Cell Phone Plan Calculator
Calculate optimal cell phone plan costs based on your usage. Compare carrier plans, estimate monthly bills with taxes, and find savings across providers.
About
The average American overpays $228 per year on wireless service by selecting plans mismatched to actual usage. Carriers price plans using tiered data allotments where crossing a threshold by even 1 GB triggers overage fees of $10 - $15 per GB, or forces an upgrade to an unnecessarily expensive unlimited tier. This calculator cross-references your actual monthly usage - voice m in minutes, messages t, and data d in GB - against current plan structures from major US carriers to compute true monthly cost including regulatory fees and taxes. It accounts for multi-line discounts, device insurance, hotspot add-ons, and international calling surcharges that inflate advertised prices by 18 - 25%.
This tool approximates costs assuming standard consumer postpaid plans without employer or military discounts. Tax rates use national averages (6.5% federal USF + 12% avg state/local surcharges). Actual bills vary by jurisdiction. Pro tip: check your last 3 bills for real data usage rather than guessing. Carriers report average usage on billing statements under "Data Usage Summary."
Formulas
The estimated monthly cost C for a plan is computed as the sum of the base line cost, add-ons, and applicable taxes and fees:
Where Bn is the per-line base cost for n lines (carriers offer volume discounts), Ains is device insurance cost (typically $9 - $17/mo), Aintl is international calling add-on, Ahot is hotspot add-on (if not included), and t is the combined tax rate.
The tax factor t is computed as:
Where tfed = 0.065 (Federal Universal Service Fund) and tstate averages 0.12 (varies from 0.06 in Oregon to 0.25 in Illinois). For carriers with taxes included (T-Mobile, Visible, Cricket), t = 0.
Annual savings S between a current plan and the recommended plan:
Reference Data
| Carrier | Plan Tier | Data Included | Base Price (1 Line) | Per-Line (4 Lines) | Hotspot | Taxes Included | 5G Access | Streaming Perks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile | Essentials | Unlimited (50 GB priority) | $60 | $26.25 | 0 GB | Yes | Basic | None |
| T-Mobile | Go5G | Unlimited (100 GB priority) | $75 | $30 | 5 GB | Yes | Full | Apple TV+ |
| T-Mobile | Go5G Plus | Unlimited (priority) | $90 | $35 | 50 GB | Yes | Full | Apple TV+, Netflix |
| Verizon | Welcome Unlimited | Unlimited (no priority) | $65 | $30 | 0 GB | No | Basic | None |
| Verizon | Unlimited Plus | Unlimited (30 GB priority) | $80 | $35 | 30 GB | No | Full | Disney+, Hulu |
| Verizon | Unlimited Ultimate | Unlimited (priority) | $90 | $40 | 60 GB | No | Full | Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ |
| AT&T | Starter | Unlimited (no priority) | $65.99 | $27.25 | 0 GB | No | Basic | None |
| AT&T | Extra | Unlimited (50 GB priority) | $75.99 | $30 | 15 GB | No | Full | None |
| AT&T | Premium | Unlimited (priority) | $85.99 | $35 | 50 GB | No | Full | Apple TV+ |
| Mint Mobile | 5 GB | 5 GB | $15 | $15 | 5 GB | No | Basic | None |
| Mint Mobile | 15 GB | 15 GB | $20 | $20 | 10 GB | No | Basic | None |
| Mint Mobile | 20 GB | 20 GB | $25 | $25 | 10 GB | No | Basic | None |
| Mint Mobile | Unlimited | Unlimited (40 GB priority) | $30 | $30 | 10 GB | No | Full | None |
| Visible | Basic | Unlimited (no priority) | $25 | $25 | 5 GB | Yes | Basic | None |
| Visible | Plus | Unlimited (50 GB priority) | $45 | $45 | Unlimited | Yes | Full | None |
| Cricket | 5 GB | 5 GB | $30 | $25 | 0 GB | Yes | Basic | None |
| Cricket | 10 GB | 10 GB | $40 | $25 | 0 GB | Yes | Basic | None |
| Cricket | Unlimited | Unlimited | $55 | $32.50 | 15 GB | Yes | Full | Max with Ads |
| US Mobile | Light | 2 GB | $10 | $10 | 0 GB | No | Basic | None |
| US Mobile | Unlimited All | Unlimited (100 GB priority) | $44 | $25 | 50 GB | No | Full | Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ |