T-Mobile's New Plans: Understanding the Carrier's Options From Magenta to Go5G Plus

T-Mobile's unlimited plan lineup is expanding. After introducing new Go5G and Go5G Plus options last week, the carrier's stable of plans will now include five offerings that may seem similar on the surface but actually have quite a few small but noteworthy differences you'll want to be aware of. 

Let's break it down. 

The new flagships: Go5G and Go5G Plus

You can think of Go5G as a slightly pricier version of Magenta, while Go5G Plus is a slightly pricier version of Magenta Max. Both are largely similar to T-Mobile's existing options, just with a few new perks like more high-speed data in Canada and Mexico and more hotspot data in the US. 

The Go5G Plus plan also includes the promise of being able to take advantage of T-Mobile's more aggressive switcher offers for new phones once every two years. 

Otherwise, as mentioned the new plans are largely identical to the unlimited Magenta and Magenta Max plans users have had for the last couple of years. Perks like Netflix remain for both versions of Go5G (with the Plus plan getting a bump up to Netflix's two-screen Standard plan as well as a subscription to Apple TV Plus, just like Magenta Max), as do other common Magenta features like international texting and data and the inclusion of taxes and fees into the sticker price.  

It is worth noting that T-Mobile, unlike rivals AT&T and Verizon, still requires everyone to be on the same plan. So if one person on a family plan wants to move to Go5G Plus, the rest of the family will also need to change their plans to T-Mobile's priciest option.

Here is the pricing for up to five lines, assuming you sign up for automatic payments. The chart also factors in that right now T-Mobile is including a third line for free on these plans.

The existing plans: Magenta and Magenta Max

These are T-Mobile's current plans and they will remain in the lineup even with the new Go5G and Go5G Plus options, albeit hidden away under a "see more plans" button on the website. 

These plans are each $5 cheaper per month for a single line when compared to Go5G or Go5G Plus, or $10 per month cheaper if you have two lines. They keep all the same features they once had, including bundling of free Netflix, international text and data and the inclusion of taxes and fees in the sticker price. 

Under the carrier's newest promotions, and seemingly in a not-so-subtle bid to move people to the Go5G and Go5G Plus options, the newer plans are actually cheaper than their Magenta counterparts, thanks to T-Mobile waiving the fee for a third line (something T-Mobile used to offer for the Magenta plans).

Should I switch from a Magenta plan to a Go5G one? 

If you already have Magenta or Magenta Max, and don't need more hotspot data or the North America data bonus, it's a tough sell to move to the GoPlus plans. But because of T-Mobile's push to get people on the new plans the Go5G options could be worthwhile for new users as a benefit of that promotion, particularly if you need three or more lines. 

Here is how all four options stack up on price, once again assuming auto-pay and factoring in T-Mobile's "third-line free" promotion for Go5G and Go5G Plus.   

What about the Essentials plan? 

T-Mobile's cheapest Essentials plan is hanging around, though with its recent news, the carrier did axe its cheapest Base Essentials line that offered one line of unlimited talk, text and data for $45 per month (albeit with only 20GB of high-speed data). 

For an undisclosed "limited time," the carrier is offering a new Essentials Savings plan that is sort of replacing both Base Essentials and the regular Essentials plan that existed until now. With the exception of a single line, which is $5 pricier than Base Essentials, the new Essentials Savings matches that cheaper plan's pricing for two lines ($80 per month) while matching the Essentials plan on price for three lines ($90 per month) and four lines ($100 per month). 

Five lines of Essentials Savings is $110 per month, slightly cheaper than T-Mobile's regular Essentials plan (which would be $120 per month). With Base Essentials you were maxed at four lines for that offer. 

And because Essentials Savings is basically just the Essentials plan with "Savings" at the end, it includes the same features including 50GB of high-speed data. It is worth noting that there is no free streaming service with this plan and that taxes and fees are not included in the sticker price. And as mentioned this is a "limited time" offer, so at some point in the future T-Mobile may switch it back to the regular Essentials rates. 

Here is how the new Essentials Savings stacks up to the regular Essentials pricing. Note that this includes autopay and T-Mobile's "third line free" offer for Essentials and Essentials Savings plans.