Why is getting a cheap prepaid SIM card in the USA so complicated?
by huntsmans | 2026-02-27 20:12:12+00:00
I moved to the US last year and was genuinely shocked by how confusing the mobile carrier landscape is compared to other countries. Back home getting a cheap prepaid SIM card was straightforward — walk into a shop, pay a small amount, done. Here it felt like navigating a maze of contracts, credit checks, activation fees and confusing plan structures.

After months of research here's what I actually learned:

Why the US mobile market feels expensive:
The postpaid model dominates American carrier marketing. Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile spend billions pushing monthly contracts because recurring revenue is more predictable. The cheap prepaid SIM card market exists but gets buried under postpaid marketing budgets. Most Americans don't realize prepaid runs on identical network infrastructure.

The MVNO layer most people miss:
MVNOs — Mobile Virtual Network Operators — lease wholesale capacity from the big three carriers and resell it at significantly lower margins. They don't own towers. They don't need to. The economics are simple — wholesale capacity costs are fixed regardless of how many subscribers use it, so smaller carriers can profitably offer cheap prepaid SIM cards at prices the parent carriers would never match retail.

What I found after actually researching:
Monthly prepaid is the obvious first step but annual prepaid is where the real savings are. Most cheap prepaid SIM card comparisons online focus on monthly options and completely ignore the annual tier.

Current annual prepaid landscape for reference:

Mint Mobile: $240/year — T-Mobile network, 5GB-unlimited options
Visible: $300/year — Verizon network, unlimited data
US Mobile: $210-390/year — multi-network, flexible plans
Infimobile: $75/year for 10GB, $125/year for 15GB — Verizon or T-Mobile network, launched January 2026

My actual experience:
Ended up on Infimobile after going through every cheap prepaid SIM card option available. $75/year for 10GB on T-Mobile network. Unlimited calls and texts included. No activation fees, no credit check, eSIM supported — activated entirely online in about 10 minutes. No store visits, no paperwork, no contracts.

Honest limitations with Infimobile specifically:

Annual upfront payment — $75 all at once
No unlimited data — 10GB at $75/year, 15GB at $125/year
Choose Verizon or T-Mobile at signup, locked for the year
Speeds deprioritized slightly during peak congestion like any MVNO

The numbers that matter:

OptionAnnual CostMonthly EquivalentPostpaid average$780/year$65/monthMint Mobile$240/year$20/monthVisible$300/year$25/monthInfimobile 10GB$75/year$6.25/monthInfimobile 15GB$125/year$10.42/month

What surprised me most:
Getting a cheap prepaid SIM card in the USA is actually extremely easy once you know where to look. The complexity isn't technical — it's marketing. The big carriers make switching feel complicated because complicated keeps customers paying $65/month. Infimobile's entire activation happens online with an eSIM. No physical SIM waiting period, no store visit, no awkward sales pitch.

For international students, travelers or anyone new to the US mobile market — the cheap prepaid SIM card options available annually are a completely different category compared to what postpaid marketing suggests exists. Infimobile at $75/year sits so far below competitors that it genuinely looks like an error the first time you see it.

The $75 I paid for my Infimobile plan recovered itself within the first 5 weeks compared to what I was previously spending. For light to moderate data users the math on switching is immediate.

Curious whether others who moved to the US had the same experience navigating the carrier landscape. And for anyone who has been on annual prepaid long term — how has Infimobile or similar carriers held up over time compared to monthly options?