Newsletter
Last updated: October 16, 2023
For many people, Verizon is seen as the best wireless carrier in the US, based on their speeds and coverage across the country. Verizon also has a number of different plans available that you can choose from, ranging from around $40 per month, all the way up to $100 per month. That is a pretty big gap, so we are here to help you decide on the best plan for yourself.
In this article, we are going to detail the best postpaid plan, the best prepaid plan and the best MVNO carrier’s plan. As well as the best plan for those that do a lot of traveling and need a big data cap, or those that want their streaming services included in their monthly bill. So without further ado, let’s get started.
Postpaid vs Prepaid vs MVNO
Before we get started, it’s important to talk about the differences between Postpaid, Prepaid and MVNO. Postpaid are customers that pay for their service after they have received it. That means your final bill will be larger than your first bill. Prepaid essentially means that you pay for your service before you receive it. And MVNO stands for Mobile Virtual Network Operator, they essentially buy access to Verizon’s network at wholesale rates. Which is why it can be a lot cheaper than getting a postpaid plan.
When it comes to coverage, all three will offer the same coverage, if they are on the same network. The difference here is going to be in busy areas. On a network tower, Postpaid customers get priority, followed by prepaid customers. MVNO customers are at the very bottom, however a Verizon-owned MVNO may be a bit higher than other MVNO’s, as it’s still a Verizon company. Visible is one that is owned by Verizon.
Smartphone selection is another difference here. While postpaid customers get access to almost all smartphones that are available, prepaid and MVNO’s have far fewer options for customers. They also usually do not offer any financing, so you’d need to go through a third-party, like Samsung (and buy unlocked).
Now that you know the difference between postpaid, prepaid and MVNO, let’s get started.
Best Overall Verizon Plan: Unlimited Plus
Verizon has announced new plans – Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Welcome – which will go into effect starting on May 18, 2023. This brings the number of plans from six down to just two. Basically, what Verizon has done, is stripped out the perks. So the options are either truly unlimited data with Ultra Wideband and C-Band, or unlimited 5G data that can be throttled at any time.
Perks are now going to be added to your account for $10 per month, per perk. Each perk is more than $10 so you are saving money on all of them.
Unlimited Plus is the best option here, overall at Verizon now. This is because you get truly unlimited data, with no throttling at all. It also includes Verizon’s fastest speeds as seen on C-Band and mmWave, which Verizon calls Ultra Wideband.
So what perks are available? Verizon has a load of perks available with these new plans. As outlined below.
- Disney Bundle
- 100GB Mobile Hotspot
- Apple One
- Walmart+ Membership
- Apple Music Family
- Smartwatch Data & Safety
- +play Monthly Credit
- 3 TravelPass Days
- 2TB Cloud Storage
These are all $10 per month. So you can add as many, or as few as you want to your bill. Allowing you to customize which perks you get, is a pretty big deal.
Pricing here starts at $80 per month for a single line, and drops down to $42 per line, for five lines.
Best inexpensive Verizon Plan: Unlimited Welcome
Unlimited Welcome isn’t really “inexpensive” but when it comes to postpaid plans, it is the cheapest over at Verizon. It starts at $65 per month for a single line, and drops down to $27 per line for five lines. What’s interesting here is that three lines are $40/line, while four lines are $30/line. So effectively the same price whether you have three or four lines.
With Unlimited Welcome, you get unlimited data, talk and text. And that’s it. There’s no support for C-Band or Ultra Wideband here, and you could get throttled at anytime, when the network is congested. So do keep that in mind if you do travel in busy areas. As you may not really be able to use your phone.
Best Verizon Prepaid plan: Unlimited
For Verizon’s prepaid plans, there are less options than with Postpaid. But we feel that “Unlimited” is the best plan. This plan is going to cost you $65/month. However, the longer you stay with Verizon prepaid, the more you’ll get off of your bill. After two months, you’ll save $5 per month, at month four, that jumps to $10 off. And at 10 months, you can save $15 per month, bringing it down to $50 per month.
Like most prepaid plans, there’s not many gimmicks or features included here. You’re basically getting talk, text and data and that’s it. So let’s run it down. You’ll get unlimited talk and text, plus unlimited data which includes 5G (not 5G Ultra Wideband, that’s available on Unlimited Plus). Mobile hotspot is not included, but you can add that for $5 more per month. And finally, you get unlimited talk, text and data to and from Mexico and Canada.
Best Verizon MVNO: Visible
Visible is actually a full service carrier, but runs on Verizon’s network. So it’s sort of a hybrid of a regular carrier and a MVNO. They offer a really great deal. Visible’s plans are pretty simple, there’s really only one plan which includes unlimited talk, text and data for $40/month. You do get unlimited 5G here, though Visible does not yet have Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband available.
If $40 sounds like too much, Visible does have ways to bring that down to $25/month. Like Party Pay, where you can join a party of at least four and pay only $25/month for service. Or you can bring a friend over to Visible and get a month of service for $5. With Party Pay, you can join complete strangers, and you’ll both save money.
Visible also offers a free trial of its service for 15 days. Which lets you test out the service first before switching.