For the last seven years, I’ve been bouncing between a handful of different MVNOs. I finally settled on Visible because it offers one of the best cheap cell phone plans around, but I recently decided to switch back to a carrier that I haven’t used in over a decade — Verizon.
Part of the reason I ditched the carrier years ago was how expensive it ended up being, mainly due to data overage fees that pushed my monthly bill past $100 for a single line. Obviously, Verizon‘s plans have changed since then, with truly unlimited data now starting as low as $55 per month.
That’s why I switched back for 30 days to see exactly what advantages its premium unlimited service offers. Here’s what I found.
Verizon Wireless review: What you’ll pay
The biggest reason I’ve shied away from returning to one of the major carriers, including Big Red, is how expensive they’ve become. Sure, you’ll still pay close to $100 a month for premium unlimited service, but Verizon throws in additional goodies that you just don’t get from most MVNOs.
Currently, Verizon Wireless offers three distinct unlimited postpaid plans: Unlimited Ultimate ($95/month), Unlimited Plus ($80/month), and Unlimited Welcome ($65/month). If you enroll in paper-free billing and AutoPay, you’ll get a $10 monthly discount on each of those lines, bringing the entry-level cost down to $65 per month.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Unlimited Welcome |
Unlimited Plus |
Unlimited Ultimate |
|
Price (1 Line w/ Auto Pay) |
$55/month |
$70/month |
$85/month |
|
5G Network Access |
Standard 5G / 4G LTE |
5G Ultra Wideband (C-Band & mmWave) |
5G Ultra Wideband (C-Band & mmWave) |
|
Premium Mobile Data |
May be slowed during network congestion |
Unlimited premium data (Never throttled) |
Unlimited premium data (Never throttled) |
|
Mobile Hotspot |
None |
30 GB high-speed (then 3 Mbps) |
200 GB high-speed (then 6 Mbps) |
|
Video Streaming Quality |
480p (SD) |
Up to 720p on 5G/LTE (Up to 4K on Ultra Wideband) |
Up to 1080p on 5G/LTE (Up to 4K on Ultra Wideband) |
|
Other Perks |
None |
50% off one tablet/watch/hotspot plan |
50% off two tablet/watch/hotspot plans |
For a long time, I held onto the misconception that any unlimited plan from Verizon would cost $100 a month at the very least. While its $75 starting rate is still noticeably higher than the $35 monthly fee I’ve been paying for Visible, the upgrade comes with distinct network advantages.
What exactly separates these three tiers? For starters, every option gives you unlimited talk, text, and data. The real differences lie in the amount of “premium data” you get, the hotspot allocations, and the network speeds highlighted on Verizon’s Broadband Facts labels.
While they all technically offer unlimited data, access to the absolute fastest 5G Ultra Wideband speeds is reserved for the top two tiers, while the starter plan can be a smidge slower during times of network congestion.
Verizon Wireless review: How Verizon’s prices compare
|
Base unlimited plan |
Monthly cost |
|
Verizon Unlimited Welcome |
$55 |
|
T-Mobile Essentials Saver |
$50 |
|
AT&T Value 2.0 |
$50 |
|
Mint Mobile Unlimited |
$25 (requires $75 upfront payment that covers three months) |
|
Visible |
$25 |
Verizon Wireless remains the largest wireless provider in the U.S., and it commands premium prices for access to its sprawling, reliable network. Making a direct comparison to rivals AT&T and T-Mobile can be tricky, however, because their entry-level unlimited tiers vary significantly in terms of value.
For example, AT&T’s Value 2.0 plan costs $50/month after discounts and offers unlimited data that can be temporarily slowed after 5GB of usage, alongside 3GB of mobile hotspot data. Meanwhile, T-Mobile’s $50/month Essentials Saver plan packages a whopping 50GB of premium data before any network management kicks in. If you want even lower rates, MVNOs like Visible and Mint Mobile offer great alternative plans that start as low as $25 a month.
|
Premier Unlimited plan |
Monthly cost |
|
Verizon Unlimited Ultimate |
$85 |
|
T-Mobile Experience Beyond |
$100 |
|
AT&T Elite 2.0 |
$110 |
|
Mint Mobile Unlimited |
$25 (requires $75 upfront payment that covers three months) |
|
Visible+ Pro |
$45 |
On the higher end of the spectrum, Verizon’s Unlimited Ultimate plan actually comes in slightly below its AT&T and T-Mobile equivalents — which you can see detailed above.
Ultimately, Verizon Wireless’ biggest strength is its widespread support for 5G Ultra Wideband with Enhanced Video Calling & Streaming, meaning you get the fastest possible data speeds alongside maximum video streaming resolutions. While Mint Mobile and Visible offer cheaper top-of-the-line tiers, neither can match the raw network performance and uncapped speeds of Verizon’s native 5G Ultra Wideband footprint.
Verizon Wireless review: Performance
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Average download speed |
Average upload speed |
|
Home |
69 Mbps |
12.6 Mbps |
|
New York City |
893 Mbps |
77.5 Mbps |
|
Rural northern NJ |
29.5 Mbps |
1.45 Mbps |
To properly evaluate the performance of Verizon’s Unlimited Ultimate plan, I wanted to see what kind of data speeds it delivered across three distinct locations. For my testing, I chose my home location, New York City, and a more remote area in northern New Jersey.
With service activated on my Motorola Razr Fold, I ran Ookla’s Speedtest app three times at each spot and averaged the results (which you can see in the chart above). Testing indoors at home, my device consistently bounced between standard 5G and 5G Ultra Wideband, yielding an average of 69 Mbps down and 12.6 Mbps up. While those aren’t mind-blowing numbers, they still easily outshined the 6.33 Mbps down and 2.29 Mbps up I was getting with Visible’s basic unlimited plan on my iPhone 17 Pro.
Moving to my second location — an outdoor setting in New York City — I was absolutely blown away by Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network. The phone averaged an obscene 893 Mbps down and 77.5 Mbps up. Those numbers rival the fiber speeds I get at home when wired directly into my router, making it incredibly impressive to see that kind of throughput over a wireless connection.
Finally, for my rural environment test, the network delivered a modest average of 29.5 Mbps down and 1.45 Mbps up. Again, it’s nothing to write home about, but at least the download speeds stayed safely out of the single digits.
Ultimately, these real-world tests highlight just how much of a difference 5G Ultra Wideband makes for everyday tasks, whether you’re downloading a 1GB file from Google Drive or streaming media. On Ultra Wideband, video streaming quality jumped instantly to its maximum resolution on YouTube and Netflix, whereas at home, videos buffered noticeably longer before playing.
Verizon Wireless review: Verdict
Switching back to Verizon proves to me that premium carrier networks still hold a massive performance advantage over budget MVNOs, but that luxury comes at a cost. If you live or work in a major hub like New York City where the infrastructure is highly developed, you can constantly tap into insane 5G Ultra Wideband speeds.
I personally appreciate that kind of throughput because time is money, mainly because being able to upload and download huge batches of photos and videos on the go makes me significantly more productive for work. It’s a massive time-saver that only happens when you have access to the fastest network infrastructure possible.
However, if you spend most of your time outside of Ultra Wideband coverage areas — where speeds drop closer to standard MVNO performance — sticking with a cheaper alternative like Visible or Mint Mobile remains the smarter financial move.
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