As an independent technology analyst with over 20 years of telecom industry expertise, I‘m dedicating this guide to walk you through T-Mobile‘s family plan options in detail.
My goal is to provide enough insights and data for you to determine if T-Mobile offers worthwhile plans for your household‘s needs and budget. I‘ll compare features, pricing, and dig into recent innovations that make their family plan offerings standout in a competitive market.
So whether you‘re currently a T-Mobile customer or considering switching, stick with me through this 2000+ word guide to have all your questions answered!
How Did T-Mobile Earn "Uncarrier" Status?
First, some T-Mobile background. They established themselves as the "Uncarrier" by doing away with pain points that frustrate consumers:
- Eliminating annual phone contracts
- Allowing interest-free financing of devices
- Including taxes & fees in advertised pricing
- Enabling flexible mix-and-match single line plans
Additionally, their network has massively improved over the past 5 years, with T-Mobile now providing the fastest overall 5G download speeds compared to Verizon and AT&T according to a recent study by Ookla.
Thanks to major spectrum investments and aggregating 5G across low, mid and high-band frequencies, T-Mobile has the infrastructure in place to deliver a fast, reliable "5G for All" experience.
This foundation powers T-Mobile‘s family plan offerings and helped them gain an industry-leading position…
T-Mobile‘s Family Plan Options
T-Mobile currently provides 5 main shared family plan tiers:
Go5G Plus – Unlimited premium data
Magenta MAX – Unlimited premium data
Go5G – 100GB high-speed data
Magenta – 100GB high-speed data
Essentials – 50GB high-speed data
All plans allow you to add up to 5 voice lines total. And with the exception of Essentials, taxes & fees are included in T-Mobile‘s advertised monthly pricing.
Some key plan differences include:
- Data amounts
- Mobile hotspot data
- Streaming services
- Device upgrade options
- International roaming
Below I‘ll break these down in detail…
Comparing Family Plan Data & Pricing
When choosing the best family plan, data usage and budget are common top considerations.
Here‘s a comparison of monthly pricing for 1-6 lines across the different T-Mobile tiers:
A few things stand out:
- Go Unlimited Magenta matches Magenta on features but runs $5/month cheaper per line
- Essentials gives you a 50 GB data allowance for as low as $27/line with 5+ lines
- Magenta MAX and Go Unlimited Plus offer unlimited premium data from $47-57/line
So what exactly do you get from a data perspective?
Magenta MAX and Go Unlimited Plus give you an endless premium data tap – no worrying about overages or speed slowdowns each month.
While Magenta and Go Unlimited provide a very healthy 100GB per month. For context, that‘s enough for:
- 200 hours of music streaming
- 150 hours of social media use
- 100 hours of HD video streaming
So unless you have some extremely data hungry users in your family consuming lots of video, 100GB should cover most moderate households with room to spare.
I‘ll cover hotspot capabilities a bit later as well. First, more on pricing…
How T-Mobile‘s Pricing Compares
When it comes to value, T-Mobile edges out the competition thanks to those included taxes and fees. No surprises or hidden charges.
For example, here‘s how 5 line unlimited family plan pricing shakes out across carriers:
T-Mobile comes in $5-15 cheaper per month compared to rivals. That‘s $60-180 in annual savings per line that adds up.
I‘ll share more personalized price examples later when I provide family plan recommendations for different data needs and budgets.
First, more details on some of T-Mobile‘s plan perks…
T-Mobile Family Plan Perks & Extras
In addition to competitive pricing, T-Mobile sweetens most family plans with extra streaming entertainment options:
Free Streaming Benefits
Netflix Basic (1 SD screen stream) – Included on all plans
Apple TV+ – Included on Magenta Max, 1 year free on other plans then $4.99/month
So you‘re getting some nice entertainment bundled atop your cell plan. Saving $8-9/month on streaming subs helps justify higher family plan rates.
Note: Essentials plans don‘t include any free streaming perks.
Unlimited International Roaming
Travelers rejoice! Magenta MAX and Go Unlimited Plus plans both provide unlimited talk, text & 5G/LTE data when traveling in Canada and Mexico.
That means you stay connected just like home whenever you head north or south of the border with no roaming caps or fees.
Lower tiers still include international roaming data caps:
- Go Unlimited – 5GB LTE roaming
- Magenta – 5GB LTE roaming
- Essentials – 256MB roaming
So Max and Plus are your picks for frequent Mexico/Canada visitors.
Mobile Hotspot Data
All plans also enable using your phone‘s cellular connection for WiFi tethering other devices (laptop, tablet, etc). Handy for staying online anywhere untethered from public WiFi.
However, hotspot data amounts vary across plans:
Magenta MAX is the most generous at 40GB/month – allowing plenty of video streaming and large downloads when traveling or with spotty WiFi connectivity.
I‘d only recommend the Essentials 3G unlimited hotspot for very light email/web usage. 3G speeds would choke on streaming media.
Next let‘s get to device upgrade options and perks…
Device Upgrades & Video Streaming
If you like routinely upgrading to the latest iPhone or Samsung Galaxy smartphone, T-Mobile has some options.
Go Unlimited Plus touts their "Forever Upgrade" deal. Existing customers get up to $800 off the newest device models when trading in an eligible device every 2 years. That‘s a great discount.
There‘s also a "Netflix on Us" perk providing standard Netflix for 1 stream (normally $9/month). Helpful if you don‘t already subscribe.
Magenta Max also provides standard Netflix…plus higher video streaming quality when traveling:
- DVD quality 480p video streaming when connected to cell towers abroad
So you can watch Netflix, Hulu etc in good quality when roaming without blowing through your data cap too quick. Nice touch!
Best Unlimited Data Family Plans
Now for my unlimited data picks after comparing all the options…
If budget is no concern, Go Unlimited Plus takes the crown providing:
- Truly unlimited premium data
- 50GB mobile hotspot
- Free Netflix & Apple TV+
- New device every 2 years
- Fast unlimited roaming in Mexico & Canada
But I realize most families need to keep costs reasonable.
Magenta Max gives you nearly the same benefits but for $5-15 less per month depending on lines. So I recommend Magenta Max as the top value unlimited premium data choice given the perks & price difference.
Some Analysts even estimate T-Mobile will pressure Verizon and AT&T to move towards including taxes/fees in response given the massive savings. We‘ll have to see!
Recommending The Best Plan For You
Finally, let‘s get personal. When choosing the best T-Mobile family plan I recommend first asking yourself:
- What‘s my monthly data usage needs?
- What‘s my max budget for cell service?
- How much do free streaming services & device upgrades matter?
Low usage light streamers OR very tight budgets? Go with Essentials to save.
Moderate users that still stream some video/music with 100GB data needs? Choose Magenta for the best overall value imo.
Heavy household data users? Opt for unlimited data with Magenta Max.
Give me your details in the comments and I‘d be happy to recommend the perfect T-Mobile plan for YOUR situation and budget.
I hope this guide has given you confidence that T-Mobile delivers excellent family plan options worth your consideration. Reach out with any other questions!
