The Best Cell Phone Plans For Kids

It's time for your kid to get a cell phone. With so many options and worrying about nonstop texting and data usage, picking the right phone plan for kids can be a daunting task. In this article, I'll explain what children need in a plan and tell you about about the best phone plans for kids.

What Do Kids Need In A Cell Phone Plan?

Reliable Coverage

Having reliable coverage is an important consideration for any cell phone plan. You want your child to always be able to contact you in case of emergency. Check out our coverage maps to see which wireless carriers have the best service in your area.

Data

Wi-Fi isn't available everywhere, so you'll probably want your child to have a little bit of cellular data as a backup. That data is great for helping pass time in a long car ride, looking up directions in Google Maps, and much more.

Minutes And Text Messages

It's important to have enough minutes and messages to make important phone calls and texts each month. This isn't as much of a concern anymore, as most cell phone plans come with unlimited minutes and messages.

Affordability

Your child most likely isn't going to be using their cell phone often, so it's not necessary to spend a lot of money on their cell phone plan. Many wireless carriers offer affordable plans that include the essentials without breaking the bank.

Parental Controls

You might want to have some control over the content your kid sees on their phone. A lot of this can be done directly on the cell phone. For example, iPhones have Screen Time. Screen Time shows how much time your kid spends on various apps and websites, in addition to limiting their content.

Android parental controls can be set up in the Google Play Store or by using a third-party application. Additionally, many wireless carriers have apps you can use to filter the content your child can see on their cell phone.

Should I Put My Kid On My Cell Phone Plan?

Adding your child to your family plan makes a lot of sense. It'll be easier to manage their account, and you'll usually save money thanks to multiline discounts. Multi-line discounts tend to increase when you add more lines to your plan.

Check out our cell phone family plans article to learn about options available to you.

Best Cell Phone Plans For Kids

Just Kids Plan From Verizon

With the Just Kids plan from Verizon, your child will get 5 GB of data per month. You receive simple parental controls so you can monitor their data usage, manage the content they can view, and see who they're talking to.

You can pick and add contacts, limit what your kid sees on their device, track their location, control data usage, and more from the My Verizon and My Verizon Smart Family apps.

This plan cannot be purchased on its own. In order to sign your child up for the Just Kids plan, you'll need to have at least one other line on one of the following Verizon Unlimited plans:

• Start Unlimited
• Play More Unlimited
• Do More Unlimited
• Get More Unlimited

This plan starts at $50 / month, but you can get big discounts when you add three or more lines. For example, if you have four lines on this plan, each line costs $35 / month and includes all the same features.

Should I Pay $10 / Month For Additional Parental Controls?

Verizon offers additional parental controls for the Just Kids Plan for $9.99 / month. We don't recommend purchasing them, especially if you have an iPhone. iPhones are already equipped with location tracking, content filters, and internet adjustment. We recommend saving your money and not purchasing this if you don't already have the Just Kids Plan.

Mint Mobile 4 GB Plan

The Mint Mobile 4 GB plan offers 4 GB of data per month with unlimited minutes and messages. Mint Mobile's plans are prepaid, so you can purchase this plan for a 3, 6, or 12 month period. We recommend taking advantage of Mint Mobile's Intro Offer, a three-month version of this plan for $15 / month. If you find that you like Mint Mobile, you can renew for a full year and keep that same low price.

This plan includes free calling to Mexico and Canada, mobile hotspot, and 5G access. Your phone will automatically connect to 4G or 5G, depending which is faster.

AT&T 8 GB Prepaid Plan

AT&T's 8 GB Prepaid Plan is an online exclusive cell phone plan with 8 GB of high speed data, minutes, and messages. This plan includes mobile hotspot and rollover data. If your child uses all 8 GB of data within the billing period, their speeds will be throttled, but you won't be charged overages.

Here's the catch: you have to pay for 12 months upfront. With taxes, it works out to roughly $305 for a full year of cell phone service. We recommend pairing this plan with the new iPhone SE 2, which you can get from AT&T for just $5 / month. That's a great cell phone plan and a new iPhone for just $30 / month!

AT&T also offers a 8 GB Prepaid Plan for a 3-month period, but the cost per month is slightly higher than the 12-month version.

Tello Mobile Value Plan

The Tello Mobile Value Plan includes 2 GB of data per month with unlimited minutes and messages. It's only $14 per month for one line. You can continue using additional data at 2G speeds if you exceed your high-speed data cap.

This plan includes mobile hotspot, so you can use your phone's data plan to connect other devices to the internet too. If your child doesn't use all of their data for the month, it'll roll over!

Visible Party Pay Plan

If you are looking for a great deal on a versatile plan, consider the  Visible Party Pay plan for your child. This is a great option for kids because it includes unlimited talk, text, and data.

Party Pay is a similar to other multi-line discounts. When you add people to your Party, the price of your plan decreases $5 / line per month. If your family of four joins the same Party, you'll each pay $25 / month for an unlimited plan, working out to just $100 / month. That's close to the same price as some premium, single-line unlimited plans!

This plan includes access to 4G LTE and 5G networks and mobile hotspot. Visible Wireless is a MVNO of Verizon, meaning your phones will connect to the best wireless network in the country!

TextNow Nationwide Talk & Text

If you're looking for a cell phone plan for your child that doesn't include cellular data, be sure to check out the TextNow's Nationwide Talk & Text plan. This option will give your child unlimited Wi-Fi calling and messaging completely free! If you're worried that your child won't have access to Wi-Fi whenever they need it, you can also add cellular data at any time for an additional fee.

TextNow doesn't charge for overages and all of their plans are contract-free. If you opt to purchase cellular data, your child can convert it to mobile hotspot whenever they need. If you're looking for a reliable and risk-free way to try out a cellular plan for your child, TextNow's Nationwide Talk & Text is a great place to start!

The Best Plans For Kids, Compared