Get an annual AARP membership for only $12. Limited time offer.

Get 25% Off

Mint Mobile Senior Phone Plan Review 2024

A straight-talking prepaid mobile carrier for budget-minded seniors

SeniorLiving.org is supported by commissions from providers listed on our site. Read our Editorial Guidelines

SeniorLiving.org Rating:
4.0 of 5
$15/mo Starting Price
Budget Plans (and Phones) for Seniors
No contracts
Top 5G Coverage

SeniorLiving.org is supported by commissions from providers listed on our site. Read our Editorial Guidelines

SeniorLiving.org Rating:
4.0 of 5
Taylor Shuman
Taylor Shuman, Senior Tech Expert & Editor Read About Our Panel of Experts

How can you say no to a cell phone company owned (and used) by Canadian movie star and celebrity gin maker Ryan Reynolds? Or is the better question: How can you say no to a 5G carrier with superb coverage and all the data you need for $15 monthly?

I’m talking about Mint Mobile, a no-nonsense newcomer to the mobile market with bargain prepaid plans and no major commitments. It’s a recipe that could be a heady cocktail for seniors who are tired of paying too much for too little with other major carriers. In this hands-on review, I’ll break down Mint’s pricing and plans and elaborate on why Mint might be an ideal choice for older Americans looking to stay connected on the cheap.

Testing out Mint Mobile's service on an iPhone

Testing out Mint Mobile's service on an iPhone

Pros and Cons

What We Love About Mint Mobile

  • Simple plans without any traps in the fine print
  • Flexible plan options
  • Unlimited talk and text
  • Great coverage with T-Mobile’s 5G network
  • Bring-your-own-phone (BYOP) policy

What We Didn’t Love About Mint Mobile

  • Unlimited plans throttled after you reach a 35 GB data cap
  • No brick-and-mortar stores to help with setup
  • Might be a little slower than your average T-Mobile postpaid plan

How Does Mint Mobile Compare to the Competition?

Mint Mobile is a relatively new addition to the list of senior-friendly phone carriers. It’s a great choice if you need affordable, no-nonsense phone coverage. But what if you want a wireless provider that offers in-person assistance at a brick-and-mortar store? Or you don’t want a phone plan with a monthly data cap? Either way, check out some of our top-rated brands to learn more about the best options.

We may receive compensation from the brands listed here. The compensation we receive from our partners impacts the products and services shown here, but it does not impact our ratings in any way. Our ratings are chosen through comprehensive research, clear methodologies, hands-on testing, and input from our team of experts.
SeniorLiving.org Rating:
4.6 of 5
Call for best price: Call to Order: (855) 643-4847
SeniorLiving.org Rating:
4.5 of 5
Call for best price: Call to Order: 855-929-4241
SeniorLiving.org Rating:
4.5 of 5
Call for best price: Call to Order: 866-461-7793

The Buying Experience With Mint Mobile

Like its virtual towers, Mint has no actual physical brick-and-mortar stores, so purchasing your plan is done online. But even if you like getting help from a live human, like we did when we reviewed T-Mobile, don’t stress just yet. Getting set up with Mint is a piece of cake. Their website is a breeze to use.

That isn’t to say that getting set up with Mint doesn’t take a few steps. It does. So, I’ll start at the very beginning with a few quick pre-purchase checks you’ll want to make before you enter your credit card information.

Before you sign up for your Mint plan, check the coverage in your area.

Before you sign up for your Mint plan, check the coverage in your area.

Checking Mint Coverage in Your Area

As you can see from the map above, Mint has pretty good coverage. Still, it’s better on the East Coast and could be spotty in the rural West. When I typed in my ZIP code — I’m on the East Coast but not in a big city — I was good to go. I recommend you do the same.

Mint Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), which means it piggybacks off the infrastructure of another mobile provider – in this case, T-Mobile. In other words, when you make a call with Mint, you’re actually connecting to one of T-Mobile’s towers.

Running the Mint Phone Compatibility Checker

Rather than pushing new phones with multi-year contracts on new customers, Mint Mobile lets you bring your phone. I was relieved I didn’t have to buy a phone through Mint to use their service. (You can if you want. More on this below.) I just brought my own phone, or “BYOP,” as they call it at Mint Mobile. But first, I had to make sure it was compatible and unlocked.

Unlocked phones, by the way, are just phones not tied to any particular carrier. For instance, if I had signed a three-year contract with Verizon for my iPhone, I couldn’t have taken that phone and started using Mint. That phone would have been locked. Mine was fine. That’s one check down. The final check — phone compatibility — was easy with Mint’s phone compatibility checker (see below). I just typed in my brand and model, and voilá. Now, I was ready to select a Mint plan.

Mint’s phone compatibility checker came in handy when I wanted to see if I could “bring” my phone with me if I signed up with Mint.

Mint’s phone compatibility checker came in handy when I wanted to see if I could “bring” my phone with me if I signed up with Mint.

Purchasing Your Mint Mobile Plan

Mint’s plans are prepaid, so you must pay for your minutes (and data) in advance. Purchasing my package was easy. I just clicked “shop plans,” chose my plan (the Unlimited Plan for $30 per month), and gave Mint my credit card details. I was now on Team Mint. Or almost. I still had to wait two to three days for Mint to deliver my 3-in-1 SIM kit. Then I had to activate it. Next-day air delivery was an option, too, for an extra $15.

Mint will ship your SIM to you for free in 2-3 days

Buying in Bulk Can Help You Save

Remember that when you sign up for Mint, you select a three-month plan with a new customer rate. After the first three months, you’ll have the choice between committing for a three-month, six-month, or 12-month period. Mint Mobile intentionally designed its plans so that the longer you commit, the cheaper the monthly rate will be. Not bad. We’d recommend buying in bulk (12-month periods) for the best rates.

Beware of the Data Cap

One thing to note is that Mint’s Unlimited Plan isn’t completely unlimited. However, unlike other mobile carriers, they’re not trying to hide this. If you exceed 35 GB of data — your monthly allowance — you’ll experience lower 2G speeds with 480p video until the end of your billing period.

Just for the record, 480p video, while technically standard definition, won’t disrupt your mobile experience. 2G speeds could be a pain if you’re on your way to visit the grandkids in Topeka but Google Maps is still back in Kansas City. But there are plenty of ways to save data, so this never happens. You can use Mint’s Wi-Fi Calling and Text feature at home or on trusted networks.

Activating Your Mint Mobile Plan

When my SIM kit arrived in the mail, making my iPhone usable involved two main steps: entering my activation code and transferring my phone number. Like purchasing, the SIM activation process is handled online via the Mint Mobile website. My only caveat? Pay attention when activating your SIM because this involves your phone number, and you don’t want to create any headaches for yourself there. Ready?

To get started with Mint, first you’ve got to activate your SIM.

To get started with Mint, first you’ve got to activate your SIM.

First, I clicked the “Activate” tab at the top-right corner of the Mint website (just to the left of “Log In”).

Pro Tip:

Pro Tip: When you activate your new Mint SIM, don’t forget to have your account login info (username and password) from your current carrier on hand!

Next, I located the card Mint sent me via mail (the one with my SIM stuck to it), flipped it over, and found my activation number. It’s the 11-digit number on the top right. I typed that number into the website, double-checked it (always double-check!), and hit enter.

Activating your Mint SIM online is easy peasy. Just make sure you’ve got that number right.

Activating your Mint SIM online is easy peasy. Just make sure you’ve got that number right.

Next, I was on the “New or Existing Number” screen. I wanted to keep my existing number, as most of us do, so I clicked “Transfer an existing number.” (If I wanted a new number, that would have been easy, too. I’d just have clicked “Get a new number.”)

That was the point where I needed the login info from my current carrier. I had to enter it here, along with my phone number and a few other details, so Mint could take over my phone number. After that, I was ready. I just popped open my SIM tray and inserted my new SIM. Then, I waited 24 hours for my confirmation text. (It actually arrived in about 10 hours.) Now, I was officially on Team Mint!

Toolbox:

Toolbox: Once you insert your SIM and activate your plan, you still may need to configure your data settings so that you can use your mobile data. With Mint, this is easy. If you’ve got an iPhone, just text “Mint” to the number 6700, and they’ll send you the settings via text. You’ll get that message automatically if you’ve got an Android phone.

As far as setups go, Mint’s is pretty straightforward. But if you zoned out when you saw “activation code,” check out Mint Mobile's activation tutorial. It’s got a cute little fox and plenty of visuals to keep you focused.

Choosing a Cell Phone

Mint Mobile is pretty affordable, but you still need to find a phone that makes you happy. If you’re considering trying something new, here are two of our favorites. Both are available directly via Mint Mobile.

Quick Tip:

Quick Tip: Want to compare all of our top-rated phones? Check out our list of the best cell phones for seniors in 2024.

Apple iPhone SE

Mint Mobile offers the Apple iPhone SE 64 GB for $429. Although this is not a 5G phone, it has other smart features to compensate. It has a 4.7-inch retina display to help seniors easily navigate important apps.

Testing out the iPhone SE

Testing out the iPhone SE

Plus, with a 12 MP rear camera and 7 MP front camera, you can take as many vivid photos as you’d like when the grandkids come over. It also has a smart fingerprint sensor button so that seniors with limited mobility or arthritis can easily access apps and other features. Mint Mobile often runs promotions on iPhones, so be on the lookout!

Our favorite features for seniors:

  • Large icons
  • Long battery life
  • Lightweight (5.2 ounces)
  • Fingerprint-resistant coating
  • Water-resistant
  • Digital zoom up to 3x
  • Siri capabilities
  • Fingerprint sensor

Samsung Galaxy A12

The Galaxy A12 is available directly from Mint Mobile for $180. What other things will seniors like about the Galaxy A12 besides the price? One, the camera quality is excellent; it comes with five (yes, five) different cameras that work together to take stellar photos of vacations and grandkids. Two, you can unlock your phone with your finger, so say goodbye to passwords (and snooping grandkids breaking into your phone). And you get a big 6.5-inch high-definition display for easy reading, with advanced accessibility features. The Samsung Galaxy A12 is a 4G/LTE phone, so you won’t get 5G speeds. In addition, this phone is M3/T4 hearing aid compatible, which is a plus for seniors who want to connect their hearing aids to their phones.

Our favorite features for seniors:

  • M3/T3 hearing aid compatible
  • Huge 6.5-inch screen
  • Speech-to-text and text-to-speech
  • Fingerprint unlock
  • Bluetooth connectivity
  • Long battery life
  • 34 hours of talk time
  • Long-lasting battery life

Nationwide Coverage

Coverage is obviously a key factor to consider when choosing a mobile carrier. The good news is that Mint’s 5G coverage (which it borrows from T-Mobile) is knock-your-socks-off great, with coverage in 42 percent of the U.S. For comparison, this clobbers AT&T (18 percent) and Verizon (11 percent) and will only be getting better. 5G coverage isn’t just strong with Mint – it’s available on all Mint plans. Compare that to AT&T’s Cricket Wireless, which offers 5G on only its top-tier plans

FYI:

FYI: If you travel a lot, one thing you’ve got to check with any prepaid mobile plan is roaming, which lets you make calls and use data via participating local carriers. Mint plans, for example, allow international roaming, but you’ve got to pay extra for it.

For 4G/LTE, Mint isn’t bad by a longshot at 62 percent coverage,1 but it lags behind AT&T (68 percent) and Verizon (70 percent). The silver lining (if you’re a city slicker) is that Mint is better in urban areas, especially on the East Coast.

Contracts and Warranty

Contracts

Mint Mobile plans are prepaid and pay-as-you-go, so you aren’t locked into a contract. You just pay upfront for your package (three months, six months, or 12 months). When that period is over, you have the option of renewing. (You can also program your plan to auto-renew.)

Did You Know?

Did You Know? You can try Mint with a 7-Day Mint Starter Kit ($2 at Target or $5 via Amazon). Mint will give you a temporary number with 250MB of data, 250 texts, and 250 minutes. If you decide to continue with Mint at the end of the seven days, you’ll get your money back as credit.

Mint plans come with a seven-day money-back guarantee when you order a plan from their website or app. If you’re unsatisfied, Mint will refund your entire purchase, plus fees and taxes (but not delivery).

Warranty

All new phones purchased through Mint Mobile come with a manufacturer’s warranty from the original date of sale, while refurbished devices have a 60-day warranty. This warranty covers product defects and software issues but won’t cover problems caused by normal wear and tear or aging.

Mint Mobile Phone Plans at a Glance

Plan name Price* Talk and text Data Extra features
Mint 55+ $15 per month Unlimited 5 GB with 5G and 4G LTE coverage Free MINTech advisors; Wi-Fi calling and text
5 GB $15 per month Unlimited 5 GB with 5G and 4G LTE coverage Wi-Fi calling and text
15 GB $20 per month Unlimited 15 GB with 5G and 4G LTE coverage Wi-Fi calling and text
20 GB $25 per month Unlimited 20 GB with 5G and 4G LTE coverage Wi-Fi calling and text
Unlimited $30 per month Unlimited 40 GB with 5G and 4G LTE coverage Wi-Fi calling and text

* These prices represent introductory offers for new customers.

Mint Mobile has a reputation for simple plans without smoke and mirrors; it’s a key part of how they design their service. However, it’s worth noting that the prices in our table are for the first three months of service. The good news is that if you move directly into a 12-month plan with Mint, those rates will stay the same.

Mint Mobile Plan Details

Mint 55+ Senior Plan

Cost

Mint Mobile has evolved over the years to meet the needs of older adults. In 2021, the carrier launched its first 55+ plan. If you’re looking for an affordable cell phone plan, Mint 55+ is a great place to start. For $15 monthly and no contracts, you’ll get unlimited nationwide talk and text, plus perks like free mobile hotspots and 5G speeds. If you enjoy clear calls with free 5G access and no hidden fees, you’ll like this new budget-friendly senior plan by Mint Mobile.

Plan Features

This plan is great for older adults on a tight budget or those who are more tech-averse, as its service is designed for those who want a simple, no-fuss plan. With Mint 55+, you get exclusive access to help from MINTech advisors for free (valued at $15), which includes full-service activation and help to transfer your existing number and service. Other features of this senior cell phone plan include unlimited nationwide talk and text, plus free international calling to Mexico and Canada.

5 GB for Budget Users

Cost

At just $15 per month (prepaid for 12 months after the first three months), Mint’s 5 GB plan is a real disruptor in the cellular market. Even Google Fi, Mint’s closest competitor, can’t hold onto Mint’s coattails here at $60 monthly for 4 GB of data.

Did You Know?

Did You Know? All Mint Mobile plans let you turn your cell phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot should you want to bring another device online while on the go. Data restrictions apply by plan.

Who’s this plan for? In short, Mint’s 5 GB plan is a great option for seniors on a budget who are comfortable using Wi-Fi hotspots and just want to email, browse, and use Google Maps on the go.

Plan Features

As with all of Mint’s plans, you get unlimited talk and text, access to T-Mobile’s plentiful towers (5G and 4G/LTE), and Wi-Fi calling and text. This plan comes with 5 GB of data. After that, you pay by the gig. I could easily see my data usage and add more to my plan through the Mint Mobile app.

Tracking data usage in the Mint Mobile app

Tracking data usage in the Mint Mobile app

15 GB and 20 GB for Moderate Users

Cost

At $20 and $25 per month for 15 GB and 20 GB, respectively, Mint’s mid-range plans are great for those who don’t want to be locked into a phone contract. Even if you currently subscribe to Comcast and can take advantage of Xfinity Mobile’s bargain pay-by-the-gig plans, you’re still paying more for less data; i.e., $30 per month for 3 GB.

Who’s this plan for? Mint’s 15 GB and 20 GB plans will give you more breathing room with your data if you’re the “out-and-about” type and don’t want to search constantly for Wi-Fi to chat, surf, and stream (within limits).

Features

With Mint’s heavier plans, you get everything included with the 5 GB plan — unlimited talk and text, T-Mobile’s 5G and 4G/LTE network, and Wi-Fi calling and text — but much more data.

Unlimited for Heavy Users

Cost

Mint’s Unlimited plan costs $30 monthly (if you pay for 12 months upfront after your first three months). That gives you 40 GB of data. Mint’s closest competitor in the “huge data” tier is AT&T’s Cricket Wireless.

Did You Know?

Did You Know? Mint Mobile offers a deal for new customers that could help you save even more! If you purchase a qualifying phone and sign up for a 12-month 5 GB plan, you’ll earn six months of free service in the form of a credit. If you purchase a qualifying phone and choose one of Mint Mobile’s other 12-month plans, you’ll receive a $90 credit.

For comparison, at $25 per month, Cricket’s unlimited package is actually $5 cheaper, and there is no 12-month commitment. That said, while Cricket doesn’t throttle speeds once you reach a data cap, it keeps all speeds down to 8 Mbps, which may be annoying. The one advantage Cricket offers that Mint can’t match is partial coverage of Canada and Mexico.

Mint Mobile Unlimited will be a good fit for older adults who do a lot of heavy lifting on their phones: downloading and uploading family photos wherever they are, chatting on the go, driving grandkids around while streaming Netflix in the backseat, etc.

Features

Mint Mobile’s Unlimited plan is the top of the line. As with all of Mint’s plans, there are no bells and whistles, just unlimited talk and text, solid 5G and 4G/LTE coverage via T-Mobile, and Wi-Fi calling and text. The difference here is you get up to 40 GB of data monthly. Do you need it?

You can find out by using Mint’s data meter, which will make suggestions according to your data usage. Remember that you can’t get your money back like you can with Google Fi if you don’t use up your monthly allowance.

The Bottom Line on Mint Mobile

Whatever you think about Mint Mobile, you’ve got to admit it’s refreshing: a straight-talking cellular provider that doesn’t fluff up their service with a ton of talking points that don’t mean anything to you.

With 5G and 4G LTE data-packed prepaid plans ranging from $15 to $30 a month, Mint is cheap, utilitarian, and contract-free. And while it does bill itself as the no-frills mobile carrier, you actually get plenty with Mint: unlimited talk and text, Wi-Fi calling and text, and 5G and 4G coverage. None of Mint’s closest prepaid competitors can compete with that. Mint’s sheer value and new affordable senior plan will certainly be tempting for plenty of budget-minded seniors.

Mint’s sheer value and new affordable senior plan will certainly be tempting for plenty of budget-minded seniors.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mint Mobile

Citations
  1. Federal Communications Commission. (2021). Mobile LTE Coverage.

Written By:
Taylor Shuman
Senior Tech Expert & Editor
Read About Our Panel of Experts
As SeniorLiving.org’s tech expert and editor, Taylor has years of experience reviewing products and services for seniors. She is passionate about breaking down stigmas related to seniors and technology. She loves finding innovative ways to teach seniors about products and… Learn More About Taylor Shuman