The Best Mobile Hotspots for 2024

Data as of 12/11/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

T-Mobile’s Inseego MiFi X PRO 5G is the most well-rounded hotspot you can get. It comes at the lowest price out of all the major 5G hotspots and connects up to 32 devices—way more than a phone or 4G hotspot can do. It connects uses Wi-Fi 6 (the latest wireless standard) to maintain strong and consistent Wi-Fi signals even when you’re using it with a large group.

The MiFi X PRO also comes with settings for guest networks, MAC filtering, and a security firewall—all of which you can adjust by logging in to the device’s interface from your browser. Just as importantly, the hotspot’s data plans are cheap and flexible: T-Mobile’s data options start at just $5 per month, and you can add extra data any time you run out.

T-Mobile has the largest 5G network in the United States. A recent report from Opensignal shows it gets the fastest average 5G speeds compared to Verizon and AT&T. And the MiFi X PRO is compatible with all 5G bands—so you can count on getting the fastest speeds possible from this little beast.

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Verizon’s MiFi M2100 5G UW is compact but sturdily built, with a touchscreen that makes it easy to switch on and adjust configurations. It’s a bit pricey compared to T-Mobile’s flagship 5G hotspot, but it still has the right Wi-Fi standards and components to ensure a fast and reliable connection.

The MiFi M2100 5G UW connects up to 30 devices, has a powerful battery, and comes with a USB-C port you can use to charge other phones and devices. And there are some great security settings, including the ability to set up a guest network for friends and other users.

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At 8.5 ounces, NETGEAR’s M1 4G LTE Mobile Router is chunkier than the Jetpack MiFi 8800L. And it’s not as user friendly since it doesn’t have a touchscreen. But it can get Wi-Fi to more devices and has more ports, including a USB-C port for charging your phone and an Ethernet port that gives your laptop a direct internet connection.

Another big plus with AT&T is that you can get a ton of data. AT&T’s best hotspot service plan hooks it up with 100GB of data for $90 per month—it’s rare to find hotspot plans that give you so much. To get the plan, look for AT&T’s prepaid hotspot data plan.

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OK, so $700 is a lot to pay for a hotspot. Most hotspots cost somewhere in the range of $100 to $300, so this is steep. But the Nighthawk M6—which is designed to work primarily over AT&T and T-Mobile networks—is one of the only 5G hotspots on the market right now with C-band 5G capability. And that gives it a lot of versatility, since millimeter-wave and C-band frequencies make it possible to get speeds of anywhere from 100Mbps to 1,000Mbps on a mobile device.

The Nighthawk M6 is formidable in other ways too. It employs Wi-Fi 6 to better manage multiple users and maintain strong speeds. The Ethernet port lets you set up a wired connection between your laptop and the hotspot. You can also use security features like VPN pass-through support and password protection. Inseego’s 5G hotspots are still a better bet if you’re on the T-Mobile or Verizon network, but go with the M6 if you’re an AT&T customer.

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The LINKZONE is a basic device that works best for occasional hotspot use and one or two users. Its microchip components aren’t top of the line, so it may not hit the same speeds you could normally get on a phone on T-Mobile’s network. But it still can get you speeds of around 30Mbps in areas with strong cell service, and the powerful battery reportedly lasts up to 16 hours.

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The elaborately-named E5577-320 is a basic unlocked hotspot that gives you data over cellular networks in Europe, most of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Just get a SIM card from an international provider while you’re traveling and the device can get you sweet Wi-Fi.

The device has an outdated Wi-Fi standard (802.11n), which means you aren’t going to get the fastest speeds. But a device like this is your safest bet for international travel because it doesn’t cost too much and works with a wide number of providers. We recommend this any day over a locked hotspot like the Skyroam Solis, which uses its own data plan and doesn’t work as reliably.

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The GlocalMe G4 Pro is big and clunky, but it’s very easy to use—it looks a bit like a smartphone with a big touchscreen and pre-installed Google Maps app. You don’t need a SIM card with this hotspot; the device uses so-called CloudSIM technology to get you internet from a range of cellular providers. GlocalMe has its own data plans that you need to buy to stay connected.

Those data plans are pretty expensive, unfortunately. But the device works in both the United States and overseas, so it could make for a useful travel hotspot. Mainly we like it because it’s so user friendly and easy to set up.