AT A Glance

• Plans start at $40 for 1GB.
• Strengths: Competitive pricing, no data overage charges.
• Weaknesses: Network strength, plan features.

Sprint cell phone plans

Sprint takes a similar approach to Verizon, offering cell phone plans in sizes ranging from Extra Small (1GB) to XX Large (40GB), but at a more affordable price. Each Sprint plan includes unlimited minutes and text messages, as well as . So if customers exceed their chosen data allotments, they won’t be charged overages. Sprint’s cell phone plans include a charge for the data package, plus a $20 monthly access charge. Current plans include:

• Extra Small (1GB): $40.
• Small (3GB): $50.
• Medium (6GB): $65.
• Large (12GB): $80.
• X Large (24GB): $100.
• XX Large (40GB): $120.
• Unlimited Freedom: $65.

» COMPARE: Best cell phone plans

Sprint Family Plans

All Sprint cell phone plans can be family plans, and a total of 10 lines can share one plan. Each line has a separate access fee, which costs $20 per month, with one exception: Sprint’s Unlimited Freedom plan. One line on the Freedom plan costs $65 per month. The first additional line is $40 per month, and any lines added beyond that are $30 per month. You can get a $5 per line monthly discount on the Freedom plan if you sign up for automatic payments

» MORE: Sprint family cell phone plans

Sprint prepaid plans

Sprint offers three monthly prepaid plans, which come with unlimited talk, text and 2G data, and don’t require a credit check or contract. You can learn more about Sprint’s prepaid cell phone plans here.

How Sprint compares on features

Unlimited 2G data: If you max out your data package with Sprint, you won’t be socked with overage charges. Instead, you will have slower data speeds until your billing cycle resets. That’s because Sprint’s plans come with unlimited 2G data. Compared to the high speed data purchased with your plan, 2G data is considerably slower. So uploading 30 photos would take more than 20 minutes, instead of about one minute. AT&T does not offer unlimited 2G data but instead charges $15 for every 1GB of data used beyond your selected plan. And it rounds up, so you pay for a full gigabyte even if you only go over by 300MB.

Video streaming: Video streamed from your Sprint smartphone will count against your data package, so pick your plan accordingly if you plan to spend hours streaming video from apps like Hulu or YouTube. Streaming just five hours of video a month uses about 1GB of data if viewed in standard definition and almost 4.5GB in high definition. If possible, adjust your app settings to default to the lowest-quality video streaming, and try to stream only when connected to Wi-Fi.

Music streaming: Jamming to music via Pandora or Spotify will dip into your Sprint data package, and the easy listening could make a big dent in your monthly data allowance. That’s because streaming one hour of music daily for a month can use as much as 2GB of data, depending on streaming quality and the app you use.

Rollover data: Sprint plans do not roll over, so any unused data is lost at the end of the month. AT&T and Verizon, however, both roll leftover data to the next month. That data expires after 30 days.

3 steps to finding a cheap cell phone plan

The bottom line

Of the four major carriers, Sprint is the most affordable option. A 6GB plan will run you $65 per month Sprint but $80 with Verizon. And Sprint’s Unlimited Freedom data plan is just $65 per month, while T-Mobile’s is $75 and AT&T’s is $100 (and limited to DirecTV and U-verse subscribers). Where Sprint may fall short is coverage. In most areas, AT&T and Verizon have better networks overall.

The article was updated Jan. 23, 2017. It was originally published March 11, 2016.

RATINGS METHODOLOGY

For cell phone carriers, NerdWallet’s overall rating is a weighted average of each subcategory: price, customer service, coverage and features. We considered features such as whether you’re able to bring your own phone, overage charges and international calling options, among others. We looked at Consumer Reports and J.D. Power to get an average customer service satisfaction rating.

Source: www.nerdwallet.com