offers thousands of brick-and-mortar stores across the country, and you can find one near you with their store locator. There are several ways to contact their customer support lines:

chat support

hours:
24/7

phone support

hours:
24/7

Conclusion

Unlimited Premium is the best plan AT&T offers. 

With unlimited premium data and 50GB of hotspot access, the Unlimited Premium plan is the best plan AT&T offers. You get the most features included for the amount you’re paying. If you’re looking for a plan with a small amount of data, AT&T Prepaid offers plans that are a much better deal than the 4GB plan. 

To have a comprehensive picture of how much data you use month to month and what plan you need, we’d recommend checking your data usage before committing to a plan.

Want to compare other carriers?

Really.com helps users compare between features, coverage, price, reviews, and more!

Are you still unsure if you want to go with a AT&T plan? Use really.com to compare your top choices and find the best deal to fit your needs. Really allows you to compare and sort between most phone plans on the market without the hassle! 

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compare phone plans and save up to 80%

compare phone plans and save up to 80%

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