I think it really depends on where you are (obviously) and the going rates for that country/region, but also what you value in service. I had Cricket (a prepaid subsidiary of AT&T and used their network) and I was in a group with some family members (4/$100 unlimited, but speed-capped to 8Mbps). Honestly, it worked really well and the way the discounts went, my line was $10/month ($55 + $25 + $10 + $10 is how they did it). I didn't have HD video or hotspot, but coverage was good and speeds were snappy enough for most things.
Unfortunately, with some of the tower upgrades, AT&T broke things near where I work and when someone lands on LTE Band 12/17 on the particular AT&T panel/tower (no matter what plan or service), data doesn't flow and calls don't work. A few of us tried to report the issue to AT&T, Cricket, etc. and not much got done (even an FCC complaint from someone didn't do much), so I decided that I'd split my line off and try someone else. It's not a deprioritization issue either, as it's always broken.
T-Mobile's Connect plans look really good, but the influx of Sprint customers and one tower only doing LTE Band 12 means things are always congested on the one side of town where I work (at home and where I do most shopping and everything else, things are great). I suspect T-Mobile will eventually improve this as they integrate spectrum and replace Sprint assets, but for now, it's not going to really work.
Because of that, I'm trying out Verizon prepaid, on their 15GB plan that starts at $50/month, drops to $45 with autopay (credit or debit is fine, unlike postpaid), and then drops to $40 after 3 months, $35 after 9 months. I may downgrade to the 5GB plan, which will ultimately drop to $25/month, but they had a port-in promo offering $60 back on the 15GB plan if I kept it for 2 months. So far, things seem good.
I'll probably keep my eSIM available for Airalo, T-Mobile, or something else when I eventually can travel again.
(Yes, I'm aware Visible is an option, but when I tried it, there were still some flaky moments, and I'd prefer to have access to Verizon's LTEiRA services, not to mention discounted refill cards at Target.)
Looks like you are saving a little from the switch.
