Deutsche Telekom is a massive telecommunications company providing service in the US with T-Mobile and across Europe. That includes Germany, home to the Telekom brand. With identical branding, you might guess that Telekom and T-Mobile have similar data options, but their plans have little in common. While Telekom is one of the more expensive options in Germany, it also has some of the best coverage, with 5G reaching most of the country. T-Mobile is also a 5G leader with the best 5G coverage in the US and a variety of data plans, but there are several differences in plans and features.
✕ Remove Ads What kind of coverage do they have? Both carriers offer strong 5G coverage with fast speeds
When shopping for a new wireless provider in the US, you're bombarded by ads from each of the Big Three carriers talking about their 5G coverage. When it comes to the numbers from Ookla's Speedtest, T-Mobile stands out as the top performer. AT&T and Verizon still have advantages, especially in rural areas, but T-Mobile and its prepaid carriers have some of the best values in wireless.
Related T-Mobile's biggest competition is the MVNOs that use its 5G network
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T-Mobile's coverage map shows that most of the country's towns and cities have solid 5G coverage, with many getting fast mid-band coverage called Ultra Capacity 5G. Similarly, Telekom's coverage map shows strong 5G coverage across Germany, with LTE filling in most of the gaps 5G hasn't reached. Vodafone's 5G map shows strong nationwide coverage, so you have coverage options in Germany.
T-Mobile uses a combination of 5G bands for its network, but most of the heavy lifting is done with bands n71 (600MHz) for long-range coverage and n41 (2.5GHz) for faster mid-band coverage. If you bring a phone to T-Mobile, you'll want it to support both n71 and n41 at the very least. Telekom uses frequencies at 2.1GHz for coverage and 3.6GHz for faster 5G speeds. With most Telekom plans limited to 300Mbps, this spectrum should be more than adequate.
These carriers also use some of their other spectrum for 5G as needed as customers upgrade to 5G-capable phones.
How do the plans compare? Did you miss two-year contracts? Telekom still has them ✕ Remove Ads
When it comes to plans, it's tough to compare the two. T-Mobile has done away with contracts, and they're still a major component at Telekom. T-Mobile offers several unlimited plans with smaller limited data plans that are primarily limited to prepaid. While unlimited can be nice for some peace of mind, you may not need that much data, especially if you use Wi-Fi at home.
At the time of writing, $1 is worth about 0.96€, so the plan pricing is easy to compare.
T-Mobile's primary budget plan, Essentials, costs $50 per month for a single line. You can save per line by bringing multiple lines. Thanks to a promotion, Essentials is $100 per month with four lines. Taxes and fees are extra on this plan, so you'll pay a few extra dollars on your final bill.
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This plan gets unlimited data, but only 50GB is premium data, which helps data stay fast, even on a congested tower. Premium data is one of the main ways US carriers differentiate their plans. For most people, this isn't a big deal. This plan also limits streaming video quality to 480p on most apps. For international data, it only gets basic usage in Mexico and Canada.
Moving up, Go5G is one of the best T-Mobile plans with 100GB of premium data (which is plenty for most people), 15GB of mobile hotspot data, and video streaming up to 720p. This plan starts at $75 per month for a single line or $155 per month for four lines. Taxes and fees are included in the price at lease. Moving up from here, two plans, Go5G Plus and Go5G Next, build upon Go5G with unlimited premium data, more hotspot data, and better phone upgrade discounts.
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Telekom's plans are simpler with MagentaMobil Basic (5GB), MagentaMobil S (20GB), MagentaMobil M (40GB), MagentaMobil L (80GB), and MagentaMobil XL (unlimited). These plans are also available with no contract as Flex Version. The standard plans include a cash-back redemption at the end of the contract. If you stick around for a while, it could be worth it.
MagentaMobil Basic comes with 5GB of data, download speeds of up to 300Mbps, and upload speeds of 50Mbps. If you use all of your data, you still get a basic connection at 64Kbps, which is only suitable for messaging. This plan is reasonably cheap, at 24.95€ per month.
Most users don't need the 80GB or unlimited plans if they have decent Wi-Fi at home. The sweet spot for many will be the 40GB plan that comes in at 49.95€. If you use a lot of data, track down one of Telekom's HotSpots, which are Wi-Fi connections scattered around the country. Check Telekom's HotSpot map to see where these are available.
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Telekom's plans include roaming in Switzerland and the UK. Other plans, like MagentaMobil XL, offer 58GB of data roaming in the rest of Europe, with 5GB of data worldwide.
One nice thing about Telekom is that, like T-Mobile, you can save by bringing multiple lines. The first line costs 49.95€ on the 40GB plan, and the second line costs 19.95€. If you have someone under 18, they can get a line for 9.95€. There is also a set of Magenta Mobil Young plans for those between 18 and 28 that are around 10€ cheaper.
Which carrier has the best deals on new phones? T-Mobile's payment plans make flagship phones more accessible
When it comes to phone support, both carriers support a range of Android devices and iPhones. The biggest difference comes down to how you pay for those phones. You can buy a phone from Telekom with no contract, but if you get it with a plan, you get a contract, too.
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You're responsible for the full cost of the device, which is where the cash-back options included with the plans come in. You get more cash back at the end of your contract with one of the bigger plans. Some phones offer a trade-in bonus for your old phone, such as the Pixel 9 Pro, with a 200€ bonus on trade-ins.
T-Mobile offers similar promotions, though the best deals on new phones are only available with top plans like Go5G Next. T-Mobile uses 24-month payment plans, which aren't contracts, to keep people around. The carrier offers steep discounts on new phones, though these discounts are distributed one at a time over 24 months, and if you want to pay the phone off early, you won't get the discounts. Whether this is better than a contract is up to you. However, before you upgrade your plan to get a new phone, follow our tips to get the best value.
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