Big-carrier vs MVNO: what your actual usage costs on each, and the switch math
| Tier | $/line (typical) | Your total | Trade-off |
|---|
The US cell market is one network arbitrage wearing fifty brands: the big three own the towers, and MVNOs resell the exact same coverage at 40–60% off — the discount funded by no stores, no phone subsidies, and lower congestion priority you'll notice at a stadium and nowhere else. This tool prices your real usage across the market's four tiers and computes the annual number that makes the hour of switching worth it (typically $500–1,200 per family).
| Tier | $/line | Who it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Budget MVNO (Mint, US Mobile, Tello) | $15–30 | Most people, truthfully — wifi-heavy users on unlocked phones |
| Premium prepaid (Visible+, Metro, Cricket) | $30–45 | Heavy-data users wanting near-carrier priority |
| Carrier value plans | $40–60 | Rural users (native-network priority helps at the edges), phone-financing shoppers |
| Premium unlimited (the ads) | $65–90 | International roamers, hotspot-as-home-internet, perk maximizers who USE the perks |
Same towers, same signal — the difference is priority under congestion (QCI class): at a packed stadium or festival, MVNO data slows first. Daily life on uncongested towers is indistinguishable. Free trial eSIMs let you verify at YOUR addresses before committing.
The remaining installments come due (the subsidy was a retention loan). Do the math: remaining balance vs savings — often the switch still wins within months. Going forward, buying phones outright keeps you permanently free.
Usually not anymore: 4 lines × $25 MVNO ($100) beats most carrier family plans at $140-180 — and several MVNOs now have their own multi-line discounts. The carrier family plan wins mainly when phone financing and heavy perks are genuinely used.
Yes — MVNOs include 5G on the host network. Speed differences you'd notice come from priority during congestion, not the G-number on the icon.
It's the legitimate premium case: carrier plans with included roaming beat per-day passes for frequent travelers. Occasional travelers do better with local/travel eSIMs ($20-40/trip via Airalo-style apps) on top of a cheap domestic plan.
Porting is federally protected and routine; the only real failure mode is cancelling the old account BEFORE porting (number lost) — never cancel manually. Enable a porting PIN afterward to prevent SIM-swap fraud, which is good hygiene on any carrier.
Yes — every figure computes locally in your browser.
Check the settings screen, pick your tier, run the hour-long switch — the same towers for half the bill is the rare deal with no catch you'd notice. Set a reminder to re-shop every two years; the market keeps improving beneath the ads.