Most smartphone data plans allow you to use your phone as a mobile hotspot, which means you can share that data connection with your computer and get your work done.

Using your phone as a hotspot makes the internet available just about anywhere and anytime. With 5G speeds thrown in, it’s a solution that rivals your office Wi-Fi.

No Wi-Fi? No problem. Use your phone to give your tablet, computer and other devices access to the internet.

When it comes to using your laptop on a train, or anywhere without WiFi, using your phone as a hotspot is a great solution. The only real downside: Computers soak up lots of data.

Below, we've highlighted what each of the major carriers offers for “unlimited” individual and family plans to help you figure out which unlimited plan is best for you, and your budget.

It's easy to send and receive messages using your WhatsApp account on a computer. You just need to take a few minutes to set it up.

If your data plan is extremely limited, or you use a cell phone carrier that does not allow simultaneous calls and data, you may choose to completely disable iMessage via the iOS settings.

So, instead of wasting your day away scrounging the internet for the most affordable phone plan with unlimited data, we've done the work for you.

How much data those apps use; however, can vary pretty dramatically. For people with limited plans, staying on top of which apps are using up data on your phone is pretty important.