Who owns which prepaid carrier is easier to answer than it used to be, because the three networks have bought most of the big names. Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T each own prepaid brands that compete with their own plans. This page lists every brand we track under its parent company. Each brand’s own page gives the source for its ownership.
Brands owned by Verizon
Verizon owns more of the brands on this page than any other company. Most of their sites carry the same footer line: a trademark of “Verizon Value, Inc, a Verizon company”.
| Brand | What it is |
|---|---|
| Visible | Unlimited plans with taxes included, sold as “Visible by Verizon” |
| Straight Talk | Monthly plans from $25 |
| Total Wireless | Unlimited plans with taxes and fees included |
| Tracfone | Small monthly plans and minute bundles |
| Simple Mobile | Monthly plans from $25 |
| Page Plus | Monthly plans from $12 and pay as you go |
| Net10 | No longer selling. Its site points to Simple Mobile |
| Walmart Family Mobile | Plans from $19.88, with extra lines at $19.88 each |
Brands owned by T-Mobile
| Brand | What it is |
|---|---|
| Metro by T-Mobile | T-Mobile’s own prepaid brand, once MetroPCS |
| Mint Mobile | Plans paid for 3, 6 or 12 months ahead. Bought by T-Mobile on May 1, 2024 |
| Ultra Mobile | International calling plans. Bought with Mint in the same deal |
Brands owned by AT&T
| Brand | What it is |
|---|---|
| Cricket Wireless | AT&T’s prepaid subsidiary. It absorbed Aio Wireless in 2014 |
Brands owned by EchoStar
EchoStar is not one of the three network owners. It says Boost’s customers now connect mainly through AT&T’s towers.
| Brand | What it is |
|---|---|
| Boost Mobile | Once a Sprint brand. It took in Virgin Mobile USA and Republic Wireless customers |
| Gen Mobile | Low-priced plans with international calling. “A division of Boost SubscriberCo L.L.C.” |
Brands owned by cable and technology companies
| Brand | Owner | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Xfinity Mobile | Comcast | Only for Xfinity Internet customers |
| Spectrum Mobile | Charter | Only for Spectrum Internet customers |
| Optimum Mobile | The Optimum cable company | $20 a line more without Optimum Internet |
| Google Fi Wireless | None |
Brands that name another owner
| Brand | What its site says |
|---|---|
| Black Wireless | “a product of Moola Cloud, LLC a wholly owned subsidiary The OLB Group, Inc.” |
| H2O Wireless | Copyright of Locus Telecommunications, LLC |
| Helium Mobile | “a service of Affiniti Ventures, Inc.” |
Brands with no parent we could confirm
These either describe themselves as independent or name no parent company on the pages we read.
US Mobile, Tello, Consumer Cellular, Red Pocket, Ting Mobile, PureTalk, Twigby, Patriot Mobile, Lycamobile and Good2Go Mobile.
Why ownership matters
It tells you who you are really dealing with. Metro, Cricket and Visible are each a network’s own lower-priced label.
It does not tell you the price or the service. Brands with the same owner set different prices and rules. Straight Talk and Total Wireless are both Verizon’s, and one includes taxes while the other does not. We compare those two on our Straight Talk vs Total Wireless page.
For which network each brand uses, see our MVNO list.