5 phone plans you should sign up for instead of Cash App Mobile

Last year, we saw AT&T focus on building out new partnerships with companies like Klarna and other app-based services. Now, Cash App has joined the fray with its own mobile service. The new Cash App Mobile service offers unlimited talk, text, and 5G priority data powered by AT&T. There’s also 10GB of hotspot access as well as international usage in Canada and Mexico with 10GB of data and 1,000 call minutes or texts.

Although this plan looks decent enough on the surface, the $40/month asking price is a bit steep. Likewise, AT&T coverage tends to be hit-or-miss depending on where you live. Before you decide this is the plan for you, we highly recommend you take a closer look at the competition.

With that in mind, here are five alternatives you should sign up for instead of Cash App Mobile.

Cricket Wireless

If you have your heart set on the AT&T network, Cricket Wireless is a pretty solid option. This AT&T-owned premium prepaid carrier offers limited brick-and-mortar support, discounted phones, and other benefits that make it feel a bit more like a regular, postpaid carrier.

That said, Cricket isn’t cheap either. If you want the same high-priority data as you’d get with the Cash App Mobile plan, you’ll pay $55 a month for just one line. The good news is that this not only includes taxes and fees, but there’s also a decent multi-line discount. For example, four lines of Supreme Unlimited (with high-priority data) would run you $32.50 per line.

You might pay a bit more for one line, but there are also perks on the Supreme Unlimited plan that simply don’t exist for Cash App Mobile users. First, you get an additional 40GB of hotspot data. There’s also HBO Max Basic with Ads and 150GB of cloud storage. While Cricket’s plans don’t have massive international options, you will get calling, texting, and data in Canada and Mexico.

US Mobile

Not sure what network works best for you? US Mobile has the advantage of supporting all three major networks. In fact, it’s even possible to run two networks at once for an optional fee.

Like Cash App Mobile, US Mobile offers plans that include unlimited data, international calling, and virtually every major perk that Cash App’s plan offers, such as taxes and fees included in the advertised price. Even better, you’ll find unlimited plans starting as low as $25 a month for the Unlimited Starter plan, or even less for those who sign up for an annual plan.

US Mobile also offers several perks you won’t find with Cash App Mobile, including double the hotspot data. For those who upgrade to Unlimited Premium, you’ll still pay a dollar less per month than the Cash App Mobile plan, and yet you get 20GB of international data for use in over 200 countries, a free smartwatch plan on the Warp (Verizon) network, and multi-line subscription perks.

Visible

Visible is one of my favorite prepaid carriers for good reason. With pricing starting at $25 and plans maxing out at $45 a month, there’s a ton of value here. The plan that compares most favorably with the Cash App Mobile plan is Visible Plus, which costs just $35 a month.

This plan is not only $5 cheaper, but Verizon’s network is typically stronger as well, depending on where you live. Visible Plus also includes high-priority data that’s virtually unlimited, as Visible typically only imposes a temporary cap if you use massive amounts of data (over 100 GB each month, etc.).

If that wasn’t enough to lure you in, Visible Plus also gives you unlimited hotspot data, and unlimited talk, text, and data in Mexico and Canada. You also get a Global Pass each month for use in over 200 countries, and you can stack up to 12 and use them at once.

Metro by T-Mobile

I debated hard about whether to include Metro by T-Mobile, since its standard plans are priced pretty similarly to Cash App Mobile, yet it technically offers less prioritized data. That said, Metro has a better option: Bring your own Phone. These plans are designed for people who don’t mind buying their phones unlocked or paying full price through Metro.

In exchange for bringing your own device, you’ll get unlimited data with 10GB of hotspot access for $30 a month. You can also get the service for $5 less per line if you have two or more lines. Yes, this isn’t going to get the QCI 8 priority level that you’d get with AT&T, but it’s important to understand that not all priority systems are created equal.

While Verizon and, to a lesser extent, AT&T have horribly slow QCI 9 speeds, this isn’t usually the case with T-Mobile. I have found that Metro by T-Mobile might experience slowdowns during congestion, but typically these dips are still much more usable than rivals on the same priority.

If you live in an area with stronger T-Mobile coverage, it’s also likely that Metro’s plans will perform similarly to Cash App Mobile the vast majority of the time. You’ll also get a few extra perks like Metro store support and T-Mobile Tuesdays eligibility.

Google Fi

I have mostly focused on carriers that offer truly unlimited data, or at least can let you use over 100GB without issue in most cases. That said, Google Fi is still worth a look even if its max plan caps out at 100GB of usage per month. If you aren’t a heavy user, odds are this limit is more than you’d burn through anyhow.

Although you’d normally pay $65 a month for a single line of Unlimited Premium, right now Google is running a special that brings this price down to just $33 a month for your first year. There are also multi-line discounts that can further reduce pricing. Of course, this is the one carrier on the list that doesn’t include taxes or fees, but even so, the pricing would be the same or slightly less than what Cash App is offering.

Like Metro, Google Fi runs on the T-Mobile network, but it has a special arrangement that makes it the only official prepaid carrier with higher-priority QCI 8 data. This plan also includes 50GB of hotspot tethering, international data in over 200 countries, and free connectivity options for select watches, tablets, and laptops.

Still not enough? You’ll get six months of YouTube Premium and 100GB of Google One storage.

What’s the best Cash App Mobile alternative?

If I’m honest, there’s no one best alternative to Cash App Mobile as it really depends on what you’re looking for. If you want a plan that matches it as closely as possible in terms of carrier compatibility and more, US Mobile is probably a solid choice. You really can’t go wrong with any of the carriers listed, though.

What I can say is that I probably wouldn’t recommend Cash App Mobile over any of these. First, mixing your cellular coverage with a finance app sounds like a bad idea. Second, these app-based cellular services usually offer very limited troubleshooting and customer support.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the Cash App Mobile plan is a horrible offer. A fairer statement is that it simply doesn’t do enough to stand out.