Verizon often brags about having the most reliable network, and if tests are correct, the company isn’t wrong. The carrier offers the best service in rural areas where T-Mobile and Sprint users just can’t get a signal. Verizon even revamped its plan to make it simpler and more understandable, and acquiesced to customer demand for unlimited data.

The nation’s largest carrier was the last to bring back unlimited data, but it’s nice to see. Don’t fret, though: The Verizon Plan’s capped Small, Medium, and Large options remain, just in case you don’t want to pay for data that you won’t use.

Not everybody needs unlimited data. If you’re just a light mobile web user and don’t need to stream, Small’s 2GB limit should be fine. If you want a little more flexibility, step up to Medium’s 4GB. If you’re a once-in-a-while video or audio streamer and browse the web quite a bit, you’re likely going to need Large’s 8GB. Heavier users really should consider Verizon’s four unlimited plans, Start Unlimited, Play More Unlimited, Do More Unlimited, and Get More Unlimited.

People Line cost 4G LTE data Total 1 $20 (excepting unlimited data plans) $35 w/2GB $50 w/4GB $40 w/ 5G (single device plan) $70 w/8GB $70 for Start Unlimited $80 for Play More Unlimited $80 for Do More Unlimited $90 for Get More Unlimited $55 $70 $85 $90 $70 $80 $80 $90 2 $20 x 2 (excepting unlimited data plans) $35 w/2GB $50 w/4GB $70 w/8GB $60 for Start Unlimited $70 for Play More Unlimited $70 for Do More Unlimited $80 for Get More Unlimited $50 for Just Kids $75 $90 $110 $120 $140 $140 $160 $50 3 $20 x 3 (excepting unlimited data plans) $35 w/2GB $50 w/4GB $70 w/8GB $45 for Start Unlimited $55 for Play More Unlimited $55 for Do More Unlimited $65 for Get More Unlimited $40 for Just Kids $95 $110 $130 $135 $165 $165 $195 $40 4 $20 x 4 (excepting unlimited data plans) $35 w/2GB $50 w/4GB $70 w/8GB $35 for Start Unlimited $45 for Play More Unlimited $45 for Do More Unlimited $55 for Get More Unlimited $35 for Just Kids $115 $130 $150 $140 $180 $180 $220 $35 5 $20 x 5 (excepting unlimited data plans) $35 w/2GB $50 w/4GB $70 w/8GB $30 for Start Unlimited $40 for Play More Unlimited $40 for Do More Unlimited $50 for Get More Unlimited $25 for Just Kids $135 $150 $170 $150 $200 $200 $250 $25

A quick note on the unlimited pricing shown: The prices listed include a $5 discount for single-line plans as long as you sign up for autopay and paperless billing. If you don’t, you’ll need to add these amounts back in to get your price before taxes and fees.

Also, the Just Kids plan is essentially an add-on line. So you can’t have a plan with only Just Kids lines. Pricing varies depending on how many lines you have — so on a three-line plan, one line of Just Kids will cost $40.

You’ll pay $20 per person plus the amount of your data package and the cost of any phones you buy on Verizon’s installment plans. Only the cost of talk, text, and data are listed in the chart above — we’ll get into phone payments in a later section.

You can share a plan between up to 10 smartphones and devices. Tablet lines cost $20 to connect, hot spot lines cost $10, and wearables cost $5 to connect.

Start Unlimited, Play More Unlimited, Do More Unlimited, and Get More Unlimited

With many people opting for unlimited data, Verizon’s plans, while attractive, are on the expensive side. They’re also a little constrictive.

In August 2019, Verizon introduced a new set of unlimited plans, with the biggest change being the introduction of 5G. Instead of three unlimited plans, there are now four — along with a new Just Kids plan that can be added as a line for kids. Just Kids offers unlimited data, however, after 5GB are used, “Safety Mode,” which is basically just throttled data speeds, will be activated.

Most of Verizon’s unlimited plans have some strings attached. The Start Unlimited plan offers unlimited 4G LTE, but video streaming is limited to 480p, which is pretty lackluster. The plan also will not include 5G once it’s available — you’ll have to pay an extra $10 per month for the” 5G bolt-on” feature if you want 5G . The plan also includes Apple Music for six months.

Play More Unlimited is a little less restrictive. The plan adds 720p video streaming, along with unlimited use of a mobile hot spot — though data will be throttled after 15GB. Access to 5G is also included, though Verizon says it’s only included for a limited time. With that access, you’ll be able to stream at 4K — but only when you’re connected to 5G . Last but not least, Apple Music is included indefinitely, which is a nice touch. The plan may be unlimited, but it has 25GB of “premium data” — meaning that after 25GB, you may be throttled to lower speeds.

Next up is Do More Unlimited, which is the same price as Play More Unlimited, but offers slightly different features. It reduces video streaming to 480p, but adds 50GB of “premium data” instead of 25GB. The plan also offers 500GB of cloud storage and 50 percent off of a connected tablet or jetpack, which is handy. Apple Music-wise, you’ll only get six months with this plan. The plan also has the 5G bolt-on feature included.

The most expensive plan is the Get More Unlimited plan, which offers 75GB of so-called premium data — but still throttles video to 720p, which is a little disappointing. Like other plans, this plan offers unlimited hot spot data, including 30GB on 4G — which is double other plans. Apple Music is included, and you’ll get 500GB of cloud storage. As you would expect, 5G is included — though again, the 5G bolt-on may be removed from the plan at some point, as Verizon says it’s only included for a limited time.

All of the plans offer a few more features, like talk, text, and data in Mexico and Canada, as well as 512MB of international data at 4G speeds, after which you’ll be throttled to 2G speeds.

The bottom line with Verizon is that it isn’t perfect. But if you need reliable service just about anywhere, Verizon’s premium over Sprint and T-Mobile might be worth it. In some areas, Verizon is one of the only carriers with decent service (if any), so you might not have much of a choice.

Recommendations:

Stay away from the 2GB plan unless you’re sure you won’t use much data. App-heavy users will exceed this allotment quite easily.

Families should really consider the 8GB or Unlimited plans, with our preference being the Get More Unlimited plan.

The perks of the Verizon Plan:

Strong service in rural areas

A big phone selection

Decent prices for individuals

The downsides of the Verizon Plan:

Verizon charges overages when you exceed your data limit, unless you have data limit or overage protection, which costs $5 a month

A hard cap and down-scaled video on all unlimited data plans

Pricier plans than T-Mobile or Sprint

International service costs more

Its network is CDMA, which makes buying unlocked phones that work on the network difficult

Verizon also offers a prepaid plan for those of you who want to save some money. Its prepaid plans are a bit pricier than the competition.

Recently, Verizon introduced a new single-line prepaid plan option. For $30 per month, you will be able to get unlimited U.S. talk, text, and 500 MB of data. On top of that, Verizon also announced that it was discounting its prepaid plans to be up to $65 for unlimited data, which includes an option for 4G mobile hot spots.

Lastly, the carrier has also added its Travel Pass option to all if its prepaid lines — allowing users to make calls, send texts, and use data in Mexico and Canada for $5 per day. You can add the plan to your account before any trip via the My Verizon app.

Verizon’s multi-line option, Prepaid Family Account, lets you add up to four lines to a single account. Subscribers get a discount on each additional line (up to $20 a line) and have control of each line’s data allotment.

So how does it work? If you buy four Verizon prepaid lines at 10GB per line, you pay $60 for the first line and $20 less for each subsequent line (up to a maximum of five lines). The total price for four lines, then, is $180 a month without a contract. You can also mix and match the amount of data on each line — so you could have one line with only 500MB of data, and another with 10GB. Verizon also offers a fourth line for free with some amounts of data.

Here’s a chart that better explains it. For the line cost, we’ve calculated the average for each line. In reality, different lines cost different amounts.

People Line cost Total 2 $30 w/ 1GB $30 w/6GB $37.50 w/16GB $55 w/Unlimited $60 $60 $75 $110 3 $30 w/ 1GB $28.33 w/6GB $35 w/16GB $51.67 w/Unlimited $90 $85 $105 $155 4 $30 w/ 1GB $27.50 w/6GB $33.75 w/16GB $50 w/Unlimited $120 $110 $135 $200 5 $30 w/ 1GB $27 w/6GB $33 w/16GB $49 w/Unlimited $150 $135 $165 $245

And here’s Verizon’s single-line prepaid pricing. Keep in mind that these prices assume you have autopay setup.

Talk & Text High-speed data Cost Voice:

Unlimited in U.S. Text:

Unlimited in U.S. and 200 countries 1GB of data with Carryover Data $30 Voice:

Unlimited in U.S. Text:

Unlimited in U.S. and 200 countries 6GB with Carryover Data $35 Voice:

Unlimited in U.S., Mexico,

and Canada. Text:

Unlimited in U.S. and 200 countries 16GB with Carryover Data $45 Voice:

Unlimited in U.S., Mexico,

and Canada. T ext:

Unlimited in U.S. and 200 countries Unlimited $65

Streaming video is throttled to standard definition (480p) resolution across the board. And while there are no data overages, your speed goes down after you run out of 4G LTE data to 128kbps.

There’s no way to purchase additional high-speed data, which is unfortunate. Carryover data allows you to keep any unused data into the next month, but it expires at the end of the following month.

The company also offers a “feature phone” plan, which offers non-smartphone users unlimited talk, text, and mobile web access. That plan is $30 a month.

Connected device plans

If you’re just looking for a plan for a tablet or other internet-connected device, Verizon’s prepaid plans have you covered there, too. Here’s the breakdown. Keep in mind these data buckets do not carry over, so it’s “use it or lose it.”

Cost $10 + $10 per 2GB $185 $260 $335 $410 $560 $710 Data 2-20GB 30GB 40GB 50GB 60GB 80GB 100GB

Recommendations:

The $50 plan with unlimited talk and text and 5GB of data is ideal for individuals.

Families should look elsewhere for cheap prepaid plans.

The perks of the Verizon’s prepaid plan:

Great rural coverage

Lots of phone options

Cheaper than Verizon’s other plans

Pay week to week or month to month

Carryover data lets you save data you don’t use

No overages

The downsides of Verizon’s prepaid plan:

Still pricey for prepaid plans

International service is extra (except Mexico and Canada on some plans)

Its network is CDMA, which makes buying unlocked phones that work on the network difficult

There’s no way to purchase additional high-speed data if you run out

Top phones at Verizon

Verizon has a great selection of phones, but you will have to pay the full price now that two-year contracts and subsidies are gone. High-end phones range from $650 to $1,000, so monthly payments run somewhere between $30 and $45 a month for 24 months. Cheaper phones cost as little as $5 a month.

Editors' Recommendations