T-Mobile might still be the best postpaid carrier, but the bar is low

There’s no sugar coating it, the cellular industry is a mess right now. Verizon is bleeding subscribers, T-Mobile has come under fire for betraying its un-carrier spirit, and AT&T is just downright forgettable at this stage. Unless you’re locked into a legacy plan, it’s really hard to recommend any of the big three anymore. Still, if I had to pick one option, it would be T-Mobile.

T-Mobile remains the best option among the major postpaid carriers, despite its security breaches, tax and fee policy changes, and other less popular shifts in its strategy. That said, the bar is remarkably low. Let’s take a closer look at how T-Mobile still manages to stand out, and where it’s now more or less the same as the rest.

T-Mobile might not have the reputation it once did, but it still offers a few advantages over AT&T and Verizon. Here are some of the ways T-Mobile stands out:

• Pricing: While the value gap isn’t as large as it used to be, T-Mobile generally costs a bit less than AT&T or Verizon, though it depends on your exact plan and number of lines. Still, no postpaid plan can match the value of some of the best T-Mobile alternatives unless it’s a legacy plan.
• Streaming perks included: AT&T no longer bundles streaming services, and Verizon charges extra for them. T-Mobile remains the only major carrier that includes options like Netflix, Apple TV, and Hulu in select plans.
• Free line promotions: T-Mobile continues to offer free line deals more often than its rivals. However, “free” isn’t quite what it used to be; you’ll still pay taxes and fees.
• Shorter payment plan cycles: While Verizon and AT&T now use 36-month device payment plans, T-Mobile still sticks to a shorter 24-month option.
• T-Force support: Customer service quality has dipped across all major carriers, and T-Mobile’s in-store experience has suffered. Even so, the dedicated T-Force team still provides better results than standard support channels.
• T-Mobile Tuesdays: Although the weekly perks have declined in quality, and Verizon’s Access program offers a similar experience in 2025, T-Mobile Tuesdays continues to deliver stronger rewards like NFL access and other major promotions.

That’s not an exhaustive list, but these are the most noteworthy advantages that still help T-Mobile stand out.

It’s true that these advantages are real and notable, but it’s also important to look at what has changed for T-Mobile over the past few years. Some of the biggest shifts include:

• In-store support and app ecosystem: T-Mobile has folded its ecosystems into one app, to varying results. It’s even changed up the in-store experience to require T-Life.
• Lifetime price lock changes: T-Mobile’s original Lifetime Guarantee had real consequences if broken, but over the years, it has watered down the value of the guarantee. The current version of Price Lock says they won’t raise prices for the next five years, but if they break it, there’s little consequence on their end other than a promise to cover the final month’s service charges.
• Taxes and fees no longer included: T-Mobile used to include taxes and other fees in the advertised price for all of its plans, including home internet access. That’s no longer the case, at least unless you have a legacy plan.
• International roaming dowgraded: T-Mobile used to offer roaming in Canada and Mexico was essentially the same as what you’d get in the US, including unlimited data. While this actually has changed a few times over the last decade, any current plan with the feature will offer between 5 and 15GB of data.
• Netflix is no longer ad-free: It used to be that you’d get ad-free tiers for all the streaming perks offered, but these days that’s no longer the case. While Apple TV Plus is the same as always, current subscribers only get Netflix with ads.
• Jump on Demand is retiring: Last month, we learned T-Mobile’s JUMP program is ending, which means you’ll no longer be able to swap leased devices as often as once per month. This was a popular feature for tech-junkies who always wanted the latest device.

It’s not just the removal of these features, it’s the shift in attitude. T-Mobile no longer feels like the scrappy underdog fighting for consumers. It may still edge out AT&T and Verizon by a small margin, but that doesn’t mean it offers genuinely good value anymore. If you really care about value above all else, you’ll want to turn your attention to prepaid instead.

Unless you have multiple lines with device payment plans and truly need the few remaining perks that postpaid offers, there’s little reason to open a new postpaid account anymore. If you want more details on why postpaid isn’t worth it, check out our prepaid vs postpaid guide.

That said, not everyone should switch to prepaid. T-Mobile can still be a solid deal if you’re grandfathered into an older plan. Many users on Reddit and other forums report paying as little as $10-$15 per line thanks to legacy plans and stacked free-line promos. If that’s your setup, hold onto it as long as you can, as it’s a rare bargain.

For everyone else, postpaid just isn’t a good value anymore. There’s no reason to expect T-Mobile to keep your bill lower than AT&T or Verizon in the long run, especially since Verizon is currently under pressure and unlikely to raise prices again soon. Likewise, AT&T is trying everything to slow T-Mobile’s rise. If you still want to sign up for a new postpaid service, I’d focus on network quality and perks rather than price, because the cost is now closer than ever across all three carriers, and it’s likely that gap will shrink further in time.