The table below lists mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and prepaid carriers operating in the U.S.
| Carrier | Recommended | Verizon | AT&T | T-Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mint Mobile | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Visible | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| US Mobile | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Verizon Prepaid | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| T-Mobile Prepaid | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| AT&T Prepaid | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Xfinity Mobile | ✔ | |||
| Metro by T-Mobile | ✔ | |||
| Cricket | ✔ | |||
| TracFone | ✔ | |||
| Straight Talk | ✔ | |||
| Consumer Cellular | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| NET10 Wireless | ✔ | |||
| SafeLink Wireless | ✔ | |||
| Total Wireless | ✔ | |||
| Spectrum Mobile | ✔ | |||
| H20 Wireless | ✔ | |||
| Walmart Family Mobile | ✔ | |||
| Page Plus | ✔ | |||
| Simple Mobile | ✔ | |||
| FreedomPop | ✔ | |||
| Ultra Mobile | ✔ | |||
| Google Fi | ✔ | |||
| Lycamobile | ✔ | |||
| Ting | ✔ | |||
| Red Pocket Mobile | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Selectel Wireless | ✔ | |||
| Airvoice | ✔ | |||
| Unreal Mobile | ✔ | |||
| TextNow | ✔ | |||
| Wing | ✔ | |||
| Pix Wireless | ✔ | |||
| BOOM! Mobile | ✔ | |||
| SpeedTalk Mobile | ✔ | |||
| FreeUP | ✔ | |||
| Beast Mobile | ✔ | |||
| GoSmart Mobile | ✔ | |||
| Telcel | ✔ | |||
| Clearway Wireless | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| CREDO Mobile | ✔ | |||
| GreatCall | ✔ | |||
| Pure TalkUSA | ✔ | |||
| Teltik | ✔ | |||
| i3Mobile | ✔ |
What is an MVNO?
An MVNO or mobile virtual network operator is a company that doesn’t own it’s own network hardware. Instead, MVNOs pay wholesale rates for access to other companies networks. MVNOs then resell that access to their customers. MVNOs sometimes offer service that’s far cheaper than comparable coverage purchased directly from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon.
What are flanker brands?
In the U.S., there are several carriers that operate under their own brand names while being owned by major networks. For example, AT&T is behind Cricket Wireless, T-Mobile is behind Metro, and Verizon is behind Visible. While these carriers that are owned by major networks are sometimes called MVNOs, it may be more accurate to refer to them as flanker brands.
Network-specific lists
In most cases, carriers that offer service over multiple networks will only work with a single network that a subscriber chooses when signing up.1
On other web pages, I share simpler tables that list MVNOs on individual networks:
Some of the links in the list are affiliate links. See my transparency page for details about the financial relationships I have with carriers.
Hello!
I greatly appreciate your website and the service you provide. As you’re well aware, there’s been a seismic shift in the MVNO space since summer of last year, when many of the MVNOs were acquired by Verizon, DISH and even a VC firm or two. In the past I have found the estimates given in the following listing very useful, even though I have a rough understanding to the accuracy limitations on #of subs. https://coveragecritic.com/mobile-phone-service/mvno-prepaid-carrier-list/
May I suggest you revisit and update this list? In yesterday’s announcement of DISH acquiring Republic Wireless I noticed the number of ‘customer relationships’ acquired was around 200K. That seems to suggest the listing of # subs in the chart may be off by an order of magnitude. Am I interpreting the information incorrectly, or is there another explanation to the large discrepancy?
Thanks again.
Hey Fred,
You’re absolutely right that I should make an update (e.g., Virgin Mobile doesn’t even exist anymore). While I think a lot of the subscriber estimates are probably off (many carriers don’t publish subscriber numbers), that Republic number was outrageously far off! I think Republic at 200k subs may well be much smaller than it was at its peak–I don’t follow the company closely but I’ve been under the impression that it has had a lot of trouble lately.
Will try to update the page sometime this month!