On AT&T Prepaid's plan page, Unlimited Enhanced Plus costs $45 a month and lists 50GB of hotspot data. Unlimited Ultra costs $60 a month and lists 30GB. The two cards sit next to each other. If you are buying an AT&T prepaid line mainly to tether a laptop, the cheaper plan gives you two thirds more hotspot data than the expensive one, and most comparisons — including ours until recently — had this backwards.
What each plan actually includes
| Enhanced Plus | Unlimited Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $45/mo | $60/mo, or $45/mo for 6 months on a new online-only line |
| Hotspot | 50GB | 30GB |
| Data priority | Deprioritized when the network is busy | Premium — never slowed based on usage |
| Video | Standard definition | HD |
| Cloud storage | None | 100GB AT&T Personal Cloud |
| International calling | None included | 500 minutes to 30+ countries |
| International texting | 230+ countries | 230+ countries |
| Mexico & Canada | Included, 25GB/mo limit in Canada | Included, 25GB/mo limit in Canada |
| AT&T Level Up | Included | Included |
| Multi-line | Up to $20/mo off per line | Single line |
Why the inversion exists
AT&T is not selling Ultra on tethering. It is selling premium data — the guarantee that your speeds are never reduced because of how much you have used in a billing cycle. Every other plan in the prepaid lineup is either deprioritized during congestion or hard-capped at 3 Mbps. Ultra is the only one that is neither, and that is what the extra $15 buys.
Enhanced Plus, meanwhile, is the multi-line plan. It is the entry point to AT&T Prepaid's family discounts, which require a plan of $45 a month or more, and the generous hotspot fits that positioning: a household plan that has to cover a laptop or two. The result is a lineup where the tethering allowance runs opposite to the price.
The promotion complicates it
Ultra is currently $45 a month for the first six months on a new single line bought online, then $60. At $45 the two plans cost the same, and the choice becomes straightforward: 20GB more hotspot on Enhanced Plus, or premium data, cloud storage, international minutes and HD video on Ultra. Month seven is when the decision gets made again.
What most people should actually buy
Neither, if the goal is simply cheap access to AT&T's network. The 12-month prepaid plan is $240 paid once — about $20 a month — and includes 16GB of priority data, a 10GB hotspot, and unlimited data at up to 1.5 Mbps after that. It costs less than every monthly tier in the lineup and has priority data that two of them lack. The catch is the money up front and the year-long commitment.
Enhanced Plus earns its place if you tether seriously or want more than one line. Ultra earns its place if congestion where you live is a real problem, or if the cloud storage and international minutes are things you would otherwise pay for.
Every tier, what it includes, and where each one makes sense.
AT&T Prepaid plans compared →
Jean Gilles has researched personal finance, consumer technology, and wireless pricing for over a decade. He founded ShopCellPlans in 2019 and writes every review on the site.
Frequently asked questions
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