Visible vs. Verizon Prepaid: Which carrier is better?

Visible Wireless is an excellent option for cheap wireless coverage on Verizon’s 4G LTE and 5G networks. They are an MVNO that only has a few plans, but those plans provide a ton of value and are priced very competitively with other unlimited MVNO plans. They sell a service that is much more affordable than what is offered by Verizon, with a small catch, of course. Like all MVNOs, visible users are deprioritized when there is high data usage in the area. If you are willing to part with priority data that comes with a major wireless provider, you will be hard-pressed to find a better deal than the ones available at Visible. Verizon Wireless is one such major wireless provider, but their prepaid options are much closer to MVNOs in their pricing and high-speed data allocations. 

Each carrier has its positives and negatives, but which offers better phone plans? Let’s put them head to head and see which brand comes out on top. 

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 prices of their plans compare to how much data you get
• The features each carrier offers for their plans 

We wrote an in-depth guide on all the ins and outs of Visible, here.

Coverage & Reception - Visible vs. Verizon Prepaid

Visible is on the Verizon network. 

Visible is a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO. This means that they purchase service access wholesale from one of the three major networks that own infrastructure across the country – AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile – giving customers service at a much cheaper price. Visible is an MVNO of Verizon. 

Often, the quality of coverage comes down to your area. One carrier’s coverage may be better in New York, while another’s coverage may be better in California. It’s important to compare between providers on a coverage map of your specific city. Ookla’s coverage map allows you to see where cellular towers are located and which company owns them. This coverage map provides information about coverage from 2G to 5G for several providers.

Visible Plans

Both Visible plans offer unlimited data. 

Visible only offers 2 plans – Visible Base and Visible+. Visible+ offers more features as well as premium data. Both plans offer a hotspot, with the data coming from your overall plan data. As an MVNO on Verizon’s network, Visible is on QCI tiers 8 and 9. Visible+ has higher priority for its 50GB of premium data, tier 8, which will be further explained below. Visible Base is on tier 9. Want some more info on Visible? Check out our Visible Wireless Pros and Cons article for a longer look into this awesome MVNO.

It’s also important to note that Visible is a single line carrier – meaning you can only have one phone on an account. If you’re buying a plan for your family or with your significant other, you need to make separate accounts with separate plans for everyone. 

If you purchase your phone from Visible, your device will be locked for the first 60 days after activation. Both plans they offer renew monthly, and taxes and fees are included with the advertised price. 

Visible Base

Visible’s base plan offers unlimited talk, text, and data on Verizon’s 5G and 4G LTE networks for just $25 per month. There are no data caps, but your speeds may be deprioritized during times of network congestion. For most users, this is a great option that balances affordability and reliable performance, especially if you're not in a high-traffic area. The plan also includes unlimited mobile hotspot usage, with speeds capped at 5 Mbps—perfect for basic tasks like browsing and messaging.

The plan costs $25 per month. 

Visible+

For $45 per month, the Visible+ plan provides all the perks of the base plan, plus 50 GB of premium data, ensuring faster speeds without deprioritization even during busy times. This plan also grants access to Verizon’s ultra-fast 5G Ultra Wideband network. In addition, Visible+ includes international calling to over 30 countries and texting to 200+ countries, making it ideal for frequent travelers or those who need enhanced connectivity.

At this rate, you get the 50GB of premium data at $0.90 per GB. 

The plan costs $45 per month, with a $10 welcome discount for the first month.

Does Visible sound promising? We’re glad to hear it! If, however, you are more interested in a major wireless network, many offer prepaid and postpaid options. There are various pros and cons of prepaid and postpaid plan options. 

Prepaid and postpaid plans each offer distinct advantages and drawbacks. Prepaid plans are ideal for those seeking flexibility, as there are no contracts, and they don’t require credit checks. With prepaid, you pay upfront, which gives full control over spending and eliminates the risk of surprise bills. However, these plans often come with fewer perks, such as streaming subscriptions or device financing, and often come with limited high-speed data. Paying upfront is definitely a drawback for prepaid plans. 

On the other hand, postpaid plans provide access to premium features like device financing, priority customer support, and bundled perks. These plans often offer higher data caps and better speed tiers, along with family plan options to reduce total costs. However, they usually require a credit check and may lock users into long-term contracts. It is important to look into the meat of any plan, be it prepaid or postpaid, to find the one that makes the most sense for you. 

Want a quick look into the difference between prepaid and postpaid plan options? Check out our article discussing the differences between AT&T and AT&T Prepaid for more info!

Verizon Prepaid Plans

Verizon offers prepaid plans with several amounts of data.

Verizon’s Prepaid section offers 1 no data plan, 1 limited data plan, and 2 unlimited plans. Their data plans include deprioritization, and their Unlimited Plus plan includes premium data. Premium data does not slow down, even in times of high network congestion and traffic.

They also offer a plan with no data, which means you cannot access social media, email, or the internet without a WiFi connection. 

A Verizon Prepaid plan can have up to 10 lines. If you purchase your phone from Verizon, your device will be locked for 60 days after activation. The plans they offer renew monthly, and taxes and fees are not included with the advertised price. All plans come with an Autopay discount that is applied after the first month. 

No Data 

This plan does not offer data included with the plan, only unlimited talk and text. 

This plan includes unlimited talking and texting, but does not include data or hotspot access. The plan costs $35 per month normally, and $30 per month with the Autopay discount.

15GB 

This plan gives you 15GB before slowing down your data. 

This plan gives users 15GB of deprioritized data which slows down to 2G speeds after this cap. You will still be able to send texts and emails or browse the internet, but streaming video or playing video games will be very difficult. This plan also gives you mobile hotspot access with the 15GB, which stops after the 15GB cap. 

The plan costs $45 per month normally, and $35 per month with the Autopay discount. At this rate, you get 15GB at $2.33 per GB. 

Unlimited

This plan gives you unlimited, but deprioritized, data. 

This plan offers unlimited data without a cap, which means your data will not slow down because of the amount you use. However, this plan is deprioritized and will face slower speeds during high network connection. This plan also gives you 5GB of full speed data for hotspot access, which is then slowed to 600kbps, or 3G, speeds after this cap. 

The plan costs $60 per month normally, and $50 per month with the Autopay discount. 

Unlimited Plus 

This plan gives you 50GB of premium data, then deprioritized data. 

As Verizon’s biggest prepaid plan, this plan offers 50GB of premium data included. After the 50GB cap, this plan becomes deprioritized. This plan also offers 25GB of premium hotspot data, which is also deprioritized after the cap. 

The plan costs $70 per month normally, and $60 per month with the Autopay discount. At this rate, you get 75GB at $0.80 per GB. 

Visible and Verizon Prepaid offer similar features with their plans. 

If you’re looking for a plan with more included features, such as international connection or domestic roaming data, it’s best to compare carriers with what they offer. Both carriers offer similar features with their plans, such as domestic roaming data and call filtering.

Domestic Roaming Data

Visible and Verizon Prepaid both offer domestic roaming data on their plans. 

Mexico & Canada Connection

Visible offers talk and text in Mexico and Canada. However, Visible does not include roaming data for Mexico and Canada with Visible Base. Visible + includes roaming data that slows down to 2G speeds after 0.5GB each day. Verizon Prepaid plans include talk, text, and data in Mexico and Canada. However, their No Data plan requires users to pay $5 per day to use these capabilities. 

International Connection

Visible does not give you international roaming data. However, Visible+ gives you international talk and text. Visible Base does not offer this feature. All Verizon Prepaid plans include international text.

Video Streaming Quality

Visible’s plans stream at 480p Standard Definition. Verizon Prepaid’s 15GB and Unlimited plans stream at 480p Standard Definition, and their Unlimited Plus plan streams at 4k Ultra High Definition. Their No Data plan requires WiFi to stream video. 

Streaming Services

Visible and Verizon Prepaid do not offer this feature. 

Cloud Storage

Visible and Verizon Prepaid do not offer this feature. 

Device Financing

If you buy a phone from Verizon, they allow you to pay for your device in installments over time. Visible does not offer this feature. 

WiFi Calling

Both carriers offer WiFi calling, which allows you to send and receive phone calls over a WiFi connection rather than cellular reception. 

Spam Protection

Visible offers spam protection on both of their plans, which blocks spam calls and protects you from potential fraud. Verizon Prepaid offers protection from spam and fraud calls with the app Digital Secure. 

Free Trial

Visible offers a 15 day free trial. Verizon Prepaid does not offer this feature.   

Customer Service 

Visible does not have physical stores, leaving all of their customer service to online support. Verizon offers thousands of stores across the country, as well as online customer support. 

Visible is a digital-only carrier, meaning they only offer customer support online. Visible offers 24/7 chat support from a live agent. Verizon offers thousands of locations across the country, and you can find the closest store to you with their store locator. For support over the phone on prepaid plans with Verizon specifically, users can call 1-888-294-6804 on Mon. through Sat. at 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST on Sunday. 

The Verdict - Visible vs. Verizon Prepaid

The best plan varies between both carriers. 

Choosing between Visible and Verizon Prepaid ultimately comes down to your priorities. If you’re a high-data user looking for an affordable, no-frills plan, Visible is a fantastic option. With its unlimited data, talk, text, and hotspot access starting at just $25 per month, Visible offers incredible value—especially for single-line users. The simplicity of having only two plans makes it easy to decide, and the fact that taxes and fees are already included in the price adds even more convenience. If you want reliable coverage on Verizon’s network without breaking the bank, Visible stands out as an excellent choice.

On the other hand, Verizon Prepaid is ideal for those who want to stay within the Verizon ecosystem without committing to one of their premium postpaid plans. Verizon Prepaid offers more flexibility with a variety of plan types, including limited-data options and pay-as-you-go plans. It’s also a good fit for families or multi-line users, thanks to its discounts for additional lines. For anyone who wants the stability of Verizon’s network but isn’t ready for the long-term commitments and higher prices of flagship postpaid plans, Verizon Prepaid serves as a solid middle ground.

Both carriers deliver strong coverage through the Verizon network, so it really comes down to your usage needs. If you’re after simplicity and unlimited data, Visible is hard to beat. But if you value more plan variety or need to keep multiple lines active, Verizon Prepaid might be the better fit.

We’d recommend checking your data usage before committing to a plan.

Want to compare other carriers?

Really.com helps users compare between features, coverage, price, 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!

Visible vs. Verizon Prepaid — Frequently Asked Questions

Which carrier offers better coverage?

Visible operates on Verizon’s network, so they deliver the same strong nationwide 4G LTE and extensive 5G coverage as, well, Verizon does. This means you’ll get reliable service in most urban, suburban, and rural areas with either option. If you’re already satisfied with Verizon’s coverage, switching to Visible is perfect.

Which carrier provides better value?

Visible offers two straightforward plans—Visible ($25/month) and Visible+ ($35/month)—with taxes and fees included. These plans include unlimited talk, text, and data, providing exceptional value. Verizon Prepaid offers more plan options starting at $35/month, but their limited data means they provide less value than Visible. However, Verizon Prepaid includes multi-line discounts, increasing value for families.

Are there differences in plan flexibility?

Visible focuses on simplicity with just two unlimited plans. In contrast, Verizon Prepaid offers a wider range of plans, including limited-data options and pay-as-you-go choices, giving users more customization. If you need flexibility beyond unlimited data or want multi-line discounts, Verizon Prepaid might be a better fit.

Do either of these carriers offer perks or add-ons?

Both carriers include essential features like unlimited talk and text. Visible provides unlimited mobile hotspot data at 5 Mbps on all plans, while Verizon Prepaid offers hotspot access only on specific plans. Verizon Prepaid also gives users the ability to add data, international calling, and premium streaming services as needed.

Which is better for hotspot usage?

Visible has the edge in hotspot usage, offering unlimited hotspot data at 5 Mbps across all plans. Verizon Prepaid limits hotspot access to certain plans and charges extra for higher data caps, making it less convenient for frequent hotspot users. If you rely heavily on mobile hotspot, Visible is likely the better choice.