Cricket and Metro by T-Mobile are the heavyweights of retail prepaid: thousands of stores each, real family pricing, bundled streaming perks, and unlimited plans from the mid-$20s. The catch is they run on different networks — Cricket on AT&T, Metro on T-Mobile — and they bundle different perks. Price, family plans, hotspot, perks and coverage, in that order.
Key takeaways
Cricket runs on AT&T, Metro on T-Mobile — check coverage at your address before anything else.
Metro is cheaper for a single line (about $25 BYOD vs Cricket's $35 Select).
Cricket is cheaper for four lines ($100 on Select) and has the bigger hotspot (50GB vs 25GB).
Metro bundles Amazon Prime and 100GB Google One; Cricket's top tier is $5 cheaper instead.
Both include taxes and fees in the advertised price, and both have thousands of stores.
Both are deprioritized behind their parent carrier's postpaid customers during congestion.
Only Metro offers a 5-year price guarantee.
Quick answer: which should you pick?
- Pick Metro by T-Mobile if T-Mobile covers you well and you want taxes included, a 5-year price lock, and perks like Amazon Prime and Google One.
- Pick Cricket if AT&T is stronger where you live and you want the biggest hotspot (50GB on Supreme) or the cheapest 4-line family plan ($100) — taxes included.
- Short version: same retail-prepaid playbook, different networks and perks. Check coverage first, then pick by which perks you'll actually use.
Test the network before you switch
Not sure it'll work at your address? Most of these carriers offer a no-risk free trial, so you can test coverage at home and at work before porting your number. Coverage outranks every price and perk on this page.
Network & coverage: AT&T vs T-Mobile
Price & plans
- Limited data — Cricket Sensible 10GB at $30. Metro is mostly unlimited, with no direct equivalent.
- Entry unlimited — Cricket Select at $35 (no hotspot) against Metro at about $25 BYOD with autopay.
- Mid unlimited — Cricket Smart at $45 with a 15GB hotspot; Metro at $40 with a 35GB threshold.
- Top unlimited — Cricket Supreme at $55 with a 50GB hotspot; Metro at $60 with a 70GB threshold, 25GB hotspot and Amazon Prime.
- Cricket also offers 12-month prepay at $25/mo for a single BYOD line if you'll pay a year up front.
Family plans: very close
- Cricket Select — $35 for one line, $100 for four ($25/line), one of the cheapest 4-line unlimited plans anywhere, though with no hotspot.
- Metro entry unlimited — roughly $25 to $40 for one line and $100 to $120 for four, with the 5-year price lock attached.
- Both include taxes, so for families it's close to a wash — decide on network and perks instead.
Hotspot: Cricket wins at the top
- Cricket Supreme includes a 50GB hotspot; Smart includes 15GB; Select includes none.
- Metro's $60 plan includes a 25GB hotspot; cheaper Metro plans include little to none.
- If heavy tethering matters, Cricket's 50GB Supreme hotspot is the standout in this matchup.
Perks: different bundles
- Cricket Supreme ($55) — 50GB hotspot, unlimited texting to 200+ countries, Mexico and Canada calling and roaming, taxes included.
- Metro ($60) — Amazon Prime, 100GB Google One, 25GB hotspot, T-Mobile Tuesdays, plus the 5-year price guarantee.
- Metro is the one bundling streaming and storage; Cricket's counter is the bigger hotspot and a cheaper top tier.
Which is better for you?
- AT&T is best where you live — Cricket.
- T-Mobile is best where you live — Metro.
- Cheapest single-line unlimited — Metro, at about $25 BYOD.
- Cheapest 4-line family — Cricket, at $100 on Select.
- Biggest hotspot — Cricket, 50GB on Supreme.
- Amazon Prime and Google One — Metro.
- A 5-year price lock — Metro.
Pros and cons
- Cricket pros — cheapest 4-line plan at $100, biggest hotspot at 50GB, AT&T coverage, thousands of stores, taxes included, cheaper $55 top tier.
- Cricket cons — no streaming or storage perks, Select has no hotspot, no price-lock guarantee, deprioritized during congestion.
- Metro pros — cheapest single-line unlimited at about $25, Amazon Prime and Google One, 5-year price guarantee, thousands of stores, taxes included.
- Metro cons — cheapest plan needs autopay and BYOD, smaller hotspot than Cricket's top tier, deprioritized during congestion, rural coverage varies.
Test the network free before you switch
Both run on networks you can trial risk-free — check coverage at your own address first.
See free trials →
#Cricket Wireless
#Metro by T-Mobile
#Comparison
#Prepaid
About the author
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
What networks do Cricket and Metro use? +
Cricket runs on AT&T; Metro runs on T-Mobile. Choose based on which network covers your area best — it matters more than any price or perk difference.
Which is cheaper? +
For a single line, Metro's roughly $25 BYOD unlimited with autopay and taxes included is cheaper than Cricket's $35 Select. For four lines, Cricket's $100 Select is one of the cheapest family options anywhere.
Which has better perks? +
Metro bundles Amazon Prime and 100GB Google One on its top plan; Cricket's counter is the bigger 50GB hotspot on Supreme plus a $5 cheaper top tier. Pick by which you'd actually use.
Which has the bigger hotspot? +
Cricket — Supreme includes 50GB per line against 25GB on Metro's $60 plan. Cricket Smart includes 15GB, and Cricket Select includes none.
Do both include taxes? +
Yes — both Metro and Cricket include taxes and fees in their advertised prices, so the number you see is close to the number you pay.
Do both have stores? +
Yes — both have thousands of retail locations for in-person setup and support, which is their shared advantage over online-only MVNOs.
Does either avoid deprioritization? +
No. Both Cricket and Metro are deprioritized behind their parent carrier's postpaid customers when a tower is congested. Metro's higher tiers raise the premium-data threshold before that kicks in, but neither buys true postpaid priority.
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