Shopping for plans on Sprint? We break down the carrier’s three choices

Sprint is in a dead heat with T-Mobile for offering the cheapest plans of the four major carriers. Its service is also best in cities, but patchy in rural areas. Sprint offers a few different plans, including plans with data caps, unlimited data plans, and prepaid plans. Here, we break down all your options to help you decide which is best for you and your family.

More: Who has the best family plan? Shake-ups from T-Mobile and Sprint tilt the balance

When it comes to data, Sprint doesn’t charge overages, but your speeds will be slower after you pass your data limit (unless you have an unlimited plan). Those who don’t use much data only need about 1GB per person, medium users will want 2GB per person, and heavy users will want 3GB per person or more. Here’s the pricing for Sprint’s data cap plans.

Sprint Better Choice Plan

People
Line cost
4G LTE data
Total
1
$20

$20 w/1GB

$30 w/3GB

$40

$50

2
$20 x 2

$45 w/6GB

$60 w/12GB

$80 w/24GB

$100 w/40GB

$65

$80

$120

$140

3
$20 x 3

$45 w/6GB

$60 w/12GB

$80 w/24GB

$100 w/40GB

$105

$120

$140

$160

4
$20 x 4

$45 w/6GB

$60 w/12GB

$80 w/24GB

$100 w/40GB

$125

$140

$160

$180

5
$20 x 5

$60 w/12GB

$80 w/24GB

$100 w/40GB

$160

$180

$200

Sprint’s non-unlimited Better Choice plans are a little bizarre. Unless you’re sipping data and are only sharing data with one other person, it’s almost worth it to just go ahead and sign up for its Unlimited Freedom plans, which are regularly on some type of promotion — and far cheaper.

There’s no contract, and you have to pay the full, unsubsidized price for each smartphone on the plan. You’ll pay for each device in installments, too, which typically range between $20 and $30 a month per phone. You can also add your own phone to your plan instead of buying a new one (more on this later).

Sprint’s capped plans are a good deal for people who don’t use too much data and want to save a buck or two. T-Mobile offers more perks, but Sprint’s prices are slightly cheaper.

Recommendations:

• Single people and couples get the best deals at Sprint.
• Once you have three people or more, Sprint’s prices are often on par with T-Mobile’s unlimited plan offerings, and its own regular promotions for the Unlimited Freedom Plan.
• Sprint’s plans are great for international travellers because you get free text and data in 180 countries.

The perks of the Sprint Plan:

• Unlimited talk, text, and data in Canada and Mexico, as well as the United States. Unlimited text and data at lower speeds is also available in nearly 180 countries worldwide, though calls cost 20 cents per minute.
• No overages.
• Lets you lease some phones so you can get a new one every year.

The downsides of the Sprint Plan:

• Patchy coverage in rural areas, and consistently slower data rates through much of the country as opposed to its competitors.
• Not as many perks as T-Mobile.
• Once you go over your data limit, your speeds will slow.