Straight Talk vs. T-Mobile: Which Carrier is Better?

T-Mobile is a major carrier in the United States. They provide expensive plans with unlimited high-speed data, high data priority, and a variety of extras and add-ons. These plans are for high-data users who use their phones a lot every day and are able to make the most of their 4G LTE and 5G networks. These expensive plans offer stable data in all but areas of the highest congestion, like sporting events and concerts. 

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. To top it off, they have comprehensive multi-line savings that make it perfect for groups of two or three. 

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

T-Mobile, as a major wireless carrier, owns and operates its own network around the country. 

At this point, all three major wireless networks in the United States have fantastic 5G networks backed by 4G LTE networks in more areas around the country, generally further from major metropolitan areas. Verizon provides comparable coverage with T-Mobile. Both networks have excellent nationwide coverage with 4G LTE and 5G coverage maps. Verizon has better coverage in certain areas, while T-Mobile takes the cake in other regions. Make sure to check local coverage maps for more information about your area.  

T-Mobile has higher data priority than Straight Talk, meaning T-Mobile users access high-speed data more than Straight Talk users do. When there is more traffic on a network than it can handle, the owning company (AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon) will throttle the data of specific customers. To evade slowing everyone’s data speed at once, carriers have users divided into tiers with different data priorities. In the United States, that priority data is roughly divided into three tiers, like so: 

• Tier 1 Data: Maintains maximum speeds at all times. If slowed, no network customers can access high-speed data, typically during large events.
• Tier 2 Data: Retains maximum speeds until MVNO customers are slowed. Slows down only if congestion persists, ensuring Tier 1 Data remains fast. May experience slowdowns in busy cities.
• Tier 3 Data (MVNO): First to experience slowdowns. Offers affordable access to major networks.

So, T-Mobile offers plans that have either tier 1 or tier 2 data, while Straight Talk offers tier 3 data. Straight Talk has amazing coverage, providing customers with the same blanket coverage that Verizon does. The major downside comes with congestion. With Straight Talk, customers get slower data speeds any time there’s stress on the network to ensure that Verizon customers get high-speed data as long as possible. 

Plan Options

Straight Talk offers various plans that provide limited data, while T-Mobile’s cell phone plans all have unlimited 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 Straight Talk’s 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!

As long as you are content with using less than 60 GB of high-speed data each month, opening an account with Straight Talk is a great choice. 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. 

T-Mobile Cell Phone Plans

T-Mobile has a variety of plans at different price points from which you can choose and find one that suits your style. This subsection will discuss the major T-Mobile plans, their price points, and their features. 

T-Mobile’s Magenta MAX

• $85 a month
• Unlimited talk, text, and data
• Netflix subscription

T-Mobile’s Magenta MAX plan comes with all the bells and whistles they’ve got. With unlimited everything, this plan delivers unrestricted HD streaming on the network as well as a monumental 40 GB of mobile hotspot data. With mobile data they promise a true unlimited, which means there’s no deprioritization if your usage gets really high. This is a plan for people who go through data like mad. 

Alongside your unlimited data you get 40 GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data. Mobile hotspots let you turn your phone into a Wi-Fi source and connect devices anywhere you have coverage. WIth this plan, you get 40 GBs of that every month! On top of that you get a Netflix subscription! You receive Netflix basic with a one-line plan and Netflix standard with two or more lines on the plan. That’s a $10 or $15 value. 

This is a huge plan, but you pay for it. $85 a month for a one-line plan is significant, and it is likely not worth it if you aren’t planning on taking advantage of the extreme amounts of data you are receiving. If you only use a bit of data, their regular Magenta plan might be a better fit. 

T-Mobile’s Magenta

• $70 a month
• Unlimited talk, text, and data

T-Mobile’s Magenta plan delivers unlimited data with fewer bells and whistles than its counterpart. This plan comes with unlimited talk and text as well as 100 GB of high-speed data before your data gets throttled. One hundred gigabytes of data is a tremendous lump of it and it takes serious data usage to approach that level of mobile data usage. You also are only allocated 5 GB of mobile hotspot data, but the 50 GB is only nice if you are using it! 

All that being said, the Netflix subscription almost pays for all of it. This plan is only $15 a month less expensive than the other plan, and if you are a Netflix user then you’d be saving on your monthly subscription. If you are between these two, we must recommend Magenta MAX.

T-Mobile Essentials

• $60 per month
• Unlimited talk, text, and data

T-Mobile’s Essentials plan begins to bring in the savings. At $60 a month, it is $25 fewer than Magenta MAX and $10 fewer than the Magenta plan. That really adds up over time. And this plan is nothing to scoff at, either. It comes with 50 GB of high-speed data before your data is deprioritized as well as unlimited talk and text. It is an excellent deal to get access to T-Mobile’s high-speed network, as well as the perks of getting service from one of the major wireless companies. 

T-Mobile Family Plans

The multi-line savings of T-Mobile plans is not to be overlooked. If you are able to get some friends or family together who are all comfortable sharing a mobile plan then you will be able to save big on your wireless bill. T-Mobile’s Essentials plan, normally $60, goes down to $30 per line on a four line plan. 

Magenta starts at $70 a line and goes down to $32 a line for five lines with savings at every step up to that point. Magenta’s family plan shares the 100 GB of priority data, but with two or three people on the plan they are able to save big on their phone bill while still being able to use a ton of data each month. This is perfect for families where some of the members don’t use a ton of data, leaving a big portion of that pool for the others! 

T-Mobile 10 GB Prepaid Plan

• $40 a month

If you are looking for some serious savings consider T-Mobile’s limited data plans. They all come with unlimited talk and text, and this one in particular has 10 GB of high-speed data all for $40 a month. Especially for single-line plans, this allows users who don’t chew through data to get a plan that perfectly suits their needs and save a lot of money while they do it! This is an additional $20 of savings each month compared to their Essentials plan, which is nothing to scoff at. 

What’s your current cell phone plan? Try to figure out which parts of it are the pain points when you look for a new one! 

Major Wireless Network vs. MVNO

T-Mobile is a wireless network, while Straight Talk is a mobile virtual network operator. Their cell phone plans, coverage, and overall experience differ in a few ways. Let’s break down some of the key differences between Major Wireless Networks and MVNOs to decide whether a major network or an MVNO is a better fit for you.  

Major networks maintain their own extensive infrastructure across the country, ensuring broad coverage and reliable service. MVNOs piggyback off of that infrastructure but offer lower data priorities and are more likely to receive congestion. Major networks prioritize their own customers during times of network congestion, so they will always have faster data speeds and more consistent service quality, but the amount of congestion you receive is highly dependent on your location. Big metropolitan areas cannot keep up with bandwidth usage than suburban and rural areas, even though the networks are stronger in cities. 

MVNOs lease network access from major carriers. This allows them to offer competitive pricing and a variety of plan options tailored to different needs. Many MVNOs focus on providing budget-friendly plans with features like international roaming or data rollover, appealing to cost-conscious consumers. Despite these benefits, MVNOs face limitations in data speed and high-speed data limits compared to major networks. They have lower priority on the network during busy periods, which means users have slower data speeds more frequently. MVNOs will also throttle user data after hitting a certain peak, so make sure to read the fine print in any “unlimited” plan from an MVNO. It may have unlimited 3G data, but only 30 or so GB of high-speed data before you are throttled down to lower data speeds for the rest of the month.

Another consideration is customer service quality, where major networks often boast dedicated support systems, while MVNOs may vary in their service responsiveness and availability. Ultimately, the choice between a major network and an MVNO depends on individual needs for coverage, speed, plan flexibility, and budget considerations.

Customer Service 

T-Mobile's contact information is 800-937-8997, 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

We like both these carriers, but T-Mobile wins out. Straight Talk’s plans don’t offer enough of a discount to justify the limited data and lower data priority. T-Mobile’s unlimited high-speed data is a wonderful part of any plan, and they have a lot of great add-ons to sweeten the deal. There are better cases for the more affordable MVNOs for low-data users, but saving $10 or so while sacrificing unlimited high-speed data and top data priority is too steep in our book. 

Straight Talk, though expensive, provides a great data plan for medium-data users, but overall we recommend T-Mobile. 

MVNOs offer the most benefits when you don’t need unlimited high-speed data because they offer great plans that the major networks do not match. 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. 

Want to compare other carriers?

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

Are you still unsure which carrier to choose or which phone plan to pick? 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!

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I choose the right cell phone provider? 

Choosing the right provider depends on your location, budget, and data usage. Research the coverage maps of major providers in your area to determine which one has the best coverage for you. Also, consider customer reviews for each provider's service quality and customer support.

Is Straight Talk getting shut down?

There is no indication that Straight Talk is getting shut down. Verizon acquired Tracfone in the beginning of 2024, and Tracfone owns Straight Talk. Now, all Straight Talk users use Verizon’s network, but that is the only major change. 

What's the deal with Straight Talk?

Straight Talk is an MVNO that uses Verizon’s network to deliver fantastic coverage to users nationwide. They have a mixture of low- and medium-data plans as well as exceptional multi-line savings. 

Should I use an MVNO or a major wireless provider?

It depends on your priorities. MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) often offer more affordable plans with similar coverage since they use the same network that major providers use. However, major providers may offer better perks, such as higher data speeds, broader coverage, and more premium features. Evaluate your budget and needs to make the right choice.