Best Mobile Hotspot Plans (2025)

Mobile hotspot plans—and by that, we mean cell phone plans that include hotspot data—let you leverage your phone’s data to connect your computer, tablet, TV, gaming console, or anything else to the internet when you’re on the go. 

The best mobile hotspot plans feature dedicated hotspot data allowances, so you don’t have to dip into your main cellular data when connecting your other devices to the internet via your phone’s hotspot. Our favorite mobile hotspot plans right now include: 

• AT&T Unlimited Premium PL (60GB of mobile hotspot data)
• T-Mobile Go5G Plus (50GB of mobile hotspot data)
• AT&T Unlimited Extra EL (30GB of mobile hotspot data)
• Verizon Wireless Unlimited Plus (30GB of mobile hotspot data)
• Xfinity Mobile Unlimited Plus (15GB of mobile hotspot data)

In this article, we’ll give you the ins and outs of these plans and tell you why we think they’re worth signing up for. We’ll also tell you how to enable your mobile hotspot, give you the lowdown on unlimited data hotspot plans, and more. 

Best Overall Mobile Hotspot Plan

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Our favorite overall mobile hotspot plan is AT&T’s Unlimited Extra EL, striking as it does a perfect balance between cost effectiveness and features. Priced at $76/month, At&T Unlimited Extra EL includes 30GB of mobile hotspot data, not to mention 75GB of premium cellular data. It also comes with the backing of AT&T’s excellent 4G and 5G coverage, so you can rest easy knowing you’ll have some sort of signal almost anywhere you go in the U.S. 

Runner-Up

Another worthy contender for the best overall mobile hotspot plan is Verizon’s Unlimited Plus. Like the AT&T Unlimited Extra EL plan, it includes 30GB of mobile hotspot data—but in this case that’s paired with unlimited premium cellular data (that is, no data deprioritization, ever). Like AT&T, Verizon offers outstanding national 4G LTE and 5G coverage, plus the ability to add perks on to your plan via the carrier’s myPlan system for an extra $10/month. Speaking of cost, Verizon’s plan comes in at $80/month, so it’s $4 more expensive than AT&T’s Unlimited Extra EL. 

Best High Data Mobile Hotspot Plan

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Searching for a cell phone plan with a lot of dedicated mobile hotspot data? Look no further than AT&T’s Unlimited Premium PL plan. For $86/month, Unlimited Premium PL delivers a massive 60GB mobile hotspot data allowance—tied with Verizon Unlimited Ultimate for the most you can get in a cell phone plan—plus a host of great international perks like unlimited texting to 200+ countries, and unlimited premium cellular data. 

Runner-Up 

While it’s tempting to put Verizon’s Unlimited Ultimate in this position—it includes a giant 60GB mobile hotspot allowance after all—in many ways, we think T-Mobile’s Go5G Plus is a better option. That’s because it not only includes 50GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data, but a free Netflix With Ads subscription, a free Apple TV+ subscription, a bevy of travel perks like free in-flight texting and WiFi, and the backing of one of the best 5G networks around. It’s the most expensive plan on this list at $90/month—but you sure do get a lot for the money. 

Best Budget Mobile Hotspot Plan

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Looking to get hotspot data with your cell phone plan but want to avoid paying major carrier prices? The prepaid cell phone market is full of choices, and one of our favorites is Xfinity Mobile Unlimited Plus. For just $50/month, you get 15GB of dedicated high-speed mobile hotspot data, plus 50GB of guaranteed premium cellular data. An important note: you have to be signed up with Xfinity for your home internet service in order to take advantage of this deal. Alternatively, Cox Mobile, Spectrum Mobile, and Optimum Mobile all offer cell phone plans with hotspot data to their respective home internet plan customers. 

Runner-Up

A worthy runner-up in the budget category, Optimum Mobile’s Unlimited Max ($55/month) features 15GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data, unlimited deprioritized cellular data, and the backing of T-Mobile’s national coverage (Optimum runs its service on T-Mobile’s network). Again, though, this monthly plan is only available to Optimum internet customers. 

What About Unlimited Hotspot Plans?

As you’re shopping for a cell phone plan with a mobile hotspot data allotment, you may come across a few that offer unlimited hotspots. While these may look enticing, it’s important to keep in mind that pretty much all of them offer slower, throttled speeds either from the outset or after you hit a certain amount of data in a month. For this reason, we advise going with a plan that offers a certain amount of dedicated high-speed hotspot data. After all, what good is a hotspot if it’s too slow?

4G LTE vs. 5G Hotspots

If you’re shopping for mobile hotspot plans, be sure to pay particular attention to whether the data in question is 4G or 5G. If it’s 5G, it gives you access to the fastest network speeds available. If it’s 4G, you’re limited to slightly slower speeds, which may not be fast enough to power your computer, tablet, TV, or gaming console comfortably. If it’s a—gasp—3G mobile hotspot, you’ll want to steer clear, as 3G speeds tend to be glacially slow. 

How to Turn On/Enable Your Mobile Hotspot

If you’ve never used a hotspot before, you might be wondering how to go about enabling it on your mobile phone. Here’s a brief explanation of how to turn on your hotspot on an iPhone and an Android phone. 

How to Enable a Mobile Hotspot on an iPhone

To enable a mobile hotspot on an iPhone, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings: Tap the Settings app.
2. Go to Personal Hotspot: Tap Personal Hotspot or Cellular > Personal Hotspot.
3. Enable Hotspot: Toggle Allow Others to Join to ON.
4. Check Password: Note the Wi-Fi password displayed, or set a new one by tapping it.

How to Enable a Mobile Hotspot on an Android phone

Whether you have a Samsung Galaxy, a Google Pixel, or any other Android device, following these steps will allow you to enable the mobile hotspot in no time:

1. Open Settings: Go to the Settings app.
2. Navigate to Hotspot Settings: Tap Connections, Network & Internet, or Tethering & Hotspot (varies by phone).
3. Enable Mobile Hotspot: Select Mobile Hotspot or Wi-Fi Hotspot and toggle it ON.
4. Set Up Hotspot: Tap Configure to change the network name or password if needed.

What About Standalone Hotspots?

If you’re looking for a mobile hotspot plan, you may have noticed that the major carriers—and some prepaid ones—sell standalone hotspot devices. These little black machines serve one purpose: to beam a cellular data signal into whatever device you want to connect to it. They’re like portable modem/routers, and they require their own data plans to work. 

While standalone hotspot units can be useful, we recommend going with a cell phone plan that includes hotspot data instead. Why? Because not only do they include hotspot data, but cellular data, perks, and everything else that comes with a cell phone plan, representing a much better value. Plus, it’s more convenient to beam a hotspot signal from your phone as opposed to having to carry around a whole other device.  

Frequently Asked Questions

Which carrier has the best mobile hotspot plan?

Our favorite overall mobile hotspot plan is AT&T’s Unlimited Extra EL, striking as it does a perfect balance between cost effectiveness and features. Priced at $76/month, At&T Unlimited Extra EL includes 30GB of mobile hotspot data, not to mention 75GB of premium cellular data.

Is there a truly unlimited hotspot plan?

Yes, there's a truly unlimited hotspot plan: the Visible+ plan. The hotspot data speeds on Visible+ are limited to 10 Mbps, which is slow, but not totally unusable. The plan also includes unlimited talk and text throughout not just the U.S., but Mexico and Canada, plus unlimited texting to 200+ other countries. The best part? Visible+ costs just $45/month, making it one of the cheapest unlimited plans you can buy.

Which is better, a mobile hotspot or phone hotspot?

While standalone hotspot units can be useful, we recommend going with a cell phone plan that includes hotspot data instead. Why? Because not only do they include hotspot data, but cellular data, perks, and everything else that comes with a cell phone plan, representing a much better value.