AT&T Prepaid plans: prices, SIM and eSIM, and what they cost abroad

What AT&T Prepaid plans were listed on 10 November 2026?

AT&T Prepaid is AT&T's no-contract service: you pay in advance, monthly or for a year, and there is no credit check. When we read AT&T's prepaid pages on 10 November 2026, the main prepaid page led with three offers rather than a full price list, and the plans page showed one plan without a visible price. The fullest table we found was on AT&T's prepaid resources site, get.att.com, which carried a September 2026 date stamp. We have put the two together below.

Taxes and fees are extra on all of them. Two of these were running as offers on att.com/prepaid when we read it. Unlimited Ultra was $45 a month for six months, then $60, for a new single line bought online. The 12-month plan at $240 also needed a new single line and a SIM or phone bought online. AT&T gave no end date for either offer. The plans page itself showed an "AT&T Prepaid Exclusive" plan with 30GB a month at up to 3Mbps, then 1.5Mbps, for new single-line customers, sold with a five-year price lock, but its price did not show on the page we could read.

This is desk research from AT&T's own pages. We have not bought or tested an AT&T Prepaid plan.

Which AT&T prepaid plan suits a traveller?

The cheap 30GB plans are capped at 3Mbps from the first megabyte, which is fine for maps and messaging and slow for video calls. If you live in the US and cross into Mexico or Canada, Unlimited Enhanced Plus is the tier that names both countries, with a 25GB monthly cap in Canada. The 12-month plan is the cheapest per month at $20, but you pay $240 on day one and speeds drop to 1.5Mbps after 16GB.

Can a visitor buy an AT&T prepaid SIM card or eSIM?

Yes, in principle, but the ordinary route is slow for someone who has just landed. AT&T sells its prepaid SIM kit online, by phone, in AT&T stores and at retailers such as Costco, Best Buy and BJ's. For an eSIM on a new online order, AT&T's support pages describe choosing an eSIM activation card at checkout and scanning the QR code on a card that is posted to you in three to seven business days. If you already have an unlocked phone, AT&T's prepaid online activation page lets you set up service yourself, and AT&T says activation takes around 10 minutes. You need the SIM or eSIM's ICCID and the phone's IMEI. None of the AT&T pages we read said what ID a non-resident needs, so we cannot confirm that a visitor can sign up without a US address.

For a short trip, AT&T has a product built for visitors instead: eSIM by AT&T, bought in the Connect on Demand app. When we read it on 10 November 2026, the page showed two prices for each pass, an original price and a lower one, without saying how long the lower price lasts.

The passes give unlimited data with 5GB of hotspot, after which hotspot speed drops to 128kbps. You need a 5G, unlocked phone with an open eSIM slot. AT&T's support page says activation starts once you are in the US and connected to a network, and that passes are not refundable or transferable. Our AT&T USA SIM card guide covers this pass in more detail.

Is AT&T prepaid international roaming any good?

For a US resident going abroad, AT&T Prepaid's international page lists a Travel Add-On: unlimited talk, text and 5GB of data for $40, valid for seven days, in selected countries. You turn it on by replying to the text AT&T sends when you arrive, and your plan must be active. For calls from the US, there are two add-ons: International at $10 for 30 days with 250 minutes to 70 countries, and International Plus at $15 for 30 days with unlimited calling to 85 countries. The page did not list pay-per-use roaming rates.

When is a travel eSIM cheaper than an AT&T prepaid plan?

Going abroad, the Travel Add-On costs $40 a week for 5GB. A travel eSIM usually gives more data for less. Our verified prices, read on each seller's site in August 2026, put 10GB over 7 days in Japan at $17 with Airalo, and 10GB over 30 days at $16 with Nomad. In the UK, Airalo was $18 for 10GB over 7 days and Saily $18.99 for 10GB over 30 days. Keep your AT&T line for calls and texts if you need them, and turn its data roaming off. Our international roaming plans page compares the US carriers' travel options side by side.

Coming to the US, compare eSIM by AT&T with a data-only travel eSIM bought before you fly. Our verified US prices from August 2026 were $21.50 for Airalo's 10GB over 7 days, $22.99 for Saily's 10GB over 30 days and $25 for Nomad's 10GB over 30 days. At the prices AT&T showed on 10 November, its 7-day US data pass at $10.99 was cheaper, and the 7-day talk, text and data pass at $14.99 adds a US number. The catch is that it only starts once you are in the US. A travel eSIM installed at home works the moment you land.

Where do you buy an AT&T prepaid SIM in the US?

AT&T stores, AT&T's website and the big-box retailers above all sell the SIM kit. Our guide to where to buy a SIM card in the USA covers airports, stores and what to expect at the counter, and the USA SIM card comparison sets AT&T against T-Mobile and Verizon.

What we could not confirm

We could not see a price for the AT&T Prepaid Exclusive plan on AT&T's plans page, so the $25 and $35 figures come from AT&T's prepaid resources site rather than att.com itself. We found no end date for the Unlimited Ultra or 12-month offers, or for the lower eSIM by AT&T prices. We also found nothing on AT&T's pages about the ID a visitor needs.