T-Mobile slashes over $1,000 off AT&T and Verizon with a new family plan — here’s what’s what

T Mobile Taking a step to lure customers from competitors Verizon And AT&T with your new Best Value Family PlanNow available. This plan starts at $140 per month for three lines, which breaks down to about $46 per month per line.

T-Mobile says it will save you more than $1,000 a year compared to similar plans from Verizon and AT&T, partly because of benefits like Netflix and Hulu, satellite connectivity and scam protection, along with a five-year price lock. So, what’s the problem? To find out, I compared it to competing lines.

While the Better Value plan now lives up to T-Mobile’s other plans Experience beyond and experience moreThe $140/month price is a limited time deal – this new plan will have a regular price of $155/month. And it’s cheaper than AT&T and Verizon’s family plans while offering more features (listed below).

Of course, there’s some fine print here: To get the $140 per month price, you’ll have to enroll in AutoPay; Otherwise, you’ll have to pay an additional $5 per month per line. Pricing does not include taxes, surcharges and fees, including device connection fees of up to $35 per line. Then, if you’re switching from another carrier, you’ll need to sign up for at least three new lines, or sign up for at least three lines after a five-year tenure on another T-Mobile postpaid plan.

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Still, when you look at what’s included it’s a solid deal – especially if you travel frequently or use popular streaming services and want to save on them. With the Better Value plan, you will get:

• Five year price guarantee
• A phone upgrade every two years, with the same deal offered to new customers
• T-Satellite
• Unlimited Premium Data
• Unlimited Mobile Hotspot
• Netflix Standard with Ads
• hulu with ads
• Apple TV at additional $3/month (regular price is $13/month)
• Up to 4K UHD video streaming
• Watch and tablet lines at additional $5/month
• Unlimited text and 30GB high-speed data in Canada and Mexico
• Unlimited text and up to 30GB high-speed data, then unlimited data up to 256Kbps in over 215 countries

If you want to make the switch, T-Mobile says it should only take 15 minutes to complete online. If you’re paying for the phone through another carrier, the provider will pay eligible device balances through a prepaid Mastercard, up to four lines, up to $800 per line. Learn more about whether you’ll be eligible On T-Mobile’s website.

Obviously, the big draw of T-Mobile’s family plan is the various travel and streaming features, many of which often come with additional costs and fees when bundled with AT&T and Verizon’s family plans.

Should you sign up for T-Mobile’s Better Value plan?

You may be a good candidate for a better value plan if:

• You were planning to change carriers anyway.
• You need at least three phone lines in your plan.
• You either already subscribe or want to subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, and/or Apple TV, but don’t want to pay full price.
• You travel frequently, and can take advantage of unlimited mobile hotspot and international data.

If you’re already on a T-Mobile plan, especially a heavily discounted plan from years past with a price lock, you’ll want to do the math before switching to make sure it’ll be a good fit for you.

How I evaluated this deal

Although the better value plan is now a regular part of T-Mobile’s offering, the carrier says the $140/month price is a limited-time offer — the regular price for three lines is $155/month. With all the features and the extra drop in price, I give this deal a solid 4/5 rating.