Best AT&T plans in 2024

Whether you’re a heavy user who needs totally unlimited data or a light user looking to save some cash, picking the best AT&T plan can be a challenge.

AT&T offers five main plans with the ability to mix and match with multi-line discounts intact. This allows you to pick the best AT&T plan for each member of your family, rather than trying to find one that works for everyone.

Luckily, most of these plans include some international usage, including roaming to Mexico and Canada, so you can mostly focus on what kind of data you need.

These are the best plans to use on AT&T

Best overall

AT&T Unlimited Extra EL

Plenty of data for most people

AT&T Unlimited Extra EL is AT&T’s second priciest plan with 75GB of high-speed data and unlimited data after that. It’s got 30GB of hotspot data to go with it, and access to AT&T’s Active Armor security with features like a free VPN for public Wi-Fi.

5G

Yes

Premium data

75GB

Data cap

Unlimited

International calling

Yes

International texting

230+ countries

International roaming

Canada and Mexico

Hotspot data

30GB

Taxes and fees

Extra

Pros

• Unlimited data with 75GB at top speed
• Full 5G access
• Unlimited talk, text, and data in North America

Cons

• Videos stream at SD resolutions
• No Signature Program benefits

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If you’ve been looking at AT&T’s most expensive plan, you may be thinking that you don’t need all of that tech, and you’re probably right. Unlimited Extra EL is one step down from the top plan but has plenty of data and perks for most people. This plan comes with 75GB of high-speed data, sometimes called premium data by other carriers, with unlimited data that could be slowed down when the network is busy. Effectively, it’s unlimited high-speed data for anyone who uses less than 75GB of data per month, which is most people. Even if you’re a heavy user, you’ll likely have no trouble getting by on the slowed data.

One thing to note is that this plan limits video streams to SD resolution, which can be annoying if you have a large phone like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and want the best video quality on it. If you watch a lot of gaming content, you may also find it difficult to read the HUD on an SD stream. Naturally, you can see full HD while on Wi-Fi, and AT&T’s Active Armor Advanced, which is included with this plan, can keep you secure with an automatic VPN when you connect to public Wi-Fi.

You can share data with other devices like tablets or laptops using the hotspot feature on your phone and Unlimited Extra EL comes with 30GB of high-speed hotspot data. This should be plenty to check your emails and browse the web on a trip but could run out quickly if you decide to use it for HD streaming in your hotel room.

Like all of AT&T’s unlimited plans, Unlimited Extra EL comes with unlimited talk, text, and data in Canada and Mexico as well, though speeds may be limited. It’s also got full 5G access on AT&T’s network including its mid-band and mmWave coverage.

This plan is far from cheap with a starting price of $75.99 for a single line. If you get two lines, that comes down to $65.99 per line, $50.99 with three lines, and $40.99 with four lines. Luckily that price sticks if you bring lines to other plans as well, so you can stick the kids on a cheaper plan while still enjoying the full multi-line discount.

AT&T’s top plan is called Unlimited Premium PL, and it comes with totally unlimited high-speed data. Unlike AT&T’s other plans, you will not be subject to slowed data no matter how much you use, making this the plan of choice for the heaviest users. This extra data will be helpful to streamers, especially since your streaming video quality won’t be limited on this plan with full 4K video support.

This plan also comes with 60GB of high-speed hotspot data so you can share your connection with another device if you get stuck without Wi-Fi.

One place this plan excels is in international data. AT&T includes not only unlimited talk, text, and data in North America but also in 20 Latin American countries in Central and South America. If you like to travel a lot, this plan can keep you connected without needing to worry about finding a travel SIM or paying for travel passes.

This plan comes with full access to AT&T ActiveArmor advanced security which comes with extra security features identity monitoring, Caller ID, and an automatic VPN for public Wi-Fi. That means you can use public Wi-Fi without worrying about your private data being stolen.

The Unlimited Premium Pl plan comes in at $85.99 for a single line, $75.99 per line with two lines, $60.99 with three lines, and $50.99 with four lines. Keep in mind that AT&T allows customers to mix and match lines, so you still get these multi-line discounts even if you put some of the people on your account on a cheaper plan. Grandma probably won’t make much use of 60GB of hotspot data and 4K streaming after all.

This plan also qualifies for AT&T’s Signature program, which offers discounts through certain employers and organizations.

If you’ve got only one line to get connected and AT&T has the right coverage for you, AT&T Value Plus VL is the plan to start with. This unlimited plan doesn’t come with prioritized data but also doesn’t have a cap. You’ll get full 5G access, which not all of AT&T’s cheaper plans do, bizarrely. While it doesn’t have AT&T’s fastest data, most people will find the speeds to be more than acceptable, especially when you remember that this plan only supports SD-quality streaming video. There’s also no hotspot data, so you can only use this plan on the phone that’s activated.

If you like traveling, you get unlimited talk, text, and data in Mexico and Canada, so you don’t need to worry about travel SIMs or plan add-ons for a quick trip across the border. You can also send texts to more than 200 countries for free as long as you’re in the U.S. when you send them.

While I’ve highlighted this plan for single-line accounts, it also gets some multi-line discounts when you add your third line. For one or two lines, you’ll be paying $50.99 per line, but if you add a third, that price comes down to $37.99 per line. Adding a fourth line takes the price down to just $30.99 per line per month.

If you don’t want to get stuck in a loop paying a carrier every single month without thought, a prepaid plan can make a lot more sense. Besides that, prepaid plans don’t need a credit check since you’re paying for service before you receive it.

One of AT&T’s best prepaid value is the creatively named Unlimited + 10GB hotspot data plan. This plan comes with 16GB of high-speed data per month with a 1.5Mbps speed cap applied until the end of the month if you go over. Naturally, this plan also includes 10GB of hotspot data to share with other devices.

I don’t love AT&T’s strict speed caps on a plan it calls unlimited, but if you’re a lighter user who rarely exceeds 16GB of usage, this plan makes a ton of sense. If you’re shopping around, pay close attention to AT&T Prepaid plan data as it can vary greatly between plans, even if the plans have very similar names. You should also check out prepaid carriers like Cricket Wireless and US Mobile compared to AT&T as other prepaid options.

This prepaid plan also allows free texts from the U.S. to over 230 countries, and calls to Canada and Mexico. Keep in mind that unlike the other plans featured so far, this one does not come with usage in Mexico and Canada.

The Prepaid Unlimited + 10GB hotspot data plan comes in at $300 per year, which works out to $25 per month. Unfortunately, AT&T tacks taxes and fees on top of that payment, so you’ll need to pay a bit more than the quoted $300. This is a bit of a drag on a prepaid plan that advertises a nice round price, but not uncommon among other multi-month carriers, like Mint Mobile.

If you don’t need much data and just want a plan that keeps your phone connected and working, AT&T Prepaid Unlimited talk and text + 5GB data is a mouthful of a plan that should fit your needs. This plan comes with unlimited talk and text with 5GB of high-speed data per month. If you use up all of your data, speeds are slowed to 128Kbps until the end of the month, which is fast enough for basic messaging and email, and not much more.

If you use less than 5GB though, rollover data adds the unused data to a pool that can be used in the next month. This is a solid value option from the carrier as AT&T’s more expensive 4GB postpaid plan doesn’t offer rollover data while being more expensive. Another thing this prepaid plan has that the postpaid 4GB plan doesn’t have is 5G access. With this plan, you can use your limited data with AT&T’s best connection.

If you’re a big streamer, you’re stuck with SD-quality videos, which should help you stretch that data. Finally, like most AT&T plans, unlimited texting from the U.S. to over 230 countries is also included. At $30 per month plus taxes and fees, this is one of the cheapest plans on AT&T and offers most of the perks light users are looking for. That being said, there are other prepaid carriers that offer more data for less, like MobileX.

If you’re a parent with multiple kids who all need a phone, you can save money by picking one of the best budget phones and pairing it with a lower-priority unlimited plan like AT&T’s Unlimited Starter SL.

This plan has no hard data limits, instead opting for deprioritized data that may be slowed if a tower gets congested. This plan also comes with 5GB of hotspot data so you can share data with your tablet or laptop. If you’ve got kids, they can also use this data with their school’s computer of choice, such as a Chromebook, to submit an assignment or check for new resources.

The data will run out quickly if you’re trying to do full video calls, but it’s nice to have if your kid forgot to finish their work, and you don’t want to search for Wi-Fi.

Streaming is limited to SD resolutions, like most of AT&T’s plans, which many people will be perfectly happy with. If you absolutely need HD streaming, keep in mind that you can mix and match AT&T’s postpaid plans, so you don’t have to have the same limitations as the kids. That being said, all of AT&T’s unlimited postpaid plans support unlimited talk, text, and data in Canada and Mexico as well as texting to 200+ countries.

This plan starts at $65.99 for a single line, $60.99 per line with two lines, $45.99 with three lines, and $35.99 with three lines.

Get the best plan on the AT&T network for your family

If AT&T fits your needs, especially its pricier Unlimited Premium PL plan, you can save even more with Signature Program discounts. For example, certain businesses offer up to $10 discounts. There are also 25% discounts available for first responders, nurses and physicians, students, military members, and veterans. If you qualify for these discounts, it’s worth getting a quote to see which plans will work out cheapest for you.

Another way to save while using the AT&T network is with prepaid plans. One thing to note if you’re shopping around for AT&T prepaid plans is that the word unlimited can mean several different things. For example, on the Unlimited + 10GB hotspot data plan, it means 16GB of high-speed data, while the plan simply called AT&T Prepaid Unlimited has 30GB of data at 3Mbps with overages slowed to 1.5Mbps. Just be sure to check your plan’s data before signing up, and don’t forget there are plenty of other prepaid phone plans to choose from that could save you money.

Overall, the best plan on AT&T is Unlimited Extra EL thanks to having plenty of high-speed data at 75GB, with unlimited data after that. It also has a respectable 30GB of hotspot data every month so you can download and stream if you find yourself without Wi-Fi. Finally, it has solid multi-line pricing discounts that make it much more affordable for families.

Don’t forget that you can mix and match any of AT&T’s postpaid unlimited plans, so if you need a big plan for one person, you can still save on the plans for the rest of the family.