Verizon vs Total by Verizon: Who Should You Go With?

There comes a time in a lot of people’s lives where they begin to grow dissatisfied with their current phone service. Whether it’s because you’ve moved and the coverage isn’t as good in your new home than it was in your previous hometown. Or you realize that you need a lot more “oofmp” with your phone plan than just the basics- (“oofmp” meaning special perks and benefits that is quickly becoming a commonality for phone plans nowadays).

Of course no one wants to deal with the process of switching providers, it can be a bit stress-inducing especially if you’re comparing multiple carriers together. So we thought we’d help you out a little bit by comparing Verizon vs Total by Verizon, which can be described as siblings almost.

Although they are related, there are many interesting comparisons to draw between Verizon itself and Total by Verizon. And it’s especially important to go over all those little details so you can decide which provider and plan works best for you. So let’s get started!

• Quick Overview: Verizon and Total by Verizon
• What the Coverage Looks Like from Both Providers
• How the Plans Compare: From Price to Features
• The Verdict

Quick Overview: Verizon and Total by Verizon

Before we go over what the coverage and phone plans look like from each provider we should first talk about the two companies as a whole, but since we’re technically talking about the same company, we figured we talk about Verizon as a whole and then get into what makes Total by Verizon different from its parent company.

-> Verizon

You might be surprised to learn that Verizon has only been in the wireless game since 2000, as it feels like they’ve been around for a lot longer. There’s been hundreds of commercials over the years boasting about their reliable nationwide coverage and if you’ve wondered if that’s true we can attest to it as they cover over 70% of the country with their 4G LTE network. That means for our friends who live in more rural areas you might have better luck having service in those areas than with other providers. 

Another major perk to Verizon is funnily enough, their perks! With Verizon’s postpaid unlimited plans they have a ton of potential add-ons from streaming services to cloud storage and more. So for our cell phone users that are already paying for a bunch of these services and like to bundle and save, then these plans, that we will go over in detail later, might just be your golden goose. You might end up spending more than an average cell phone, but the benefits might far outweigh the monthly bill.

-> Total by Verizon

So you know a bit about Verizon now, and how their reliable coverage and perks are their two biggest draws. But what makes Total by Verizon different? Originally Total by Verizon was just known as Total Wireless until it was rebranded by Verizon in 2022. It is a MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) which describes a smaller wireless carrier that doesn’t own their own cell towers but instead piggybacks the signal off of a company that does- in this case it’s Verizon. Total by Verizon offers the same coverage as Verizon but more “scaled-down” plans and while you might not get all the perks you’d get from a regular Verizon plan, you’re going to end up saving money which might be your make or break. 

One good thing to note is that with Total by Verizon and a lot of MVNOs you might be more susceptible to data deprioritization. Data deprioritization is “the temporary slowing of data speeds for certain customers in order to give priority to other customers.” Which means in times of network congestion and/or you’re in high traffic areas, direct customers from Verizon will have their data prioritized over those through a MVNO like Total. Throttling might also be more pertinent and that is “the dramatic slowing of your data speeds to the point that it becomes almost unusable,” which happens when a user goes over their data cap for the month. 

A good tip to know is you’ll normally find a data cap number within the plan’s information itself or at the bottom of their website in fine print.

What the Coverage Looks Like from Both Providers

Now that we know a little bit about Verizon and Total by Verizon, let’s go over the coverage. Of course since Total by Verizon is under Verizon’s coverage, that means that you can expect pretty much the same consistent speeds, however as you’ll see shortly when we show you a glimpse of their coverage maps, Total doesn’t have international spots covered upfront.

We already talked about how Verizon is the leader in nation-wide 4G LTE coverage, which again is delightful for those who aren’t as interconnected to urban life. As for their 5G network, Verizon isn’t as robust as T-Mobile, as currently T-Mobile is the leader in 5G wireless, with AT&T rounding out in second place. However, Verizon’s 5G internet receives high marks in “5G Games Experience, 5G Voice App Experience, and 5G Video Experience.” This means that if you’re in a Verizon 5G covered area, you can expect some solid speeds if you’re someone that likes to call, stream, and/or game on your phone. 

Every wireless carrier’s website has a “Coverage Map” which gives you an approximate estimate of their network’s coverage. You’re able to zoom in and out of the map and type in your own address so you can get an idea of what coverage is expected like in your area. Here’s a look at Verizon’s coverage map:

Although it isn’t completely pictured above, Verizon offers coverage in the majority of the United States along with parts of Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands. You can view coverage map from Verizon here.

With Total by Verizon, you’re on the same network, so you can expect the coverage. However, they don’t offer their service in those parts of Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands like you’ll see from Verizon’s coverage map. Instead they are solely covered in the United States:

(Not Pictured: Alaska and Hawaii which are covered in some parts).

Total by Verizon does show in their phone plan’s “Broadband Facts” the 5G and 4G LTE speeds you can expect with each plan which is:

5G

Typical Download Speed: 34-149 Mbps

Typical Upload Speed: 6-37 Mbps

Typical Latency: 42-63 ms

4G LTE

Typical Download Speed: 9-69 Mbps

Typical Upload Speed: 1-13 Mbps

Typical Latency: 51-82 ms

Some pretty solid speeds for a MVNO- thanks in part to Verizon. And again, these are for every plan, so you don’t have to pay more or go onto a higher tier plan to get these speeds. They are consistent across the board.

How the Plans Compare: From Price to Features

Let's talk about phone plans! This is what you’re really here for. We’re going to detail out what to expect from both Verizon and Total by Verizon’s phone plans. First up we have Verizon’s postpaid phone plans which may look a bit different but as we’ve said Verizon is all about bundles, so we’re going to show you the base unlimited plans and then the additional perks you could mix and match with:

It is good to note that those prices above aren’t necessarily the finalized prices you’ll see in your monthly bill as those listed are if you sign up with Auto Pay and don’t include taxes and additional fees.

And here are the perks you can get with these plans- (not all perks are available with each plan, make sure to look into their bundles on their plans page):

• The Disney Bundle which gets you Disney+ Premium with no ads, Hulu with ads, and ESPN with ads. Original price is $18.99/mo, only 10/mo. with Verizon savings (Terms Apply).
• Netflix & Max which gives you Netflix Standard with ads and Max with ads plan. Original price is $16.98/mo, only $10/mo. with Verizon savings (Terms Apply).
• Apple One which has Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+ all in a bundle. Perfect for Apple phone users. Original price for individuals is $19.95/mo, only $10/mo. with Verizon savings and original family plans normally pay $25.95/mo, now only $20/mo (Terms Apply).
• The Walmart+ Membership which has its own benefits you can read about on the plans tab. Original price is $12.95/mo, only $10/mo. with Verizon savings (Terms Apply).
• Apple Music Family which allows six members to enjoy Apple Music. Original price is $16.99/mo and Verizon customers pay $10/mo. (Terms Apply).
• A 100GB Mobile Hotspot originally priced at $45/mo now only $35/mo. (Terms Apply).
• Smartwatch Data & Safety which is normally $20/mo is now only $10/mo. (Terms Apply).
• +play Monthly Credit, a Verizon platform that lets you manage all of your digital subscriptions from one place. You can save $5/mo off your $15/mo credit.(Terms Apply).
• 3 TravelPass Days. TravelPass lets you call, text, and use data in 210+ countries around the world. These three days, 24 hour sessions, are included each month. Originally it’s $30/mo, only $10/mo. with Verizon savings (Terms Apply).
• 2TB Cloud Storage that’s originally $14.99/mo and with the addon it’s $10/mo. (Terms Apply).

These are some pretty sweet deals, especially if you are already interested and or are subscribed to any of these services. Verizon is giving you a way to bundle and save! The price per line does go down too, so if you’re a family then those prices might not be as scary at first glance.

Total by Verizon has four plans to choose from that you can go up to five lines with (and if you add more lines you save more money as the price per line goes down the more you add).

From the looks of it, Total by Verizon’s plans are a bit of a scaled down version of Verizon’s postpaid plans. There’s not as many fancy benefits, but for a MVNO? You won’t find many with the international and Disney+ add-on, so already this is looking like one of the better ones. The prices are far more appealing from just a glimpse if you were a bit unsure when you looked at the postpaid Verizon unlimited plan’s prices above. However keep in mind your data will be deprioritized in high traffic areas and network congestion so if you are out in those peak times be wary of potential varying speeds from your device.

With a hotspot you can connect your laptop to your phone’s data anywhere!

The Verdict

This was definitely an interesting match-up as Total by Verizon is essentially a part of the same branch as Verizon. You get the same coverage as Verizon customers which is nice, but not every perk listed under Verizon’s postpaid plans. Deprioritized data isn’t a fun add-on either. It ultimately comes down to what number you want to see on your phone bill and how often you’re not on wifi. 

We will say if you are a homebody, then Total by Verizon is a great alternative, especially for those benefits you do get at the prices advertised- as long as you don’t go for their “Unlimited+ Plan” as for only $5+ more you can sign up for Verizon’s “Unlimited Welcome” plan which doesn’t suffer from those peak congestion times and you’ll have more options for fun benefits. So overall, if you’re looking to save a buck, a homebody, and don’t care about those Verizon perks, then the first three Total by Verizon plans are the way to go. Anything more- go with Verizon directly.

And if you want to compare and contrast Verizon and Total by Verizon to over 1,200 other phone plans so you know you’re getting the service that’s right for you, then make sure to check out the REALLY compare page which allows you to look at pricing, coverage, what phone plans are available, current deals and steals, and how you can make the most of your potential phone bill.