Verizon vs. Hello Mobile: Which Carrier is Better?

Verizon is one of the three major wireless networks popular in the United States, and Hello Mobile is a small MVNO that operates on T-Mobile’s network, delivering affordable cell phone plans to all its customers. The major trade-offs with Hello Mobile are deprioritized data and low high-speed data allocations. All users may experience deprioritized data whenever their area is in high demand, and Hello’s unlimited plans start throttling data much faster than other unlimited MVNO plans on the market. That being said, Hello Mobile is a good option for low-data users, which we will get into in this article! 

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

Hello Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). This means that it purchases service access wholesale from one of the three major networks that own infrastructure across the country—Verizon, Verizon, and T-Mobile—giving customers service at a much lower price. Hello Mobile uses T-Mobile’s major wireless network. 

For coverage and reception, we pit T-Mobile (Hello Mobile) against Verizon. Major wireless carriers have pretty comparable coverage nationwide, with Verizon having better coverage in certain areas and T-Mobile having better coverage in others. Make sure to check local coverage maps for more information about your area.  

The other major difference between the coverage and reception of these carriers is that Verizon customers have a far higher data priority than Hello Mobile’s customers. When there is more traffic on a network than it can handle, the owning company (Verizon, T-Mobile, or Verizon) will throttle the data of certain customers. To evade slowing everyone’s data speed at once, carriers have users divided into tiers with different data priorities. In the United States, that priority data is roughly divided into three tiers, like so: 

• Tier 1 Data has the maximum data speeds at all times. If tier-one data is ever slowed down, it means no customers on the network have access to high-speed data. This may occur at sporting events, concerts, or other large congregations of people.
• Tier 2 Data retains maximum speeds after MVNO customers' data is slowed down. This is excellent on all but the busiest occasions. If congestion returns after MVNOs are slowed down, then T2 gets slowed to make room for Tier 1 Data, which this plan offers, to stay at max speeds. With T2 data, you may notice slowdowns in bigger cities where there are many residents and commuters. 
• Tier 3 Data, or MVNO data, is always the first tier of data to receive slowdowns. Hello Mobile utilizes MVNO data, which is an excellent way to use major wireless networks with affordable plan pricing. 

So, Verizon offers plans that have either tier 1 or tier 2 data, and Hello Mobile offers plans that are on tier 3 data. If you live in a major metropolitan area, you will notice far more slowdowns due to data deprioritization than if you live in a suburban or rural area. 

Plan Options

Verizon offers various plans that provide unlimited data, while Hello offers five 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’s cell phone plans. 

Verizon Cell Phone Plans

Verizon offers three cell phone plans, keeping their offerings simple and efficient. 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 cell phone plans: 

• Welcome Unlimited, priced at $65/55/40/30 a month per line
• Unlimited Plus, priced at $80/70/55/45 a month per line
• Unlimited Ultimate, priced at $90/80/65/55 a month per line

The Unlimited Plus plan is a little more expensive and comes with the following perks: 

• 30 GB mobile hotspot
• Device savings
• Price guarantee
• Premium data

Regardless of the number of lines, the Unlimited Plus plan is $15 more per line on your account. This is a lot, but the premium data is handy in spaces with high data usage. It is hard to gauge how important premium data is. There are many areas around the country where Verizon’s network is strong enough to keep everyone using full-speed data.

Unlimited Ultimate doubles the hotspot data and opens up some new customer deals. This is an excellent choice for people who are willing to pay a premium for their cell phone service in order to get all the bells and whistles on their cell phone plan. 60 GBs of high-speed hotspot data is excellent for those who need to use data on laptops or tablets on the go. 

Premium data is most valuable for those in big cities. There is a lot of congestion in big cities, and Data is frequently slowed down in other areas, especially in big cities. We recommend starting on the less expensive plan and checking your data speeds for a month or two. If you notice slow data, we recommend switching to a more expensive plan if you have the budget for it. 

Alongside the base plans, Verizon offers a package of optional add-ons that each add $10 to your cell phone bill. The best part is that you can skip them entirely and stick to the base plan price, but if you find any Verizon add-ons you like, adding them to your plan always saves a few dollars on the service. 

Hello Mobile Cell Phone Plans

Hello Mobile offers seven plans, each of which has its own benefits and downsides. The seven Hello Mobile phone plans are as follows: 

• 500 MB for $5 a month
• 1 GB for $10 a month
• 4 Gbs for $15 a month
• 5 GB for $20 a month
• Unlimited for $25 a month
• Unlimited Plus for $40 a month (comes with mobile hotspot)

While Hello Mobile’s $25 unlimited plan offers, in our opinion, the best value, their 500 MB and 4 GB plans deserve honorable mentions. The ability to get a phone plan with unlimited talk and text for only $5 is fantastic and lets users who spend the majority of their time covered by WiFi have a great talk and text plan for incredibly cheap. For users looking for a great deal but still wanting some GBs to use during the month, we like the $15 4 GB plan the most. It is a good mix of data allocation while remaining a cheap option for phone coverage. 

If you can limit your cell phone usage to WiFi networks, then you can make the most of their low-data cell phone plans. You can download audio and video before you go out and configure settings on your device to limit background data usage when you are out and about. Taking advantage of this, you can keep 500 MB or 1-5 GB of high-speed data for emergencies while using WiFi for the bulk of your data. 

Hello Mobile’s Unlimited GB cell phone plan gives you more flexibility to use your phone when out and about, but heavy phone usage will quickly diminish your supply. Their two unlimited cell phone plans come with 20 GB of high-speed data, which really opens up your options. While serious cell phone usage will burn through 20 GB of high-speed data, you have a lot of flexibility when it comes to your cell phone usage during the month. This is a great place to start while you decide how much data you need, but be warned, if you take a few days of using your cell phone a lot, 20 GB of data won’t be enough for you. Any video streaming or social media usage will crush your monthly data allocation.

We are big believers that it is important to have enough data for a whole month of your normal cell phone usage. It’s all well and good to find ways to limit usage, but it is not worth picking a super low-data plan and losing high-speed data after a week or two. Using your cell phone on 3G data is painful when you are used to 4G LTE or 5G speeds. 

If you know for a fact that you use more than 20 GB of high-speed data each month, then Verizon is for you. If you use a lot of data, then chilling with unlimited high-speed data is essential. This means you can use your phone as much as you want, with no worry of data throttling. 

Major Wireless Network vs. MVNO

One of the biggest differences between Verizon and Hello Mobile is that Verizon is a major wireless network, while Hello Mobile 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. 

Deprioritization

Data deprioritization occurs when a network is too “busy” to handle the current level of traffic. This happens all the time across the country, but the frequency of deprioritization is hard to quantify. 

Certain plans from major wireless networks will also allocate an amount of data on the premium tier before deprioritizing your account for the rest of the month. This gives you a pool of congestion-free data each month; you have a higher risk of slowed-down data once you use it up.

Throttling

Data throttling occurs when you are on a limited data plan and use up all your data for the month. This is completely separate from network congestion. This is the dramatic slowing of data, where speeds will be a lot slower than those who’ve just been deprioritized. At the beginning of the next month, you get a new data allocation and return to high speeds. 

As an MVNO, Hello Mobile’s data fluctuates far more than Verizon’s data, as Hello receives data deprioritization far more. This makes Hello Mobile, among other MVNOs, unreliable in terms of data speeds. Anytime there is a danger of congestion within T-Mobile’s network, the high-speed data given to Hello Mobile’s customers is slowed down to allocate more bandwidth to T-Mobile’s customers. 

It is harder to predict the congestion in less populated cities and rural areas around the country. Festivals, concerts, and sporting events are common times when a lot of congestion hits the area. If you’ve ever been to a football game and tried to access your phone for just about anything, we are certain that you’ve seen what it feels like to try to use data with congestion. 

Verizon, a major network, does not throttle its customers' data (its plans have unlimited high-speed data) and sees less data deprioritization than Hello. Verizon’s customers have either tier 1 or tier 2 data, so MVNOs will always be deprioritized before major wireless networks. 

Customer Service 

Verizon has physical locations and robust online customer service offerings, while Hello Mobile only has online customer service. You can call Verizon’s customer service line on this number: 800-922-0204. You can also reach Verizon’s help pages following this link, which has answers to frequently asked questions, the option to chat, and more. 

For Hello Mobile, you can contact them here: 1 (888) 95-HELLO or access their help page here. 

The Verdict

Due to data deprioritization and data throttling, Hello Mobile is best for people who don’t rely on high-speed data when they are out and about. With a maximum of 20 GB of high-speed data on their cell phone plans, any high-data users will quickly cut through their high-speed data allocation and then be stuck with slow data speeds for the rest of the month. 

One big upside of Hello Mobile is the wide array of low-data plans from which you can choose. If you know you are a low-data user, or are actively trying to decrease your data consumption, then you can hop between cell phone plans as you get a better idea about how much data you need. Overall, we recommend Verizon over Hello Mobile. It is more expensive, but it comes with far more features that make it a better bet for the majority of users. 

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. 

Want to compare other carriers?

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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

How can I choose the right cell phone provider? 

Choosing the right provider depends on your location, budget, and data usage. Research the coverage maps of major providers in your area to determine which one has the best coverage for you. Also, consider customer reviews for each provider's service quality and customer support.

How can I choose the right cell phone plan?

To choose the right plan, assess your usage habits—how much data, talk time, and texts you need. Look for plans that fit your requirements and budget. Compare different providers' offerings and check for additional features like international roaming, hotspot data, or family plans.

Should I use an MVNO or a major wireless provider?

It depends on your priorities. MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) often offer more affordable plans with similar coverage since they use the same network that major providers use. However, major providers may offer better perks, such as higher data speeds, broader coverage, and more premium features. Evaluate your budget and needs to make the right choice. Remember, while it is a pain, you can switch providers as long as you don’t have a contract with them. Just make sure your cell phone is unlocked.