Tracfone is the largest prepaid wireless provider in the United States and historically offered plans on all of the major cellular providers but it was bought by Verizon in 2021. Tracfone owns several other brands that operate under other names.
With the purchase of Tracfone by Verizon in November 2021, Tracfone and its subsidiary brands transitioned to only offering Verizon-based plans by mid-2022.
Existing customers with plans on other networks can continue to use those networks for now, but we expect that eventually, Verizon will move all customers over to their network.
Tracfone's current plan options are limited, and are not of much interest to our audience of mobile users. However, some of their other brands do provide some attractive plan options.
Tracfone Owned Brands
- Straight Talk - See our Straight Talk Gear Center entry for a full list of their plans and features.
- Total Wireless - See our Total Wireless Gear Center entry for a full list of their plans and features.
- Simple Mobile - Simple Mobile offers phone and data plans all with small amounts of data.
- Walmart Family Mobile - Walmart's cellular phone service division that offers phone plans only.
- SafeLink Wireless - A program provided by Tracfone that supports Lifeline, a government-sponsored service for low-income consumers. Customers must meet low-income eligibility requirements in order to sign up for these plans.
- Net10 Wireless, Page Plus, GoSmart Mobile - Three other brands that offer prepaid plans. Effective November 1, 2024, Net10, Page Plus, and Go Smart will no longer be available for new customer activations.
We only track smartphone plans that meet our criteria for mobile internet, which is having at least 50GB of mobile hotspot data. Other smartphone plans may be available from the carrier other than those listed here.
If you want information on other available smartphone plans, our friend Stetson Doggett manages the website Best Phone Plans, which provides comprehensive information on all plans provided by each carrier.
News, Videos, & Status
Alternatives to Consider
Also consider some of our other top pick data plans:
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Thoughts & Analysis
Favorite Features
- Some of these brands have been around for a long time with decent track records for stability and customer service
- Tracfone is a large, stable company that has been in business for many years, and now is owned by Verizon
Potential Downsides
- Most of these brands have very small plan offerings and are not suitable for users who want large buckets of data
Retired Brands
Clearway Wireless
Clearway Wireless was a Tracfone owned brand that was aimed at businesses. They offered phone and data plans as well as wireless failover services.
As of September 1, 2022, the Clearway brand is no longer operational.
Purchasing Options
Purchasing Links & Disclaimer
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The vendors displayed below provide larger discounts to our MIAs that we have negotiated instead of displaying affiliate links while they are logged in.
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Tracfone | Straight Talk | Total Wireless | Simple Mobile | Net10 Wireless | Walmart Family Mobile | Page Plus | Clearway Wireless | GoSmart Mobile | SafeLink Wireless
Shopping for Cellular Data Plans
Finding the right plans for your needs is no easy task - quite simply mobile travelers using cellular data as their primary way online is not how most carriers have designed their plans. Many of us want plans that provide copious amounts of data.
Here's our video going over ways to get LOTS of data for use in your travels:
But a data plan alone will not keep you online. You also need the right gear, signal enhancing strategy and planning your travels around the options you carry with you. Head on over to our collection of guides:
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Top Data Plan Picks
Our constantly updated list of the BEST data plans.
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Which Carrier is Best?
Is Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile or Dish best for your travels?
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Selecting Data Plans
Our deep dive into understanding data plans and shopping for them.
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Data Plan Pricing Grid
Our always updated spreadsheet comparing all data plans suitable for mobile internet.
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Getting LOTS of the Data
Learn how to get lots of cellular data in your mobile internet arsenal.
Mobile Internet Resource Center (dba Two Steps Beyond LLC) is founded by Chris & Cherie of