T-Mobile and AT&T now price their plans close enough that a single feature can decide it. AT&T is $10 to $15 a month cheaper for a single line at the mid and top tiers. T-Mobile includes streaming services AT&T doesn't, and its mid-band 5G is faster in most cities.
The short version
- Cheaper at the mid and top tiers, and better in rural areas → AT&T.
- Fastest city 5G, streaming included, longest price guarantee → T-Mobile.
- Most hotspot → tied at 250GB on the top plans (Elite 2.0 and Experience Beyond).
Plans and prices, one line with AutoPay
| T-Mobile | AT&T | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Essentials Saver $50/mo | Value 2.0 $50/mo |
| Mid | Experience More $85/mo | Extra 2.0 $70/mo |
| Top | Experience Beyond $100/mo | Premium 2.0 $90/mo |
| Highest tier | No equivalent | Elite 2.0 $110/mo |
| Hotspot | Essentials: 3G only · More: 60GB · Beyond: 250GB | Value: 3GB · Extra: 50GB · Premium: 100GB · Elite: 250GB |
| Price guarantee | 5 years on Experience plans | None |
| Taxes and fees | Extra | Extra |
AT&T's AutoPay discount needs a bank account; paying by debit card costs $5 more a month. T-Mobile adds a $5.49 per-line regulatory and telco recovery fee from October 12, 2026, on top of taxes.
Families: four lines
Per line, AT&T runs $30 on Value 2.0, $40 on Extra 2.0, $50 on Premium 2.0 and $70 on Elite 2.0. T-Mobile Essentials is $25 a line at four ($100 total), which makes it the cheapest four-line option of the two if you can live with 3G-speed hotspot and lower priority.
Coverage and speed
AT&T's LTE network reaches more rural areas, especially in the South and Midwest. T-Mobile's mid-band 5G is faster in most cities and suburbs, and its low-band 5G covers more ground than AT&T's 5G. Indoors in rural areas, T-Mobile's low-band signal is where most complaints come from.
How to read each map, and where each one overstates service.
AT&T coverage map →Perks and travel
- T-Mobile Experience More includes Netflix Standard with ads and high-speed data in 215+ countries.
- T-Mobile Experience Beyond adds Hulu, T-Satellite, 15GB of high-speed data abroad and 30GB in Canada and Mexico.
- AT&T Extra 2.0 covers the US, Canada and Mexico; Premium 2.0 adds 20 Latin American countries.
- AT&T Elite 2.0 adds 20GB in 210+ destinations and one free tablet and watch line per phone line.
Bottom line
Pick AT&T if you spend time outside metro areas, want the lower bill, or travel mainly to Mexico and Latin America. Pick T-Mobile if you're mostly in cities, would pay for Netflix or Hulu anyway, or want the price locked for five years. If you're paying $70 to $100 a month for either, an MVNO on the same network costs a fraction of that.
Cricket and Mint use AT&T's and T-Mobile's towers from $25–$30/mo.
Best MVNO plans →Frequently asked questions
Is AT&T or T-Mobile cheaper? +
Which has better coverage, AT&T or T-Mobile? +
Which is better for hotspot? +
Which is better for international travel? +
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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.