Puretalk vs. Straight Talk: Which Carrier is Better?

Puretalk and Straight Talk Wireless are two MVNOs. Straight Talk uses Verizon’s network to deliver awesome coverage to all its users. They have a nice set of plans that, while expensive, offer a lot of data to mid-data users to find a great plan without breaking the bank. Straight Talk has multi-line savings, lots of data, a good mixture of plans, and a store full of the latest and greatest devices. 

Pure Talk is an awesome MVNO that operates on AT&T’s network. It offers a wide range of affordable plans for single- and multi-line accounts. Pure Talk phones work on AT&T’s 5G and 4G LTE networks, providing fantastic coverage around the continental United States. This is a cell phone company for people interested in affordable prices more than what you see with major wireless networks. 

In this article, we plan to discuss the ins and outs of both carriers and what they offer. We’ll also cover:

• What the coverage of both carriers looks like
• How do the prices of their plans compare to how much data you get
• The features each carrier offers for their plans 

Coverage & Reception

Puretalk and Straight Talk are both popular MVNOs, each one with its pros and cons. Puretalk is an MVNO directly under AT&T, offering access to AT&T's robust network. Straight Talk, also an MVNO, purchases network access from Verizon, allowing Straight Talk to offer competitive pricing while utilizing Verizon’s extensive network infrastructure of these larger carriers.

Puretalk benefits from AT&T's expansive 5G and 4G LTE networks. AT&T's 5G network is known for its impressive speed and coverage in urban areas, while its 4G LTE network provides widespread and reliable service nationwide. Puretalk customers enjoy this high-speed network as long as there is no congestion in the area. 

Straight Talk offers a similar network reach through Verizon’s network. Verizon's 5G and 4G LTE networks are renowned for their coverage and reliability, particularly in rural and suburban areas. However, Straight Talk users experience the same low data priority compared to customers on the main carriers’ plans. This means that during times of network congestion, Straight Talk customers have slower data speeds as they are deprioritized in favor of higher-tier customers from the primary carriers. The intensity of congestion and data throttling depends on your location. New York City, for instance, will always have more congestion than its suburbs. 

Be sure to explore our detailed guides and reviews on our website for a comprehensive analysis of Verizon and AT&T networks' performance and how MVNOs like Straight Talk and Puretalk leverage these networks.

Plan Options

Puretalk offers various plans that provide unlimited data, while Straight Talk offers a quartet of data plans with limited high-speed data. Along with high-speed data, both carriers offer unlimited talk and text along with various features and add-ons. First up, let’s talk about Puretalk’s cell phone plans. 

Pure Talk Plans

Pure Talk offers seven cell phone plans that give various amounts of high-speed data, between 3 and 60 GB of high-speed data before they throttle your speeds down to 3G. All cell phone plans come with unlimited talk and text and start at $20 for 3 GB, up to $65 for their unlimited plus plan, which comes with 60 GB high-speed data and 30 GB hotspot data. They also have many in-between. These plans can be incredibly affordable for people who don’t rely on high-speed data every day. Let’s get into it. 

Pure Talk 3 and 5 GB

Every Pure Talk cell phone plan comes with an amount of hotspot data, which is a nice little addition. This plan has 3 GB high-speed data and 2 GB of hotspot data, starting at $20 a month, just enough to boot up your laptop at a park to check your email. 

Three GB of high-speed data is not very much. Cell phone processes, especially on 5G networks, use a ton of data. If you slip up and stream audio and video, you will quickly find your high-speed data allocation used up. We decided to include Pure Talk’s 5 GB cell phone plan with a 2 GB hotspot for $25 a month. The difference between 3 and 5 GB of high-speed data is pretty imperceptible, but if you use 4-5 GB of high-speed data each month, then this is the plan for you! 

Pure Talk 10 and 15 GB 

Next on the list are Pure Talk’s next two plans. Both plans come with 5 GB hotspot data, and their 10 GB plan is $30 a month, while their 15 GB plan is $35 a month. These mid-data plans are great for people who use some data each month but are not huge data users who need, in essence, unlimited data. 

Pure Talk 25 GB

Next up is Pure Talk’s 25 GB cell phone plan, which comes with a 5 GB hotspot and costs $45 a month. Now, 25 GB is a nice allocation that lets you be more flexible with where and when you use it. While there are a lot of Americans who need more than this, a plan like this one is perfect if you are interested in watching your data usage and rationing out your high-speed data throughout the month. 

Like with the rest of Pure Talk’s plans, if you do use up all your high-speed data, your data speeds are throttled down to around 3G speeds, but at least they don’t shut it off completely! 

Pure Talk Unlimited and Unlimited +

Pure Talk’s Unlimited options both come with 60 GB of high-speed data. The only difference is that Unlimited comes with a 20 GB hotspot, and Unlimited +  has 30 GB. Also, the Unlimited Plan is $55 a month, and Unlimited + is $60. Sixty GB is an impressive amount for an MVNO — many MVNO “unlimited” plans offer between 20 and 40 GB of high-speed data. With 60, you can really start using your phone for just about anything on mobile data. There is, certainly, still a risk of hitting that data cap and receiving slow data speeds for the rest of the month, but it is far less likely than with any other plan from Pure Talk. 

Pure Talk Multi-Line Savings

Pure Talk offers a simple option for multi-line savings. As you add more lines to your account, the additional lines are discounted. The first line is full price, the second is 10% off, the third 15%, and the fourth 20%. Pure Talk multi-line plans are mix-and-match, so everyone on your cell phone plan can pick the plan that suits them best. Also, if you are making a multi-line plan, make sure to save the more expensive plans for last! The higher savings are most valuable on the highest-cost cell phone plans.

Straight Talk Cell Phone Plans

Straight Talk has four main plans for its store. All of them are viable, depending on how much data you want each month, with great savings coming from creating a multi-line account. Carriers like Tello Mobile and Visible Wireless, who don’t have any multi-line savings, are able to provide more affordable prices when compared to the maximum cost of Straight Talk’s cell phone plans, but the multi-line savings from Straight Talk is an excellent choice for if you have friends or family who are willing to open an account with you. Here are the main Straight Talk plans:  

• Bronze Unlimited — $35 per month (no multi-line savings)
• Silver Unlimited — $45/37.50/30/25
• Gold Unlimited — $55/47.50/40/35
• Platinum Unlimited — $65/57.50/50/45

The savings available from these plans make them excellent choices for multiple-line accounts. Straight Talk’s Silver, Gold, and Platinum plans all come with 60 GB of high-speed data before your plan is throttled to 2G data speeds. Outside of the data, the Gold and Platinum plans both come with hotspot data (15 and 20 GB, respectively), 100 GB cloud storage, international calling, and a Walmart+ membership!

Opening an account with Straight Talk is a great choice as long as you use less than 60 GB of high-speed data each month. For single-line users, we still recommend the Silver plan, as the Bronze plan only comes with 10 GB of high-speed data.

Straight Talk offers a simple family plan for all its customers. When you have multiple lines on an account, each line receives its lowest prices on Straight Talk’s 3-month contract plans, which are the shortest contracts they offer. 

Major Wireless Network vs. MVNO

Puretalk and Straight Talk are both MVNOs, so they have a lower data priority than any of the major wireless networks in the United States. MVNOs are amazing, but they have a few downsides compared to the more expensive and expansive major networks. 

Impact on Data Speeds

As mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), both Puretalk and Straight Talk experience data deprioritization. However, the level of impact can differ based on their parent networks and how they manage congestion. Puretalk operates on AT&T’s network, while Straight Talk on Verizon’s.

Both Puretalk and Straight Talk users face frequent data deprioritization in high-congestion areas. During times of network congestion, Puretalk users can still experience slower speeds, particularly in heavily populated cities such as New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Miami.

Network Comparison

When comparing major wireless networks, Verizon and AT&T both offer extensive coverage and high-speed data services, but their performance can vary by location.

• Verizon: Known for its superior coverage in rural and suburban areas, Verizon generally provides reliable service with less data deprioritization. Verizon customers benefit from higher data priority, often enjoying either Tier 1 or Tier 2 data, which means MVNO customers, including those on Straight Talk using Verizon’s network, are deprioritized before Verizon's direct customers.
• AT&T: Excelling in both urban and suburban areas with its extensive 5G and LTE networks, AT&T offers high-speed data and reliable coverage across the country. PureTalk users benefit from this robust network but may experience data deprioritization during peak times.

Customer Service 

Puretalk Mobile's contact information is (877) 820-7873, or you can access its help page here. For Straight Talk, you can contact them here: 877-430-2355 or access their help page here. 

The Verdict

These are two awesome MVNOs, but we must give Purtalk the upper hand. Their wide variety of data allocations accommodates many different kinds of cell phone users, with a hearty maximum of 60 GB of high-speed data at their premium plan. Coupled with multi-line savings, Puretalk is a great, well-rounded MVNO that is perfect if you have a couple of friends to make a multi-line account. 

All-in-all, Straight Talk’s cell phone plans are more expensive than the competition. They are a bit too close to the prices from major wireless networks (with unlimited high-speed data) for us to recommend in relation to PureTalk, which offers less expensive cell phone plans with lower data allocations. MVNOs offer the most benefits when you are a low-data user because they offer something that you can’t find in major wireless networks. Once you start looking at cell phone plans between $40 and $70 from an MVNO, well, it becomes very similar to what you would pay at a major wireless network, and with a major network, you receive many other benefits. 

We’d recommend checking your data usage before committing to a plan. Being able to limit your data consumption opens up the option for far more low-data plans that are a fraction of the cost of major wireless unlimited high-speed data plans. The downside, of course, is that it is difficult to keep data consumption low. For low-data users there are many available MVNOs that offer single-line plans under $20 a month. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the pros and cons of PureTalk? 

PureTalk offers affordable plans with flexible options and good customer service. However, data speeds are slower than those of major carriers during peak usage times. Coverage is fantastic, as PureTalk uses all of AT&T’s towers. The big upside of MVNOs is that coverage is just about equal to that of major wireless carriers, if not at the same high speeds. 

What are the pros and cons of Straight Talk?

Straight Talk provides low-cost, no-contract plans with wide coverage through multiple networks. Its customer service is often criticized, and they do not offer unlimited high-speed data, so be on the lookout for data slowdowns if you go over your monthly data allocation.

Is Straight Talk being phased out?

There is no indication that Straight Talk is being phased out. It continues to offer services and remains a popular choice for budget-conscious consumers.

Since Verizon acquired TracFone, Straight Talk, which is one of TracFone's brands, has seen some changes. Straight Talk has transitioned to using Verizon only as their network, and their plans have changed from what they were before the acquisition. The integration process is ongoing, and users may experience further adjustments as the transition continues.

Whose towers do PureTalk use?

PureTalk uses AT&T's towers, providing good coverage and reliability in areas where AT&T has a strong presence.

Is PureTalk a good carrier?

PureTalk is considered a good carrier for budget-conscious users who prioritize cost over top-tier speeds. Its plans are competitive, and it offers decent coverage and customer service.

Can you Facetime on PureTalk?

Yes, you can FaceTime on PureTalk. Since FaceTime relies on data or Wi-Fi, it works on any carrier that provides internet access. PureTalk, like many MVNOs, does not offer unlimited high-speed data, but you can use as much WiFi as you want!

Why is my data getting slowed on unlimited MVNO plans?

Data on unlimited MVNO plans often gets slowed due to network prioritization and data throttling policies once a certain usage threshold is reached. This is a common practice among MVNOs to manage network congestion and ensure fair usage among customers. Major Networks have higher-priority data, which is one of the perks of their higher-priced service.