Verizon Pre Paid vs. Straight Talk: Which Carrier is Better?

Verizon Pre-Paid is the contract-free side of Verizon that offers a set of cell phone plans different from Verizon’s usual fare. Verizon is a major carrier that needs no introduction. They provide excellent cell phone plans with top-tier coverage and are constantly improving their network infrastructure to provide faster data speeds and more reliable reception. 

Straight Talk Wireless is an MVNO. Straight Talk uses Verizon’s network to deliver awesome coverage to all its users. They have a nice set of plans that, while expensive, offer a lot of data to mid-data users without breaking the bank. Straight Talk has multi-line savings, lots of data, a good mixture of plans, and a store full of the latest and greatest devices. 

In this article, we plan to discuss the ins and outs of both carriers and what they offer. We’ll also cover:

• What the coverage of both carriers looks like
• How do the prices of their plans compare to how much data you get
• The features each carrier offers for their plans 

Coverage & Reception

Straight Talk is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that offers affordable service by purchasing network access wholesale from major carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Straight Talk uses Verizon’s network for coverage, delivering more affordable cell phone plans at the cost of data priority.

Verizon's 5G and 4G LTE networks are renowned for their coverage and reliability, particularly in rural and suburban areas. Verizon Pre Paid users receive that awesome coverage with high network priority. Straight Talk, on the other hand, experiences lower data priority using Verizon’s network. This means that during times of network congestion, Straight Talk customers have slower data speeds as they are deprioritized in favor of higher-tier customers from the primary carriers. The intensity of congestion and data throttling depends on your location. New York City, for instance, will always have more congestion than its suburbs. 

A key difference between Verizon Pre Paid and Straight Talk is data prioritization. Verizon customers enjoy higher data priority compared to Straight Talk users. Here’s how it breaks down:

• Tier 1 Data: This tier enjoys the highest priority and maximum speeds at all times. Only in rare cases, like at major events, might these speeds be affected.
• Tier 2 Data: Users here experience high speeds unless the network is extremely congested. Even then, their data is slowed only after MVNO customers' data has been deprioritized.
• Tier 3 Data: This tier, used by MVNOs like Straight Talk, is the first to experience slowdowns during network congestion. While it offers a cost-effective way to access major networks, users in busy metropolitan areas may notice more frequent slowdowns

In essence, Verizon's plans often include Tier 1 or Tier 2 data, ensuring higher speeds and reliability, especially in densely populated regions. Straight Talk, offering Tier 3 data, provides an excellent budget-friendly option but with a higher likelihood of slowdowns in busy areas. Whether you prioritize cost savings or consistent high-speed connectivity will guide your choice between these carriers.

Be sure to explore our detailed guides and reviews on our website for a comprehensive analysis of Verizon networks' performance and how an MVNO like Straight Talk and Verizon Pre Paid leverage these networks.

Plan Options

Verizon Pre Paid offers various plans that provide limited and unlimited data, while Straight Talk offers a quartet of data plans with limited high-speed data. Along with high-speed data, both carriers offer unlimited talk and text along with various features and add-ons. First up, let’s talk about Verizon Pre Paid’s cell phone plans. 

Verizon Pre-Paid Cell Phone Plans

Verizon offers four pre-paid cell phone plans, which vary in data allocation. The price of these cell phone plans varies tremendously based on how many lines are on your account. We recommend at least three lines on this major provider, as it saves $30 on each line each month. These are Verizon’s pre-paid cell phone plans: 

• $35 — Talk and text only
• $45 — 15 GB of high-speed data 
• $60 — Unlimited high-speed data 
• $70 — Unlimited high-speed data with 20 GB hotspot data

For starters, don’t get Verizon’s talk and text-only cell phone plan. It is far too expensive and doesn’t give you the main benefit of using a major wireless network, which is, well, the network. If you truly don’t need high-speed mobile data, then an MVNO cell phone plan is perfect for you. Carriers like Tello Mobile, Ting, and Mint Mobile all have super-affordable low-data cell phone plans that let you save big on your mobile bill. 

Verizon’s other three prepaid cell phone plans all have benefits, including fantastic multi-line savings, which we will get into later! Their 15 GB data plan is good for low-data users, which gets you some high-speed data to use in emergencies while saving you money compared to their unlimited data plans. Their premium unlimited plan, on top of the 20 GB hotspot data, also has 50 GB of premium wireless data, which means you will almost never receive data slowdowns. If you find yourself regularly using hotspot data, then the extra $10 is very worthwhile! 

These cell phone plans are similarly priced to Verizon’s postpaid cell phone plans. All things being equal, we recommend Verizon’s postpaid plans because they offer greater benefits for the price. Major wireless networks offer lots of add-ons, features, and more, with the caveat that they are very expensive. Verizon pre-paid toes the line between a postpaid major wireless network and an MVNO, which offers much more affordable cell phone plans without the bells, whistles, and data priority you receive from major networks. 

We recommend Verizon pre-paid for people who are interested in trying out a major wireless network without committing to a contract on their service. It is hard to find concrete differences between the three major wireless networks. They all have impressive nationwide coverage, offer great high-speed data, and a robust cell phone store. Trying out a major wireless provider's pre-paid plan is a great way to see how their reported coverage map holds up in your area. You may find holes in their network that make it very frustrating to use their service or find that their coverage is exceptional in your area. 

Multi-Line Savings

Verizon’s multi-line savings are the same for every plan, which decreases the cost of each line as you add more to the account. This is the biggest way to save money on Verizon Wireless. Let’s break down how much you save with Verizon's pre-paid multi-line savings. 

In brief, the prices of single-line Verizon pre-paid plans are $35, $50, and $60 per line, respectively. The prices of the same lines with a five-line account are $35, $30, and $44, respectively. There are no multi-line savings on Verizon’s 15 GB plan, but you receive significant savings from both of their unlimited plans. Verizon’s Unlimited plan multiple-line savings rack up to 40% off each month! 

Straight Talk Cell Phone Plans

Straight Talk has four main plans for its store. All of them are viable, depending on how much data you want each month, with great savings coming from creating a multi-line account. Carriers like Tello Mobile and Visible Wireless, who don’t have any multi-line savings, are able to provide more affordable prices when compared to the maximum cost of Straight Talk’s cell phone plans, but the multi-line savings from Straight Talk is an excellent choice for if you have friends or family who are willing to open an account with you. Here are the main Straight Talk plans:  

• Bronze Unlimited — $35 per month (no multi-line savings)
• Silver Unlimited — $45/37.50/30/25
• Gold Unlimited — $55/47.50/40/35
• Platinum Unlimited — $65/57.50/50/45

The savings available from these plans make them excellent choices for multiple-line accounts. Straight Talk’s Silver, Gold, and Platinum plans all come with 60 GB of high-speed data before your plan is throttled to 2G data speeds. Outside of the data, the Gold and Platinum plans both come with hotspot data (15 and 20 GB, respectively), 100 GB cloud storage, international calling, and a Walmart+ membership!

Opening an account with Straight Talk is a great choice as long as you use less than 60 GB of high-speed data each month. For single-line users, we still recommend the Silver plan, as the Bronze plan only comes with 10 GB of high-speed data.

Straight Talk offers a simple family plan for all its customers. When you have multiple lines on an account, each line receives its lowest prices on Straight Talk’s 3-month contract plans, which are the shortest contracts they offer. 

As far as contracts go, three months is a sweet spot. We are generally opposed to change, so the first month might leave a bad taste in your mouth for no good reason.  We hope these articles, however, give you a lot of good information because switching carriers is no fun. Picking a new carrier is a big decision! But don’t worry, we’re here to help. You can peruse our site’s content and articles to gather all the data you need about carriers in your area or visit our comparison tool to look at your area's cell phone plans. 

Make sure to cast a wide net when looking at MVNOs! 

Major Wireless Network vs. MVNO

One of the biggest differences between Verizon Pre Paid and Straight Talk is that Verizon is a major wireless network, while Straight Talk is an MVNO. There are several key differences between these kinds of carriers. Let’s get into it.

Data throttling and data deprioritization are two key differences between major wireless networks and MVNOs. 

Cell Phone Plans

The flagship plans from major wireless networks all have unlimited high-speed data. Verizon Pre Paid is a little different, actually offering cell phone plans that start with no data whatsoever and also ones that have unlimited high-speed data. The pricing does not hold up to the competition, so we will focus on Verizon Pre Paid’s unlimited data plans. 

Major wireless networks with unlimited high-speed data cell phone plans are best for users who are often on the go and using their mobile data heavily. When planning to switch carriers, take a look at your data usage over the past few months. You want a cell phone plan with enough leeway that you won’t go over your data allocation even if you have a month of heavy usage. This is one of the reasons that cell phone plans with unlimited high-speed data are so convenient. You never have to worry about going over your data maximums. 

MVNOs, on the other hand, often only offer limited-data cell phone plans. The big benefits of these, from the right provider, are incredibly diminished costs relative to plans from major wireless networks. The downsides come from data deprioritization and throttling. 

• Data deprioritization: When your data speed may be temporarily slowed during times of network congestion if you've used a lot of data and are in a busy area.
• Throttling: When your data speed is intentionally slowed down by your provider after you've used a certain amount of data in a billing cycle, often to maintain network quality or enforce plan limits

Customer Service 

Verizon’s contact information is 800-922-0204, or you can access its help page here. For Straight Talk, you can contact them here: 877-430-2355 or access their help page here. 

The Verdict

These are two great carriers, but we must give Straight Talk the upper hand. Their plans are better suited for their intended audience, while Verizon’s low-data cell phone plans are too expensive to be in the running. Yes you have premium data, but it is not worth it compared to the massive savings you get with other MVNOs. Coupled with multi-line savings, Straight Talk is a great, well-rounded MVNO that is perfect if you have a couple of friends to make a multi-line account. 

All in all, Verizon’s cell phone plans are more expensive than the competition without enough juice to back up the price. Verizon’s flagship plans, while expensive, make it worth your while with a lot of features and great data plans. 

Straight Talk, though expensive, provides a great data plan for medium-data users where they can save in relation to major wireless networks while retaining an impressive amount of monthly cell phone data. 

MVNOs offer the most benefits when you don’t need unlimited high-speed data because they offer great plans that the major networks do not match. Once you start looking at cell phone plans between $40 and $70 from an MVNO, well, it becomes very similar to what you would pay at a major wireless network, and with a major network, you receive many other benefits. 

We’d recommend checking your data usage before committing to a plan. Being able to limit your data consumption opens up the option for far more low-data plans that are a fraction of the cost of major wireless unlimited high-speed data plans. The downside, of course, is that it is difficult to keep data consumption low. For low-data users there are many available MVNOs that offer single-line plans under $20 a month. 

Want to compare other carriers?

Really.com helps users compare features, coverage, prices, reviews, and more!

Are you still unsure which carrier to choose or which phone plan to pick? Use really.com to compare your top choices and find the best deal to fit your needs. Really allows you to compare and sort between most phone plans on the market without the hassle!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Straight Talk being phased out?

There is no indication that Straight Talk is being phased out. It continues to offer services and remains a popular choice for budget-conscious consumers.

Since Verizon acquired TracFone, Straight Talk, which is one of TracFone's brands, has seen some changes. Straight Talk has transitioned to using Verizon only as their network, and their plans have changed from what they were before the acquisition. The integration process is ongoing, and users may experience further adjustments as the transition continues.

Whose towers does Straight Talk use?

Straight Talk uses Verizon’s towers for their network services.

Is Verizon a good carrier?

Verizon is a great carrier in the United States. They have a reputation for strong network coverage, reliability, and good customer service. 

Why is my data getting slowed on unlimited MVNO plans?

Data on unlimited MVNO plans often gets slowed due to network prioritization and data throttling policies once a certain usage threshold is reached. This is a common practice among MVNOs to manage network congestion and ensure fair usage among customers. Major Networks have higher-priority data, which is one of the perks of their higher-priced service.