Which carrier should you pick?

• 

  Truly unlimited data

  Visible

  Visible is a prepaid carrier owned by Verizon that keeps its plans simple with just two unlimited options. Both plans feature totally unlimited data, but if you want the best of Verizon’s network, upgrading to the more premium Visible+ plan brings faster 5G access and 50GB of premium data.

  Pros

  • Totally unlimited data on both plans
  • Taxes and fees are included
  • Strong coverage on Verizon?s network

  Cons

  • Full 5G speeds limited to Visible+
  • No multi-line savings
  • The watch plan only supports Apple Watch

• 

  Multiple networks

  US Mobile

  US Mobile is a prepaid carrier that offers coverage on Verizon or T-Mobile, including a flexible shared data plan as well as three unlimited plans with multi-month discounts. Unlimited plans even come with Ultra Wideband 5G access, premium data, and some high-speed hotspot data.

  Pros

  • Excellent coverage on either Verizon or T-Mobile
  • Annual savings on most plans
  • Taxes and fees are included

  Cons

  • No truly unlimited data
  • Some international feature difference between the SIMs

If you’re looking for a ton of data for cheap on a prepaid carrier, Visible is one of the first carriers to consider, with totally unlimited data on Verizon’s network. US Mobile matches Visible’s plans when it comes to pricing, but with a bigger focus on international usage. US Mobile also uses either the Verizon or T-Mobile, making a wider range of phones compatible and offering another option for those with strong T-Mobile 5G coverage. US Mobile even lets you change the networks if you find you didn’t pick the best one for your area.

Mobile carrier features

Visible is owned by Verizon Wireless and uses the carrier’s network for all of its coverage, giving customers access to Verizon LTE and 5G, with its more premium Visible+ plan enabling full Ultra Wideband 5G speeds. The company keeps its pricing simple, with taxes and fees included, so the price you pay is the price you see. Visible has also added annual plan discounts, so if you’re willing to pay for the whole year of service at once, you can.

Visible includes unlimited hotspot data with both of its plans with a 5Mbps speed limit on the cheaper plan and 10Mbps on Visible+. While you wouldn’t want to wait on a large game to download on this hotspot, it’s plenty fast for browsing, messaging, and even watching streamed video.

US Mobile offers a few more plans with two limited options for lighter users and three unlimtied plans. The limited plans are cheap and start with 2GB of data making them an excellent option for those trying to ditch overpriced unlimited plans. US Mobile’s unlimited plans have been updated with annual plan pricing, so you can save if you’re willing to pay a bit more upfront. US Mobile’s plans also come with some international features, such as international calling, texting, and usage in Mexico and Canada with most plans.

Mobile coverage and reception

Visible is owned by Verizon Wireless and only uses its network for coverage. That’s not a bad thing since Verizon has strong nationwide LTE and 5G coverage with fast Ultra Wideband 5G coverage in many urban and suburban areas. As a result, most people will have excellent coverage with Verizon, even those living in the country. Regarding speed, however, Visible’s plans are treated a bit differently, with only Visible+ supporting Ultra Wideband 5G and premium data.

Ultra Wideband 5G refers to Verizon’s faster 5G signal using C-band and mmWave spectrum. In essence, this allows for very fast speeds, but coverage is much more limited than low-band LTE or 5G. Even so, customers on the basic Visible plan may notice their phones connecting to these bands, but the speeds will likely be much lower than with Visible+, but still plenty usable.

US Mobile customers can use Verizon (Warp 5G) or T-Mobile (GSM) for coverage, but not both at the same time. For the most part, the carrier treats you the same on either network, so your choice is really about coverage and network performance. Luckily, you get to change networks twice for free with a feature called Teleport, so you can find the network that works best for you.

Phone compatibility

If your phone works on Verizon and launched a few years ago, it probably works on Visible as well. Visible also works with most of the best Android phones unlocked, such as the Google Pixel 8a and Galaxy S24 Ultra. Of course, iPhones also work great. You can check your phone for compatibility with Visible’s compatibility tool or by downloading the Visible app.

US Mobile’s support is similar for its Verizon SIMs, but it also has the advantage of the T-Mobile network for just about any other phone. If your phone doesn’t activate on Verizon, it will probably work on T-Mobile. Even some phones designed for other countries, like the Nothing Phone 2a works on the T-Mobile network, though it’s missing some band support.

To get the most out of 5G on the Verizon network, your phone should support bands n2, n5, and n66 for nationwide 5G and band n77 for C-band. In some urban areas, you could also connect to mmWave 5G with bands n260 and n261. Nationwide and C-band compatibility is most important as these bands make up most of Verizon’s 5G coverage.

If you’re going with a T-Mobile SIM on US Mobile, you’ll want support for bands n71 and n41, primarily with n260 and n261 mmWave in a few cities. For the most part, T-Mobile uses its m41 band for its fast 5G coverage, with carrier aggregation providing higher speeds.

Plans

Before choosing your next phone plan, it’s important to think about how much data you actually need. Unlimited plans have been nerfed in the past few years with premium data allotments that are realistically still plenty big for most people. Why? The tower your phone connects to is a shared resource, and if multiple devices are trying to download data at once, the tower’s resources will be split between them. This split isn’t even, and those with premium data will be given priority.

Even so, if your area is well-served by Verizon, you may not even notice the lower speed. For those looking to save, it could be worth it to start with a cheaper plan and only upgrade if you find it necessary.

Visible’s plans

Visible only has two unlimited plans, and they both come with totally unlimited data. The base Visible plan costs $25 per month with taxes and fees incuded. If you pay for 12 months, it comes in at $275, which is $25 off. Visible’s base plan comes with nationwide 5G access as well as unlimited hotspot data at 5Mbps. Unlimited talk and text to Mexico and Canada is also included.

Moving up, Visible+ adds a few nice features starting with 50GB of premium data and access to Verizon full 5G speeds with Ultra Wideband. This plan costs $45 per month but you can get your first month for $25 to try it out. If you pay annually, it’s $395, which is a savings of $145. Visible+ gets faster hotspot data at 10Mbps and Apple Watch service included. You also get unlimited talk, text, and data in Mexico and Canada. International calling is upgraded to 30+ countries, and international texting to 200+ countries is included.

Visible customers can also save on Verizon’s home internet service including both Fios fiber service and 5G Home internet service. With the base plan, you save just $5 per month, but with Visible+, you can save $10.

US Mobile’s plans

On the low end, US Mobile starts with its appropriately named Light Plan. The Light Plan comes with unlimited talk and text with 2GB of data. For light users, this is plenty of data for the occasional video call or vacation away from Wi-Fi. This plan costs $10 per month, or $96 if paid annually, which is a savings of $2 per month. For less than many streaming services, you could get this plan from US Mobile.

Next up, US Mobile’s shared data plan is a good pick for families that don’t need a ton of data or can make good use of Wi-Fi. This plan starts with 10GB of data and a single line for $20 per month. You can add lines for $8 per month, and if you need more data, another 10GB costs just $15 per month.

Moving on to the unlimited plans, the cheapest option is Unlimited Flex. This is an annual-only plan, and comes in at $210, which works out to $17.50 per month. You get full 5G access, but only 10GB of high-speed data and 5GB of hotspot data per month. After that 10GB, your data is slowed to 1Mbps until the end of the month.

Unlimited Basic, customers get unlimited talk, text, and data starting at $25 per month, or $275 per year. This plan comes with 35GB of high-speed data, which is plenty for most people, and 10GB of hotspot data to share with other devices. This plan also gets 1GB of data to use if you take a trip to Mexico or Canada.

Unlimited Premium upgrades the premium data to 100GB and the hotspot data to 50GB, which is a lot even compared to postpaid carriers. This plan also includes one international eSIM per month with up to 10GB of data to use abroad. This plan costs $44 per month or $390 per year. Unlike the other plans, you get free Teleports, so you can switch between US Mbobile’s networks whenever you please. If you bring three lines or more lines, you get to choose a free streaming subscription such as Disney Plus or even Playstation Plus. With four or more lines, the price is $30 per line, and you can choose a second perk.

Which is right for you?

Visible and US Mobile are two of the best value prepaid carriers, and if you’re looking to save on mobile data, you’ll likely be happy with either option. For most people, however, US Mobile stands out as the better value overall option with slightly lower prices for comparable plans and the choice between either T-Mobile or Verizon coverage. US Mobile also comes with high-speed hotspot data on all of its unlimited plans, while Visible only offers hotspot data at once speed. For light users, US Mobile is one of the best carriers anywhere with its cheap Light Plan featuring unlimited talk and text.

Visible is still a great choice for a lot of people with its truly unlimited data, so there’s no high-speed data limit to think about. Visible’s hotspot is also unlimited, even though it’s quite a bit slower than the high-speed hotspot data included with US Mobile plans. Still, the fact that you can use as much as you want makes it a great option for people that spend a lot of time on the road, or have spotty internet service at home.

If you’re looking for fast data speeds, Visible+ is much more expensive, but with 50GB of premium data and access to Ultra Wideband 5G on Verizon, the upgrade could very well be worth it for many people. If you’ve got Verizon for your home internet service, you can even save on your bill with either Visible plan.