Consumer Cellular vs. Mint Mobile
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November 4, 2024
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Consumer Cellular vs. Mint Mobile: Takeaways
- Mint’s plans are generally cheaper, costing as low as $15 per month; however, you’ll have to pay for three, six, or 12 months of service in advance.
- Consumer Cellular’s plans start at $20 per month; no matter which plan you choose, additional lines will only cost $15 each.
- Both providers are MVNOs, meaning they lease the cellular service of other carriers.
FYI: While initially affordable, Mint Mobile and Consumer Cellular get more expensive with data usage. To find affordable plans with unlimited data, check out our rundown of the best phone plans for seniors.
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| Editor's Ratings | ||
| Starting Cost (One Line) | $20 per month | $15 per month ($45 paid upfront for 3 months) |
| Starting Cost for Unlimited Talk, Text, and Data (One Line) | $50 per month | $30 per month ($45 paid upfront for 3 months) |
| Discounts for Multiple Lines | Yes, $15 each | No |
| Annual Contracts | Not required | Prepayment required on all plans |
| Bring Your Own Phone Option | Yes | Yes |
| Contact | ||
| Phone Number |
Call for best price:
844-580-0512 |
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| Website | View Packages | View Packages |
Consumer Cellular vs. Mint Mobile: Plans and Costs
Consumer Cellular plans start at $20 per month for unlimited talk, text, and 1GB of data. If you want unlimited data, the price will be $50 per month. Each additional line costs $15, regardless of the plan. Also, if you exceed your monthly data allowance, the company will upgrade you to the next plan for that month.
Mint Mobile’s plans operate a bit differently. Rather than paying monthly, you’ll have to pay upfront for three, six, or 12 months of service. All plans include unlimited talk and text, just like Consumer Cellular; so, the only difference between the plans, aside from their term lengths, is the amount of data you get per month. The cost of unlimited data, for example, costs $30 per month with the three- or 12-month plans, or $35 per month with the six-month plan. That’s $15 to $20 cheaper per month than Consumer Cellular. But, there is a catch. While Consumer Cellular charges you month-by-month, Mint Mobile requires upfront payments of anywhere from $45 to $360. The longer the term length, the more you’ll have to pay upfront.
As mentioned above, with both companies, all plans include unlimited talk and text, so the only difference is data allotment. Mint Mobile offers 5GB, 15GB, or 20GB of data plus unlimited, while Consumer Cellular offers 1GB, 5GB, or 10GB of data plus unlimited.
So, what’s the catch with Mint? Well, after that first term is over, prices will go up — leaving monthly costs anywhere from $25 to $40 for unlimited data. But this “unlimited” plan is a misnomer; you’ll only get 40GB of 4G LTE/5G data per month with Mint Mobile, compared to 50GB with Consumer Cellular. Beyond these amounts, you can expect slowdowns; the throttling could be frustrating if you’re trying to do a high-bandwidth activity like streaming or video chatting.
Senior Plans
Mint Mobile’s senior plan starts at $15 per month and includes unlimited talk, text, and 5GB of data. This price, however, only applies to the first three months; like Mint’s regular service, you’ll have to pay this three-month amount upfront in one sum. After the first three months, the cost will go up to $25 a month — again, paid upfront.
Consumer Cellular’s senior plan is only available to AARP members. The company offers members two lines of unlimited talk, text, and data for $55 a month, which comes out to $27.50 per line per month. However, even if you don’t want two lines, you can get 5 percent off any Consumer Cellular plan with your AARP membership.
With this plan, users get unlimited talk, text, and data for $47.50 with one line, or for $61.75 for two lines — saving you $14.25 per month. With any plan, the AARP discount is 5 percent.
Savings Tip: Cellular service is one of the many savings that AARP offers. To see our full rundown, read our guide to whether or not an AARP membership is worth it.
Contracts
Consumer Cellular offers month-to-month contracting only. You can cancel at any time and you won’t owe a large sum upfront. If you go over your monthly data allotment, the company will bump you up to the next plan. For example, if you’re on the 1GB plan and use more data in a month, Consumer Cellular will put you on the 5GB plan; you’ll pay accordingly.
Mint Mobile, on the other hand, requires prepayment for either three, six, or 12 months, as mentioned above. You’ll pay for the entire term upfront, which is not the case with Consumer Cellular. And while Mint Mobile has no early termination fees, you won’t get your money back; the exception is unless you’re within seven days of activation on the company’s website or app. This refund includes fees and taxes, but you won’t receive a refund for shipping. That being said, the advantage of choosing a one-year package is that you’ll get the lowest “per-month” pricing on all plans. It pays to commit!
Note that after your first contract, Mint Mobile’s pricing will increase. Technically, that could happen every month at Consumer Cellular, too. But, we’ve been tracking their pricing for years, and it has remained almost entirely static.
Phones and Devices
Both Consumer Cellular and Mint give you the option to bring your own phone and use it on their networks; you just need one of their SIM cards. To see if your current phone is compatible with their networks, you can visit their websites — they have tools to check compatibility. Both networks allow you to keep your existing phone number, in some cases.
In terms of new devices, both providers offer a similar lineup of smartphones at similar price points. For example, both companies sell the iPhone 14 for $629. However, in some cases, Mint Mobile was cheaper: they sell the senior-friendly iPhone SE for $349, while at Consumer Cellular it’s $429. Across the board, you’ll find similar prices on the latest smartphones from Samsung, Apple, and Google, but the price differences depend on the individual devices.
One major difference between the companies would be a flip phone option. While Consumer Cellular offers the IRIS Easy Flip for $59, Mint Mobile only sells smartphones.
Coverage
Both Consumer Cellular and Mint are mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), meaning they lease their network from other providers. Mint Mobile uses T-Mobile’s network, while Consumer Cellular uses both AT&T and T-Mobile’s.
The downside of an MVNO is that during times of heavy data usage, T-Mobile or AT&T will deprioritize service for the MVNO users. One can expect to see this with both companies, but you’ll see more slowdowns with the former after you’ve used 40GB of data in a month. With Consumer Cellular, that number is 50GB.
Our Favorite
While both Consumer Cellular and Mint Mobile are among our favorite providers, we think that Consumer Cellular is the better option for most people.
For users of minimal data, Consumer Cellular’s $20 plan comes with unlimited talk, text, and 1GB of data. While Mint Mobile’s 5GB will initially cost $15 per month — paid in a sum of $45 upfront — costs will rise to $25 following the three months. The same is true for all of its plans, making Mint Mobile only deceptively more affordable.
Additionally, unlimited data, while cheaper on Mint Mobile, isn’t truly unlimited. As mentioned, after 40GB of data usage, you’ll run out of 5G and 4G data, which is no longer enough to accomplish data-intensive tasks. That number is slightly higher with Consumer Cellular at 50GB.
Because of this, we think Consumer Cellular’s unlimited plan, particularly with the discount from AARP, is the better option. To learn more about this plan, read our Consumer Cellular review.