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When it comes to deciding which cell phone plans with unlimited data are best for you and your family, people often get confused with the different terminology and ask, &quot;What is an unlimited mobile plan?&quot; So, we are here to help clarify things.

Let&#39;s first discuss the differences between the types of plans offered today by the selected carriers:

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	Unlimited cell phone plans are phone plans with unlimited data, talk, and text services.&nbsp;&nbsp;
	</li>
	<li aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-listid="7" role="listitem">
	Pay-as-you-go (also known as prepaid) plans enable you to pay upfront only for a set amount of service (minutes, texts, and data) you use. With this type of plan, you pay every month or every few months, and you&#39;re only committed to it for the amount of service you purchase ahead of time. And if you miss a payment, your phone service is suspended.&nbsp;&nbsp;
	</li>
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	Capped/tiered plans are, similar to unlimited plans, considered postpaid plans. However, unlike the unlimited plans, here, you pay a monthly plan charge for a specific amount of calls, texts, and data usage. So, if you go over your data allotment for the month, you&#39;ll either have overage charges or experience data usage limitations for the rest of that bill cycle.
	</li>
</ul>

Different mobile carriers offer a variety of unlimited cell phone plans, and researching the market for phone plans with unlimited data, text, and calls is essential to avoid surprising and high monthly costs. But you&#39;ll be happy to know that unlimited plans are usually reasonably priced, and those at a premium price offer great perks that ultimately provide you with serious value&mdash;so the cheapest unlimited data plan may not always be your best option.

The best perks and features are reserved for the more premium unlimited cell phone plans&mdash;something many consider a good bang for the buck. With AT&amp;T, these include things such as 4K UHD streaming, <a href="https://www.att.com/plans/unlimited-data-plans/roam-latin-america/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">additional call and roam destinations</a>, <a href="https://www.att.com/verification/signaturehub/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">special discounts through your work and organization</a>, 50GB hotspot data per line per month, premium data allotments, and advanced security features.

Add-on services can be added to unlimited phone plans to enhance your wireless experience; for instance, added charges for international calls, text, and data usage packages for when you travel abroad, or a device protection plan for your phone.

What factors should I consider when choosing an unlimited plan?

Carriers offer different tiers of unlimited phone plans&mdash;each tier includes a set of features&mdash;reserving the most valuable features, additional perks, and the best speeds for the more expensive tiers.

That&#39;s why it matters which unlimited plan you choose and why you should research the unlimited phone plans market in advance. When you research, you&#39;ll want to consider the following factors:

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	Your data usage habits&nbsp;
	</li>
</ol>

<ol role="list" start="2">
	<li aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-font="ATT Aleck Sans" data-leveltext="%1." data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-listid="4" role="listitem">
	Hotspots data (basic or increased amount)&nbsp;
	</li>
</ol>

<ol role="list" start="3">
	<li aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="3" data-font="ATT Aleck Sans" data-leveltext="%1." data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-listid="4" role="listitem">
	Network coverage&nbsp;
	</li>
</ol>

<ol role="list" start="4">
	<li aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="4" data-font="ATT Aleck Sans" data-leveltext="%1." data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-listid="4" role="listitem">
	Device compatibility (such as 5G)&nbsp;
	</li>
</ol>

<ol role="list" start="5">
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	International calling and roaming features&nbsp;
	</li>
</ol>

<ol role="list" start="6">
	<li aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="6" data-font="ATT Aleck Sans" data-leveltext="%1." data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-listid="4" role="listitem">
	Security features (basic or advanced)&nbsp;
	</li>
</ol>

<ol role="list" start="7">
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	Streaming quality (HD vs. SD)
	</li>
</ol>

Here is a breakdown of AT&amp;T Unlimited plans

The best <a href="https://www.att.com/plans/unlimited-data-plans/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">AT&amp;T plans with unlimited data</a> are AT&amp;T Unlimited Starter&reg; SL, Unlimited Extra&reg; EL, and Unlimited Premium&reg; PL. With <a href="https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1182926" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">AT&amp;T Unlimited Your Way</a> you can choose a plan to fit each family member. This means the choice is yours, guaranteed. Mix and match any of our best unlimited* plans,2 starting at $3599/mo. per line (for four lines).1&nbsp;

All our best unlimited* plans2 include AT&amp;T 5G, ActiveArmorSM security3, and hotspot data. Also, with our unlimited plans, new and existing customers get our best deals on every smartphone.

*AT&amp;T may temporarily slow data speeds if the network is busy&nbsp;

Let&#39;s dive a bit deeper into each of these plans:

<ul>
	<li paraeid="{0e456a9b-52bc-4a83-8780-3d53557fa7e3}{128}" paraid="1961111099">AT&amp;T Unlimited Starter&reg; SL plan: Comes with unlimited talk, text &amp; data in and between the U.S., Canada &amp; Mexico4, 5G access, AT&amp;T ActiveArmorSM advanced security, a free app to monitor the dark web for your personal information and help block harmful URLs, and more.3  Plus, 5GB of hotspot data.5</li>
	<li paraeid="{0e456a9b-52bc-4a83-8780-3d53557fa7e3}{171}" paraid="1892580608">AT&amp;T Unlimited Extra&reg; EL plan: This plan includes everything offered in the Unlimited Starter SL plan, combined with AT&amp;T ActiveArmorSM advanced security.</li>
	<li paraeid="{0e456a9b-52bc-4a83-8780-3d53557fa7e3}{210}" paraid="1017009324">AT&amp;T Unlimited Premium&reg; PL plan: This plan offers the best of everything, including unlimited high-speed data that can&#39;t slow down based on how much you use and 60GB of hotspot data.5**</li>
</ul>

**After 75GB, AT&amp;T may temporarily slow data speeds if the network is busy

Tamar Levin is a Sr. Digital Content Editor at AT&amp;T, who specializes in wireless technology and innovation. With dual Master of Science degrees from the University College London, Tamar brings over a decade of editorial expertise to her role. She currently spearheads the Content Standards Council at AT&amp;T. Tamar is based out of Dallas, Texas.

Unlimited cell phone plans: All you need to know