For those who value freedom and value, the best Verizon prepaid plans could just be a great way to cover both bases at one of the nation's favorite carriers. On the whole, these plans do away with that lengthy postpaid contract while still offering access to that speedy 5G network with some of the best coverage in the country. They are, in general, also much cheaper than the traditional postpaid options at Verizon. That said, how do the Verizon prepaid plans stack up against the competition? Right here you'll find a full breakdown of this service as well as our advice on bagging the lowest cell phone bills possible.
1. Verizon prepaid plans at a glance
2. Current Verizon prepaid plans
3. What Verizon prepaid plans include
4. Verizon prepaid pricing explained
5. What other carriers are there?
As a rule of thumb, going prepaid means you'll know exactly what you're paying upfront each month while also forgoing those lengthy annual contracts. Unlike the other Verizon wireless plans, Verizon prepaid plans are generally pretty affordable, but of course you don't get quite as many benefits and perks and they tend to be pretty stripped-down overall.
Just below you'll see a full roundup of this month's Verizon prepaid plan prices, features, as well as a few other good options from our main best prepaid phone plans guide to check out. We'll also cover the lowest rates possible with this service with a detailed explanation, although fair warning - like AT&T prepaid plans, Verizon's plans tend to be a little pricier than those offered by the smaller independent companies.
So, before we get into the current Verizon prepaid plan lineup, here's a quick overview of the service as a whole, and why you should consider (or potentially avoid) going for a prepaid cell phone plan with this carrier.
Verizon prepaid plans at a glance
Why go Verizon Prepaid?
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Flexibility
Unlike the traditional 'postpaid' unlimited data plans, the Verizon prepaid plans don't require you to be signed up for a lengthy 24-month contract. While you will indeed get the cheapest rates if you stick it out, in general, that means you won't incur any unwanted bills or barriers should you want to switch up your phone plan down the line.
Affordability
Verizon prepaid plans are generally much cheaper than the carrier's unlimited data plans despite not having long service contracts. As the name suggests, you'll also be billed at the beginning of the month with these prepaid plans, as opposed to at the end with the unlimited data plans.
Loyalty discounts
Verizon prepaid plans offer discounts of up to $15 a month for customers who stick it out with the service for the long run. While offsetting some of that prepaid flexibility, this discount does on the whole make Verizon's prepaid offerings a lot more competitively priced than they initially seem.
Why avoid Verizon Prepaid?
Fewer perks
While lower in price, Verizon prepaid plans don't offer anywhere near the same kind of creature comforts as the carrier's unlimited data plans. You won't, for example, get things like free streaming service subscriptions, or even prioritized data speeds on the 5G network. If those things are really important to you then it could be worth spending more to get the carrier's more premium service plans.
No handset deals
At any one time, the best Verizon deals on the carrier's service are generally exclusively offered to customers on postpaid unlimited data plans. In a nutshell, that means while you pay more for your plan overall, you'll generally get access to a ton of effective ways to bag the best Verizon phones for a reduced cost. Trade-in rebates, upgrades, and even buy-one get-one free promotions are common so it's always worth factoring that into your decision as you could potentially save big on a new flagship. Of course, if you have an unlocked device ready to bring over, then Verizon prepaid plans are probably more bang for the buck.
Current Verizon prepaid plans
Cheap Verizon prepaid plans
Verizon's most affordable prepaid plans can come in at around half the price of the traditional post-paid unlimited plans at the carrier but feature strict caps on data usage. Subsequently, if you're data hungry they might not be the best option, although prices are indeed very competitive after you've been signed up for a while thanks to Verizon's loyalty-based discount scheme.
Verizon unlimited data plans
If you want all the data, all the time, then you'll want to go for an unlimited data plan. These plans give you full use of those 5G data speeds and include unlimited calls and texts to and from Mexico and Canada.
What Verizon prepaid plans include
Verizon prepaid plans make the data allowance the main metrics for you to look at when deciding on the option to pick. That said, there are plenty more features included with these plans that are worth bearing in mind as you make your decisions. For clarity, here's a quick rundown of what you can expect to get from each prepaid plan, starting with the limited-data options:
- Unlimited talk and text
- Roaming in Mexico and Canada (except 5GB plan)
- Mobile hotspot support
- 5G LTE connectivity
- Autopay discounts
And, here's what the Verizon prepaid unlimited plans have to offer:
- Autopay discounts
- Unlimited talk, text and data
- Roaming in Mexico and Canada
- Slowed speeds during network congestion (DVD quality streaming)
- Unlimited texting to over 200 other countries
- 5G LTE connectivity
- 5G Ultra-Wideband access (on the more expensive plan)
Total by Verizon plans
Verizon has recently launched a subsidiary prepaid brand that runs alongside it's own offerings called Total by Verizon. It's another option to consider, especially if you're looking to sign up multiple lines at once as Total has some really fantastic discounts for two or more lines at once.
All Total by Verizon plans come with unlimited talk and text. The data is also technically unlimited but will cap out at 2G speeds after you hit a certain data cap. Like with other Verizon plans, you can also mix and match lines at different tiers to really tailor your plan overall and get the best value possible.
What Total prepaid plans include
- Unlimited talk and text
- Up to 15GB of high-speed 5G data
- Up to 5GB or 15GB hotspot allowance
- Unlimited 2G data afterwards
- 5% autofil discount
- Talk and text to Mexico and Canada
What Total unlimited plans include
- Unlimited talk and text
- Unlimited 5G Data
- 5% autofil discount
- International Talk and text to up to 69 countries
- Six months of Disney+
Verizon Prepaid plans: FAQ
How can I save as much money as possible?
Verizon prepaid plans operate around a fairly unique loyalty scheme that will cut down your monthly fees based on how long you've been with the service. In short, you'll pay an introductory price up until month four, then receive your full discounted monthly rate at month ten. You can also further reduce your bill by $5 a month if you make use of the auto-pay feature, which will bill your account each month without prompt until you cancel.
Combining the loyalty discount and auto-pay feature will give you the lowest monthly rate possible for Verizon prepaid plans. Unfortunately, there's no way to skip to a lower monthly rate, so you will be tied in for a while before you can get your maximum savings.
What are the alternatives to Verizon prepaid plans?
Verizon might be the best for US coverage and offer impressive 5G speeds, but that doesn't necessarily make it the ideal choice for you. Let's take a look at some competing options.
Visible Wireless is a subsidiary of Verizon that specializes in incredibly competitively priced unlimited data plans. For just $25 per month, you can get the basic Visible Wireless plan including completely unlimited data, talk, and text. The only downside with Visible is the lack of extra perks and deprioritization, although the premium Visible Plus plan for $40 per month can help with the latter. If you're looking for outright bang for the buck, we'd recommend checking out Visible (see our Visible Wireless plans guide for more information).
Mint Mobile is great for multi-month prepaid plans. For just $15/month you can get a basic 5GB data plan at Mint that includes unlimited talk and text. For $30 a month you can bump that plan up to an unlimited data plan that will only cap-out of 5G speeds after 35GB of usage. It is, however, worth noting that you need to pay for a full year of service at Mint upfront to bag the cheapest overall rates.
Data fans could look to the likes of Metro by T-Mobile where you can get an unlimited data plan with 5G connectivity and 5GB of hotspot data for just $50 a month without being forced to pay upfront for multi-month. That $50 is also inclusive of taxes and fees, so you know exactly what you'll be paying. Yes, Verizon's basic unlimited plan does drop to $50 but not until month ten, and that doesn't include the mobile hotspot access.
Still undecided? Check out our best prepaid plans guide for more.
