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

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AT&T Prepaid is a subsection of the popular carrier AT&T, which offers fast 5G coverage throughout the country. AT&T Prepaid offers several different plans, but which plan is best for you?

In this article, we’ll cover:

  • What each AT&T Prepaid plan offers 
  • What deals AT&T Prepaid offers for its users
  • Which AT&T Prepaid 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 Prepaid

AT&T Prepaid offers multi-month plans.

What makes AT&T Prepaid unique from their competitors is that they offer several plans that give you multiple months of service. For example, their Unlimited Annual plan gives you an entire year of service for $300 upfront. 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 480p Standard Definition resolution when streaming. All prepaid plans except for the 5GB plan offer talk, text, and data in Mexico and Canada. All plans include international texting services.

Coverage

AT&T’s network gives users amazing speeds. 

AT&T offers great speeds throughout the entire 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 Prepaid offers several limited data plans for lighter users.  

AT&T Prepaid offers several limited data plans as well as an annual and a monthly unlimited plan. All plans are deprioritized, which means data speeds slow down during high network congestion. High network congestion tends to happen in crowded areas, like stadiums or concerts. The average phone user uses about 20GB of data per month, so the Prepaid Unlimited monthly plan is the best option for the average user. 

Prepaid 5GB

$30
data
5GB/mo
Hotspot access
All plan data (access stops at 5GB)
Best for:
Light data users
More Details

Prepaid 8GB (3 months)

$33/mo, $99 per 3 months
data
8GB/mo
Hotspot access
All plan data (access stops at 8GB)
Best for:
Light data users
More Details

Prepaid 15GB

$40
data
15GB
Hotspot access
All plan data (access stops at 15GB)
Best for:
Light to average data users
More Details

Prepaid Unlimited Annual

$25/mo, $300/year
data
16GB/mo
Hotspot access
N/A
Best for:
Light to average data users
More Details

Prepaid Unlimited (monthly)

$65/mo
data
Unlimited deprioritized data
Hotspot access
Add-on only
Best for:
Average to heavy data users
More Details

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

Best Overall: Prepaid Unlimited (monthly)

As their biggest plan, AT&T prepaid’s unlimited monthly plan gives you unlimited deprioritized data. There isn’t a cap for how much data you can use before speeds slow down. You can get an add-on for 5GB of hotspot data, which stops once you reach the cap.  

This plan offers a $15 discount per month when you sign up for Autopay. At full price, it costs $65.

Pros: autopay discount

Cons: deprioritized

Conclusion: best for average and heavy data users. 

Runner Up: Prepaid Unlimited Annual

This plan gives you 16GB of full speed data before slowing to 2G speeds. With 2G speeds, you can send texts and emails or browse the internet. However, playing games or streaming video will be difficult. This plan doesn’t offer hotspot access, and you can only have one line.

The plan costs $25 per month. At this rate, you get 16GB at $1.56 per GB. 

Pros: 16GB full speed data

Cons: no hotspot access

Conclusion: best for light to average data users

Prepaid 15GB

This plan gives you 15GB per month at full speeds. Again, data slows to 2G speeds after the 15GB cap. This plan also gives you mobile hotspot access, which stops after the 15GB allotment.

With this plan, you get 15GB per month for $2.67 per GB. 

Pros: hotspot access

Cons: deprioritized 

Conclusion: best for light to average data users

Prepaid 8GB 3-Month

This plan requires you to purchase 3 months of service, and it gives you 8GB per month before slowing to 2G speeds once you hit the limit. You get mobile hotspot access for 8GB, then access stops once you hit the limit. Your data is also able to rollover to the next month of service if you don’t use it all. 

The plan costs $33 per month when you pay $99 for 3 months. At this rate, you get 8GB per month at $4.13 per GB. 

Pros: rollover data

Cons: more expensive than their other plans

Conclusion: best for light data users

Prepaid 5GB

This plan gives you 5GB before slowing down to 2G speeds. You also get hotspot access with the included data, which stops once you hit the cap. It also features rollover data.

This plan costs $30 per month. With this plan, you get 5GB per month for $6 per GB. 

Pros: hotspot access

Cons: expensive

Conclusion: best for light data users 

Family Plan Offerings

AT&T Prepaid offers multi-line discounts.

AT&T Prepaid allows up to 10 lines on one account, and you can get discounts when you purchase multiple lines. However, the Unlimited 12-month plan is only available for single line accounts. 

Features

AT&T Prepaid’s offered features depend on the plan. 

AT&T Prepaid offers several features their users can take advantage of, which 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 on all plans except the 5GB plan
Included
Included on all plans except the 5GB plan
Add-on available
Included
Add-on available
480p SD resolution on all, 720p HD resolution on Unlimited Annual
Not included
Included

Customer Service

AT&T offers both in-store and online customer service. 

AT&T offers thousands of brick-and-mortar stores across the country, and you can find one near you with their store locator. They also offer customer support remotely:

chat support

hours:
24/7

phone support

hours:
Mon. through Sat. from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET

Conclusion

AT&T Prepaid is best for lighter data users. 

The Prepaid Unlimited monthly plan is the best AT&T Prepaid plan, which can suit anyone no matter how much data they use. However, AT&T Prepaid overall suits lighter data users better due to the data caps on their plans. They offer their plans at market-rate, which makes them a solid option. 

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 Prepaid 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%