Verizon knows it’s great, so it charges more than most other carriers for its service. Lucky for you, there are cheaper ways to get on the Verizon network. In this review, we’ll tell which MVNOs use Verizon’s network and which ones have cell phone plans we like.
Best value: Visible Wireless is changing the prepaid wireless industry for the better. If you’re looking for a stripped down plan with tons of data on the nation’s best network, Visible’s $45 unlimited plan is unbeatable. Best bundle: Xfinity Mobile offers great savings for existing Xfinity internet customers. Best for your budget: Red Pocket Mobile is the carrier for those who don’t actually intend to use their phone much and just want to keep their bill low. Best for charitable giving: Reach Mobile helps you help others by investing a portion of your bill in its Give Back program, which gives phones and cell service to folks across the world. Best for low-data users: If you don’t blow through more than 20 GBs a month in mobile data, then Twigby may be a great, cheap alternative to Verizon itself.
Sure, Visible doesn’t give you a free subscription to HBO (like some AT&T plans do), but its Basic Unlimited plan offering is robust: you get truly unlimited data on the nation’s most powerful network for just $30 a month. That’s a steal compared to almost any other plan on the market. So, what’s the catch? The unlimited plan from Visible is subject to deprioritization, which means your data speeds can slow down when the network gets congested. Technically, there’s no hard data cap with Visible’s unlimited plans, but you might notice your data speeds slowing down on your commute home from work. If you want to avoid data throttling, you can go with the Visible+ unlimited plan that gives users 50 GB of guaranteed high-speed data every month. It’ll cost you an extra $15/month for the premium data, but at least you won’t have to worry about your phone becoming useless in a crowded grocery store. Read Full Visible Wireless Review | View Visible Wireless Plans If you are eligible for Xfinity Mobile, it’s a pretty great deal. Just check out the company’s plan offerings. With Xfinity Mobile’s unlimited plan you’ll get 20 GB of unthrottled data before you start experiencing slowdowns. You can use your data on Xfinity Mobile to create your own hotspot. Read Full Xfinity Mobile Review | View Xfinity Mobile Plans Because Verizon has great coverage, we’re recommending Red Pocket as a great way to get on the Verizon 4G LTE network for cheap. Here are some Red Pocket plans specifically for the Verizon network. Read Full Red Pocket Mobile Review | View Red Pocket Mobile Plans But it’s not just the warm fuzzy feeling in your heart that makes Reach a good carrier. This Verizon MVNO also boasts a pretty decent plan selection. Reach’s Unlimited Data Plans are a bit less of a steal, but, then again, most MVNOs aren’t donating a portion of their profits to help needy folks get cell phones. Read Full Reach Mobile Review | View Reach Mobile Plans Read Full Twigby Review | View Twigby Plans Here’s a look at Total by Verizon’s plan options. Just be sure that your boo doesn’t waste all that high speed data playing PUBG Mobile or streaming The Last of Us on HBO Max. If you’re just looking for a simple plan that offers the basics, you can get the “The $12” plan from Page Plus. You’ll get 500 minutes, 500 texts, and just a smidge of data for emergency Google Maps needs. If you need more than that, you’ll have plenty of options. Carriers that use Verizon’s network along with other networks:
Red Pocket Twigby Ting Spectrum Wireless Pix Wireless Tracfone Net10 Straight Talk US Mobile CREDO
We’ll spare you an in-depth analysis of all nine carriers. We’ve got a TL;DR recap here instead. Red Pocket is a great budget carrier for those who just want a bare bones talk and text plan. Pix Wireless has pay as you go plans that will work well for folks who don’t know exactly how much data they’ll want each month. Straight Talk has good unlimited data plans, while Tracfone excels with unconventional, low-data plans (like a yearly prepaid plan with 1,500 minutes). Here’s a look at how the most popular plan on each of these carriers compares.
Best value: Visible Wireless is changing the prepaid wireless industry for the better. If you’re looking for a stripped down plan with tons of data on the nation’s best network, Visible’s $45 unlimited plan is unbeatable. Best bundle: Xfinity Mobile offers great savings for existing Xfinity internet customers. Best for your budget: Red Pocket Mobile is the carrier for those who don’t actually intend to use their phone much and just want to keep their bill low. Best for charitable giving: Reach Mobile helps you help others by investing a portion of your bill in its Gigs that Give program, which gives phones and cell service to folks across the world. Best for low-data users: If you don’t blow through more than 10 GBs a month in mobile data, then Twigby may be a great, cheap alternative to Verizon itself.
There are certain benefits (like cheap prices) and drawbacks (slower data speeds) to signing up with an MVNO. You can read our review of the best Verizon MVNOs in the article above. While it might seem strange that Verizon would own a competing carrier, it actually makes a lot of sense. The MVNO market is growing fast, and customers are looking for cheaper plans (much cheaper than Verizon’s prepaid plans). If Verizon didn’t get in the game itself, it would be missing out on a huge customer base. Verizon’s prepaid phones are usually locked for a longer period of time (often 12 months). You can learn more about unlocking these devices. In recent years phone technology has changed significantly. Thankfully, the whole CDMA vs. GSM thing has mostly gone the way of the dinosaurs. So, if you bought your Verizon phone recently, then it’s probably compatible with every network as long as the device is unlocked. Now, things can get a bit sticky here. Sometimes, if you cross the border into Canada or Mexico, your Verizon phone may switch to another carrier’s network. This can cause roaming charges (or, if your Verizon plan has international perks, you may be fine). Verizon also has several different networks: 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, 5G nationwide, and millimeter wave 5G. These are different generations of mobile technology, 3G being the slowest currently in use and millimeter wave 5G being the fastest. Your phone may switch between these networks, depending on where you are, what kind of phone you use, and what plan you have. LTE stands for “long-term evolution,” which is just a fancy way of saying that it’s a faster and stronger form of 4G network. So, LTE is a good thing. It’s the best kind of mobile network you can be connected to besides 5G, which is still quite rare across the united states. First of all: is your phone unlocked? Or is it still tied to another network? If you bought your phone with another carrier—like AT&T or T-Mobile—then you might have to unlock it (or get a new phone altogether) before it will work on Verizon’s network. But even some unlocked phones will have issues if they don’t use the right phone technology. Many older phones only operate on GSM or CDMA networks. If you use an older phone (anything that wasn’t made in the last five or so years), then you’ll need to figure out which kind of technology it uses. If your phone is not equipped with CDMA technology, then it will never work on Verizon’s network. But what about deals for existing customers? Unfortunately, Verizon’s tends to offer existing customers a lot less. You can still get some cash towards a new phone when you trade in your old one, but it won’t be nearly as much as you’d get if you add a new line or are a new customer. You can learn more about the specific deals Verizon is running right now for existing customers by visiting the company’s deals page. You can read our full review of the best T-Mobile MVNO plans to learn more.
Mint Mobile: Mint’s talk, text, and data plans are simple, affordable, and easy to sign up for. Mint uses T-Mobile’s network, which currently ranks number one for data speeds and 5G coverage! Visible Wireless: Visible offers a powerful $30 unlimited data plan that’s a great way to get onto Verizon’s network. But it’s even better when you add additional lines with Visible’s Bring a Friend code. Your bill can go down as low as $25/line for unlimited talk, text, and data!US Mobile: If you just want a super-cheap talk and text plan without any bells and whistles, then US Mobile is the way to go. You can get service for as low as $3 a month!
Basically, MVNOs are cheaper than the Big Three carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon) because they don’t have to carry the burden of building and maintaining a whole mobile network. Instead, they just lease the bandwidth from the major carriers and use it to provide cheap service to their customers. The drawback to this model is that MVNOs are kicked to the back of the line when it comes to network performance. The main carriers are always going to give their own customers the best data speeds and overall performance on their network. In practice, this means that MVNO customers will often see slower data speeds even when they are in an area with strong coverage. Another way that MVNOs cut corners is with extra features and phone deals. Bigger carriers often give you hotspot data, free streaming subscriptions, and other cool perks with your plan. These pricier carriers also tend to offer the best deals on new phones and phone upgrades. But, if you’re willing to bring your own phone, miss out on special perks, and deal with sometimes sluggish data speeds, then MVNOs can be an amazing way to save money. Customers aren’t likely to see data speeds get much faster than this with any carrier until the rollout of 5G arrives.
