UScellular is one of the most unique carriers in the phone industry, as they offer network coverage from both their own infrastructure and the three major networks. Despite having their own infrastructure, they’re still a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). All four of these networks work together to give users the fastest speeds. UScellular offers several different plans, but which plan is best for you?

In this article, we’ll cover:

• What each UScellular plan offers 
• What deals UScellular offers for its users
• Which UScellular 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 UScellular

UScellular offers premium data. 

What makes UScellular unique from their competitors is that they offer separate unlimited plans depending on whether you’d like to bring your own device or buy a device from them with a device financing plan. The plans offered are the same no matter what you choose, but plans listed as Promotional Unlimited allow you to bring or buy your own device. 

UScellular also offers both prepaid and postpaid plans. Prepaid means that you pay for the service upfront before it starts, while postpaid means you pay for the service after you use it. To learn more about the difference between prepaid and postpaid plans, read our guide. 

Their plans offer up to 1080p HD resolution when streaming. UScellular plans offer international connection capabilities depending on the plan you purchase.

Coverage

UScellular uses all big 3 networks to give users the fastest speeds, as well as their own towers. 

As UScellular is an MVNO, they buy coverage from the main network providers with their own infrastructure – AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. What makes them unique is that they also have their own infrastructure throughout the country. 

T-Mobile is widely considered some of the best 5G coverage nationally, 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 

UScellular offers both premium and deprioritized data.

UScellular offers both premium and deprioritized data on their plans. With deprioritized data, your speeds will slow down in times of high network congestion. This includes crowded stores and restaurants, concert venues, and sports stadiums. Premium data, however, doesn’t slow down in high traffic conditions. The average phone user uses about 20GB of data per month, so both the prepaid and postpaid unlimited plans would work great for most users.

The Everyday and Even Better plans include Call Guardian, which blocks spam calls. 

It’s important to note that the postpaid unlimited plans (Basic, Everyday, Even Better) are all the same in terms of features. The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) versions have a higher base price, but the prices become the same once you factor in the Autopay discount. The BYOD ones offer a $10 discount, and the normal plans offer a $5 discount. 

Let’s talk about each UScellular plan individually, and what they offer for their customers. 

Best Overall: Even Better Unlimited

This is the biggest plan UScellular has to offer. It gives its users unlimited premium data and 50GB of hotspot data. Once you reach the hotspot cap, your access stops completely. This is the regular version of the plan. 

This plan costs $55 per month before the $5 Autopay discount. 

Pros: unlimited premium data

Cons: hotspot access stops 

Conclusion: best for heaviest data users

Runner Up: Even Better Unlimited (BYOD)

This is the same plan as the normal Even Better Unlimited. It offers unlimited premium data and 50GB of hotspot data that stops at the cap. 

This version of the plan allows you to bring your own device. 

The BYOD version of this plan costs $60 before the $10 Autopay discount. 

‍Pros: can bring your own device

Cons: hotspot access stops 

‍Conclusion: best for heaviest data users

Everyday Unlimited

With Everyday Unlimited, users get 50GB of premium data each month. After 50GB, speeds slow to 3G speeds. This plan also comes with 25GB of hotspot data, and access stops at that cap. 

This plan costs $45 per month before the $5 Autopay discount. At full price, you get 75GB per month for $0.60 per GB. 

Pros: price

Cons: limited premium data

Conclusion: best for heavier data users

Everyday Unlimited (BYOD)

This plan is the same as the other Everyday Unlimited plan, as it offers 50GB of premium data and 25GB of hotspot data. Speeds slow down to 3G after the 50GB cap, and hotspot access stops once you use that allotment. 

This version of the plan allows you to bring your own device. 

The BYOD version of this plan costs $50 before the $10 Autopay discount, and $40 after. At full price, you get 75GB per month for $0.67 per GB. 

‍Pros: can bring your own device

Cons: limited premium data

Conclusion: best for heavier data users

Basic Unlimited

This plan comes with 100GB of deprioritized data and is the smallest postpaid plan UScellular offers. It doesn’t include hotspot access. Once you use up the 100GB, the plan slows down to 3G speeds. At this speed, users can still send texts and emails or browse social media, but playing games and streaming video may be slower without WiFi. 

The plan costs $35 before the $5 Autopay discount.  With this plan, you get 100GB per month for $0.35 per GB. 

Pros: lots of data included

Cons: deprioritized

Conclusion: best for heavier data users

Basic Unlimited (BYOD)

With this version, the plan also comes with 100GB of deprioritized data. It slows down to 3G speeds after the cap. This version of the plan allows you to bring your own device, and you can also purchase a hotspot add-on.

The BYOD version of this plan costs $40 before the $10 Autopay discount. With this plan, you get 100GB per month for $0.40 per GB. 

Pros: can bring your own device

Cons: no included hotspot

‍Conclusion: best for heavier data users

Prepaid Unlimited Plus

As the biggest prepaid plan UScellular offers, this plan gives you 35GB of premium data each month. It slows to 2G speeds after that limit. At 2G speeds, users can expect to still be able to send texts and emails or browse the internet, but playing games or streaming video will be difficult without WiFi. It also offers hotspot access that stops at the same cap. 

With this plan, you get 35GB per month for $1.57 per GB. 

Pros: hotspot access

Cons: slower data after a cap

Conclusion: best for heavy data users 

Prepaid Unlimited 

This is the smallest unlimited plan that UScellular offers. It gives you 15GB of premium data each month with hotspot access included. Once you use 15GB, speeds slow to 2G and hotspot access stops. 

Prepaid Unlimited costs $40 per month. With this plan, you get 15GB per month for $2.67 per GB. 

Pros: premium data

Cons: low data cap 

Conclusion: best for light to average data users

Prepaid 8GB

This plan comes with 8GB of premium data as well as hotspot access. Once you use up the 8GB, speeds slow to 2G and you lose hotspot access. 

This plan costs $35 per month, and you get 8GB per month for $4.38 per GB. 

‍Pros: hotspot access

Cons: expensive

Conclusion: best for light data users

Prepaid 5GB

This plan comes with 5GB of premium data as well as included hotspot access. After the cap, users get 2G speeds and hotspot access stops completely. 

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

Pros: premium data

Cons: expensive

Conclusion: best for lighter data users

Prepaid 2GB

This is the smallest plan UScellular offers, and it gives you 2GB of premium data each month with included hotspot access. Once you run out of data, speeds slow to 2G and hotspot access stops completely. 

The Prepaid 2GB plan costs $25 per month. With this plan, you get 2GB per month for $12.50 per GB. 

Pros: hotspot access

Cons: expensive

‍Conclusion: best for lightest data users

Family Plan Offerings

They offer multi-line discounts on their plans.

UScellular allows up to 5 lines on one account, and users can get significant discounts on the plan they purchase depending on how many lines they buy. 

Features

UScellular’s offered features depend on the plan you purchase. 

UScellular offers several features their users can take advantage of, which include: 

Customer Service

UScellular offers customer service both online and in stores. 

UScellular offers several stores across the country, which can be found through the store locator. They also offer customer service remotely. There are several ways to contact their customer support lines:

Conclusion

Even Better Unlimited is UScellular’s best plan.

The Even Better Unlimited plan includes the most features, such as unlimited premium data as well as additional hotspot data. All of the postpaid plans offer a better deal than the prepaid plans, because they offer a lot more data for the price they charge. The BYOD deal on the postpaid plans doesn’t make much of a difference after the Autopay discount, so whether to take advantage of it is up to personal preference. 

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 UScellular 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!