Tello Review—Affordable and Customizable Connectivity

Tello Mobile is a US mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), part of the T-Mobile network. It is also currently one of the most affordable choices on the prepaid market.

Certainly, there is a wide range of MVNOs available today, but few offer as great a value as Tello.

As far as prepaid plans go, Tello is one of the cheapest and yet most worthy options available. It can keep you and your device connected to the world for as little as $5/month.

Keep reading our in-depth Tello review to find out what it packs in its offer.

What Is Tello?

When it comes to value for money, few MVNOs can match Tello’s offerings. It excels at keeping its customers connected at very fair rates.

This service will not cut your usage if your data allowance runs out. It will simply downgrade it. For example, a Tello 5G plan will be slowed down to a 2G speed. It is this kind of fair practice that helps it stand out from the competition.

Plus, Tello offers the best plans for cell phones that function incredibly well on a 4G LTE network.

Let’s find out more about them.

Tello Plans & Prices

Tello offers affordable and well-structured plans.

For starters, Tello has a trial version called the Free Starter Plan. This free package comes with 1GB of data, unlimited texts and minutes, and tethering.

Tello Network

As we mentioned above in our Tello review, this service is an MVNO. This means it doesn’t operate with a personal network but on T-Mobile’s one.

T-Mobile then provides Tello’s coverage, speeds, and 5G. To use the 5G, you will need a GSM SIM. Otherwise, you can use its 4G LTE network.

You don’t have to worry that this setup will impact your usage. The service is very similar to that of T-Mobile’s, which means it’s excellent.

Tello Special Features

We have covered a few of Tello’s features already. Let’s see which are its strongest suits.

Cheap Plans

The most attractive and unique quality of Tello must be its incredibly affordable plans, beginning at just $5.

But how does it manage to maintain such low prices?

To answer that question, we should first consider what carrier Tello is. Being a mobile virtual network operator, the provider saves resources from not having to maintain a network.

Fully Customizable Plans

The low cost isn’t the only benefit in terms of pricing—Tello’s plans are amazingly customizable. The service allows you to choose a combination of data and minutes that suits your needs.

We contacted Tello’s customer service to specify how these plans work exactly. The support agents explained that users can start from as little as 500 MB and 100 minutes for $6.

No Contracts or Minimum Usage Periods

Tello’s contracts are free of activation and overage charges. Still, you don’t need to commit to a long-term plan to use the service.

Even if you are on a contract, you can cancel it whenever you like—there are no minimum usage periods.

A few other perks users mention in their Tello reviews include the free tethering and the fact that you can easily call people in Mexico, Canada, and China.

What We Disliked

While Tello shines with its incredibly cheap plans, the unlimited data options aren’t as competitively priced.

You can easily find more attractive advanced prepaid plans with other service providers.

Tello User Reviews

As part of our Tello review process, we went through numerous user reviews to see what others think about the service.

On Trustpilot, Tello enjoys a superb 4.5-star rating from 7,987 reviews. 80% of customers deemed the service excellent. The majority of the positive comments in Tello reviews are about customer support.

Naturally, users also often praise the affordable prices and the overall quality of the service.

The majority of Tello reviews on Reddit are positive.

In the dedicated subreddit, people report problems and look for suggestions. Some complained that speeds dropped during the T-Mobile network’s busier periods.

However, there are quite a few positive comments about the company. For example, one Tello review on Reddit is “proof that Tello Wi-Fi calling works outside the US.” Other common praises include affordable deals, helpful customer service, and flexibility.

We haven’t seen this many glowing comments about a service provider in a long time.

It is telling that many of the Tello reviews come from users who switched their provider, which means people prefer Tello to other services.

Is Tello Worth It?

Tello is a great choice for anyone looking for an affordable, speedy, and stable mobile service.

During our 2022 Tello review process, we noticed a level of customizability and freedom that is hard to achieve with other names on the market.

Tello’s prepaid plans are simple and incredibly cheap. If you are a light user that doesn’t need a streaming capability or unlimited calls, you can use Tello for as little as $5/month.

If you are a heavy user, however, and require large amounts of data, Tello is not the best option. Its larger plans cost more than what other mobile providers targeting advanced customers offer.

Alternatives to Tello

In this part of the Tello review, we compare the provider to some of the best prepaid phone services out there.

Tello vs Straight Talk

Tello is extremely affordable, but unlimited data usage plans aren’t its strong suit. Straight Talk, on the other hand, provides excellent packages for heavy data users. It has an unlimited plan that will only cap users after 60GB of usage.

Tello vs Mint Mobile

Both services are excellent for those looking to cut down on their mobile bills. Choosing between the two depends on your personal needs.

If you need a flexible and feasible plan, then Tello is a great choice. But if you don’t mind having less control over your plan and paying a little extra, Mint Mobile will provide a greater data allowance.

Tello vs Tracfone

Tello is a much better choice than Tracfone. Its network is more reliable and the Tello app functions better than the Tracfone one.

What’s more, Tello receives more positive feedback than Tracfone.

Wrap Up

If you’re a light smartphone user and want to cut down your expenses, Tello is an excellent choice.

And if it turns out your monthly usage is larger or smaller than anticipated, you can chop and change your plan to best suit your needs.

If you text, talk, and stream a lot, though, you might be better off with another carrier.