The Best Kids Phone Plans That Are Stupid Cheap & Super Convenient

If you have an old phone you want to re-gift to your kid, Mint Mobile offers a plan that is BYOP (bring your own phone) and it includes a 3-in-1 SIM card (standard, micro, and nano sized) to fit the device of your choice. Mint uses T-Mobile towers so you can rest assured you’ll have good service. You get three months of unlimited talk and text, and 4GB of highspeed data to boot, so your kid can stay connected without draining your bank account.  

If you’re a votary of Verizon (or you’re looking to switch plans), the 5G Nationwide network offers a Just Kids unlimited plan that has all the features you could possibly want and more. You can pick up to twenty contacts for their address book, enable content filters, set their data usage, and block the sites and apps you don’t want them accessing. Your kids can even request a ride from you, which is fitting because you’re basically just their unpaid Uber driver, anyway. And if you find your kid is getting a little too phone-addicted for your liking, you even have the ability to pause their internet during school or dinnertime, so they can be more present in their real life. The plan starts at $50 but you can get it as cheap as $25 if you have a family plan with 5 or more lines attached.

If customization is what you want, Tello Mobile lets you build your own plan for as little as $4.50 a month. You can purchase this sim card kit for $2, activate your existing phone, and choose a plan that works for you. So if you want unlimited texting but only enough minutes for emergencies, Tello has it for less than the price of a fancy coffee. Plus, it’s a great way to put any old cell phones you have laying around to good use.

Red Pocket works with any AT&T compatible or unlocked GSM devices, so you can go iPhone or Android. Plus, you can chose to keep the phone’s existing number (which is great if your kid already has it memorized). You have the option to power your plan with one of the major carriers (Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, or AT&T) so you can pick the carrier that works best in your service area. If you need way more data to keep your kiddo happy, there’s also a 50GB plan for only $25 a month!

If the idea of giving your kid unsupervised screen time is panic-inducing, then this is the option for you. This super simple cell phone provides cell service and a GPS tracker in one. It includes an SOS button feature, supports three speed-dial numbers, and has a 15-number address book, so only those 15 numbers can call your child’s phone. Your kid can access you and the other emergency contacts of your choosing, but more importantly, they can’t access any apps or the internet, so you don’t have to worry about burning through a bunch of data. You can pick a plan that works best for you on KidsConnect, and all the plans are carried through either T-Mobile or AT&T, so you know you’ll get good coverage (just check the map to see which works best for your service area). And if that’s not enough, KidsConnect also offers GEO-fencing, so if your kid wanders into some unknown neighborhood, you’ll be alerted.us mobile

For kids who are ready for a more sophisticated phone, this Trackfone Samsung Galaxy includes a sim card and has 32 GB of storage.  You can purchase a 30 day prepaid Tracfone plan with unlimited talk and text and 1 GB of data for $23.99, which is just enough to keep your kid out of trouble but not enough for them to get into trouble, if you know what I mean.

US Mobile is like Build-A-Bear for the perfect cell phone plan. Purchase this SIM card for $5.99 then activate a plan of your choice. You can get unlimited talk and text for as little as $10 a month. But if your kid needs data, you can add that for up to $45 a month depending on how much your kiddo plans to burn through. And since most devices work with US Mobile, you can use a phone you already have (and the number already assigned to it) or purchase a new one.

If your little chatterbox is tying up your line, the Reach Basic plan for one line offers up to 3GB of data and unlimited talk and text. You can purchase a phone through their site or use your own phone, too. If you don’t want to worry about running out of data, their All-In Unlimited plan is only $65 a month (which might be worth the cost of your sanity).