Best Senior Phone Plans of 2024

For one or two people who just want to stay connected at reasonable speeds but don't need a lot of extra features (or don't want to pay too much), T-Mobile offers a significantly cheaper plan for older adults than competitors with Essentials 55 Plus. This plan includes 5G access and is $40 per month for one line or $55 per month total for two lines when signed up for autopay. It's the best value for one or two people, though they won't be able to expand to three or four lines. 

The tradeoff is in the fine print, with Essentials 55 Plus customers getting lower speeds when they use over 50GB of data in a month or when T-Mobile's network is congested from extensive customer activity, suggesting these customers are less prioritized than others. Video quality also "typically" streams at 480p, and tethering maxes out at 3G speeds (or 2G speeds in Mexico and Canada).

T-Mobile has also added a slightly pricier version of this plan called Essentials Choice 55. For an additional $5 per month ($45 for one line, $60 for two), the plan gives users access to T-Mobile's Scam Shield, an app service that can auto-block supposed scam calls and let you change your number once a year if the calls get overwhelming. Essentials Choice 55 users also aren't subject to the restriction of getting lower speeds when using 50GB or more of data a month.

T-Mobile also offers discounted versions of many of its regular plans for customers over 55 years old. For those who want a bit more functionality, data and some extras like getting a new phone every couple of years, T-Mobile's slightly discounted Go5G Plus 55 is worth checking out.

Its Go5G Plus 55 plan is $70 per month for one line or $100 per month for two lines (expandable to $150 per month for three lines or $200 per month for four lines) with autopay enabled. Note that current discounts make this plan cost the same as a standard Go5G Plus plan if using autopay, but it's less than the regular plan if you don't plan on using autopay. The plan includes the same perks as T-Mobile's standard plans, like up to 4K streaming, 50GB of 4G LTE hotspot data and 15GB of high-speed data (depending on the area, it may only be 4G LTE rather than 5G speeds) in Mexico and Canada. Plus, it includes subscriptions to Apple TV Plus and Netflix.

This plan also allows subscribers to upgrade their phone every two years, the same marquee perk that the standard Go5G Plus plan launched with. The only caveat is that plan owners will need to pay off 50% of their existing phone by the time they upgrade, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem for most subscribers. Subscribers can also get the same discounts on devices that T-Mobile offers new customers switching from other carriers. 

The Go5G Next 55 plan is pricier at $80 per month for one line or $120 per month for two lines (also expandable up to four lines) and identical except for one thing: Subscribers can upgrade their phones using new customer device offers every year instead of every two years. 

Note that T-Mobile also offers Go5G 55, Magenta 55 Plus and Magenta Max 55 Plus plans, which are cheaper than the above plans but offer less mobile hotspot data, fewer streaming services and don't include two-year phone upgrades. If you can live without the phone upgrades and want to save a few bucks every month, opt for the Magenta Max 55 Plus plan, which is $65 per month for one line or $90 for two lines, has 40GB of hotspot data per month and offers 4K streaming video.

Also, only the customer who signed up for these plans needs to be 55 years old or older; anyone on additional lines needn't fit that criteria.

Mint Mobile's Mint 55 Plus plan is a modest but affordable plan that can be as cheap as $15 per month per line if signing up for 12 months in advance, $20 a month for six months or $25 per month for three months. New customers can try the network for three months at a rate of $15 a month. 

The tradeoff is that the Mint 55 Plus plan only offers 5GB of data per month, and mobile hotspot usage draws from that cap. Mint runs on T-Mobile's 5G network, providing similar 5G and 4G LTE service and availability as native T-Mobile customers. The plan doesn't offer any bundled extras like streaming service subscriptions, but it does provide access to the "MINTech Advisor" for on-call tech support in getting started with the plan, transferring phone numbers to the service and troubleshooting issues.

Currently, you can't sign up for Mint 55 Plus online. You'll need to call Mint's hotline at 833-655-1768 to sign up over a call.

Verizon has discounted plans for people aged 55 years and older, but they come with a huge caveat: They're available only to those living in Florida. If you meet this requirement, you can get discounted plans that are pretty similar to the standard Verizon plans.

Verizon offers its 55 Plus Unlimited plan with one line for $62 per month or $84 for two lines when signed up for autopay. New customers switching to Verizon may have an easier time signing up; if you're already a Verizon customer, you'll need to talk to customer support to get your plan changed to Unlimited 55. The plan includes 5G Ultra Wideband service with unlimited low-speed (600Kbps) mobile hotspot access but lacks the bundled extras like streaming services you can add to conventional Verizon plans.