Cricket Increases Price of 100GB Data Plan for Hotspots to $90 Month, Matching AT&T

Cricket increased the price of their 100GB prepaid data plan that can be only be used in hotspots. This matches a similar move by AT&T Prepaid in late June and was expected. Cricket is a prepaid brand that is owned by AT&T.

The price increase is significant, going from $55 to $90/month.

Cricket Hotspot Plan Video

 

Plan History

This plan was originally introduced in August 2020 at the $90/month price. Then in April 2021, Cricket reduced the price to $55/month to match the price reduction from the similar AT&T Prepaid version of the plan. 

Now the plan has returned to the $90/month price.

The plan has long been one of our of Top Pick Plans. 

September 2022 Price Change

There was no announced price change, but we were alerted by on of our MIA members that Cricket had increased the price on the website to $90/month. Cricket does not offer autopay discounts for these plans.

At press time, there are no other changes to the terms of the plan.

The plan still includes 100GB of high-speed data, and it also includes Canada and Mexico coverage, which the AT&T Prepaid version does not.

But the downside of the plan is that it is only available for use on a small number of mobile hotspot devices, and the plan cannot be used in a router.

A $55/month option does remain - but it only includes 50GB of high-speed data.

Existing Plan Customers

At press time, it's unclear if existing Cricket customers who have the 100GB for $55/month rate will continue to keep that pricing as long as they keep their plan active. 

Comparison to Other Direct Carrier Options

A quick comparison of the current biggest bucket data-only options across the major carriers shows that Cricket's 100GB plan is now one of the most expensive available. Previously it was one of the best deals out there, particularly since it included Canada & Mexico coverage.

These are listed in price per GB from most to least expensive:

• AT&T Postpaid 40GB - $75/month = $1.88/GB
• T-Mobile Postpaid 50GB (non 5G hotspots) - $50/mo =  $1.00/GB
• Cricket 100GB - $90/month = 90 cents/GB
• AT&T Prepaid 100GB - $90/month = 90 cents/GB
• Verizon Postpaid Standalone 150GB - $110/month = 73 cents/GB
• Verizon Prepaid Standalone 150GB - $100/month = 67 cents/GB
• Verizon Postpaid Add-on 150GB - $80/month = 53 cents/GB
• T-Mobile Postpaid 100GB (only for 5G hotspots) - $50/mo = 50 cents/GB
• Verizon Prepaid Add-on 150GB - $70/month = 46 cents/GB

Summary

Even though this price increase now makes this plan one of the most expensive across all of the carriers, it was an expected move since  AT&T increased the price of its 100GB option in June. However, it is still one of the best deals for a high amount of data on the AT&T network, so it will remain on our list of Top Pick Plans.

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