Find a simple phone that actually works on your network
Get your attention back with a phone that leaves you alone.
PlainPhones compares feature phones (often called dumb phones), flip phones and kids' phones sold in the US, and checks each one against your network, so the phone you buy can actually make calls.
Certified not a paperweight
Does the TCL Flip 3 work on Verizon?
from $29.99
14 of 14 phones
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TCL Flip 3
A cheap flip phone sold by Verizon's prepaid brands, with Google Maps, a hotspot, email, an SOS button and a headphone jack. WhatsApp is no longer available on KaiOS.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Maps
- Battery: up to 17 days on standby
from $29.99
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Cricket Debut Flex
Cricket's cheap flip phone, with Google Maps, a hotspot, FM radio, a music player and a headphone jack. WhatsApp is no longer available on KaiOS.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Maps
from $59.99
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Lively Jitterbug Flip3
Lively's flip phone for older users, with an urgent-response button and a headphone jack. It's for calls and texts: no apps, browser, hotspot or maps.
- Flip
- No app store
- Battery: up to 12 hours of talk
from $59.99
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TCL Classic
AT&T's own cheap flip phone, with a hotspot, email, a browser, a music player and a headphone jack. No app store or maps.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Battery: up to 15 days on standby
from $74.99
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IRIS Easy Flip 2
Consumer Cellular's easy flip phone for calls and texts, with FM radio and a headphone jack. No apps, browser, hotspot or maps.
- Flip
- No app store
- Battery: up to 12 days on standby
from $89.99
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TCL Flip 4 5G
A 5G flip phone sold by T-Mobile and Metro, with Google Maps, a hotspot, email, FM radio and a headphone jack. WhatsApp is no longer available on KaiOS.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Maps
- Battery: up to 15 days on standby
from $119.99
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Kyocera DuraXA Equip
A rugged flip phone with an emergency key, a hotspot, email, FM radio and a music player. No app store.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Battery: up to 16 days on standby
from $215.99
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Kyocera DuraXV Extreme+
A rugged flip phone sold by Verizon for work, with a hotspot, email, FM radio, a music player and programmable emergency and push-to-talk keys. No app store or maps.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Battery: about 2 days of use
from $250
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Sonim XP3plus 5G
A tough, waterproof-style flip phone with an emergency key, a hotspot and a headphone jack.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Battery: up to 11 days on standby
from $259.99
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Sunbeam F1 Pro Aspen
A rugged flip phone with no browser or app store, but with Waze navigation, a hotspot, a music player and a headphone jack.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Maps
- Battery: 1–2 days of use
from $359
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Sonim XP5plus 5G
A tough 5G keypad phone with an emergency key, push-to-talk, a hotspot, email and a music player. No app store.
- Bar
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Battery: up to 22 days on standby
from $374.99
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Sunbeam F1 Pro Juniper
Sunbeam's rugged flip phone with email added: no browser or app store, but with Waze navigation, a hotspot and a music player.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Maps
- Battery: 1–2 days of use
from $389
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Mudita Kompakt
An E Ink minimalist phone with offline maps, a music player, hotspot and a headphone jack. No browser or app store, though Android apps can be sideloaded.
- Touch
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Maps
- Battery: up to 6 days on standby
from $399
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Punkt MP02
Punkt's buttons-only phone for calls and texts, which can also share its internet as a hotspot. It can't install apps.
- Bar
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Battery: up to 7 days on standby
Out of stock. Get notified by Punkt. (punkt.ch)
from $299
Shortcuts
Who's the phone for?
- Their first phone Calls, texts and a way to reach you. No feeds, no app store. Phones for kids
- My escape from the scroll Keep maps or WhatsApp if you must. Lose the feed. Minimalist phones
- A phone for mum or dad Big buttons, a loud speaker and an SOS key. Easy-to-use phones
- Mud, rain and festivals Tough phones with batteries that last for days. Rugged phones
How we check
Three things decide whether a phone can call
Shops rarely say and networks bury it, so we look it up phone by phone and network by network, and link the source.
2G today
Does the phone fall back to 2G for calls, and does your network still run 2G?
Shared 4G bands
The phone and the network have to meet on the same frequencies.
4G calling
What matters once 2G is switched off, and the thing shops rarely mention.
- phones checked
- 14
- networks
- 17
- countries
- 20
- paid placements
- 0
A note from the founder
The opportunity to be bored was worth the trade-offs.
Why a plain phone?
Doomscrolling was a problem for me (still is when I get the chance to use social media), so I decided to take back my attention and my serenity by switching my primary phone to a minimalist phone. I added website blocking to my iPhone (which now has no data so can only be used on wifi), and let my family and friends know that good ol' SMS would be the way to reach me now.
This has completely broken my addiction to my phone and now I'm setting a better example for my kids and am able to think straight for even minutes at a time. If you're like me and worry about the state of the world and reach for the phone to keep "informed" about what is happening, then switching to a plain phone may be a great fit for you. But first, let's list the pluses of a smart phone and the downsides of a plain phone to see if it is good for you (which is what this is all about, making good choices for yourself and your happiness).
Smart phone pros
- Keep in touch with friends and family
- Can get support and admiration from your social media followers
- Find your way around without a map
- Can get an Uber
- Take photos and video to make good memories
- Use apps for productivity, e.g. banking, language learning, etc.
Plain phone cons
- No way (mostly) to use apps
- Knowing your way around town means you have to think
- SMS messaging is uncool and clunky
- You may be ignorant of what is happening in the world
- No social media followers
- No productivity apps, e.g. Uber, Duolingo, banking
- Being bored while waiting around, self-distraction becomes harder
- Can't sell on Facebook Marketplace
- Can't make good memories with photos and video
With all these pros for smart phones and cons for plain phones, this is not for everyone. But despite all this, for me the opportunity to be bored and to not feel the compulsion to check my feeds for the latest garbage the algorithms want to show me was worth the trade-offs.
Terry, PlainPhones