Apple does not make a kids Apple Watch. What it makes is a way to give a child a cellular Apple Watch that works on its own, without the child owning an iPhone, and the part nobody explains properly is the plan. Get that wrong and the watch is an expensive step counter that goes quiet the moment your kid walks out the door.
So this page only covers plans a child can actually use. That means standalone plans, where the watch has its own number and its own data. The cheaper plans you see advertised are almost always companion plans, which share a phone’s number and assume the person wearing the watch is also carrying that phone. Perfect for an adult. Useless for a seven-year-old. We checked 26 carriers and 9 plans survived that test.
The short answer
-
Cheapest over a year
$78
US Mobile
First-year total with taxes and any activation fee included. Several carriers advertise less and charge more.
-
Cheapest sticker price
$6.50/mo
US Mobile
Lowest advertised price among the plans confirmed to work with an Apple Watch. Check the real-cost column before treating it as the cheapest.
-
No phone line needed
$6.50/mo
Better Roaming and US Mobile
Only two of the seven carriers here are confirmed not to need a phone line on the account. For a child with no phone, this is the column that matters.
-
Cheapest paid yearly
$8.25/mo
Better Roaming
$99 up front instead of $9.50 a month, saving about $15 over the year. Most carriers here offer no annual option at all, and one prices it at exactly twelve monthly payments.
Every standalone Apple Watch plan, compared
Sorted by what you actually pay each month, surcharges included, because a plan with a separate monthly fee is not the price on the label. Carrier names link down to the full record.
- Standalone
- The watch gets its own number and its own data. This is the only kind of plan a child can use without carrying a phone.
- Phone line needed
- Whether the carrier requires an active phone line on the account, separate from the watch line.
- Real monthly cost
- The advertised price plus any recurring surcharge the carrier bills separately.
- Carrier does not say
- The carrier does not publish this. It is not a no, and it is not a zero.
| Carrier | Plan | Advertised | What you actually pay | Estimated all-in in NYC | Phone line needed? | Data | Taxes and fees | Activation fee | Works with Apple Watch? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Mobile | Standalone Plan | $6.50/mo Standard rate |
$6.50 taxes included |
$6.50 taxes and fees are already in this price, so nothing is added |
No | unlimited | Included | None | Yes |
| Better Roaming | Apple Watch For Your Kids (United States) | $9.50/mo Standard rate |
$9.50 taxes included |
$9.50 taxes and fees are already in this price, so nothing is added |
No | unlimited | Included | Carrier does not say | Yes |
| Xfinity Mobile | Smartwatch Data Plan (Standalone) | $10/mo Standard rate |
$10 | $14.98 to $15.15 estimated for New York City |
Yes | 5GB high-speed then max 5Mbps/2Mbps | Extra | Carrier does not say | Yes |
| T-Mobile | Watch Plan 2.0 | $10/mo Conditional rate |
$12.60 to $12.80 estimated with tax |
$14.98 to $15.15 estimated for New York City |
Carrier does not say | unlimited high-speed | Extra | $35 | Yes |
| Verizon | Prepaid Standalone Connected Smartwatch | $10/mo Standard rate |
$12.60 to $12.80 estimated with tax |
$14.98 to $15.15 estimated for New York City |
Carrier does not say | unlimited 5G/4G LTE, 15GB high speed then up to 600 Kbps | Extra | Carrier does not say | Yes |
| Nex-Tech Wireless | Watch Plan | $10/mo Standard rate |
$15.10 to $15.30 estimated with tax |
Not sold in New York City Kansas only |
Carrier does not say | unlimited, reduced to 3G after 22GB in-area/5GB out-of-area | Extra | $10 | Carrier does not say |
| T-Mobile | Watch Plan Plus 2.0 | $15/mo Conditional rate |
$18.90 to $19.20 estimated with tax |
$21.12 to $21.37 estimated for New York City |
Carrier does not say | unlimited high-speed + intl | Extra | $35 | Yes |
| Nex-Tech Wireless | Watch Plan + Phone Guard | $16/mo Standard rate |
$22.66 to $22.98 estimated with tax |
Not sold in New York City Kansas only |
Carrier does not say | unlimited, reduced to 3G after 22GB in-area/5GB out-of-area | Extra | $10 | Carrier does not say |
| C Spire | Connect & Protect Wearable Plan | $20/mo Standard rate |
$23.43 | Not sold in New York City Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee only |
Yes | 2GB high-speed then unlimited | Extra | $30 | Yes |
About the New York City column. Carriers publish a price and then add tax, so the only honest way to show what a plan costs is to work it out for a real place. New York City is used because it is one of the most heavily taxed places in the US, which makes it a worst case rather than a guess: roughly 8.9% sales tax, a federal Universal Service charge that moves every quarter, and $2.70 a month in fixed 911 surcharges that are charged per line no matter how cheap the line is. That fixed part is why a $5 watch plan looks proportionally worse than a $50 phone plan. Your own bill depends on your address and will usually be lower. The advertised price is what the carrier charges before any of this, and where a carrier has not said whether tax is added we leave the estimate out rather than guess.
How to read that table
“Phone line needed” is the column to read first, and it is the one most guides skip. A standalone plan gives the watch its own number, but that is a separate question from whether the carrier will sell you the watch line at all without a phone line sitting next to it. Of the 7 plans here that confirm Apple Watch support, two need no phone line on the account, two do, and three will not say.
There is a second requirement underneath that one, and it catches people out. Even a plan needing no phone line still needs an iPhone once, to run Apple’s setup and to manage the watch afterwards. That is normally the parent’s phone. What a child does not need is an iPhone of their own, which is the whole point.
Read the “what you actually pay” column, not the advertised one. Taxes and surcharges, a carrier’s own recurring fee and a one-time activation charge all sit outside the headline price, and together they can reorder this table. Where a carrier will not say how it treats tax, that column stays blank rather than pretending the price is all-in: every plan here confirms its tax treatment.
Watch the fees too. C Spire, Nex-Tech Wireless and T-Mobile add an activation charge, a separate monthly fee, or both, none of which appear in the advertised price. That is why the table carries a real monthly cost column.
What Family Setup is, and where it stops
Family Setup is Apple’s answer to the obvious problem: an Apple Watch normally pairs to an iPhone, and a child does not have one. With Family Setup, a parent pairs the watch to their own iPhone, and the watch then runs independently with its own number, its own data and its own Apple ID. You manage it from your phone. Your child never touches one.
What you get is genuinely useful for a kid: calls and messages to a list you approve, location sharing, and Schooltime, which locks the watch down during class hours. What you do not get is the full watch. Several health and sensor features are off limits on a Family Setup watch, and some have age restrictions regardless of setup. If a specific feature is the reason you are buying, check it against Apple’s own documentation before you commit, because the available list changes with each watchOS release and we will not guess at it here.
The hardware requirement is the one thing worth confirming before you spend anything: Family Setup needs a GPS + Cellular watch. A GPS-only model cannot do this at all, and cellular cannot be added later, so it is a buying decision rather than a setting. Carriers also set their own model floors, which are listed on each plan below where the carrier states one.
For the step-by-step, we have a separate guide on setting up an Apple Watch for your kids, and another on what Family Setup costs and covers.
Plan by plan
Everything each carrier publishes, with the conditions that change the price. Every plan links out to the carrier’s own page so you can check it yourself, and every one carries the date we last read it.
US Mobile
Standalone Plan
$6.50/monthStandard rate
Or $78 a year, which works out to $6.50/month.
Drops to Free if you qualify.
- Standalone
- No phone line needed
- Taxes included
What the child gets
- Data
- unlimited
- Unlimited talk and text
- Yes
- Own phone number
- Yes, this is a standalone plan
- Supported watches
- Apple
What it costs and requires
- Real monthly cost
- $6.50
- Taxes and fees
- Included in the price
- Activation fee
- None
- Contract required
- No
- What you need already
- No phone line needed on the account. An iPhone is still required once, to set the watch up.
Source: US Mobile smartwatch plans · Checked
Better Roaming
Not a traditional carrier. An eSIM reseller selling Apple Watch Family Setup access.
Apple Watch For Your Kids (United States)
$9.50/monthStandard rate
Or $99 a year, which works out to $8.25/month.
- Standalone
- No phone line needed
- Taxes included
What the child gets
- Data
- unlimited
- Unlimited talk and text
- Yes
- Own phone number
- Yes, this is a standalone plan
- Supported watches
- Apple
What it costs and requires
- Real monthly cost
- $9.50
- Taxes and fees
- Included in the price
- Contract required
- No
- What you need already
- No phone line needed on the account. An iPhone is still required once, to set the watch up.
Source: Better Roaming smartwatch plans · Checked
T-Mobile
Watch Plan 2.0
$10/monthConditional rate
- Standalone
- Taxes extra
What the child gets
- Data
- unlimited high-speed
- Unlimited talk and text
- Yes
- Own phone number
- Yes, this is a standalone plan
- Supported watches
- Apple, Samsung
What it costs and requires
- Real monthly cost
- $12.60
- Taxes and fees
- Not included, charged on top
- Activation fee
- $35
- Requires AutoPay
- Yes
- What you need already
- This carrier does not say whether you need a phone line with them. Ask before you buy, because it changes the real monthly cost.
Source: T-Mobile smartwatch plans · Checked
Watch Plan Plus 2.0
$15/monthConditional rate
- Standalone
- Taxes extra
What the child gets
- Data
- unlimited high-speed + intl
- Unlimited talk and text
- Yes
- Own phone number
- Yes, this is a standalone plan
- Supported watches
- Apple, Samsung
What it costs and requires
- Real monthly cost
- $18.90
- Taxes and fees
- Not included, charged on top
- Activation fee
- $35
- Requires AutoPay
- Yes
- What you need already
- This carrier does not say whether you need a phone line with them. Ask before you buy, because it changes the real monthly cost.
Source: T-Mobile smartwatch plans · Checked
Xfinity Mobile
Smartwatch Data Plan (Standalone)
$10/monthStandard rate
- Standalone
- Phone line required
- Taxes extra
What the child gets
- Data
- 5GB high-speed then max 5Mbps/2Mbps
- Unlimited talk and text
- Yes
- Own phone number
- Yes, this is a standalone plan
- Supported watches
- Apple, Samsung
What it costs and requires
- Real monthly cost
- $10
- Taxes and fees
- Not included, charged on top
- What you need already
- An active phone line with this carrier is required on the account, on top of the watch line.
Source: Xfinity Mobile smartwatch plans · Checked
Nex-Tech Wireless
Regional carrier based in Kansas.
Watch Plan
$10/monthStandard rate
Plus $2.50/month Telecom Fee, so the real cost is $15.10/month.
- Standalone
- Taxes extra
- Apple Watch support unconfirmed
- Regional
What the child gets
- Data
- unlimited, reduced to 3G after 22GB in-area/5GB out-of-area
- Unlimited talk and text
- Yes
- Own phone number
- Yes, this is a standalone plan
- Supported watches
- Carrier does not say
What it costs and requires
- Real monthly cost
- $15.10
- Taxes and fees
- Not included, charged on top
- Activation fee
- $10
- What you need already
- This carrier does not say whether you need a phone line with them. Ask before you buy, because it changes the real monthly cost.
Source: Nex-Tech Wireless smartwatch plans · Checked
Watch Plan + Phone Guard
$16/monthStandard rate
Plus $2.50/month Telecom Fee, so the real cost is $22.66/month.
- Standalone
- Taxes extra
- Apple Watch support unconfirmed
- Regional
What the child gets
- Data
- unlimited, reduced to 3G after 22GB in-area/5GB out-of-area
- Unlimited talk and text
- Yes
- Own phone number
- Yes, this is a standalone plan
- Supported watches
- Carrier does not say
What it costs and requires
- Real monthly cost
- $22.66
- Taxes and fees
- Not included, charged on top
- Activation fee
- $10
- What you need already
- This carrier does not say whether you need a phone line with them. Ask before you buy, because it changes the real monthly cost.
Source: Nex-Tech Wireless smartwatch plans · Checked
Verizon
Prepaid Standalone Connected Smartwatch
$10/monthStandard rate
- Standalone
- Taxes extra
What the child gets
- Data
- unlimited 5G/4G LTE, 15GB high speed then up to 600 Kbps
- Unlimited talk and text
- Yes
- Own phone number
- Yes, this is a standalone plan
- Supported watches
- Apple, Android
What it costs and requires
- Real monthly cost
- $12.60
- Taxes and fees
- Not included, charged on top
- What you need already
- This carrier does not say whether you need a phone line with them. Ask before you buy, because it changes the real monthly cost.
Source: Verizon smartwatch plans · Checked
C Spire
Regional carrier covering Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
Connect & Protect Wearable Plan
$20/monthStandard rate
Plus $3.43/month Administrative Recovery Charge $2.94 plus Regulatory Recovery Charge $0.49, from its FCC Broadband Facts label, so the real cost is $23.43/month.
- Standalone
- Phone line required
- Taxes extra
- Regional
What the child gets
- Data
- 2GB high-speed then unlimited
- Unlimited talk and text
- Yes
- Own phone number
- Yes, this is a standalone plan
- Supported watches
- Apple
What it costs and requires
- Real monthly cost
- $23.43
- Taxes and fees
- Not included, charged on top
- Activation fee
- $30
- Contract required
- No
- Requires AutoPay
- No
- What you need already
- An active phone line with this carrier is required on the account, on top of the watch line.
Source: C Spire smartwatch plans · Checked
Budgeting for the whole thing, watch and insurance included? Our guide to how much an Apple Watch costs per month adds it all up, including what a child’s watch costs each month.
Buying for yourself, not a child?
Then you probably want the opposite of this page. If the watch is for you and your iPhone is usually in your pocket, a companion plan shares your existing number and costs less. We ruled out 17 of them here purely because a child cannot use one alone, not because they are bad. Several are cheaper than everything on this page.
Methodology and sources
Every price came off the carrier’s own website on the date shown next to it. No review sites, no deals blogs, no roundups. Each plan links back to the page it came from so you can check us.
A plan is on this page only if the carrier sells it as standalone, meaning the watch gets its own number and its own data. Companion plans are excluded because a child who is not carrying the paired phone cannot use one, however cheap it looks.
Where a carrier will not say something, this page says so rather than filling the gap. That includes whether a phone line is required, which several carriers leave unstated, and whether Apple Watch is supported at all, which is why two plans here carry a warning instead of a recommendation.
US Mobile publishes this page and sells one of the plans on it. Competitors are listed on the same terms as our own plan, with the same fields, and they are not left out for being cheaper on any measure.
Prices change without warning and this page is re-checked monthly. Found something wrong? Tell us and we will re-check it against the carrier and correct the row.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an Apple Watch for kids?
Not as a separate product. Apple does not sell a kids model. What it sells is Family Setup, a way to give a child a standard cellular Apple Watch that runs on its own number, managed from a parent’s iPhone. The watch has to be a GPS + Cellular model, and it needs its own plan.
How does an Apple Watch work for a kid without an iPhone?
Through Family Setup. A parent pairs the watch to their iPhone once, and from then on the watch has its own number, its own data and its own Apple ID. The child never needs a phone. The parent keeps control of contacts, location sharing and Schooltime from their own device.
What plan does a kid’s Apple Watch need?
A standalone plan, where the watch gets its own number rather than sharing a phone’s. Of the plans we checked, 9 qualify, from $6.50/mo. Companion plans are cheaper but useless here: they assume whoever wears the watch is also carrying the paired phone.
How much does a kid’s Apple Watch plan cost?
$6.50 to $23.43 a month once separate fees are counted. US Mobile is cheapest at $6.50/mo. Watch for extras: some carriers add an activation charge or a separate monthly fee that is not in the advertised price. The watch itself is a separate purchase and its price is worth checking directly with Apple.
Do you need a phone line to add a kid’s Apple Watch?
It depends on the carrier, and this is the question that decides it for most parents. Better Roaming and US Mobile are confirmed not to need a phone line on the account. Others require an active line with them, and several will not say either way. An iPhone is still needed once for setup, but it can be the parent’s.
What are the limitations of Apple Watch Family Setup?
The watch works, but it is not a full Apple Watch. Some health and sensor features are unavailable on a Family Setup watch and some carry age restrictions regardless. The list shifts with each watchOS release, so if one specific feature is why you are buying, confirm it against Apple’s own documentation first.
Can a kid’s Apple Watch be on a different carrier from the parent’s phone?
Usually yes, because a standalone plan is its own line and does not share the phone’s number or data. Some carriers still want a phone line of their own on the account, which is a separate condition and is listed per plan above. Check that before assuming you can mix.
Is an Apple Watch safe for a child?
That depends far more on how it is set up than on the hardware. Family Setup gives a parent control over who can contact the watch, whether location is shared, and when the watch is locked down for school. Those controls live on the parent’s iPhone, not the child’s wrist, which is the part that makes it workable.
Which Apple Watch do I need for Family Setup?
It has to be a GPS + Cellular model. A GPS-only watch cannot join a carrier network at all and cellular cannot be added afterwards. Some carriers also set a minimum series, and where they state one it is on that carrier’s plan above. Confirm the exact model against Apple’s own compatibility list before you buy.
Can I track my kid’s Apple Watch?
Yes. Location sharing is part of Family Setup, and it is one of the main reasons parents buy one. It relies on the watch having a live cellular connection, which is the plan’s job, so a watch with no active line will not report its location once it leaves Wi-Fi.
Leave a Comment