Ultra Mobile vs. MobileX: Prepaid savings for a wide range of users

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  Single and multi-line savings

  Ultra Mobile
  

  Ultra Mobile is a T-Mobile prepaid carrier with a wide range of data plans, multi-month savings, and strong international features, especially for a prepaid carrier.

  Pros

  • Multi-month discounts available
  • Solid Family Plan savings
  • Strong international features

  Cons

  • Single-month pricing can be a bit high
  • Taxes and fees are extra

• 

  Affordable data

  MobileX
  

  MobileX is an MVNO with cheap data, simple plans, and the vast Verizon network behind it. MobileX offers both light plans and unlimited plans at competitive prices.

  Pros

  • Cheap data to start
  • Totally unlimited data available
  • Strong app features

  Cons

  • No multi-line or multi-month savings
  • Taxes and fees are extra

There’s a ton of choice when it comes to prepaid phone plans, but that also allows them to offer features targeting smaller groups of people; or, in the case of MobileX, keeping things so simple the value is obvious. Ultra Mobile is a T-Mobile prepaid brand using the T-Mobile network for all of its coverage, with a focus on international features and plan discounts for those who sign up for multiple months at once, like T-Mobile’s other prepaid brand, Mint Mobile.

MobileX is an MVNO that uses the Verizon network for all of its coverage. MobileX has a custom plan for lighter users and two unlimited options for heavier users. With a double data promotion and generally low prices, MobileX competes with other Verizon brands like Visible and Total Wireless when it comes to unlimited data.

While these carriers have some pretty major differences in how they’re laid out, both can provide some savings compared to getting a plan from one of the Big Three postpaid carriers or Boost Mobile.

Mobile carrier features

If you’ve used Mint Mobile before, you know the drill with Ultra Mobile. Plans are available for three months, six months, or a year, with greater discounts for buying a longer term. Unlike Mint, though, you can also get a one-month plan for any size.

If you’re bringing multiple lines, paying for a year of data for each one can get very expensive. Luckily, Ultra’s Family Plan keeps things simple with a starting price of $49 for the first line with unlimited data, $24 for the second line, $12 for the third line, and $24 for lines four and five. If you just need three lines of unlimited data, Ultra Mobile is a good value.

Ultra has a handful of solid international features included with its plans, too, including unlimited international texting, calling to 90+ countries, unlimited talk and text in Mexico, and an international calling credit every month. You can also add international roaming credits, but some of the bigger plans come with a one-time international roaming credit.

Ultra Mobile offers hotspot usage on all of its plans, with the smaller data plans sharing their primary data pool and a set amount with the unlimited plans. The base unlimited plan, for example, gets 10GB of hotspot data. And since this is all on the T-Mobile 5G network, data speeds should be among the best in the nation.

MobileX has just three plans to consider, with a custom plan called Personalized Access, a 10GB unlimited plan, and a truly unlimited plan. With Personalized Access, customers pick how many minutes and texts they need, how much data, and whether they need talk and text in Mexico and Canada.

If you just want the basics with 50 minutes and text with 1GB of data, for example, that comes in at just $5.58. With a current promotion, MobileX is even matching the data you buy, essentially doubling it. If you’re not sure how much data you need, you can start with a 10-day free trial period to predict your usage. There’s also an international roaming plan add-on available if you plan to leave the country.

Mobile is also available in Walmart stores, so if you want a SIM without waiting for free shipping, you can pick one up.

Mobile coverage and reception

Ultra Mobile uses T-Mobile coverage with full support for 5G speeds. T-Mobile has been making impressive progress with its 5G network, including mid-band coverage. T-Mobile 5G is now available for most people living in the U.S. and there’s a good chance it’s the fastest option available. Another T-Mobile prepaid carrier, Metro by T-Mobile, was even found to be the fastest prepaid carrier.

All of that only matters if you have strong coverage, and while T-Mobile has made up a lot of ground in rural areas compared to Verizon, it still lags behind. Check Ultra Mobile’s coverage map to see how coverage looks for your area. The darker colors indicate a faster connection.

MobileX uses Verizon for all of its coverage, which should be good news for most people. Verizon has earned a strong reputation for coverage and even has some rural coverage where T-Mobile doesn’t. That really only matters if you live there, so check out Verizon’s coverage map to see what kind of connection is available in your area. If you live in a city, you’ve probably got solid 5G available.

Phone compatibility

When it comes to phone compatibility, Ultra Mobile unquestionably stands out. T-Mobile’s network is one of your best options for compatibility and was even used in our Nothing Phone 2a review.

If you’re using a phone designed for another country, however, you’ll see weaker signals in some areas due to band compatibility and will likely need to use a physical SIM instead of an eSIM. Speaking of international phones, Ultra also offers a three-week tourist SIM for those visiting the country. You can check your phone’s IMEI to be sure.

MobileX uses the Verizon network, which means that some international or less popular Android models may not activate. To see if your phone will work with MobileX, check your IMEI with MobileX’s compatibility checker. If your phone is eSIM-compatible with MobileX, you might only need to download the app to get signed up.

You can expect most of the best Android phones to work with either carrier. For example, the Galaxy S24 and Pixel 9 will work without issue on the Verizon or T-Mobile’s networks.

Plans

The biggest differences between these two carriers are the plans, with MobileX opting for a single flexible option for lighter users and two unlimited options. That said, MobileX doesn’t offer multi-line discounts like Ultra Mobile and lacks a family plan.

Ultra Mobile is a more well-rounded carrier with many more plan options with multi-month savings on each. Ultra Mobile also has a family plan with unlimited data, so you can get the whole family connected without dealing with multi-month discounts.

Ultra’s plans

Ultra Mobile’s smallest plan is designed for those who just want to call and text. The Talk & Text Plan actually comes with 250MB of data, which is handy if you need to download an app, or want to use a messenger app, like WhatsApp, away from Wi-Fi. Nationwide talk to 90+ countries is included, as well as international texting. This plan comes in at $15 for a single month, $13 for three months, $11 for six months, and $10 if you get a year.

The plans follow this format with four data plans with 3GB, 5GB, 10GB, or 15GB of data. These plans come with a monthly international calling credit that scales with the plan, and a one-time international roaming credit. Hotspot data is enabled for these plans and shared with the primary data pool.

Moving up, the Ultra Unlimited Plan comes with totally unlimited data and 10GB of hotspot data. This plan previously had a 40GB high-speed data cap, but Ultra has removed the data caps on its unlimited plans. This is the plan that comes with the Family Plan, and it’s a solid fit for most people, but overkill for many.

At $49 monthly and $40 per month if you pay for the year, this plan can be strong value. For $10 more across the board, Ultra Unlimited Plus doubles the hotspot data to 20GB.

Keep in mind that taxes and fees are extra on Ultra mobile, which includes a recovery fee that can cost a couple of dollars per month depending on the plan you choose. Luckily, FCC broadband labels are clearly displayed on Ultra plan pages, so you can see how much you’ll actually be paying.

MobileX’s plans

MobileX only has three plans, technically, with a custom plan and two unlimited plans. The custom plan is called Personalized Access, and it’s tied to a 10-day trial period that can predict how much data you’ll need to buy. You need to pay a $1.98 platform fee to get started, then $2.10 per gigabyte of data needed.

Now, you don’t have to add talk and text, but it’s fairly cheap if you want it with 50 texts and minutes coming in at $1.50. Taking that up to 150 texts and minutes costs $2.50, and going unlimited costs $4.50. Unlimited talk and text in Mexico and Canada is also available for $4.50.

Currently, MobileX is matching data purchased on this plan, essentially doubling your data. Also, unused data, excluding the free matched data, is refunded to your account in the form of a bill credit, so you don’t lose the data you pay for.

If you need more than a few gigs of data, one of MobileX’s unlimited plans is a better fit. Starting with Unlimited 10 at just $14.88 per month, you get 10GB of high-speed data which is slowed to 512Kbps, which isn’t fast enough for messages, but not much more. Still, if you typically use less than 10GB of data, it’s nice to know you won’t be penalized for going over. You also have the option to add unlimited talk and text to 90+ countries.

MobileX’s biggest plan is simply called Unlimited and has no high-speed data cap with truly unlimited data and 10GB of hotspot data. It’s worth noting that in the app, this plan is actually called Unlimited 199, and shows 199GB of unlimited data instead of truly unlimited. Still, that’s a ton of data that only chronic speed testers should hit.

Talk and text to 90+ countries is included with this plan, and an international roaming add-on is available. This plan comes in at $24.88 per month, which puts it on par with carriers like Visible. If you’re a heavy user who regularly uses more than 10GB of data, this plan is a worthwhile upgrade.

Taxes and fees are extra, so you’re looking at a dollar or two extra on your final bill.

Which should you pick?

If you just need a plan for a single line, MobileX stands out as the clear value champ with low data rates on its Personalized Access plan and competitive unlimited options. If you’re looking for unlimited data, the full unlimited plan is even a good deal at just $24.88 per month.

While the Verizon network used by MobileX doesn’t average out to be as fast as T-Mobile, it should be more than fast enough for most people. It’s also important to note that if you tried MobileX in the first part of 2024 or 2023, the overall network performance has been improved.

While MobileX takes the top spot for single-line accounts, its Family Plan is a strong value for those with three or more lines. With the family plan being based on Ultra’s unlimited plan, there’s no need to work out how much data your kids or spouse might need. Each line also gets 10GB of hotspot data, so if the kids need to finish up a bit of online schoolwork in the car, they can simply connect to their phones.

It’s also worth remembering that Ultra Mobile includes international calling and texting with all of its plans, so if you’ve got friends or family in another country, you could save a lot with this plan.