Price per GB
$1.24
Median mid-tier catalogue price.
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Prices, network indicators, operators and trip-planning tools for United States. Use the full calculator with the destination already selected.
Calculate the GB required for United States with the full Drift calculator.
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T-Mobile offers the widest and fastest 5G network.
The United States has broad 4G and one of the world's largest 5G footprints, with strong coverage across all major cities and most interstate highways. T-Mobile leads on 5G reach and speed, with Verizon and AT&T close behind and often stronger in specific rural regions. The realistic weak spots are the wide open spaces of the Mountain West, desert and national park interiors such as parts of Yellowstone, Death Valley and remote Alaska, where signal disappears between towns. For city travel and the main routes, connectivity is fast and dependable.
Typical local SIM: $30-50. Usually sold at carrier stores, Best Buy, Walmart and Target; prepaid SIMs widely available, though airport options are limited. US prepaid SIMs are relatively expensive and often require a US address or ID for some plans. A travel eSIM avoids that friction and works the moment you land, which matters on a tightly scheduled trip.
For a one to three week trip a travel eSIM is the simplest and often cheaper call. For a long stay a US prepaid unlimited plan wins on allowance.
the widest and fastest 5G network, the strongest single choice for most travellers including road trips.
excellent rural and highway coverage, often the best in remote western and northern areas.
strong nationwide coverage with broad 5G, a dependable all round option.
you want to land connected without hunting for a prepaid store, or you are on a short trip and do not want to pay for a full US prepaid month.
you are staying a month or more and want a high allowance US prepaid plan with unlimited data and the best in country speeds.
No first-hand measurement has been published for United States yet. This page will update automatically when a validated field test is added to the shared dataset.
Use this page to compare the current price per GB, network indicator, transparency signal and local-operator reference for United States. It also links to a destination calculator and plan page.
It is the median price per GB of mid-tier plans in the live United States catalogue. Small 1 GB teasers and 50 GB or larger bulk plans are excluded so the figure reflects a typical traveller choice.
The page shows the current 5G coverage indicator, a transparency score and the main local operator. These are destination-level signals, not a guarantee for every street or device.
The decision section compares the practical trade-offs. A travel eSIM is usually simpler for a short visit; a local SIM can make sense when you need a local number, longer service or local pricing. Check the current conditions before deciding.
Price per GB is the median of mid-tier plans from the live United States catalogue. Network and transparency indicators come from the shared Drift dataset and are refreshed monthly.
Field measurements are published only after validation. Open dataset: data-americas.json.
Figures updated September 2026. Dataset license: CC BY 4.0.