US Mobile
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 9 mobile phone plans
Cheap prepaid plans that run on all three major carrier networks, switchable via eSIM, praised for support and prices. Critics say RCS messaging has gaps.
Cheap prepaid plans that run on all three major carrier networks, switchable via eSIM, praised for support and prices. Critics say RCS messaging has gaps.
33 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 31
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 94%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 1 year
Median of the 6 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 31 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 16 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Much cheaper than postpaid plans
“which is cheaper than Tracfone, has all three carriers, and thanks to eSIM they allow you to switch carriers any time you want”
Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before it will unlock phones” “I pay $7/mo (not a typo) for 1GB mobile data via US Mobile, and I have never hit that cap in many years.”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “The healthcare market is taxing reproduction out of existence” “US mobile and others provide better prices, service, features, security, and customer service.”
Comment from 18 Aug 2026 in “Fairphone is now officially available in the United States” - Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “East coast. Verizon outage in US”
- Comment from 9 May 2026 in “GrapheneOS fixes Android VPN leak Google refused to patch”
- Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before it will unlock phones”
- Comment from 30 Aug 2026 in “GrapheneOS project: pixel 11 no longer supports hardware memory tagging (MTE)”
- Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “The healthcare market is taxing reproduction out of existence”
Exceptional customer support
“US Mobile's customer service is exceptional. Would recommend them heartily for pre-paid service.”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “iPhone Upgrade Program” “US mobile and others provide better prices, service, features, security, and customer service.”
Comment from 18 Aug 2026 in “Fairphone is now officially available in the United States” “US Mobile has great support and great prices and is constantly recommended because of it.”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Castro Podcasts – Things I got wrong: Support” - Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Castro Podcasts – Things I got wrong: Support”
- Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “Why is getting a cheap prepaid SIM card in the USA so complicated?”
Switch networks via eSIM
“which is cheaper than Tracfone, has all three carriers, and thanks to eSIM they allow you to switch carriers any time you want”
Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before it will unlock phones” “Ive been happy with US mobile - you can actually switch between their VZ backed network or their ATT backed network.”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “HP realizes that mandatory 15-minute support call wait times isn't good support” “USM has an interesting thing where you can actually get a separate eSIM for each of the major carriers”
Comment from 14 Jan 2026 in “East coast. Verizon outage in US” - Comment from 29 Dec 2025 in “I switched to eSIM in 2025, and I am full of regret”
Postpaid-level network priority
“US Mobile gets you QCI8 (same priority as Verizon postpaid) when you're on the Verizon network with a 5G device”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “HP realizes that mandatory 15-minute support call wait times isn't good support” “That they're able to get postpaid priority on Dark Star is amazing.”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “East coast. Verizon outage in US” “USM is the only MVNO I've seen that actually advertises QCI tiers.”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “HP realizes that mandatory 15-minute support call wait times isn't good support” - Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “East coast. Verizon outage in US”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
RCS messaging gaps
“US Mobile has some big gaps, I wouldn't be surprised if RCS if one of them”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “I just want working RCS messaging” “but US Mobile had not, so I couldn’t use RCS for a while”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “I just want working RCS messaging”
Other mobile phone plans people recommend
The four most recommended other mobile phone plans, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US MobileThis page | 31 | 2 | 94% | 9 | 1 yr6 owners | Approved |
| Google Fi | 26 | 20 | 57% | 9 | 9 yrs3 owners | — |
| Cape mobile cell service | 19 | 10 | 66% | 7 | — | — |
| Airalo eSIM | 16 | 9 | 64% | 5 | — | — |
| Mint Mobile | 15 | 3 | 83% | 4 | 7 yrs3 owners | Approved |
What people said
39 of the 41 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I use and am thrilled with US mobile.”
“US Mobile is so much cheaper and pleasant to use”
“US Mobile has done well with me”
“I recently switched to it”
“US mobile and others provide better prices, service, features, security, and customer service.”
“I am using this as a completely standalone plan”
“Just get a standalone watch plan, something like $80/year from US Mobile or other MVNOs.”
“The international roaming alone has probably saved us ~$300 in that time.”
“I get 20GB of roaming in 125 countries in my plan. I've used it, it works great.”
“US Mobile's customer service is exceptional. Would recommend them heartily for pre-paid service.”
“companies with great support and I recommend them because of it”
“US Mobile has great support and great prices and is constantly recommended because of it.”
“found that US Mobile offered a better end product for a fraction of the price”
“these days it's been a breeze knock on wood”
“is unlimited and is user friendly”
“USM is the only MVNO I've seen that actually advertises QCI tiers.”
“Ive been happy with US mobile - you can actually switch between their VZ backed network or their ATT backed network.”
“US Mobile gets you QCI8 (same priority as Verizon postpaid) when you're on the Verizon network with a 5G device”
“I’ve been with US Mobile for years now and never once felt the need for a physical store.”
“the reviews are pretty good by people that use it internationally for an extended period of time”
“Ranked #1 by consumer reports and great customer support.”
“can be up and provisioned (usually in just a few minutes) as a second line”
“which is cheaper than Tracfone, has all three carriers, and thanks to eSIM they allow you to switch carriers any time you want”
“My family has three phones on it for a total $30 per month.”
“Same carrier networks, same quality of service.”
“That they're able to get postpaid priority on Dark Star is amazing.”
“$25/month per line is perfect and service is just as good as our Verizon postpaid.”
“I think USM is on the better end of that priority spectrum.”
“I've just done that on the first line and I now have service on that line”
“I started mid last year and haven't run into any problems.”
“I really love US Mobile. I was a flagship postpaid $90/mo VZW customer for a decade and was so hesitant to switch.”
“Still significant savings.”
“USM has an interesting thing where you can actually get a separate eSIM for each of the major carriers”
“US Mobile which has been fine”
“transitioned to US Mobile (on VZW) in about 10 minutes thanks to eSIM”
“I pay $7/mo (not a typo) for 1GB mobile data via US Mobile, and I have never hit that cap in many years.”
“Mint or US Mobile are ~$15-20 a month.”
“but US Mobile had not, so I couldn’t use RCS for a while”
“US Mobile has some big gaps, I wouldn't be surprised if RCS if one of them”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.