Mint Mobile vs Straight Talk: Get the best bang for your buck!

If you’re looking for the best prepaid plans you can find in the USA, there is no doubt you’ve come upon MVNO carriers like Mint Mobile and Straight Talk. These are two of the most popular options when you want to avoid big carriers. Going with one of these will also save you a good chunk of change, but which one is better? We’ll go over all the details and help you decide in this Mint Mobile vs Straight Talk comparison.

We’re going to go through all factors, including plans, prices, phone selection, coverage, and more. Stick around to see which one best suits your needs.

Mint Mobile vs Straight Talk: Pricing and plans

If you’re trying to choose between Mint Mobile vs Straight Talk, there is no doubt you want to find a good deal. Both options have them, but their pricing structures are set up differently. Let’s go through all plans and what they offer.

Straight Talk’s Basic Phone Plan only works with feature phones, so we won’t talk too much about it here. It offers 1,500 minutes, unlimited texts, and 100MB of data. Just in case you want to know. With that out of the way, let’s move on to the nitty gritty.

It’s worth noting that all plans, aside from the one we just mentioned, are technically unlimited. Data just gets slowed down after you reach the specified data allowance on some of them.

Which is more affordable?

Regardless of your plan, you’ll notice immediately that Mint Mobile usually has the more affordable options. Straight Talk’s most affordable smartphone plan costs $35 a month, and offers 10GB of data. If you go with Mint Mobile’s 15GB plan, that one costs the equivalent of $35 a month when you prepay for three months. That leaves them at the same price level, but Mint Mobile’s edge is that paying for more months will lower the monthly price to as low as $20. Not to mention, you get more gigabytes.

Additionally, if you don’t need 15GB a month, Mint Mobile has a 5GB plan at $25 a month or lower, depending on how many months you prepay for. If you need more, there is also the 20GB option, which costs $25-$45 monthly.

Mint Mobile’s higher-end Unlimited plan costs $40 a month for three months, $35 a month for six months, or $30 a month for a year. Regardless of how many months you prepay, this is more affordable than the direct competitor, which would be Straight Talk’s Silver Unlimited plan. It costs $45 a month.

Prices for Straight Talk plans only go up from here, but the base features don’t seem to change much. You just get upgrades on some extras. For example, while the Silver Unlimited plan only allows 10GB of hotspot data, the Gold Unlimited Plan offers 15GB, as well as 100GB of cloud storage. The Platinum Unlimited plan brings the hotspot allowance up to 20GB, and you also get 100GB of cloud storage.

Data limits

Mint Mobile will slow down your speeds after you use up your plan’s data limit. You can continue using data; it will just be slowed down. In the case of the Unlimited plan, the fair use cap is 40GB. This should really be plenty for the vast majority of people.

Straight Talk makes things a bit more confusing here, as the company hides its fair usage standards very well. It’s been long known that Straight Talk starts limiting your data speeds at around 60GB, though. This should apply to all plans except for the Bronze Unlimited, which gets slowed down after 10GB. Though a bit shady, 60GB is actually much more generous than most other carriers, including Mint Mobile.

Are there intro deals?

Straight Talk has no intro deals for new customers, but it is more prone to offering smartphone deals. On the other hand, Mint Mobile wants to make it enticing for new customers to make the switch to its services. It will give all new customers a very nice discount for the first three months.

You can try Mint Mobile’s pricing at its lowest available monthly prices for the first three months. This means you would be getting the yearly prepay discount without signing up for a whole year.

Additionally, you may be able to get six months of free wireless service when you buy a phone and a six-month plan from Mint Mobile.

Are there any other features?

Both Mint Mobile and Straight Talk offer pretty affordable plans but Straight Talk has the advantage of a Walmart Plus membership, which not only includes free shipping and delivery, but also savings on fuel, Pluto ad-free streaming, and even a free Paramount Plus video subscription.

As for Straight Talk? It offers 100GB of cloud storage, but it’s through its own Straight Talk Cloud application. It’s not necessarily among the best cloud storage services, but it’s still free storage. 

These plans are also pretty limited in terms of international features. Both offer free calls to Mexico and Canada, but that’s about where the benefits end. You can’t use these plans for roaming, for example, unless you want to pay up.

You at least get some hotspot support for all smartphone plans, though. That’s pretty nice.

What about family plans?

There’s a clear winner in this category. While Mint Mobile is usually cheaper, this changes once you start adding more lines to your plan. This is because Mint Mobile technically doesn’t offer savings for family plans. On the other hand, Straight Talk reduces the price per line as you add more.

Here’s how Straight Talk’s family plan savings work: You’ll get a $15 discount for two lines, $45 for three lines, $80 for four lines, and $100 for five lines.

Mint Mobile vs Straight Talk: Coverage

Mint Mobile uses T-Mobile’s network. This means it will get coverage wherever T-Mobile has its towers. You can check out Mint Mobile’s coverage map for more details.

Things are a bit more confusing with Straight Talk. The MVNO has been using Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile towers for a long time. The carrier it uses depends on location, device, and other factors. That said, Verizon has acquired Straight Talk and other sister companies like Tracfone.

While Verizon is likely starting to move most customers to its own network, there are plenty of devices still using other towers from AT&T and T-Mobile. It all depends on which device you own, which is why Straight Talk’s coverage tool asks you which phone you’re using before providing any details.

Mint Mobile vs Straight Talk: Phone selection

Both Mint Mobile and Straight Talk have a wide selection of smartphones. You can find high-end Android phones, iPhones, and plenty of budget options coming from both carriers. If you’re looking for something more affordable, though, Straight Talk usually has refurbished phones. Mint Mobile tends to only sell new handsets.

Also important to note is the fact that Straight Talk is more prone to offering smartphone deals. Mint Mobile doesn’t do much to reduce the price of its own handsets. Right now, you can get $50 off most Android phones if you prepay for 12 months, for example. Not the sweetest offer, if you ask us.

Can I bring my own phone?

Yes! You certainly can bring your own phone to either carrier as long as it supports the network. Mint Mobile uses T-Mobile’s network. Straight Talk takes advantage of multiple networks, and which one you use depends on your device. Regardless, you can check Mint Mobile’s compatibility tool or Straight Talk’s compatibility tool to make sure your device will work well.

Which carrier is suitable for you?

Of course, choosing between Mint Mobile vs Straight Talk won’t be a simple decision, but you probably already know which side we’re leaning more towards.

Straight Talk lets you use more unlimited data, has more device options, and offers higher-end plans with more hotspot capabilities. It can also host more devices, as it can still use multiple networks to provide service. And if you happen to be using Verizon’s towers, Big Red is known for offering amazing coverage in the USA. That’s about where the benefits end, though.

Mint Mobile seems to offer more value across the board. Prices are lower, and you usually get more for your money unless you start moving up to the more expensive Straight Talk plans. You can also get a nice introductory price as a new customer and save cash from the get-go.