The same money buys very different amounts of data

Start at the bottom of each ladder. Patriot Mobile's entry plan, Everyday Communicator, is 2GB for $25 a month. PureTalk's entry plan is 7GB for $24.99. Same price, three and a half times the data.

The gap widens as you climb. Patriot's top tier, Power User, is 45GB for $75. PureTalk's $34.99 plan is branded unlimited with a 50GB high-speed ceiling — more high-speed data than Patriot's most expensive plan, for less than half the money.

What Patriot has that PureTalk doesn't

One thing, and it's a real one: you choose which national network each line runs on — AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon — and Patriot claims coverage of 99% of Americans on that basis, with a ZIP-code checker on its plans page. PureTalk is AT&T only.

If AT&T is weak where you live, that choice matters more than any price on this page. A plan that saves you $15 a month and doesn't work at your kitchen table isn't cheaper. Check both before deciding anything else.

Patriot also advertises higher-priority premium service, which is unusual for an MVNO — most traffic sits behind the host carrier's own customers during congestion. Treat that as a claim to test in your first month rather than a specification.

What PureTalk has that Patriot doesn't

A hotspot allowance that isn't taken out of your phone data. Patriot includes tethering on every plan, but it draws from the same allotment — so a 2GB plan is 2GB total, however you use it. PureTalk sells dedicated hotspot data on top: 2GB at $34.99, rising to 30GB at $64.99.

It also has a 30-day money-back guarantee, which functions as a trial, and a 20% discount for military, veterans and first responders that reprices the whole ladder. And it offers phone credit as you climb — $100, $200 or $300 off a handset on the upper tiers.

Where Patriot's pricing gets closer

Multi-line, and only there. Patriot's discounts are steep and apply per line: 10% off at two lines, 15% at three, 20% at four or more. A family of four on the 12GB plan pays $40 a line rather than $50.

That's a genuine improvement, but hold it against what $40 buys elsewhere on a single line — PureTalk's $34.99 unlimited, or a Verizon-network MVNO at $25 with no data limit at all. The discount narrows the gap; it doesn't close it.

Which to buy

• You want the advocacy funding specifically: Patriot Mobile. Nothing else on this page competes with that, and it's the honest reason to choose it.
• AT&T is weak at your address: Patriot Mobile, for the network choice. Run the ZIP checker first.
• Everything else being equal: PureTalk. More data at every price, dedicated hotspot, and a money-back month to test it.
• You tether: PureTalk, where hotspot data is separate from phone data.
• You're military, a veteran or a first responder: PureTalk's 20% discount reprices the entire ladder.
• Four or more lines and you want Patriot: take the 20% multi-line discount, and compare $40 a line against unlimited elsewhere before committing.

Neither is the cheapest way to buy wireless, and neither claims to be. Both are asking you to pay a premium for something the spreadsheet can't price — a mission and a phone number that a person answers. Go in knowing which of the two you're actually buying.