AT&T’s Unlimited Starter and Unlimited Extra plans both offer unlimited minutes, texts, and data. While the Unlimited Starter plan is $5 to $10 per line cheaper each month, it does not include an allotment of mobile hotspot data or an allotment of high-priority data.
The Unlimited Extra plan includes a 50GB allotment of Premium Data, which allows for better speeds when AT&T’s network is congested. The Unlimited Extra plan also offers a 15GB per month allotment of mobile hotspot data for those who want to connect other devices to the internet via their phones’ cellular connections.
Pricing
AT&T’s Unlimited Starter and Unlimited Extra plans are priced based on the number of lines on an account. The Unlimited Starter plan is between $5 per line and $10 per line cheaper than the Unlimited Extra plan.
The table below shows the monthly cost per line of each plan before taxes and fees.
| Lines | Unlimited Extra | Unlimited Starter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75 | $65 |
| 2 | $65 | $60 |
| 3 | $50 | $45 |
| 4 | $40 | $35 |
| 5 | $35 | $30 |
Coverage
Subscribers on the Unlimited Starter and Unlimited Extra plan both get access to coverage from AT&T’s native network and AT&T’s roaming partners. AT&T’s coverage is solid and only surpassed by Verizon.
Speeds
When AT&T’s network is not congested, subscribers on the Unlimited Extra and Unlimited Starter plans should experience the same speeds. Where AT&T offers a strong signal, speeds tend to be great when the network is not congested. When AT&T’s network is congested, the Unlimited Extra plan and the Unlimited Starter plan may offer different speeds.
Prioritization
The Unlimited Extra plan comes with a 50GB allotment of Premium Data each month. While subscribers have Premium Data available, they will have high-priority access to AT&T’s network during periods of network congestion. Subscribers that run out of Premium Data can continue to use data at normal speeds when AT&T’s network is not congested. During periods of network congestion, subscribers without Premium Data will experience slower data speeds than some of the other users on AT&T’s network.
AT&T’s Unlimited Starter plan does not come with any Premium Data. Subscribers on the Unlimited Starter plan are always at risk of experiencing slowed data speeds when AT&T’s network is congested. Fortunately, serious congestion is rare in most areas.
Hotspot Access
The Unlimited Extra plan includes 15GB per month of full-speed mobile hotspot data. Subscribers on AT&T’s Unlimited Starter plan have a 3GB allotment of hotspot data.
Subscribers on either plan that run through their allotted mobile hotspot data can continue to use hotspot data at a sluggish, almost unusable, speed of 128Kbps.
Starter or Extra?
Choosing between the Starter and Extra plans can be tricky. In my opinion, the most important difference between the plans is, for most people, the allotment of Premium Data (only available on the Extra plan). If you’re looking for top-tier performance, I suggest going with AT&T’s Unlimited Extra plan.
If you’re looking to save money, I suggest starting with AT&T’s Unlimited Starter plan. If you find the Starter plan isn’t delivering great speeds and suspect network congestion may be the problem, you can always upgrade to the Unlimited Extra plan at a later date.
