The best cell phone plans in Seattle by category:
- The fastest wireless carrier in Seattle: AT&T with averages north of 100 Mbps
- The widest available wireless carrier in Seattle: AT&T has the most Seattle residents with average speeds north of 25 Mbps
- The largest 5G network available in Seattle: T-Mobile with almost 90% coverage
- The most affordable wireless carrier in Seattle: Cricket Wireless and Mint Mobile – plans starting at $10 per month
Despite the stereotypes it doesn’t really rain that often in Seattle. Most of the time it’s just a dull grey in the winter, and it’s a well-kept secret that summer in the city is one of the best in the nation. On top of relatively moderate weather, Seattle, like San Francisco, has seen a major population boom in recent years. While Seattle has been a technology center for decades, first in aerospace, then with Microsoft and Amazon, the city has seen just about every major company build office space to recruit from the local universities and other major tech firms.
The Seattle area is also home to T-Mobile, so there is probably a little bit of extra competition applied here between the major carriers, leaving a flag on the home field of one of the bigger cell plan companies.
Below you can find the best mobile carriers available to Seattle consumers looking to compare plans as reviewed by the GammaWire team:
Top Mobile Wireless Plans in Seattle
✔ T-Mobile Backed
✔ Pre-Paid Only
✔ Bundle Options
✔ Family Options
✔ Best Coverage
✔ Most Features
✔ Frugal Family Deals
✔ AT&T’s Network
✔ Fair Coverage
✔ Great Value
✔ No Contract
✔ Pre-Paid Option
Which Mobile Provider Has the Best Cell Coverage in Seattle?
Despite being the home of T-Mobile, if you’re looking for the overall best carrier in Seattle, we’d probably suggest you start by looking at AT&T for the overall best wireless experience. Their top speeds are competitive across the board, and most neighborhoods in Seattle will see averages north of 100 Mbps on their network. Basically the entire city has access to at least 10 Mbps on their network, meaning streaming HD video on your phone won’t really be an issue.
T-Mobile is also worth considering, especially given that this is their headquarter city. It’s hard to argue with the level of cell service they provide in Seattle, and most notably how much 5G network they offer in Seattle as well (more on that below).
Verizon is going to be good as well, very few people complain about the service they offer, but across both speed and reliability, we’d probably start with AT&T and go from there.
Fastest Mobile Carriers in Seattle (5G, 4G, LTE)
For overall sheer speed, Verizon customers report occasional top-end speeds north of 400 Mbps on their wireless networks. While this is blazing fast, it’s not as widely available as we might hope when comparing raw speed. Still, worth a note.
AT&T, with lower top speeds, has the best overall speeds, with the average customer seeing speeds north of 100 Mbps on their networks. If we were to recommend one carrier that probably offers the best overall experience when it comes to speed now and in the future (with wider 5G rollout), AT&T probably wins this argument too.
If you’re all in on 5G networks, then definitely take a look at what T-Mobile has to offer. They’re always worth a look in the Seattle market, and a large percentage of the city is now covered in their rapidly expanding 5G network. If you’re betting on 5G, go with T-Mobile.
Cheap & Discount Cell Phone Plans in Seattle, WA
All the small, startup, and budget wireless carriers with any sort of national coverage are currently available in Seattle, so you’ll have plenty of options if you’re looking for something like a discount cell plan or perhaps any variety of prepaid or pay-as-you-go cell service.
The three we’d probably recommend taking the closest look at are going to be Mint Mobile, because they offer some of the cheapest monthly rates, Boost Mobile for their ever-growing list of pre-paid options, or Cricket Wireless for their reliable network at more affordable prices.
Find a Cell Plan in Your Area
We hope the information above was enough to help find a wireless provider near you. Click on one of the providers below to view their latest plans, rates and promotions in your area:
Seattle, WA Zip Codes with the Best Cellular Coverage
- 98115
- 98118
- 98103
- 98133
- 98112
- 98101
- 98102
- 98198
- 98155
Seattle is a pretty small city from a geographical standpoint, so even if you’re staring at the above list and thinking it’s a bummer you don’t see your zip code included in one of the best zip codes for cell coverage, odds are good that you’ll actually end up being totally fine. We had a hard time finding a Seattle zip code with BAD coverage, so not a whole lot to worry about here.
