Are prepaid savings worth it?

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  Excellent nationwide coverage

  Verizon

  Verizon’s network offers excellent nationwide coverage with a growing 5G footprint in cities and towns. Verizon’s postpaid plans are simple with a lot of add-ons available for additional plan features or services.

  Pros

  • Simple plan structure
  • Savings available with some add-ons
  • Vast LTE and 5G coverage on the Verizon network
  • Home internet bundle is available

  Cons

  • Taxes and fees are extra
  • Plans can get expensive
  • Priciest plans required for the best device savings

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  Multi-month savings

  Ultra Mobile

  Ultra Mobile sticks to a fairly simple plan structure with the main difference between them being how much data you get. Ultra Mobile also has solid international features and even has support in English, Spanish, and Mandarin.

  Pros

  • Solid multi-line savings
  • Family plan savings available
  • Affordable international options

  Cons

  • Taxes and fees are extra
  • No truly unlimited option
  • Only one plan available with multi-line savings

If you’re looking for reliable mobile coverage, Verizon is one of the first names to come to mind with its strong nationwide network coverage, a reputation for solid rural coverage, and a growing high-speed 5G network in cities.

Verizon’s plans, however, can be a bit expensive if you’re looking for basic service and only have one or two lines. Ultra Mobile fits those customers well with multi-month savings for single-line users and a simple family plan for those with more than one line. Ultra Mobile also has some of the best international options for a prepaid carrier with talk and text to 90+ countries included with all of its plans.

Mobile carrier features

Verizon’s postpaid plans are now called myPlan with just three plans and quite a few add-ons to choose from. These add-ons range from plan upgrades like 100GB mobile hotspot options, shopping services like Walmart+, or streaming services like Disney+. The nice thing about these add-ons is they all cost $10 per month, so you’re actually saving money on some of them by paying them on your Verizon bill.

Verizon’s base plans differentiate themselves with premium data on the pricier plans, mobile hotspot data, and international features. Verizon also offers better device savings with its more expensive plans. If you’re planning to buy a new device from Verizon or want to bring your own, you’ll get the biggest discounts with Verizon’s top plans.

Ultra Mobile, on the other hand, has a lot of plans. For the most part, the difference between the plans is just how much data you get, with all plans coming with international calling and texting to 90+ countries. Some plans even come with a monthly international calling credit and a one-time roaming credit.

Both carriers charge extra for taxes and fees, so keep in mind that your final price will be a few more dollars per line than the plan price shows.

Coverage and reception

Verizon builds and maintains its own wireless network, and it’s one of the best in terms of coverage. Verizon’s LTE network has strong rural coverage, while its 5G network is steadily spreading and adding capacity. With Verizon’s mid-band and high-band 5G coverage, called Ultra Wideband, you can also expect fast data speeds in most major cities and many towns across the country.

Make sure to check Verizon’s coverage map to be sure you’re getting solid coverage, however, as its 5G network is still a work in progress.

Ultra Mobile sticks to the T-Mobile network, which, for most people, means excellent 5G coverage and solid rural and suburban coverage. T-Mobile got access to its mid-band 5G spectrum earlier than Verizon and wasted no time expanding its coverage, allowing for strong average network speeds. T-Mobile also has low-band 5G and LTE for solid rural coverage, but make no mistake, it still isn’t a match for Verizon in terms of rural coverage.

Check Ultra Mobile’s coverage map to see how well you’ll be covered before signing up. If you’ve got an unlocked phone, you can even try T-Mobile data before switching to make sure it will work for you.

Phone compatibility

For the most part, Verizon’s network works with most phones made for the North American market. For the best 5G compatibility, your phone should support bands n2, n5, and n66 for low-band 5G, and band n77 for mid-band. Verizon also has some of the best mmWave 5G coverage with bands n260 and n261. Most of the best Android phones support these bands, including phones like the Samsung Galaxy S24 and the Google Pixel 8.

If you want to bring your phone to Verizon, you can check the IMEI on Verizon’s site to be sure it will work. If you bought it from another carrier, you’ll need to pay it off and get it unlocked before switching carriers.

Since Ultra Mobile uses the T-Mobile network, just about any phone you can buy in the US will work without issue. The T-Mobile network works well with a lot of international models as well, but for the best 5G signal, your phone should support bands n71, n66, n25, and n41. You can get by with just band n71, but T-Mobile’s best speeds use band n41 in conjunction with its other bands.

Ultra Mobile’s network works so well with international phones that it even offers a Tourist Plan specifically for those visiting the United States.

Plans

Verizon has both postpaid and prepaid plans, though most people think of the postpaid plans first. Verizon has gone to great lengths to simplify its plan offering while still offering strong incentives to sign up for extra services with its add-ons. Ultra Mobile, on the other hand, sticks to calls, texts, and data with enough options that just about anyone could find an Ultra Mobile plan that works for them.

Both Verizon and Ultra Mobile charge extra for taxes and fees, so keep in mind that your final bill will be a few dollars more, no matter which carrier you pick.

Verizon’s plans

Starting with prepaid, you can start on the low end with a simple talk and text plan for $30 per month with autopay. Adding 15GB of data costs only $5 more per month and is a solid deal for the amount of data you get. In fact, Verizon Prepaid’s 15GB plan costs only $1 more than Ultra Mobile’s 15GB plan when paid month-to-month.

Moving up, for $50 per month, you can get unlimited data at 4G speeds with 5GB of hotspot data with the Unlimited prepaid plan. Finally, Unlimited Plus adds Ultra Wideband 5G speeds plus 25GB of hotspot data for $60 per month with auto-pay.

Moving back to postpaid, Verizon has just three plans, starting with Unlimited Welcome. This plan costs $60 per month for the first line, but with four lines, that comes down to just $30 per line. This plan is basic with no hotspot data and no access to Ultra Wideband 5G speeds. Still, for a lot of people, it has all they need for a reasonable price. Keep in mind that with Verizon’s bigger plans, you’ll get better new device savings as well as a larger BYOD discount.

Unlimited Plus comes with Ultra Wideband 5G speeds, premium data, and 30GB of hotspot data. This plan gets more savings on new phones and bigger BYOD discounts as well, so if you’re bringing your own phone, it’s worth checking what you save with this plan over Unlimited Welcome. Streaming video is also available up to 720p, compared to 480p on the smaller plan. Unlimited Plus costs $80 for the first line or $45 per line with four lines.

Verizon’s top plan, Unlimited Ultimate, has the best new device and BYOD savings, but it also comes with more hotspot data at 60GB and some more international features. All Verizon postpaid plans get free usage in Mexico and Canada, but Unlimited Ultimate adds 210 additional countries to that mix. Video streaming quality also gets a bump to 1080p.

One thing to keep in mind is that Verizon customers can save on home internet service through Verizon. If Fios is available in your area, you can get the 300Mbps plan for just $35 per month. If only 5G Home Internet is available, you can get it for $45 per month with Unlimited Welcome, or $35 per month with one of the other two plans.

Verizon also has additional savings for members of the military and veterans, first responders, teachers, and nurses. These savings apply to the standard plans and are available for multiple lines, so if you qualify, be sure to sign up for your discount.

Ultra Mobile’s plans

Ultra Mobile’s plan structure is a lot simpler than Verizon’s, with its plans largely being different versions of the same offer. Ultra Mobile plans are priced differently whether you’re paying for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months, with better savings for the longer you’re willing to pay.

To start, Ultra Mobile has a talk and text plan with 250MB of data that comes in at $15 per month if paid monthly, and $10 per month if you pay for the year. Moving up, there’s a 3GB plan that starts at $19 per month, a 5GB plan for $24 per month, 10GB comes in at $29 per month, and 15GB comes in at $39 per month. These plans allow you to use your data on your phone or as a hotspot however you please.

Unlimited talk and text is included while in Mexico and Canada, and calling and texting is included while in 90+ other countries. Each plan also comes with an international calling credit every month, with more credit included with the larger plans. You’ll also get a one-time international roaming credit.

Last, but not least, there are two unlimited plans starting at $49 per month. This plan comes with 40GB of high-speed data per month and 10GB of hotspot data. There’s an Unlimited+ plan as well that bumps the high-speed data up to 60GB.

If you’re ready for a new phone, you can bundle an Ultra Mobile plan with a new one when purchased from Ultra Mobile’s site to save $50. There’s also a summer deal going on that gives you a free month when you sign up for a three-month plan.

If you’ve got multiple lines, Ultra Mobile is still worth a look thanks to its unlimited Family Plan. This plan starts at $49 per month, but each additional line is just $24 per month, with up to five lines. With four lines, that works out to just $121 per month with 40GB of high-speed data.

Which should you buy?

If you have multiple lines, and you don’t want to worry about keeping track of your usage, Verizon is a good pick since its latest plans stick to the basics with competitive pricing and have plenty of appealing add-ons. As a postpaid carrier, Verizon is still more expensive than Ultra Mobile, but with unlimited data, priority 5G speeds, and excellent coverage, there are still plenty of reasons to use Verizon.

If you don’t ever use mobile hotspot data on your plan, Verizon Unlimited Welcome is a great place to start and has access to the same add-ons as the other plans. Plus, if you bring four lines and sign up for autopay, Verizon offers solid value.

Ultra Mobile is another strong pick for the right person. Ultra’s wide range of plans is great for someone who knows exactly how much data they need, with the option to save by paying for up to a year at once. If you still want a lot of data, you can also choose one of the unlimited plans with 40GB or 60GB of data, which is plenty for even heavy users.