As the go-to tech geek for my family and friends, I get a lot of questions — especially around the holidays. Lately, one has been popping up more than usual: What’s the best starter phone plan for a pre-teen? So, to save myself a ton of repeat explanations, I decided to do some research and also retry a few of my typical top picks to see where things stand in 2024. 

Ultimately, I still recommend Tello in most cases for those who are looking for a no-frills way to contact their young kids. If you’ve never heard of this carrier, that’s okay, as Tello is far from a household name. Still, this privately owned prepaid service shouldn’t be overlooked and is worth signing up for! Here’s why I recommend Tello at a glance:

• Kids tend to lose or break their first phones. You’ll want a plan that’s cheap and flexible. Tello is both. It’s easy to shut off too!
• Kids don’t need unlimited data or other extras. Your kids may disagree, but the reality is most of them will have access to Wi-Fi at home, school, at friends, and even at many popular hang-out spots. That means a plan with no or limited data might work just fine and so you could save big with Tello.
• You can get plans as cheap as $6. There are ultra-cheap plans that give you 100 minutes a month of calling, free texts, and 1GB of data. This is perfect for a young kid who mostly needs a plan for communicating with parents.
• It runs on T-Mobile’s network! You’ll get the same coverage as you’d get on T-Mobile’s network, though it will be prioritized below T-Mobile postpaid customers. Still, you’ll typically see more than usable speeds unless you live in an area with major TMO congestion.

Tello isn’t going to be as full-featured or robust as the big networks, but it will allow you to keep in touch with your kid without breaking the bank. If you have a young kid who’s not quite ready for an unlimited data plan and all the online privileges that come with it, Tello makes for great training wheels. In fact, we used this carrier for our daughter years ago before letting her graduate to a higher-end prepaid plan, and eventually onto our main family account.

Ultimately, Tello may not be as good a fit when your kid becomes an older teen, depending on their needs and your own rules. Nonetheless, Tello is a good way to test the waters and see if your child is responsible enough for phone service without necessarily investing huge amounts in the process.

Even better, you can now try out the 5GB plan with unlimited talk and text for just $10 right now. That’s a savings of $4 and a great way to gauge how much data your kid will really need. Decide you don’t need that much data? The 1GB plan also gives you talk and text for just $6.

Of course, nothing is perfect. Tello’s downside is that it’s kind of a DIY experience. Sure, there are phone and email support options but when things go wrong you’ll often have to do a bit more hands-on troubleshooting yourself. That’s mostly true ofa ll the prepaid carriers, except those on the higher side of the pricing scale. The good news is that the fixes to most problems can be easily found on online communities like the Tello subreddit. If you are like my family, you might also have a tech-savvy person who can help you out.

You’ll also need to get a compatible phone to use with Tello. You have a  few options here. First, you can bring any unlocked phone you already own or buy elsewhere as long as it supports T-Mobile’s network. Looking for an easier route? The carrier has a collection of smartphones starting at $134 and up.

If you are going with a phone through Tello I’d recommend the Motorola G Play 2023 or Samsung Galaxy A14 5G if you’re looking for a basic but reliable device that will cost you under $200. For those who just want to talk and text their kid but don’t want them to have smartphone features, the NUU F4L basic flip phone is just $89.

What about parental controls, are these baked in?

Tello doesn’t offer built-in parental controls, but honestly, I don’t recommend carrier-based solutions for parental controls anyhow. Not only are the services usually a bit on the clunky side in my experience, but they are tied to a specific carrier too. If you’re looking to add parental controls to your kid’s phone your best bet will be to sign up for a paid service like Qustodio.

Want something basic and free? Many will find that Google Family Link for Android and Apple Screen Time for iOS are more than good enough at providing basic parental controls, and yet they are both free. 

I personally recommend Tello because I’ve used it extensively and trust it more than some of the other carriers with ultra-cheap plans. Of course, it’s not for everyone.

If you’re looking for an alternative that’s also on T-Mobile’s network, I recommend Mint Mobile (sign up here) as long as you don’t mind paying a year’s service in advance for the best discount which will bring things down to the equivalent of $15 a month for 5G of data. You dig even deeper into how Mint compares to Tello in my guide to Mint Mobile vs Tello. 

Prefer the Verizon or the AT&T network? US Mobile is great for those who need unlimited data with plans as low as $17.50 a month. It also allows you to pick between all three networks. You can even transfer between them for a small fee. Don’t need that much for your kid? You’ll also find limited data plans for as low as $8 a month for 2GB.