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The best Sprint prepaid plans (April 2021)
Sprint spent years pushing its postpaid unlimited plans before the T-Mobile merger. However, the carrier offered some prepaid plans on Boost Mobile as an affordable alternative for those willing to give an MVNO a try. Now that Sprint’s prepaid plans have gone the way of the dodo let’s get into a few of your best alternatives.
See also: The best prepaid plans: Your guide to all the best options
Boost is still around as part of the Dish Network family, so that’s where we’ll start. After that, we’ll get into a few other prepaid carriers and MVNOs to help you reach a decision.
Boost prepaid unlimited plans
So, as we briefly mentioned above, Sprint prepaid plans don’t really exist anymore. All of the plans previously known as Sprint Forward now fall under the Boost Mobile umbrella. The switch actually occurred in October 2019, so there’s no confusing process to adjust to. After all, Sprint doesn’t really exist anymore, and Boost Mobile is part of the Dish Network umbrella these days.
See also: Boost Mobile buyer’s guide
On the bright side of the switch, Boost offers a variety of unlimited plans. You can choose from the Unlimited Gigs plan for $50 per month or go for the Boost Unlimited Plus for $60 per month. Both options include unlimited talk, text, and data, and Boost Unlimited Plus is 5G capable.
Google Fi prepaid plans
We’ll also suggest Google Fi as a great Sprint prepaid alternative. It runs on a blend of T-Mobile’s and UScellular’s networks, so you should have pretty solid coverage nationwide. Fi used to rely on Sprint’s network as well, but the merger has rearranged that setup a bit. You’ve only got two plans to choose from, so here are the details:
Flexible
The best way to save some money with Google Fi is to opt for the Flexible plan. You’ll pay a monthly rate for service — no more than $20 per month — and then pay per gig of data you use. Data access becomes totally free after you reach a certain threshold each month which is just 6GB for a single line. After that, you can still use high-speed data up to 12GB without further fees. It basically works as a cap for your bill, so you never pay more than a certain price. What you do with that data is up to you; full-speed hotspot access is included.
Highlights:
- Low price for monthly service
- Pay $10 per GB used
- Go abroad with cheap text, data, and free texting
Unlimited
If you’ve got it, flaunt it — at least that’s the idea behind the Google Fi Unlimited plan. Built for users who know they need a lot of data, the all-in price grants you up to 22GB of high-speed data per month. Starting at $70 per person, you can take full advantage of a mobile hotspot connection and video streams at DVD quality (480p). The Unlimited plan includes a Google One membership with 100GB of cloud storage for free to make things even better.
Highlights:
- Use as much data as you want, up to 22GB
- Google One membership included
- Go abroad with free texts and data as well as low calling rates
T-Mobile prepaid plans
T-Mobile is a logical place to start for prepaid Sprint alternatives as you may already be part of the magenta network. Following the merger, most Sprint customers found themselves moved to the Uncarrier with a similar service plan to the one they enjoyed before. If you’re hoping to try out a new prepaid T-Mobile plan, you have a few options to choose from:
T-Mobile connect
Connect is the cheapest way to set yourself up with T-Mobile. It offers just two plans, and it won’t cost you any more than $25 per month for 5GB of LTE data. While that doesn’t sound like a ton, T-Mobile will boost your cap by 500MB per year just for sticking around. That means you’ll get up to 7.5GB per month for just $25 after five years.
Connect highlights:
- 2GB or 5GB 4G LTE data
- Unlimited talk and text
- Mobile hotspot available at full 4G LTE speeds up to your data cap
Simply Prepaid
If you don’t want to worry about prepaid limits, you might be better off with a Simply Prepaid plan. All tiers include talk and text, and you can pay $50 or $60 per month for unlimited data. T-Mobile’s Simply Prepaid plans also come with a hotspot in case you want to connect your tablet or laptop on the go.
Simply Prepaid highlights:
- Up to unlimited 4G LTE data
- Unlimited talk and text
- Up to 10GB of 4G LTE hotspot followed by unlimited 3G
- Up to $60 per month for one line, $30 for each additional line
Verizon prepaid plans
If you want to keep your Sprint prepaid phone, Verizon is a solid alternative. It’s the other major CDMA network, so you should have no problem bringing your device from one to the other. Best of all, Verizon keeps things relatively simple and skips T-Mobile’s naming conventions. Here are the best plans to try:
Basic prepaid and limited data
These plans are pretty straightforward. If you go for the basic option, you’re looking at talk and text, and that’s it. You can add calling to Mexico and Canada for $5, but there’s no way to add data. Instead, you’ll have to spring for the 5GB or 15GB plans to add some LTE connectivity. If you go for either data option, you’ll also get discounts the longer you stick with Big Red.
Highlights:
- Loyalty discount after three months
- Calling to Canada and Mexico optional
- Up to 15GB of 4G LTE or 5G Nationwide data
- Optional mobile hotspot with a data cap
Unlimited prepaid
The last Verizon plans on the menu give you a taste of unlimited data at a prepaid rate. They’re more expensive, starting at $65 per month before any discounts, but unlimited data is tough to beat. The unlimited prepaid plan might be your best option for North American travel, too, as talk, text, and data in Canada and Mexico are included at no extra charge. You can chip in an extra $10 per month and get 5G Ultra-Wideband data.
Highlights:
- Unlimited talk, text, and data
- Talk, text, and data in Canada and Mexico
- Mobile hotspot for $5 per month
Sprint prepaid plans in light of the T-Mobile merger
The Sprint and T-Mobile merger finalized early in 2020, as we’ve tried to make very clear throughout the course of this page. T-Mobile didn’t waste much time moving its new customers to the magenta network. According to Sprint’s FAQ, everything was set to evolve to T-Mobile eventually, but things moved faster than expected. We’ll keep you updated if there’s any more news involving Sprint’s prepaid plans, but we can safely expect that they won’t come back any time soon.
Sprint prepaid plans – Conclusion
As we mentioned, Sprint’s prepaid plans are gone, and they’re in Boost Mobile’s control. Your best bet is to check out the carriers and plans described above or explore the best Boost options. There are plenty of prepaid plans out there, you just have to decide what you want.