Total Wireless vs. Cricket Wireless: What’s the best carrier-owned prepaid option?

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  Go unlimited

  Total Wireless

  Verizon’s Total Wireless makes more sense than ever, with a selection of unlimited plans boasting multiline discounts. You can save on a new phone after 12 months of service, and fast Ultra Wideband 5G is included with two of Total’s plans.

  Pros

  • Fast Ultra Wideband 5G on two plans
  • Hotspot data on every plan
  • Price guarantee for five years

  Cons

  • Unlimited hotspot on the top plan is just 5Mbps
  • Auto-pay is required for the best price

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  Rack up the savings

  Cricket Wireless

  AT&T’s own prepaid brand, Cricket Wireless, hasn’t always been very competitive, but with its current crop of plans, the carrier can make a lot of sense. Families can save with multiline discounts, but single-line users can also save with multi-month plans.

  Pros

  • Strong AT&T coverage with unlimited data
  • Multiline and multi-month savings
  • Taxes and fees are included

  Cons

  • Discounts on the smaller plans aren?t great
  • Multi-month savings are only on one plan

The Big Three carriers are no longer content to sell wireless under a single brand. They have surrounded themselves with a collection of prepaid brands to capture the value market without dropping their postpaid prices. AT&T’s Cricket Wireless and Verizon’s Total Wireless work to fill the same sort of void with plans stripped down to their basics to keep prices low. The key to success in the prepaid market appears to be the $25 unlimited plan, and both Cricket and Total offer one, so long as you bring four lines.

Since these carriers are prepaid, data will be a lower priority than other plans, especially those with premium data. But for most users, they’ll offer more than enough speed to get by. Unless you’re running speed tests, trying to watch HD video, or downloading large games on mobile data, you may not notice a difference in performance.

Mobile carrier features

Another, perhaps more well-known Verizon carrier, Visible, has been making waves for a couple of years in the prepaid space, so it’s no surprise that Total Wireless’s latest plans take a lot of inspiration from what Visible got right, starting with unlimited data. Totally unlimited data is less about using a ton of data, and more about not worrying about how much you’re using. All three of Total’s phone plans have totally unlimited data that lacks the high-speed data cap seen on carriers like Mint Mobile.

Each of these plans also comes with some form of mobile hotspot data. While the two cheaper options have 5GB or 15GB of hotspot data, the top plan has unlimited hotspot data at 5Mbps. This is highly reminiscent of Visible’s unlimited hotspot data. But the more comparable Visible plan, Visible+, has been updated to 10Mbps, making the Total 5G+ plan feel a bit outdated with its half-speed hotspot.

Total Wireless excels with international features. All plans have roaming in Mexico and Canada with up to 10GB of roaming data. The two higher-end plans also have roaming to 15 more countries, mostly in Latin America. Calling to 85+ destinations and texting to 200+ destinations are also included.

When it comes to pricing, Total keeps things simple; taxes and fees are included in the price. The plan price is also locked in for five years, so long as you keep your account in good standing. Finally, unlike Visible, multiline savings make the carrier affordable for families.

Cricket Wireless is an AT&T-owned prepaid carrier, and if you live in an area dominated by AT&T coverage, as I do, it can be a great way to save money over AT&T’s postpaid plans and sidestep AT&T prepaid’s confusing definition of the word “unlimited.” Cricket has four phone plans, two of which are unlimited plus a 5GB and a 10GB plan. While initially a bit pricey, you can save with solid multiline and multi-month savings on AT&T’s unlimited plan.

Data priority varies between plans, with the top unlimited plan getting fast data. But Cricket’s best deals are on the lower priority unlimited plan. Another oddity is the lack of hotspot data on Cricket’s multi-month unlimited plan. It would have been nice to have something, even with a throttle, like Total and Visible. The fixed data plans don’t even have hotspot support, which is bizarre considering it’s not unlimited.

All but the cheapest Cricket plan can be used in Mexico and Canada with international texting to 37 countries included with unlimited.

Mobile coverage and reception

When it comes to coverage, this is really Verizon versus AT&T. Verizon has overall higher data speeds than AT&T according to Ookla and its Speedtest app results, but if you live in a rural area, AT&T may still be the best bet. Make sure to check Cricket’s coverage map or Total’s coverage map to ensure there’s strong coverage where you live.

If you’re looking at 5G, it may look like AT&T’s coverage comes out on top according to these coverage maps, but AT&T has relied heavily on low-band spectrum to fill in its 5G coverage, which doesn’t offer much more speed than LTE. Verizon’s 5G coverage is a bit more conservative, and while the carrier also has some low-band coverage, Verizon is more focused on mid-band coverage. Total’s coverage map doesn’t differentiate between low-band and mid-band 5G; you can still see it on Verizon’s coverage map. You’ll quickly notice that much of Verizon’s 5G coverage is now using its best Ultra Wideband.

Both carriers have some mmWave coverage in dense areas, but for the most part, fast 5G on either carrier will be using spectrum at 3.4GHz on AT&T and 3.7GHz on Verizon. For both of these, look for band n77 support on your phone.

Phone compatibility

Cricket’s network is compatible with many phone models, but you should still check your phone’s IMEI with Cricket’s BYOD tool to be sure. You can also refer to AT&T’s list of compatible models (PDF) to see what models are available. AT&T supports many devices, including some of the best Android phones, like Google Pixel 9 and Samsung Galaxy S24. Some obscure models, like OnePlus 12, Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro, and Nothing Phone 2, are also viable.

Total Wireless, while not as compatible as Cricket, still supports a good range of Android phones, like the Galaxy S24 series and Pixel 9 series, as well as budget Android phones, like Motorola models. Be sure to check your phone with Total’s BYOD tool before signing up.

If you’re ready for a new phone, you can buy one directly from Cricket or Total. While most of the phones are on the cheaper side, there are also some flagship models available. You can buy the phones outright, or finance them. Cricket uses Affirm for financing, while Total uses SmartPay.

Plans

Total’s plans are kept very simple with only three unlimited plans, while Cricket’s plans offer two fixed data options and two unlimited plans. The top plans are priced similarly, with a single-line price of $60 per month, and options as low as $40 per month on Total and $30 per month on Cricket. Both carriers offer multiline savings, so if you’re bringing the family along, you can save more.

Total’s plans

Total’s cheapest plan, Base Unlimited 5G, offers basic 5G speeds, with video streaming at 480p. This is similar to Visible’s base plan or Unlimited Welcome on Verizon, with no access to faster Ultra Wideband speeds. However, the truth is that many users won’t benefit all that much from the extra speed. It also has 5GB of hotspot data to share with other devices. This plan costs $40 per month for a single line or $25 per line with four lines.

Moving up, Total 5G Unlimited gets faster unlimited data, offering Ultra Wideband 5G speeds and hotspot data upgraded to 15GB. Roaming is included in Mexico and Canada as well as 15 other destinations. Disney+ is included for six months if you’re looking for something to watch on your unlimited plan, though this one still only gets 480p streaming. This plan costs $50 per month for a single line, but with four lines, it’s just $27.50 per line because the fourth line is free.

Total’s top plan, Total 5G+ Unlimited, is much the same as Total 5G Unlimited, but hotspot data has been upgraded to unlimited with a 5Mbps speed cap. It also includes a $10 international calling credit and Disney+ for free. Streaming video has also been upgraded to 720p with this plan. Its $60 starting price is high, but it is reduced to $30 per line with four lines.

Total’s prices are kept simple because taxes and fees are included in the plan’s cost. If you’re worried about a bait and switch, you can lock your price in for five years as long as you keep paying your bill and your account is in good standing.

Cricket’s plans

Cricket has four plans, beginning with two fixed-data options. The cheapest plan, starting at $30, has unlimited talk and text with 5GB of data. Oddly, hotspot usage is not permitted, and all other interactional features have been removed. With no multiline savings, this plan really isn’t a good value. The 10GB plan has some added benefits because usage in Mexico and Canada is included. This plan starts at $40 per month, but with four lines it reduces to $27.50 per line, the same as Total’s second-tier unlimited plan.

Cricket’s most interesting plan is simply called Unlimited, and it starts at $55 per month. But with four lines, it’s just $25 per line. As the name implies, you get unlimited data and a couple of other nice-to-haves like usage in Mexico and Canada and the availability of a hotspot add-on. If you have one line but still want to save, you can get this plan for three months at a time for $40 per month or a year for $25 per month. Unfortunately, the hotspot add-on is unavailable with multi-month plans.

For $60 per month, you can get the creatively named Unlimited + 15GB Mobile Hotspot data plan. Reducing to $32.50 per line with four lines, this is more than a hotspot upgrade. You also get a higher-priority data connection, Max with Ads, and 150GB of cloud storage using Asurion’s myPhotoVault app.

Taxes and fees are included with all Cricket plans, so you won’t need to guess how much your final bill will be.

Which should you buy?

If you have strong coverage with either carrier, Total Wireless is the way to go for the best value. Total’s unlimited plans work out cheaper with more features across the board and manage to do so without removing usage in Mexico and Canada or hotspot data. The cheapest Base 5G Unlimited plan could be a great choice for those who don’t need a ton of speed, but if you have multiple lines, the upgrade to Total 5G Unlimited could be worth it at just $2.50 more per line with four lines.

Totals’s international perks also stand head and shoulders above Cricket, with roaming in 15+ destinations, calling to 85+ destinations, and texting to 200+ destinations. If Verizon coverage works for you, Total is the better value over Cricket.

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Editor’s choice

Total Wireless

Multiline savings and Verizon’s network

Total Wireless uses Verizon’s network to offer customers cheap unlimited data with multiline savings, making it a strong option for families. With great international features, Total Wireless can also be the right pick for travelers.

While it doesn’t come out on top, Cricket can still be a good value for many users. AT&T’s network simply works better in some places, and Cricket’s affordable unlimited data options could be what many are looking for. For the best value, Total comes out ahead, but Cricket really isn’t far off. With the option for a $25 per line unlimited family plan available on both carriers, either one could be a great way to save compared to a postpaid carrier. It’s also nice that you can get 12 months of service to save if you’ve only got a single line.

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Runner-up

Cricket Wireless

Cheap opportunity to use AT&T’s network

Cricket is one of the cheapest ways to get unlimited data on AT&T and avoids the speed and data cap strangeness of AT&T Prepaid plans. With multiline and multi-month savings available, Cricket could be a good pick for families and single-line users looking to save without leaving the AT&T network.