Family plans are one of the easiest ways to cut your wireless bill since most carriers reduce the price of your plan with every line you add. However, it's important you pick a family plan based on your needs. While family plans have the best discounts, you can still overpay for features you'll never use.
When picking a family plan, you must consider factors like how much data each person needs, which network offers the best coverage at the places you spend time, and whether you're after premium perks or want the lowest possible price.
We'll walk you through picking your next family plan, from coverage and data allotments to prepaid versus postpaid pricing. We'll also round up a few of the best family plans and carriers on the market right now.
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How to pick a family plan: Quick guide
The best family plan is the one that meets your household's needs. That means weighing a handful of factors together instead of just chasing the lowest advertised price or premium entertainment perks.
Here are the factors you should keep in mind when choosing a family plan:
- Data allotments: Figure out how much data each member of your family uses. Mixed plans (some lines unlimited, some capped) may help you save more than forcing everyone onto the same tier.
- Mobile hotspot: If anyone works from home or does remote school work off their phone's connection, check how much hotspot each plan includes.
- Multi-line discounts: Some carriers lower the price per line as you add lines, while others may already offer service at an excellent price without extra discounts.
- Device installment plans: If you're financing new phones, make sure to pick a carrier that offers installment plans, and factor those monthly payments into your real bill.
- Network coverage: Check coverage maps for the specific places you actually spend time. A great price means nothing if your family has a bad signal at home, work, or school.
- Pricing: Make sure to pick a family plan you can afford. Major carriers often have generous family plan discounts, but you may find a cheaper plan with the same service from an MVNO instead.
- Perks: Features like streaming subscriptions, international roaming, and early device upgrades can make a plan more appealing, but only pay for these features if you'll actually use them.
- Mix-and-match plans: Some carriers let you pick a different plan type for each line, so one person can have unlimited data while another sticks with a smaller allotment. Others require the whole family to be on the same plan, which can cost you if your household's needs vary a lot.
How to pick the best coverage?
Coverage is one of the biggest factors in picking a family plan, since even the best deal isn't worth much if your family can't get a signal.
Every carrier runs on one of three national networks, and each one has its own strengths and weak spots. You'll want to find the best cell phone service at the places your family actually spends time, whether that's the office, a college campus, or home.
- AT&T runs the second-largest 4G LTE and 5G networks in the country, with reliable coverage in both cities and rural areas.
- T-Mobile has the nation's largest 5G network, but coverage can struggle in rural areas.
- Verizon has the nation's largest 4G LTE network, giving it excellent rural coverage, but its 5G network is the smallest of the three and mostly limited to cities.
How much data does your family need?
How much data your family needs comes down to each person's individual habits, so it's worth sizing up each line rather than picking one number for everyone.
Most average users get by fine on around 10–15GB a month for typical browsing, social media, and streaming. That said, power users—like a teenager who's constantly gaming or streaming videos—will burn through that much faster and are usually better off with an unlimited plan.
Our guide on mobile data usage breaks down how much data popular apps actually use per hour, so you can get a clearer picture of where each line on your family plan should land.
Postpaid vs. prepaid family plans
Like all phone plans, family plans can either be prepaid or postpaid. The kind of payment method you prefer can determine the types of plans, perks, and even carriers that are available to you.
Prepaid plans mean you pay for your service upfront, before you use it, with no annual contract or credit check. These are usually the cheapest option overall. That said, since the pricing is so cheap, many prepaid plans don't include additional family plan discounts or offer perks like streaming subscriptions or international roaming.
Postpaid plans bill you at the end of the month for the service you already used, and they typically require a credit check to sign up. They cost more, but that extra cost buys you more. Carriers tend to save their best streaming perks, travel benefits, and device trade-in deals for postpaid customers. Plus, for larger families, postpaid family plans are not much more expensive than prepaid plans thanks to major carriers' generous multi-line discounts.
Shared data vs. individual plans
Most family plans these days give each line its own separate data allowance instead of pooling everything together. Shared data plans still exist, but they've largely been phased out and are only available at smaller carriers. They still make sense if your family barely uses data at all. Most customers are better off with individual allotments for each line.
Best family plans right now
We keep a full, regularly updated breakdown of specific picks in our best family cell phone plans guide.
Overall, plans with flexible, multi-line discounts, like those from AT&T, Verizon, and Mint Mobile, tend to work well for families with diverse needs, since everyone can get the data and perks that actually make sense for them. If your family's needs are mostly similar, T-Mobile is also worth a look, since all family members must use the plan for each line.
Customers on a budget should look at MVNOs like US Mobile, Visible, or Cricket. These carriers have much simpler plans with few perks that are perfect if you want a cheap, no-frills family plan.
Find the best family plans from your favorite carriers
Find the best family plans from popular carriers, picked by our experts:
How to pick a family plan: FAQ
How many lines are considered a family plan?
Most carriers consider two or more lines a family plan, though the discounts usually get better as you add more. Major carriers typically allow anywhere from four to twelve lines on a single account, while smaller carriers and MVNOs tend to cap out around four or five.
Is it cheaper to have a family plan or individual lines?
A family plan is almost always cheaper than paying for separate individual lines. Carriers offer per-line discounts that kick in with each additional line you add, so bundling everyone onto one account typically brings the total cost down significantly compared to everyone paying for their own single-line plan.
What is a good amount of data for a family plan?
Most average users do fine with around 10-15GB of data a month, but that number should flex line by line based on who's in your family. Heavy streamers and gamers will want unlimited data, while lighter users can often get by with less.
Can you mix carriers on a family plan?
Generally, no. A family plan runs through a single carrier account, so you can't combine lines from AT&T and Verizon on the same plan, for example. That said, some providers, like US Mobile, let each line on the same account choose from multiple underlying networks, which gives you some of that flexibility without actually splitting carriers.
Do family plans include parental controls?
Many major carriers offer parental control features, either built into the plan or as an add-on app, like AT&T Secure Family, Verizon Smart Family, or T-Mobile FamilyMode. These typically let you set screen time limits, filter content, and track your kids' locations, though the exact features and pricing vary by carrier.
Max McCaskill
Sr. Staff Writer
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