Compare the prices properly

Cricket includes taxes and fees in its advertised price. AT&T Prepaid doesn't — expect roughly 8 to 15% on top. That closes a gap the sticker prices exaggerate, so the honest comparison is all-in:

• AT&T Prepaid Unlimited — $25/mo, online signup only, so about $27 to $29 once taxes land.
• Cricket Select Unlimited — $35/mo with AutoPay, taxes included, so $35 is the bill. First month is $40.
• Cricket Sensible — $30/mo for 10GB, taxes included, first month $35.
• AT&T Prepaid Unlimited Ultra — $60/mo plus taxes, so nearer $65 to $69.
• Cricket Supreme Unlimited — $60/mo, or $55 effective with AutoPay from month two, taxes included.

So AT&T Prepaid is still cheaper at the entry point even after tax, by roughly $6 to $8 a month. At the top tier Cricket is cheaper, and by more than it looks — $55 all-in against something closer to $67.

The $25 plan caps your speed at 3 Mbps

This is the part worth reading twice. AT&T Prepaid's $25 unlimited plan delivers 30GB at up to 3 Mbps, then drops to 1.5 Mbps. That is not deprioritization, which only bites when a tower is busy — it is a fixed ceiling that applies all the time, on an empty network at 3am.

Three megabits is enough for SD video, maps, messaging and music. It is not enough for a large app update, a video call that holds up, or anything that feels like a modern connection. Cricket Select at $35 has no hard cap; it is unlimited and deprioritized, which means it can be much faster than 3 Mbps most of the time and slower than it occasionally. For a lot of people that trade is worth the extra $6.

Hotspot is where they genuinely split

• AT&T Prepaid $25 and $35 — no hotspot at all.
• Cricket Sensible $30 — none, and not available as an add-on.
• Cricket Select $35 — none included; a paid add-on.
• AT&T Prepaid 12-month — 10GB.
• AT&T Prepaid Ultra $60 — 30GB.
• Cricket Supreme $60 — 50GB, the most in either lineup.

If you tether at all, the cheap tiers on both sides are out. Above that, Cricket Supreme gives you 50GB for $55 all-in while AT&T's Ultra gives you 30GB for about $67 — but Ultra's phone data is unlimited premium that never slows on usage, which Supreme's isn't. More hotspot on Cricket, better phone data on AT&T.

Travelling to Mexico or Canada favours AT&T Prepaid

AT&T Prepaid includes 25GB of data in Mexico and Canada on most tiers, and the 12-month plan carries unlimited talk and text plus 16GB there. Cricket includes Mexico and Canada only on Supreme, its $60 tier — Sensible and Select cover calls and texts from the US only. If you cross either border with any regularity, that difference is larger than the price gap.

AT&T Prepaid also includes unlimited international texting to 230+ countries on its tiers, and Ultra adds 500 minutes of calling to 30+ countries. Cricket's international texting is limited to Supreme, which covers 200+ countries.

For a family, Cricket wins outright

Cricket Select is four lines for $100 a month, taxes included — $25 per line for unlimited on AT&T's network, which is among the cheapest four-line prices anywhere. One catch: Select is available to new lines only, so existing Cricket customers can't move onto it.

Which to pick

• Pay a year at once and want the best value — AT&T Prepaid 12-month, $240.
• One line, light use, cheapest possible month to month — AT&T Prepaid $25, if 3 Mbps is genuinely enough.
• One line and you want it to feel fast — Cricket Select $35, taxes included, no speed cap.
• Three or four lines — Cricket Select, $100 for four.
• You tether a lot — Cricket Supreme, 50GB for $55 effective.
• You want data that never slows — AT&T Prepaid Ultra.
• You cross into Mexico or Canada — AT&T Prepaid, at almost any tier.

One practical note on signup: AT&T Prepaid's $25 rate is online only, so walking into a store gets you a different price. Cricket has thousands of stores but charges $25 to activate in one, which cancels most of a month's saving — activate online on either side.