US Mobile is a New York prepaid carrier that rents coverage from all three big networks and lets you pick which one your line rides on. That choice is its real selling point, and also the reason its pricing page is harder to read than most. Prices differ by billing length, a $199 first-year deal quietly becomes $270 in year two, hotspot and priority-data limits change with the network you choose, and the refund rules treat trial customers, new buyers and existing customers differently. This guide works through the real yearly cost of each plan, the network decision, hotspot and roaming limits, the family math, and the situations where US Mobile is a bargain or a poor fit.
Key Takeaways Before You Pay
Light 2GB is $10 monthly or $96 yearly. Unlimited Flex is $210 a year only. Starter is $25 monthly or $270 yearly. Premium is $44 monthly or $390 yearly. Government taxes and fees are included on its mobile plans.
No. They apply to the first year of a new line, then Starter renews at $270 and Premium at $390. Promo codes can change, so confirm at checkout.
All three. Independent reviews map Warp to Verizon, Dark Star to AT&T and Light Speed to T-Mobile. You choose one by ZIP code and can move later.
No. Priority data, hotspot allowances and roaming differ by network, and the published speed ranges are not the same. Check the figure for the network you pick.
Yes: 30 days with unlimited talk and text and 30GB of premium data, for eligible new customers. No credit card is required, according to US Mobile’s site.
Customers who are not eligible for the trial can get a full refund within 7 days or before using 1GB, whichever comes first. Existing customers who leave voluntarily are not eligible.
Not on the unlimited plans, where each line costs the regular price. The savings come from shareable data plans, where added lines are priced far lower.
US Mobile advertises calling from the U.S. to 200+ destinations and roaming in 180+ countries. Annual Starter and Premium include roaming bundles; check the country first.
By phone at 1 (878) 205-0088, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern, or by chat and email, which the company says are open around the clock.
The Plans, and the Four Prices Hiding Behind Each One
When we compared US Mobile’s plan page with the broadband labels it files for each plan, the first surprise was that a single plan name can mean several prices: monthly, yearly, first-year promotional and renewal. The second was that two figures on the live pages disagreed with each other, which we flag wherever it matters.
- 2GB of data, unlimited talk and text
- Taxes and fees included
- Calling abroad is a $3/mo add-on
- No unlimited data
- Unlimited data, 5GB hotspot
- No promo, so no year-two jump
- About 10GB of premium data, then slower
- No monthly option
- Unlimited data, 20GB hotspot on Dark Star
- Roaming bundle on the yearly plan
- $199 first-year promo, then $270
- Hotspot figure varies by network
- Unlimited priority data
- Unlimited hotspot on Dark Star
- 20GB roaming on the yearly plan
- $299 first-year promo, then $390
What a year of each Unlimited plan costs, by how you pay
Yearly totals from US Mobile’s plan page and broadband labels, with taxes and fees included in the published price. The promotional bars apply to a new line’s first year only.
| Plan | Paid monthly | Paid yearly | First-year promo | Data and hotspot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light 2GB | $10/mo ($120) | $96 ($8/mo) | None | 2GB, shared with hotspot |
| Unlimited Flex | Not offered | $210 ($17.50/mo) | None | Unlimited, 5GB hotspot |
| Unlimited Starter | $25/mo ($300) | $270 ($22.50/mo) | $199 ($16.58/mo) | Unlimited, 20GB hotspot on Dark Star |
| Unlimited Premium | $44/mo ($528) | $390 ($32.50/mo) | $299 ($24.92/mo) | Unlimited, unlimited hotspot on Dark Star |
Paying monthly looks friendlier, and it is the most expensive way to hold the same plan. On Starter it adds $30 a year over the yearly price. On Premium it adds $138. That is more than the whole price of a Light plan for a year, spent purely on the billing choice.
There is one legitimate reason to pay monthly: you are not sure you will stay, and you would rather risk the extra than lose prepaid months. In that case use the 30-day trial first, then decide. If you already know the coverage works, the yearly plan is the better deal.
We noticed that US Mobile’s own broadband label gives the Light plan as $10 a month, while a blog post on its site quotes $8 and the yearly price works out to $8 a month. That is consistent once you know one is monthly billing and the other is yearly, but a rushed reader could take either as the headline. Separately, the label’s heading and fine print for its smartwatch-style Standalone and Companion plans did not match, with one saying $10 and the other $9.50.
The takeaway is not that anything is hidden. It is that you should trust the final checkout screen over any summary, including ours, and screenshot it.
The Year-Two Price: What the Promo Does Not Say Up Front
US Mobile advertises Unlimited for under $17 a month. That figure is real, but it is a first-year price for new lines, and it is worth understanding before you buy because the second year is a different decision.
Starter with the promo code costs $199 for the first year, about $16.58 a month. Renewal is the regular yearly price of $270. That is a $71 increase, or 36%. Premium goes from $299 to $390, a $91 increase of about 30%. US Mobile’s own plan page says the promotional codes apply to year one only and plans then renew at the regular annual rate.
Neither price is bad. The mistake is budgeting for year two using the year-one number. Averaged over two years, Starter costs about $19.54 a month and Premium about $28.71, which is the figure we would use when comparing against another carrier.
Two years on each Unlimited plan
Our arithmetic from US Mobile’s published prices, taxes and fees included. The promotional route is only available to new lines, and the codes can change.
US Mobile’s own August blog post listed the codes ONLY199 for Starter and ONLY299 for Premium, plus ONLY39 for a Premium monthly deal at $39 for six months, then $44. We did not see a published end date for any of them. Treat all three as changeable: confirm that the code takes effect in your cart, that your line counts as new, and that the total shows the price you expect before you pay.
The six-month Premium deal is worth a second look. Six months at $39 and six at $44 comes to $498 for the year, which is $199 more than the $299 yearly promo for the very same plan.
A prepaid yearly plan does not send you a bill you can ignore. It simply comes due, so the practical defense is a reminder set for about three weeks before your term ends. On that date, do three things: compare your usage to the plan you hold, check whether a cheaper tier now covers you, and decide whether to renew or to leave. If you want to leave, check the cancellation and refund rules below first, because they favor new customers and are stricter for existing ones.
Choosing Between Warp, Dark Star and Light Speed
Most carriers sell you one network. US Mobile sells you a choice of three, under names that mean nothing until you translate them. That freedom is the best reason to pick it, and the choice deserves more care than a coin toss.
| US Mobile name | Underlying carrier | Typical download | Latency | Priority class (per one review) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warp | Verizon | 30 to 702 Mbps | 45 to 62 ms | Priority on 5G devices |
| Light Speed | T-Mobile | 79 to 357 Mbps | 17 to 32 ms | Priority included |
| Dark Star | AT&T | 30.5 to 389 Mbps | 11 to 35 ms | Lower priority; add-on available |
Speed and latency ranges are from the broadband labels US Mobile publishes for its mobile plans. The carrier mapping and priority classes come from independent reviews, because the plan pages we read did not name the carriers.
Start with the coverage checker on US Mobile’s site, which recommends a network for your ZIP code. Then ask the three people whose opinion beats any map: the neighbor on the same street, a coworker who commutes your route, and whoever lives in the house you visit most. Ask what carrier they use and whether their calls drop.
If two networks look equal, lean toward the one with stronger priority on the plan you are buying, because that is what protects your speed when the network is crowded. On our reading, that points to Warp or Light Speed for most budget shoppers, with Dark Star making sense where AT&T is clearly the best signal in your area.
US Mobile lets you move a line between networks. Its plan page lists network transfers as free for the first two and $2 each after that, free on Unlimited Premium. One independent review adds that all plans are capped at eight transfers per billing cycle. A separate Multi-Network add-on costs $10 a month, or $90 a year on a yearly plan, and is meant for people who want more than one network on the same phone.
For most people that means a simple rule: use the free trial to learn which network works, switch once if you must, and ignore the add-on unless you really do roam between areas with different best carriers.
Phones built for one carrier sometimes lack bands the others use, and an older phone may work well on Light Speed and poorly on Dark Star. Use US Mobile’s device checker with your phone’s IMEI. If you can, test with an eSIM, which the company’s navigation lists as available with its trial, so you can try a network without waiting for a package.
Hotspot, Priority Data and What “Unlimited” Allows
The word “unlimited” covers a wide range here. The data does not run out, but how fast it stays, and how much of it you can share with a laptop, depends on three things: your plan, your network and how busy it is.
| Plan | Hotspot per US Mobile’s plan page | Independent review: caps by network | Roaming bundle (yearly plan) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flex | 5GB | 5GB | Add-ons available |
| Starter | 20GB on Dark Star | 10GB on Warp and Light Speed, 20GB on Dark Star | 1GB, 200 min, 250 texts |
| Premium | Unlimited on Dark Star | 50GB on Warp and Light Speed; 100GB high-speed on Dark Star, then slower | 20GB, 200 min, 250 texts |
The two columns come from different sources and we found they do not fully match. That is why we advise confirming the hotspot figure for your specific network at checkout.
A conflict worth noticing: US Mobile’s plan page presents hotspot by plan, while an independent review lists different caps depending on whether you are on Warp, Light Speed or Dark Star. We read this as the allowance being network-specific, so a Starter line that gets 20GB on one network may get less on another. If hotspot matters to your work, confirm the number for the network you actually plan to use, in writing, from chat support.
For a remote worker who tethers every day, Premium on Dark Star is the plan the pages describe as unlimited hotspot, while the review describes a high-speed amount followed by slower tiers. Get that detail confirmed before relying on it for a job.
Prepaid carriers rent capacity, and renters wait behind the network’s own customers when towers are crowded. US Mobile sells coverage on all three networks, but according to one review its Dark Star lines are in a lower priority class than Warp and Light Speed unless you add a priority upgrade, listed at $4 a line on shareable plans and $12 a line on unlimited plans. We did not see that upgrade price on the plan page itself, so treat it as an independent report to verify.
In practice, this matters most in stadiums, airports and dense city centers at rush hour. If you live somewhere quiet and mainly use data at home on Wi-Fi, you may never notice.
Yearly price of three common ways to get unlimited data
Yearly prices, taxes and fees included. Each step up buys more hotspot, more priority and a larger roaming bundle, not a faster signal.
The Free Trial, Refunds and What Happens When You Leave
US Mobile’s refund rules are not one policy but three, and which one applies to you depends on how you arrived. Read this section before paying for a full year.
New customers can try the service for 30 days with unlimited talk and text and 30GB of premium data. US Mobile’s site says no credit card is required. An independent review adds that it is for new customers who transfer a number from an eligible carrier, which we could not confirm on the pages we could load. The practical point is that the trial is a real, extended test of your coverage, not the usual week.
We found that its value is highest when you use it deliberately: activate at home, and spend a day on each of the three places that matter, namely home, work and your commute. Run a hotspot session, watch a video on cellular, and place a long call.
If you are not eligible for the trial: US Mobile’s return policy gives a full refund within 7 days of purchase or before you use 1GB of data, whichever comes first. The 1GB limit is the surprise, because a single day of real use can reach it, so test lightly at first.
If you are already a customer and leave on your own: the same policy says existing customers who are voluntarily leaving are not eligible for refunds. A prepaid yearly plan therefore cannot be unwound for unused months.
If you buy a device: refunds are available within 14 calendar days of receiving it, with a $50 restocking fee. The phone must be factory reset, in brand new condition, with all accessories, and returning it does not cancel the service line.
| Your situation | Refund window | Condition | What you lose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trial eligible | 30 free days | Number transfer may apply | Nothing if you leave before paying |
| New, not trial eligible | 7 days or 1GB | Whichever comes first | Shipping and any used data |
| Existing, leaving voluntarily | None | Not eligible | Remaining prepaid months |
| Device purchase | 14 days | Factory reset, like new | $50 restocking fee |
From US Mobile’s return policy page. The policy does not cover SIM returns or annual-plan refunds; contact support for those.
The deepest discounts come from paying a full year upfront, and the refund rules give you no exit if the signal turns out poor in month three. That risk is why the order of operations matters so much: trial first, yearly plan second. If you skip the trial and pay $390 for Premium, you are depending on a map.
If you cannot do the trial, for example because you are not moving a number, choose monthly billing for the first month or two, then switch to yearly after you trust the signal. The cost of that caution is the monthly premium, which for Starter is $2.50 a month more than the yearly rate.
US Mobile’s labels say government taxes and fees are included in the price of its mobile plans, with no early termination fee and no provider monthly fee. There is an exception worth knowing: the custom plan carries a one-time $2 service fee and a recovery fee between $1.57 and $4.96. Network transfers beyond the first two cost $2 each, and international calling on Light is a $3 monthly add-on.
That all-in pricing is a real advantage over carriers that add several dollars of fees after the headline. In our comparison with another prepaid carrier, the fee lines alone added roughly $2.70 a month to a $30 plan.
Find Your Situation: What to Do and What to Watch For
A price list cannot tell you whether US Mobile fits your life. These are the situations that come up most, each with the move that tends to work and the trap that tends to catch people.
Do the math in yearly terms first. Starter renews at $270 after a $199 year and Premium at $390 after $299. Then ask whether the plan still matches how you use your phone. If your data use is modest, Light at $96 a year or Flex at $210 may do the job. If you are on Premium only for hotspot, check whether you still tether.
You also have a better option than renewing out of habit: compare the renewal price with a new carrier’s first-year offer. Moving carriers is easy because you can take your number with you, and a first-year deal elsewhere may be cheaper for twelve months.
Because you can choose the network, a weak signal has a cheaper fix here than at most carriers: try a different network before giving up on the carrier. Use the trial to test the recommended network, then ask support whether a transfer is possible and what it costs. The first two are free, and Wi-Fi calling helps with indoor dead spots on any network.
If none of the three works in your living room, that is useful to know before you pay, which is exactly why the trial exists.
A remote worker should start with the hotspot, not the phone plan. Calculate how many gigabytes your laptop uses in a week of work. Video calls commonly use around 1GB an hour, so twenty hours of calls is roughly 20GB. That fits Starter on Dark Star, barely, and Premium easily. If you also stream or download large files over the connection, even Premium may fall short, and a dedicated home internet product is the sturdier answer.
US Mobile also sells home internet through Starlink, with residential plans listed from $55 a month on its labels. We did not test those, so compare them separately.
US Mobile offers watch plans for Apple and Pixel watches. Premium includes a free smartwatch plan on Warp, according to the plan page, while on Starter and Flex it is an add-on. The labels list Standalone and Companion plans at $9.50 a month, though the headings on that page show different figures, so confirm the price at checkout.
For a watch you carry mainly to receive calls and texts, the Premium bundle is a neat saving. For anyone who does not need Premium, the add-on is the better route.
We found no student discount. The cheapest entries are Light at $96 a year and Flex at $210 a year, the latter being the lowest-price unlimited-data plan with no promo to expire. Students who live on campus Wi-Fi will often fit on 2GB, and the data can be topped up at $2 a GB, with unused top-ups rolling over, according to one review.
US Mobile is built for people comfortable with an app and a website, and has no stores. The upside is phone support from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern at 1 (878) 205-0088. The best fit is Light at $96 a year, or a small shareable data plan, with a relative helping with the first setup. If you want a store to walk into, this is not the carrier.
When we looked at US Mobile’s home page, it listed a Pixel 11 at $899, or $279 with a typical trade-in, with a footnote that the offer assumes a new annual Unlimited plan and a $260 estimated trade-in value for a Pixel 10. Trade-in value depends on condition: the phone must turn on, with no cracks and a working screen. Read the footnote before you assume a price, and remember that device returns carry a $50 restocking fee.
Start with a record: a screenshot of the checkout, the plan and code, and the date. Contact support by chat or email, which the company says run around the clock, then by phone if needed. If it is a SIM or number problem, say so immediately and use the phone line, because speed matters. If you reach no resolution, you can file a complaint with the FCC through its consumer site.
Family Lines: Where US Mobile Saves Money and Where It Does Not
The pricing logic flips between the two plan families, and it is the single most expensive thing to get wrong if you are buying for more than one person.
On the unlimited tiers each line costs the regular price. US Mobile’s plan page describes pricing as per line at the regular rate, with the only family benefit being streaming and audio perks worth around $15 a month once you have three or more Premium lines. An independent review states plainly that there are no multi-line discounts on unlimited plans.
So four people on Starter, paid yearly, pay four times $270, which is $1,080 a year, and four on Premium pay $1,560. If everyone really needs unlimited data, that is the price. If not, the shareable plans are where the money is.
Four lines, monthly cost under different setups
Our arithmetic. Shareable pricing uses the $35 20GB base plus $8 for each added line, as listed by an independent review, billed monthly. The unlimited figures use US Mobile’s yearly prices divided by twelve. Taxes and fees are included in published prices.
| Option | Price | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shareable data | 2GB $10, 5GB $15, 10GB $20, 20GB $35; $8 per added line | Households that mostly use Wi-Fi | One pool of data, shared |
| Unlimited Flex | $210 a year per line | Light unlimited users | About 10GB of premium data |
| Unlimited Starter | $270 a year per line | Daily streamers | Promo ends after year one |
| Unlimited Premium | $390 a year per line | Heavy tethering, 3+ lines for perks | No line discount |
Take a family of four where one parent tethers and the rest are mostly on home Wi-Fi. Putting everyone on Premium costs $130 a month. Putting the heavy user on Starter at $22.50 and the other three on a shared 20GB pool ($35 for the first line plus $8 for each of the other two, or $51) comes to $73.50 a month in all. That is $56.50 a month less than four Premium lines, and the savings come from admitting that three people do not need unlimited.
The trap in the shared plan is behavior, not price. One teenager streaming on cellular can drain the whole pool, and extra data is $2 a GB according to one review. Check each person’s cellular use on their phone before you decide.
Traveling and Calling Abroad on US Mobile
International features exist on every plan, but what you get depends on how you pay and which network you chose, and the second factor is the one most travelers never check.
| Plan and billing | Calling the world from the U.S. | Roaming while abroad |
|---|---|---|
| Light | $3/mo add-on ($36/yr) | Not included |
| Flex | Included | Add-ons available |
| Starter, monthly | $3/mo add-on, or yearly billing | From $15 (per one review) |
| Starter, yearly | Included | 1GB, 200 min, 250 texts |
| Premium, yearly | Included | 20GB, 200 min, 250 texts |
From US Mobile’s plan pages and an independent review. The home page says roaming covers 180+ countries and calls to 200+ destinations from the U.S., while the review lists 120+ countries for the bundles, so confirm your destination.
One independent review lists native roaming by network: Warp in 12 countries, Dark Star in 90 or more, and Light Speed in more than 180. If you travel often, that is a reason to favor Light Speed where its coverage suits you at home. If you only travel once or twice a year, a bundled amount on an annual plan, or a local SIM at your destination, is usually enough.
Before any trip, check the country in US Mobile’s eligibility tool, switch off cellular data you do not need, and keep Wi-Fi calling on, which routes calls home over any network at no extra cost on most carriers. Confirm that detail with US Mobile before relying on it.
Roaming bundles are for trips. If you move abroad for months, a line left roaming can be limited or cut off, and 200 minutes and 250 texts disappear quickly. Buy a local SIM and keep the U.S. line for verification texts and calls home.
Switching to US Mobile Without Losing Your Number or Your Security
Moving a number is routine, and the failures are almost always small ordering mistakes. The six steps below avoid the common ones.
- Step 1Check the phone. It must be unlocked and work on your chosen network. Use the device checker with your IMEI, and find out when a financed phone unlocks.
- Step 2Pick the network from the coverage checker, then ask neighbors which carrier holds up where you live.
- Step 3Do not cancel your old line first. Start the transfer, let it finish, and only then close the old account.
- Step 4Get your account number and transfer PIN from your current carrier, and use the same name and address on the new account.
- Step 5Use the free trial deliberately for a few real days before paying for a year.
- Step 6When you buy, screenshot the checkout total, the plan, the code and the date.
SIM swapping and port-out fraud happen when a criminal convinces a carrier to move your number to a device or carrier they control, which can expose banking texts and password resets. In November 2023 the FCC adopted rules requiring wireless providers to authenticate customers securely before a SIM change or port-out, to notify them immediately of such requests, to train staff and to give customers a free way to report the fraud and have it remedied.
Those are baseline rules, and carriers can choose how to comply, so protect yourself too. Move bank and email logins from text codes to an authenticator app, ask US Mobile what account PIN or port protection it offers, and treat any unexpected text about a SIM change as urgent. If service suddenly drops, contact support from another phone.
Lookalike support numbers show up in search results for every carrier. Use the details below, which appear on US Mobile’s contact page and broadband labels.
Eight Mistakes That Make US Mobile Cost More Than It Should
Most overpaying comes from one of these habits. Each has a simple fix.
Starter costs $30 more a year monthly and Premium $138 more. Fix: switch to yearly once the trial has proved the network.
Starter rises $71 and Premium $91 at renewal. Fix: use the two-year average, $19.54 and $28.71 a month.
Existing customers who leave get no refund. Fix: test coverage first, then pay for a year.
Hotspot caps appear to vary by network. Fix: confirm the number for yours in writing.
There is no line discount on unlimited. Fix: put light users on a shared pool.
Calling and roaming depend on plan, billing and network. Fix: check the country before you fly.
Fake numbers circulate. Fix: use the numbers on this page or the help center.
A refund can end before day 7 if you use 1GB. Fix: test lightly until you are sure.
A Buying Plan That Gets You the Right Network at the Lowest Price
Put together, the checks above reduce to a short sequence.
- Step 1Read the last three months of your cellular use and the hotspot use of anyone who tethers.
- Step 2Pick a network from the coverage checker and confirm your phone works on it.
- Step 3Start the 30-day trial and test home, work and commute.
- Step 4Choose the plan: Light or a shared pool for low use, Flex or Starter for daily use, Premium only for heavy tethering or travel.
- Step 5Pay yearly, check the code at checkout, and calendar the renewal three weeks ahead.
- Step 6At renewal, compare US Mobile’s price with new-customer offers elsewhere before you pay.
Plan prices, term options, fees, free-trial details, return and refund rules and contact information come from US Mobile’s own plan pages, broadband labels, return policy and contact page as read on October 15. Network names, carrier mapping, priority classes, hotspot caps by network, shareable-plan prices and some roaming details come from independent reviews, and where those disagreed with US Mobile’s pages we say so. Promo codes can change or end without notice. Yearly totals, two-year averages and household comparisons are our own arithmetic. Details of the FCC SIM-swap rules come from public summaries of the November 2023 order. This page is independent and is not affiliated with US Mobile. Confirm every figure at checkout.
Key sources: US Mobile plan, return-policy, contact and broadband-label pages · Independent carrier reviews and network guides · FCC SIM-swap and port-out fraud order summaries