Do Verizon’s features justify the price?

• Prepaid Verizon coverage

  Total Wireless

  Total Wireless is a prepaid carrier owned by Verizon that’s making a name for itself with deep discounts for new customers and unlimited data. The difference between Total’s plans comes down largely to data speed and international support with multi-line discounts for families.

  Pros

  • Unlimited data on all plans
  • Multi-line discounts for families
  • New phone discounts after 12 months

  Cons

  • Customers report issues with promotional pricing and support
  • First line is a bit expensive

• 

  Verizon’s best speeds

  Verizon

  Verizon is most known for its vast network coverage and postpaid plans, but it has also been one of the most aggressive in simplifying its plans with numerous optional add-ons such as streaming services. Verizon’s plans don’t include taxes and fees, though they do have solid multi-line discounts.

  Pros

  • Strong coverage with a growing mid-band 5G network
  • Simple plans with add-ons
  • Multi-line discounts

  Cons

  • Taxes and fees are extra
  • Plans are expensive for a single line

Verizon has a handful of prepaid options if you don’t want to go through the hassle of a credit check, or just want more value-focused phone plans. In addition to carriers like Visible and Tracfone, Total Wireless is another Verizon-owned prepaid carrier that offers a lot of value with unlimited plans, and multi-line discounts. Total Wireless even offers discounts on new phones for customers that stick around for a full year.

While both carriers are technically Verizon, the plans are different enough that either one could end up being the better value for you. If the Verizon network is a good fit for you, but you don’t want postpaid prices, you owe it to your wallet to check out Total Wireless as well as some of the other best value data plans available.

Mobile carrier features

Total Wireless, like a lot of what Verizon does these days, seems to have used Visible’s popular plans as a blueprint with enough unique features to avoid overlap. Total has three data plans, each with unlimited data, so you don’t need to worry about counting gigabytes when you use your phone. The cheapest plan, Base 5G Unlimited, has lower-priority data than the other two plans, though its 5G speeds are more than likely plenty for most people.

Total 5G Unlimited and Total 5G+ Unlimited both have access to full Ultra Wideband 5G speeds, with 720p video streaming supported on the latter plan. When it comes to hotspot data, Total is fairly generous with 5GB on the base plan, 15GB on the middle plan, and unlimited data at 5Mbps on the top plan. This is reminiscent of Visible’s unlimited hotspot, however, Visible’s top plan has hotspot data running at twice the speed.

For international features, all Total plans come with calling to 85+ countries and texting to 200+ countries. Usage in Mexico and Canada is available on the base plan while the other two plans get usage in 15+ countries with up to 10GB of data.

When it comes to savings, Total Wireless supports multi-line discounts to bring down the price and even has a promotion for a free fourth line. While Total doesn’t come with new device savings right away, if you stick with the carrier for a year, you can save $200 on a new phone.

Verizon has been one of the most enduring names in wireless with a network known for reliability and coverage. Its postpaid plans take advantage of this network with unlimited data plans and faster data speeds on its more expensive plans.

Verizon also includes up to 60GB of hotspot data on these plans, which could be helpful if you work from home. International calling, texting, and roaming are also included with most plans, with the base Unlimited Welcome plan working in Mexico and Canada. The top Unlimited Ultimate plan also gets another country to call for free as well as data usage in 210+ countries.

Compared to carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile, Verizon’s plans are fairly simple, but that’s because you’re expected to choose add-ons to go with them. You don’t have to get an add-on, but Verizon makes it more compelling by keeping a $10 per month price on these add-ons, which can save you money on subscriptions like Disney+, Walmart+, hotspots add-ons, and more.

Verizon’s plans are a bit expensive, but with multi-line discounts, prices come down quite a bit. Unlimited Plus, for example, is $80 for the first line, but with four lines, it’s just $45 per line. Verizon also includes savings whether you’re ready for a new phone or want to bring your old one. You can get up to $540 off when you bring your own phone to Unlimited Ultimate or Verizon’s top deals on new devices.

Mobile coverage and reception

Since both carriers use Verizon, you can expect nearly identical coverage. Verizon’s network is known for strong coverage, including in rural areas, so the vast majority of potential customers should be covered. Still, there are some differences between the plans, with some of the cheapest plans on Verizon and Total Wireless lacking support for 5G Ultra Wideband.

You can check Total’s coverage map to get an idea of what you’re in for, but if you want to see the Ultra Wideband coverage, you’ll need to check Verizon’s map. Also, pay attention to areas like Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands if you travel abroad, as they get coverage with a Verizon plan, but not Total Wireless.

Phone compatibility

As you might expect, phone compatibility between these two carriers is basically identical. With most of the best Android phones supporting Verizon’s network, there’s a good chance the phone you already own will work, assuming it’s unlocked. If you’re looking for a new phone, something like a Samsung Galaxy S24 or a Google Pixel 9 should work great. Of course, iPhones are also compatible.

You can check your phone’s compatibility with Verizon’s BYOD tool or Total’s BYOD tool, but to make the most of Verizon’s network, your 5G phone should support low-band, mid-band, and mmWave frequencies. The most important band to make sure you have is n77, since Verizon’s fastest 5G speeds use this. Even if you’re looking at a plan that doesn’t support Ultra Wideband speeds, your phone may still connect to those towers at a reduced speed.

Plans

Both Verizon and Total Wireless focus on unlimited plans, which can be nice if you don’t want to worry about data usage, but may not be great for light users. It’s also worth keeping in mind that the best way to save with either carrier is to bring multiple lines with you. With Verizon, taxes and fees will be extra on top of the advertised plan pricing while at Total, all fees are bundled into the price, so what you see is what you’ll pay.

Total’s plans

Total has three unlimited plans, each with multi-line discounts and hotspot data included. All total wireless plans come with international calling to 85+ countries and texting to 200+ countries. Roaming in Mexico and Canada is included with 10GB of roaming data available. Last but not least, for customers that stick around for a year, Total offers $200 in savings on new devices.

On the low end, Total’s cheapest plan comes in at $40 per month with a single line and down to $25 per month if you bring four lines with you. While you don’t get Ultra Wideband speeds, you do get unlimited 5G data at speeds that should be plenty fast for streaming and social media. You get 5GB of hotspot data to share with other devices. Speaking of streaming, video quality is limited to 480p on this plan.

Moving up, the Total 5G Unlimited plan comes in at $50 per month for a single line and $27.50 per line with four lines thanks to a fourth-line free promotion. This plan is upgraded to Ultra Wideband 5G speeds for general usage with video streaming still limited to 480p; for most people, this will hardly be noticeable on a small phone screen. Lastly, this plan gets an upgrade to 15GB of hotspot data and comes with six months of ad-free Disney+.

Total’s top plan is an upgrade in most areas with a single-line price starting at $60 per month and down to $30 for four lines thanks to a fourth-line free promotion. This plan gets video streaming at 720p and also comes with unlimited hotspot data at 5Mbps, similar to another Verizon prepaid carrier, Visible. Disney+ without ads is also included with this plan. You also get some additional international credits.

Verizon’s plans

Verizon’s primary postpaid plans come in three flavors: Unlimited Welcome, Unlimited Plus, and Unlimited Ultimate. Starting with Unlimited Welcome as Verizon’s cheapest plan, you get unlimited data (without Ultra Wideband speeds), there’s no hotspot data, and video streams are limited to 480p.

While its price is fairly steep with a single line at $60 per month, if you’ve got four people to get connected, that comes down to $30 per line. This is a simple plan, but it still gets access to all of Verizon’s plan add-ons if you want them.

Verizon’s next plan, Unlimited Plus, comes with Ultra Wideband 5G speeds, premium data, 30GB of hotspot data, and video streaming is upgraded to 720p. Some other nice perks include 50% off on a connected device plan if you want one, and new device savings. Coming from Unlimited Welcome, the major difference here is data performance and hotspot data. Unlimited Plus starts at $80 per month for a single line and $45 per line with four lines.

Verizon’s top plan, Unlimited Ultimate, comes with all of the above with a lot of upgrades. First, hotspot data is doubled compared to Unlimited Plus to 60GB and video streaming is up to 1080p. International usage is improved from just Mexico and Canada to 210+ destinations, and calling and texting to other countries is improved with Mexico and Canada plus another country of your choice.

Before you sign up for Verizon, keep in mind that taxes and fees are extra, so plan for a bit more on each line in addition to the advertised plan price. All of these plans can get Verizon home Internet for $35 per month as well.

Which Verizon provider should you choose?

If you’re looking to save money, there’s no question that Total Wireless is worth a shot. While Verizon’s premium data will be faster from time to time on its postpaid plans, most people just don’t need a ton of performance on a phone. Total’s multi-line discounts and straightforward pricing make it easy to know how much your bill will be every month, even with multiple lines.

It’s also nice that Total Wireless includes hotspot data with all of its plans, as well as international calling and texting.

Total Wireless

Total Wireless is a Verizon-owned prepaid carrier with three unlimited plans and discounts for those that bring the whole family along.

Verizon Wireless still has some compelling features that, to some, will be worth the higher prices. First, Verizon’s savings on new phones are tempting, though you need to keep in mind that you could be stuck with the same plan for years while paying off your phone.

Verizon’s add-ons are also worth considering, as many of them are cheaper than buying them separately, like Disney+. If you already have some of these add-ons, getting them through Verizon can help you save.

Verizon

Verizon is one of the Big Three carriers with a network that’s known for coverage and reliability. Verizon’s plans can get expensive, but if you need its features, it could be worth it for many.