The May wireless-plan pitch is getting louder: $25 unlimited, taxes-included prepaid, bundle discounts, AutoPay pricing, and bigger hotspot buckets. The useful question is not which headline sounds cheapest. It is which plan keeps your real monthly bill predictable after fees, payment rules, device credits, and hotspot limits are counted.
We checked current plan pages from Visible, Cricket, Metro by T-Mobile, T-Mobile, and AT&T. Here is the phone-bill watchlist before you switch lines this week.
Visible is still the $25 unlimited anchor
Visible’s regular entry plan is listed at $25 per month for one line, with taxes and fees included in the monthly price. The plan page also frames phone data as unlimited and includes mobile hotspot, with the normal carrier caveat that speeds and experience can vary by network management and plan terms.
What this means for you: use Visible as the benchmark for a simple single-line unlimited plan. If another carrier’s “deal” costs more than $25 after taxes, fees, and required discounts, it needs to justify the difference with priority data, better coverage where you live, device credits you will actually keep, or hotspot terms you need.
Cricket and Metro are selling predictability, not just low prices
Cricket is pushing prepaid plans with taxes included in the monthly price and no long-term-contract positioning. That matters because a prepaid sticker price is easier to compare when taxes are already part of the monthly number. Cricket’s page also lists possible one-time in-store fees, so do not treat “taxes included” as “every possible charge disappears.”
Metro shows a $40/month Period plan, while separate plan cards reference AutoPay and hotspot allotments such as 8GB. The takeaway is that Metro’s cheapest-looking price and the plan with the hotspot bucket you want may not be the same card.
What this means for you: if you want a prepaid plan, compare the whole receipt: monthly service, taxes, activation or in-store fees, AutoPay requirements, and hotspot. A prepaid plan can still be the better deal, but only if you compare the same features against the same payment assumptions.
T-Mobile’s price guarantee still has exclusions
T-Mobile’s current plan page promotes Experience plans and a 5-Year Price Guarantee on talk, text, and data. The important part for bill shoppers is the exclusion language: taxes, fees, and some third-party charges are not the same thing as the base talk/text/data price.
What this means for you: a price guarantee is useful, but it is not a blank check against every line item on the bill. If you are choosing T-Mobile for predictability, ask what can still change and whether the guarantee applies to the exact plan and lines you are buying.
AT&T’s bundle math needs the “plus taxes and fees” check
AT&T’s wireless page is built around plan tiers such as Value 2.0, Extra 2.0, Premium 2.0, and Elite 2.0, plus bundle-style pricing language for wireless and home internet. The page also labels advertised pricing with taxes and fees separate from the headline amount.
What this means for you: do not compare an AT&T bundle headline with a prepaid all-in monthly number unless you add the missing pieces. Device credits, fiber availability, required AutoPay or paperless billing, and taxes can all change the real answer.
The SaveOnPhone read
- Visible sets the single-line floor. A $25 taxes-included unlimited plan is the benchmark other offers must beat or explain.
- Prepaid can be cleaner, but not fee-free. Cricket’s taxes-included monthly pricing helps; one-time store or activation charges still deserve a check.
- AutoPay is part of the price. If a plan’s best price requires a specific payment method, compare your real payment method.
- Hotspot is the hidden separator. Unlimited phone data does not mean unlimited high-speed hotspot on every plan.
Action checklist before switching
- Write down the all-in monthly price for your exact number of lines.
- Check whether taxes and fees are included or added later.
- Confirm the payment method needed for any AutoPay discount.
- Match hotspot and travel data to your actual usage, not the word “unlimited.”
- Ask how long any device, BYOD, or bundle credit lasts before treating it as savings.
Sources
- Visible plans page, accessed May 4, 2026: visible.com
- Cricket Wireless plans page, accessed May 4, 2026: cricketwireless.com
- Metro by T-Mobile plans page, accessed May 4, 2026: metrobyt-mobile.com
- T-Mobile cell-phone plans page, accessed May 4, 2026: t-mobile.com
- AT&T wireless plans page, accessed May 4, 2026: att.com