Cricket SIM card: plans, prices and what it costs abroad

What Cricket Wireless plans were listed on 10 November 2026?

Cricket's plans page showed four monthly plans with no contract. Each has two prices: one with Auto Pay and $5 more without it. Cricket says these are not introductory rates, that government taxes and its own monthly fees are included, and that the first month is charged at the non-Auto Pay price.

Sensible 10GB charges $10 per extra gigabyte. Select Unlimited is for new lines only, and on Select, Smart and Sensible every line on the account must be on the same plan. Supreme is the only plan that includes HBO Max Basic with Ads. Video is limited to SD on the lower plans.

Cricket also lists a $25 activation fee for each purchase made in a store. The page did not show any time-limited promotions with end dates.

This is desk research from Cricket's own pages. We have not bought or tested a Cricket plan.

Which network does Cricket Wireless use?

AT&T's. Cricket's plans page says every plan includes nationwide 5G on the AT&T network, with a compatible phone and where 5G is available. The typical download speeds on its Broadband Facts labels ran from 7 to 59Mbps on 4G LTE and from 51 to 290Mbps on 5G. Our AT&T guide covers the network itself.

How do you get a Cricket SIM card or eSIM?

Cricket sells its plans through its website and its own stores. We could not read Cricket's bring-your-own-phone page when we checked (it returned an error), so we could not confirm the current price of a Cricket SIM kit on Cricket's own site. Its plans page does confirm the $25 activation fee on store purchases, so buying online may cost less up front.

On eSIM, Cricket's support pages explain how to move Cricket service to a new iPhone or Android phone by eSIM transfer, so Cricket lines do run on eSIM. The plans page itself does not mention eSIM for new customers, so check your phone's eligibility at checkout. Whatever you choose, an unlocked phone is the safe starting point.

What are Cricket Wireless international plans and calling features?

There are two separate things here: calling other countries from the US, and using your phone abroad.

For calling from the US, Select, Smart and Supreme include unlimited calls and texts from the US to Mexico and Canada. Smart and Supreme add unlimited texts from the US to more than 200 countries and territories. Cricket's International calling feature can be added to those three plans from $10 a month, with a set number of minutes to the country you pick. Sensible 10GB has none of this.

Does Cricket Wireless international roaming work outside Mexico and Canada?

Roaming in Mexico and Canada is included on Smart Unlimited and above. Cricket's terms say primary use must be in the US, and calls, texts and data used in Canada can't exceed 50 percent of your total. Speeds drop once you use up your plan's high-speed allowance.

Everywhere else, Cricket sells Cricket Passport, an add-on for customers on Smart Unlimited or higher, or on a 12 or 3-month Unlimited plan. There are two options:

Cricket says that if Unlimited Daily is active for 10 consecutive days in a 30-day period, you get up to 20 more days at no extra cost. Passport needs a saved payment method, an account in good standing and no BridgePay, and it does not support hotspot. You can sign up before you leave or from the text Cricket sends when you land. Customers on Sensible 10GB or Select Unlimited cannot add Passport.

When is a travel eSIM cheaper than Cricket Passport?

For most trips of a week or more. A week on Unlimited Daily is $70. Our verified prices, read on each seller's own site in August 2026, had 10GB over 7 days in Japan at $17 from Airalo, and 10GB over 30 days at $16 from Nomad. In the UK, Airalo's 10GB over 7 days was $18 and Holafly's unlimited 7 days $27.50. Even against the 5GB for 5 Days pass at $25, a 10GB travel eSIM for a week costs less in those countries.

Passport wins on very short trips where you need calls on your US number, and on a long stay the 10-day rule means $100 can cover up to 30 days. Mexico and Canada on Smart or Supreme need nothing extra at all.

If you add a travel eSIM, keep Cricket on for calls but switch its data roaming off. Our data roaming guide shows the setting, and the cheapest eSIM table ranks plans by cost per gigabyte.

Is Cricket a good SIM card for a visitor to the US?

Cricket has its own stores, but a store purchase adds the $25 activation fee and the plans page did not set out what a visitor needs to sign up. For a short stay, a US travel eSIM avoids the store visit: our verified August 2026 prices were $21.50 for Airalo's 10GB over 7 days and $22.99 for Saily's 10GB over 30 days. Our cheap US SIM card guide and USA SIM card hub compare the options.

What is the Cricket Wireless cheapest plan?

Sensible 10GB at $30 a month with Auto Pay, $35 without. It has no hotspot, no roaming and no Mexico or Canada calling. Select Unlimited is only $5 more and adds unlimited data and US calls to Mexico and Canada, so for most people it is the better low-cost pick. If you travel to Mexico or Canada, or abroad at all, Smart Unlimited at $45 is the cheapest plan that roams.