Tracfone Phones and Plans for Seniors in 2025
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February 20, 2025
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Tracfone Senior Plans: Takeaways
- Using Verizon’s network, Tracfone offers prepaid phone plans that start at $15 per month.
- As of 2025, Tracfone does not offer a specific plan or discount for seniors; however, their affordable talk and text plans are a great option for casual phone users.
- Although Tracfone’s basic plans are affordable, data costs can quickly add up. If you’re looking for unlimited data for under $30, then we’d recommend T-Mobile 55+ plans.
FYI: If you’d rather pay on a monthly basis than have a prepaid phone plan, then check out our guide to senior cell phone plans, where you’ll find providers that cost as low as $10 per month.
Tracfone Pros and Cons
Tracfone Pros
- Affordable plans: Tracfone offers plans for as low as about $15 per month, making them one of the most affordable wireless providers in the nation.
- No contracts: Tracfone service works on a prepaid basis, so you’ll never have to commit to a long-term contract. They do, however, offer discounts for contracted auto-refill plans.
- Wide range of devices: From the latest smartphones to basic flip phones, Tracfone sells devices for all types of users. The company also allows you to bring your own phone to their service.
- Rewards program: By purchasing cellular service and devices through Tracfone, you earn points that can be used toward additional minutes, messages, and data.
Tracfone Cons
- No family plans: Tracfone does not offer family plans or discounts for multiple lines. Instead, you prepay for each line of service individually.
- No unlimited data plans: Several of Tracfone’s plans come with unlimited talk and text, but none of them include unlimited data.
Tracfone Plans and Pricing
Tracfone is a prepaid provider, meaning that you have to “refill” your service with them each billing period. However, if you pay for two, three, six, or 12 months of service in advance, then you can get discounted rates.
With Tracfone, any unused benefits will roll over to the next month, including minutes, texts, and data.
Tracfone Service Plans
| Cost | Talk and Text | Data | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15 | Unlimited | 1 GB | 30 days |
| $20 | Unlimited | 4 GB | 30 days |
| $25 | Unlimited | 6 GB | 30 days |
| $30 | Unlimited | 10 GB | 30 days |
| $40 | Unlimited | 20 GB | 30 days |
Tracfone Plans for Seniors
Tracfone does not offer a specific plan or discount for seniors, but they offer several plans that would be great for older adults.
For starters, Tracfone offers a plan with unlimited talk and text for $15 per month. For people who don’t use their phones often but still need some data, this plan would be a great option.
Did You Know: To learn which cellular providers offer discounts, check out our guide to senior phone discounts.
How to Purchase Tracfone
To purchase a phone and service from Tracfone, start by visiting the company’s website. You can find more information about each service plan and the devices currently offered. You can also purchase a device or Tracfone plan at CVS, 7-Eleven, Target, Walgreens, and other authorized retailers.
Tracfone at Walmart
Walmart is also a popular retailer of Tracfone phones and service plans. You can purchase Tracfone from Walmart either over the internet or in person, which is particularly convenient since Tracfone doesn’t automatically renew unless you want it to. If you wish to extend your service or add extra minutes, you can quickly head to Walmart to do so.
Tracfone Prices
Compared with other wireless providers, Tracfone is one of the most affordable options. In addition to no long-term contracts, their cellular service can be as cheap as $10 per month. Month-to-month plans start as low as $14.25 per month.
With most plans, your unused talk, text, and data will not carry over to the next month, with the exception of the 1 GB plan we mentioned above.
Unlike many other providers, Tracfone does not have overage charges. When you use up your monthly allowance of minutes, messages, or data, your service is simply cut off.
Considering other providers charge extra fees by the minute, message, or MB of data, this can be a handy feature. Some, however, might find it annoying to have to purchase extra coverage when they use up their allowance.
Extra minutes, messages, and data cost the following:
- $5 for 1,000 text messages
- $10 for 500 minutes
- $10 for 3 GB of data
Extra Fees
Tracfone does not charge activation fees, late payment fees, early termination fees, or overage charges. If you would like to call someone in another country, there is a $10 Global Calling Card. The rate will depend on the country you’re calling and how long you spend on the phone. Calling someone in China, for example, costs about $0.02 per minute, while calling someone in Georgia (the country, not the state) will cost about $0.24 per minute.
Tracfone Network Coverage
Tracfone uses Verizon’s 4G LTE and 5G networks, so you will have access to nationwide coverage. Verizon is the more reliable 5G network in the country, so you can expect fast speeds throughout the U.S.
Data Speeds
You can expect similar speeds regardless of your plan.
| 5G-Typical Download Speed | 5G-Typical Upload Speed | 5G-Typical Latency | 4G LTE-Typical Download Speed | 4G LTE-Typical Upload Speed | 4G LTE-Typical Latency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35-143 Mbps | 5-31 Mbps | 42-64 ms | 11-75 Mbps | 1-13 Mbps | 49-75 ms |
These are the same speeds for Verizon’s 5G and 4G LTE networks. However, Tracfone does not have access to Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband networks, which have even faster download speeds of 195 Mbps to 634 Mbps, upload speeds of 10 Mbps to 53 Mbps, and latency of 37 ms to 57 ms. For the fastest speeds, you’ll want to choose Verizon over Tracfone, especially in a 4G LTE zone, which may not have a high enough download speed for streaming or video chatting.
Tracfone vs. Straight Talk
Tracfone and Straight Talk are two of the most popular prepaid wireless providers, but they differ in price and data allowances.
If you plan to use large amounts of data, Straight Talk is the better option. If you don’t need unlimited data, then Tracfone might be better for you.
| Tracfone | Straight Talk | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting month-to-month price | $14.25 | $30 |
| Minutes, messages, and data rollover | Yes | No, with the exception of add-ons |
| 5G access | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited data | Not offered | Starts at $35 per month |
| Long-term commitment | Not required | Not required |
Compare Tracfone to Other Providers
Bottom Line
If you’re looking for an affordable wireless provider with no long-term contract required, then Tracfone could be a great option. Particularly for people who use their cell phone minimally, one of the company’s 365-day plans can be a great way to have a phone for emergencies that costs less than $10 per month.
If you plan to use your phone for streaming video or browsing the web, Tracfone can quickly become more costly than other providers. For example, T-Mobile senior plans start at $40 per line per month, and they include unlimited talk, text, and data; whereas the same monthly fee would only get you 20 GB of data, and unlimited talk and text, with Tracfone.
Still, if you just want a simple month-to-month plan to keep in touch with loved ones, Tracfone is worth considering.
To learn more about our favorite wireless providers, check out our helpful guides:
Tracfone Frequently Asked Questions
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Which Tracfone is best for seniors?
The best plan will vary from person to person, but we think Tracfone’s 365-day plan with 1,500 minutes is a great option for seniors. It costs less than $10 per month, and it’s a great way to have an active cell phone in case of emergencies.
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Do Tracfone minutes roll over to the next month?
As long as you don’t let your service lapse between months, your unused minutes, messages, and data will carry over to subsequent months.
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Can I bring my own phone to Tracfone?
If you have an unlocked cell phone, you can use it with Tracfone service.
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Can I buy Tracfone at Walmart?
Yes, you can buy Tracfone service, add-ons, and compatible cell phones from Walmart, both online and in store.