The best Verizon plan for you will depend on many factors. For example, are you a single user on a budget? Perhaps you’re looking for a family-friendly plan. Well, whatever your needs, we’ve covered all your options and provided plenty of tips in this month’s guide to Verizon’s best wireless plans.
Verizon plans: jump links
Like most carriers, Verizon’s plans generally fall into two categories – postpaid and prepaid. This guide covers both, so if you’re not sure how much data you’ll need, but know how much you’re willing to spend, there’s plenty of useful information here. Just below you will also find a useful FAQ section where we cover topics such as coverage, price and access to the 5G network.
As a carrier, Verizon is generally considered to offer the best nationwide coverage of its services, and while its plans are generally pricey, they offer rather excellent streaming benefits. Using a plan is definitely expensive, but it’s often worth it – not least because the selection of Verizon phones is especially good if you go for an unlimited plan. You’ll also find that most of Verizon’s current deals are also exclusive to unlimited subscription plans, although that shouldn’t deter you from checking out other types of plans.
If you think Verizon’s best plans this week are a little on the expensive side, we’ve also included some highlights from our best cell phone plan guide at the bottom of the article. There you’ll be able to see how Verizon stacks up against the competition, as well as check out some of the best prepaid plans from cheaper services.
Verizon’s Best Plans: Current Lineup
Verizon unlimited calling plans
Verizon’s plan service leads with unlimited post-paid options – which serve as a sort of “flagship” offering for the service. In short, these unlimited data plans give you Ultra Wideband 5G access (except Start Unlimited), access to premium networks (meaning priority speeds), and tons of streaming and cloud storage benefits. These are the best Verizon plans currently available, although as you’d expect, they come at a pretty hefty price tag. We recommend them to someone who uses the phone a lot and will make the most of this unlimited data allowance.
Verizon prepaid plans
Verizon prepaid plans (opens in a new tab) are flexible no-contract plans that you pay monthly with the option to renew. In short, they don’t require a credit check and have pretty reasonable prices, but they don’t offer most of the benefits you’ll find in postpaid plans like streaming services. They are also subject to slower data speeds all around without being on Verizon’s premium network. That said, they are a viable choice if you’re on a budget and don’t want to be bound by a yearly contract.
Verizon connectivity and accessory plans
In addition to phones, Verizon also has plans for a range of smartwatches, tablets, and any number of cellular gadgets it calls connected devices. Generally, you can add them to Verizon’s existing plans for around $10 each, however, if you want a standalone plan, they’re also available, here’s a short list of prices:
- Pills
- Unlimited – $20/mo (opens in a new tab)
- Unlimited Plus – $30/mo (opens in a new tab)
- Smartwatches
- Unlimited – $10/mo (opens in a new tab)
- Laptops
- Unlimited – $20/mo (opens in a new tab)
- Unlimited Plus – $30/mo (opens in a new tab)
Other gadgets you can connect with the Verizon Connected plan include cars, hotspots, sat navs, and streaming cameras – usually for the same rates as above.
Verizon prepaid data plans
Verizon’s prepaid data plans are a slightly newer addition to the carrier’s website and essentially replace the old shared data plans. They are designed to be used with many mobile devices (tablets, smartwatches, etc.), but they don’t offer any of the usual minutes or texts you get with a standard phone plan. Unlike the old shared data plans, these are now prepaid instead of a subscription, which makes them quite flexible with regards to contracts.
Note: Verizon’s prepaid data plans are best used in addition to an existing prepaid phone plan. Up front, these plans are quite expensive, but adding them to an existing account means a discount of $30 per month per line. Here are the prices:
- 5GB package –$40/mo (opens in a new tab) ($10 as extra line)
- 25GB plan – $60/mo (opens in a new tab) ($30 as extra line)
- 100GB plan with Ultra Wideband 5G – $80/mo (opens in a new tab) ($50 as additional line)
- 150GB plan with Ultra Wideband 5G – $100/mo (opens in a new tab) ($70 as additional line)
As you can see, the two more expensive tiers (100GB and 150GB) give you unlimited access to Verizon’s 5G ultra-broadband network. However, all plan tiers have HD video stream as standard.
Verizon Plan Pricing: Postpaid vs. Prepaid
Like most carriers, Verizon’s plan prices fall into two categories – postpaid and prepaid. With subscription plans, you sign a long-term (24-month) contract and pay your bills at the end of the month until the end of the term. Overall, these plans also entitle you to any number of amazing Verizon deals each month that will let you upgrade or bundle up a new phone for a discounted rate.
Using prepay means you’ll usually pay at the beginning of each month and won’t be bound by a long contract. This gives them more flexibility overall, although Verizon runs a loyalty program that reserves the best rates for those who stick to their plan longer. This is obviously a bit cheeky as it wants to tie people down by offsetting this prepaid flexibility, and it’s also worth noting that Verizon tends to reserve its deals on new phones only for postpaid customers.
Visible wireless plans: frequently asked questions
What is Verizon coverage?
Verizon is widely believed to have the best nationwide coverage of any major carrier – with the majority sources (opens in a new tab) placing their overall coverage at around 70% for their 4G LTE network. However, things get a little more complicated when you start thinking about 5G – which is still in its infancy with most major carriers. In this regard, Verizon currently has only about 11% coverage nationwide, mostly in major cities. If you are looking for coverage in your area, you can see the current up-to-date coverage map here (opens in a new tab) – including the ability to enter a local zip code.
Does Verizon have 5G in all its plans?
On paper, yes, all Verizon plans have access to the 5G service network, although it’s worth noting that not all Verizon’s 5G data plans offer equal speeds in all areas.
Verizon actually offers two tiers of 5G access – the standard “5G” network, which crashes simultaneously with the existing 4G LTE network, and the fancy “5G Ultra Wideband” network, which works on a completely different band. In short, the cheaper Verizon plans use the standard 5G network, while the more expensive ones have full access to the broadband network. As you’d expect, you’ll get blazingly fast broadband speeds, although it’s worth noting that it’s not yet as widely available outside of the big cities.
Why Are Verizon Plans So Expensive?
Mobile phone plans through major carriers are generally much more expensive than those offered by smaller prepaid carriers like Visible and Mint Mobile. This can be generally explained by the fact that large carriers physically operate networks that all carriers, both large and small, use to provide services and therefore have to spend more on maintaining them. However, Verizon has particularly expensive plans, which are somewhat offset by the fact that they tend to offer the best speeds and benefits in their plans.
If you’re looking for a more cost-effective option, we recommend checking out our section on Verizon versus the competition below.
What is Verizon’s best plan for families?
Overall, the best Verizon plan for families will be one of the unlimited postpaid plans, which have the advantage of not having to worry about limitations, have tons of benefits, and also offer discounts on the many lines added to the plan.
Verizon’s unlimited postpaid plans also come with a unique “mix and match” option that allows you to add lines within a different plan tier if you wish. Using this, for example, you can have two plans under the basic “Start Unlimited” plan, one under the premium “Get More” plan, and then an additional “Just Kids” plan – which is a unique kid-friendly plan only offered in addition to what at least one other unlimited data plan.
What is the best Verizon plan for seniors?
Verizon supports only one Senior plan – his 55 Plus plan (opens in a new tab)which currently starts at $60 for one line and $80 for two lines. It’s actually a very generous plan for Verizon, but it’s currently only available to Florida residents, unfortunately. If you are a senior living outside of Florida, we recommend checking out our alternatives below.
Verizon versus the competition
Best AT&T plans (opens in a new tab) they generally offer the hottest competition to Verizon every month, offering a very similar service and generally slightly lower prices across the board. Like Verizon, AT&T has an ever-expanding 5G network and is focused on offering high-speed unlimited data plans. When it comes to coverage, however, AT&T lags a bit behind 4G, and it also tends to offer more “stripped-down” plans without the perks that Verizon offers – free subscriptions to streaming services, for example.
It really is a great, affordable alternative to Verizon Visible (opens in a new tab) – which is a smaller prepaid carrier that Verizon actually owns and operates as a subnet. Visible’s claim to fame is their comprehensive, unlimited Visible wireless plan (opens in a new tab) for just $40 a month – which is absolutely amazing value. However, unlike Verizon customers on the main network, Visible users will be subject to deprivation and slower speeds when the network is busy, so keep that in mind.
It’s also worth checking out Mint Mobile’s plans for this week, which is another top pick if you want to save on bills. With plans from only $15 a month (opens in a new tab)and unlimited data package for only $30 (opens in a new tab), Mint is definitely a good option for those on a budget or seniors in particular. However, this prepaid carrier works on the T-Mobile network, so some Verizon phones may not be compatible unless specifically unlocked.