Cricket offers super-cheap wireless prices, but it comes at the cost of data speed.
Cricket Wireless specializes in affordable plans with a good network provider. Even though the commercials might be annoying, there are some delightfully inexpensive Cricket Wireless plans. You also get decent coverage thanks to how Cricket uses AT&T’s mobile network.
Cricket offers two unlimited wireless plans, and while they've throttled unlimited speeds in the past, Cricket now offers premium unlimited data. This means speeds will only slow down from congested usage, rather than slowing down due to hitting a data cap.
And there are no catches with unlimited calls or unlimited texting.
Cricket unlimited plansThe differences between Cricket Wireless plans really boil down to data usage, how often you pay, and whether or not you want to set up autopay.
Here’s a bit of pro advice: you should do autopay and save a couple of bucks every month. Do that, and you’ve got yourself a super cheap wireless bill.
The biggest catch with Cricket Wireless plans is how your download speeds cap at 4 Mbps (4G) or 8 Mbps (LTE) and streaming speeds cap at 1.5 Mbps.
Translation: you’ll have a slower connection than you would with another mobile company.
Of course, we’re talking a few extra seconds when you’re googling something. If you’re pretty patient with your internet and streaming speeds, you can get an affordable unlimited plan.
You can also get a hotspot connection, but it’ll cost you an extra $10 a month if you don't get it included with the Unlimited $60 plan. You’ll get decent speeds for the first 8 GB, but after that, things will slow to an absolute crawl at 128 Kbps. Yikes.
So, how does Cricket compare with the best cell phone carriers? Let’s take a look:
Cricket unlimited plans comparisonDon’t you love it when you organize search results by price and find there’s a super-affordable option? That’s where Cricket Wireless comes in.
Before you get too excited, keep in mind that Cricket’s wireless data speeds are pretty slow. This isn’t, like, a “Tortoise and the Hare” situation either. Cricket is the tortoise, everyone else is the hare, and in this case, the tortoise loses terribly.
But if you can live with the slower internet download speeds and so-so streaming quality, you do get an awfully cheap wireless cell phone plan with a decent network.
Cricket allows new customers to add up to five lines of service onto one account, saving $10 more with each added line. The maximum discount you can get is $150. And while we don't love a savings cap, we've definitely seen other carriers with weaker family plans or no group-saving features at all.
Before you decide on a plan, you should probably determine how much you value quick internet speeds. Sure, you can save a pretty penny by opting for the slower speed, but you might be giving up some of your sanity in the process. Seconds at a time. While waiting for your Instagram stories to load.
Now, let’s compare Cricket’s family plans with the other major carriers out there.
Cricket Wireless family plans comparisonCricket’s family plans aren’t a steal like the individual unlimited plans are. Compared to the competition, the family plans aren’t significantly cheaper—which is disappointing.
Metro by T-Mobile and Cricket Wireless are essentially the Spider-man pointing meme when it comes to family plans. Both offer similar prices and neither offers lightning-fast speeds. The advantage with Cricket is that you might save some up-front costs compared to Metro.
