I still remember the excitement back in 2007 when a certain iconic smartphone launched. While BlackBerries and Palm Pilots had their fans up until then, the iPhone truly revolutionized mobile computing. Fast forward 15 years, and robust devices combined with lightning fast 5G networks have made our phones indispensable tools for work and play.
But gorging on glorious gadgets and gigabytes of data carries a cost. Monthly wireless bills add up, especially for multiple family members glued to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for hours on end.
That‘s why savvy households seek out family phone plans to curb expenses. By providing a shared pool of talk, text and data, carriers like AT&T offer discounts as you add more lines. Finding the optimal plan fit means understanding precisely what options AT&T serves up to meet your family‘s needs and budget.
In this guide as your friendly neighborhood tech analyst, I‘ll map out everything you need to know about AT&T‘s family plan pricing, features and advice for picking the best fit. You‘ll learn how months of TikTok dances devour gigs of data, see sample usage calculations, and compare AT&T‘s offerings to key rivals.
Let‘s dive in!
The Evolution of Family Phone Plans
Long before smartphones existed, cell phones were analog devices used strictly for verbal chats. And up through the early 2000s, wireless carriers primarily relied on two year service contracts to offer discounted devices in exchange for a commitment.
But with the smartphone explosion, mobile data usage took off. Text messaging and basic web browsing evolved into multimedia messaging, video streaming, augmented reality apps and more. Running all these bandwidth-heavy services required infrastructure investment.
So around 2013, AT&T, Verizon and other major carriers began moving away from contracts + subsidies towards device installment plans. This “Bring Your Own Device” approach means you pay full price for phones, either upfront or spread out over 12-36 months.
And with separate device and service costs, carriers introduced shared family data plans. This made it easier for households to purchase buckets of gigabytes for their talk, text and internet needs instead of managing individual plans.
Fast forward to today, and while shared/pooled data plans remain, unlimited data again dominates. But accurately calibrating gigs of shared data or eliminating overage risk with unlimited plans both have their place for families.
AT&T Family Plan Pricing and Options
In 2022, AT&T revamped its family plan offerings to provide simpler pricing and packages. You have two main choices for managing household data usage:
Shared/Pooled Data – Mobile Share Plus plans offer buckets of data from 1 all the way up to 100GB to be divided across your family‘s lines. These plans provide discounts up to $30 per month for additional devices.
Unlimited Data – Unlimited Your WaySM Plans come in Starter, Extra and Premium tiers. You get unlimited data but maximum speeds vary. Discounts apply for adding more lines.
Below I summarize key details of AT&T shared and unlimited family plans.
Shared Data Plan Pricing
AT&T‘s Mobile Share Plus plans cover talk, text and a pool of high-speed data for your family to share. You choose data in 1GB increments all the way up to 100GB.
Here is 2022 pricing for the first line on shared data plans, followed by the 2nd through 10th line monthly access charges:
| Shared Data | 1st Line | Lines 2-10 |
|---|---|---|
| 1GB | $40 | $20/line |
| 3GB | $50 | $30/line |
| 6GB | $65 | $30/line |
| 12GB | $85 | $45/line |
| 18GB | $95 | $45/line |
| 25GB | $110 | $60/line |
| 50GB | $160 | $60/line |
| 100GB | $280 | $60/line |
So for example, say you pick the 12GB plan. The first line would be $85/month. Adding a second family member is $45 more ($130 total). Then two kids at $45 each makes $235 for four lines sharing a 12GB bucket.
The main thing is carefully calculating your data usage as a household based on individual consumption.
Estimating Shared Data Needs
Figuring out the ideal shared data allowance means understanding how common smartphone activities burn through gigabytes:
- 1 hour of SD video streaming = About 0.7GB
- 1 hour of HD video streaming = About 3GB
- Social media scrolling for 1 hour (heavy usage) = Up to 0.5GB
- Web browsing/email for 1 hour = 0.1-0.3GB
For perspective, by my calculations, if one family member streamed high definition shows for ~10 hours a week, that alone would eat through 30GB a month!
Factor in other activities like social media, web browsing, gaming, video calls and more by every person, and you see how fast shared gigabytes disappear.
That‘s why in the next section, I also summarize unlimited plan options where speed slowdowns may happen during busy traffic but you don‘t risk overages.
Unlimited Data Plan Perks
In addition to shared data, AT&T offers three unlimited family plan tiers called Unlimited Your WaySM. Each option includes unlimited talk, text, and data. But you get varying extras as you go up in price.
Review this comparison of AT&T‘s unlimited family data plans:
| Feature | Starter | Extra | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (4 lines) | $35/line | $40/line | $50/line |
| Data Speed | May temporarily slow in congestion | 50GB high-speed per line | Uncapped high-speed |
| Mobile Hotspot | Not included | 15GB high-speed | 50GB high-speed |
| Video Quality | SD Streaming | SD Streaming | UHD Streaming |
| Int‘l Roaming | Pay-per-use rates | Pay-per-use | Included in Mexico/Canada + 19 countries |
The perks like high definition streaming, generous hotspot data and international extras in the Unlimited Premium plan make it a superb choice if your family budget allows.
But the Unlimited Starter plan still provides reliable nationwide 5G coverage with unlimited data for just $35 a month per line. For more moderate household usage, it‘s a bargain.
The key is crunching numbers for your unique situation. Let me demonstrate…
Comparing Family Plan Options
Which type of AT&T family plan fits best comes down to your data habits and budget. To paint the picture, imagine an average 4 person family consisting of:
- Mom – a real estate agent always showing houses and emailing clients
- Dad – an accountant crunching Excel and video conferencing
- Daughter – a college student binging Netflix between classes
- Son – a teenager gaming and chatting with friends after school
Here‘s how AT&T‘s shared vs. unlimited plans compare for this sample household.
Shared Data Plan Scenario
Let‘s speculate their collective data usage looks like this per billing cycle:
- Video Streaming: 60 hours (Various resolutions)
- Social Media & Web Browsing: 100 hours
- Other Cloud Apps, Audio, etc: 50 hours
Total shared data needed:
- 60 hours video (mix of SD & HD) ~ 125GB
- 100 hours social & web ~ 40GB
- 50 hours other mixed usage ~ 15GB
- 180GB TOTAL
Comparing shared plan allowances:
-
100GB = $280 first line + 4 add‘l lines @ $60 each = Total $520/month
-
Still risk hitting 180GB cap with overages
-
200GB = $430 first line + 4 add‘l lines @ $90 each = Total $820/month
With discounts and unlimited data, here is how AT&T‘s unlimited plan pricing shakes out:
- Unlimited Premium = $50 X 4 lines = $200/month
- Unlimited Extra = $40 X 4 lines = $160/month
The Unlimited Extra plan saves over $300 per month compared to the 200GB shared data allotment needed. And video can stream at standard HD.
Therefore, Unlimited Extra makes the most financial sense if data speeds prove fast enough despite 50GB/line premium data cap.
As you see from this scenario, shared data works better for lighter usage households. But unlimited plans can yield savings at higher data consumption levels despite some potential throttling during busy traffic periods.
Comparing Carriers for Family Plans
Beyond just comparing AT&T plan tiers, you‘ll also want to see how other major wireless networks price out:
Verizon – Offers a mix of shared data sizes up to 100GB or unlimited plans in Play More, Do More and Get More flavors.
T-Mobile – Magenta unlimited family plans start cheaper than AT&T but some customer congestion reported.
Visible – Uses Verizon‘s strong network for just $25/month per line (with Party Pay discount)
Google Fi – Bases pricing on how much data you use flexibly across networks.
I suggest cross-shopping carriers based on coverage quality for your area and family plan pricing. While AT&T is competitively priced for most households with good network reach, deals exist.
Plan Picking Criteria
As you evaluate the optimal wireless strategy for your situation, keep these key considerations in mind:
Current Devices – Do you need a cellular network supporting 3G, 4G LTE or 5G phones? How much storage is embedded? Early upgrade eligibility?
Carrier Coverage & Speeds – Check rootmetrics.com or opensignal.com for real-world testing data in your area for AT&T versus T-Mobile, Verizon or other networks. Avoid congestion and dead zones.
Data Usage Habits – Rigorously keeping a monthly data diary for family members ensures you get the right shared data plan size or pick unlimited. Calculate video streaming, web browsing and other app usage.
Affordability Factors – Crunch the numbers for monthly line access charges, device installment costs, activation fees and other expenses to find the balance between features and budget.
I know…sorting through cellular plan pricing, fine print and network performance feels overwhelming!
As your unbiased tech adviser, I‘m here to help cut through the noise to pinpoint your perfect wireless match. Let me know any other questions in the comments!
