Verizon remains the carrier with the most extensive coverage in the lower 48.
Currently available postpaid plan options:
- Get More Unlimited - For smartphones, tablets and hotspots **TOP PICK**
- Do More Unlimited - For smartphones, tablets and hotspots
- Play More Unlimited - For smartphones, tablets and hotspots
- Start Unlimited - For smartphones
- 55+ Unlimited - For smartphones and tablets
- Shared Data Plans - Tiered, shared data plans for smartphones, tablets and hotspots
- Single Device Plans - Single line basic phone, hotspot, tablet or connected device plans
For Our Comparative Pricing Grid:
Guide to Cellular Data Plan Pricing
Table of Contents
- Unlimited Plans
- Consumer Plans
- Get More
- Do More / Play More
- Just Kids
- 55+
- 5G Add-On
- Business Plans
- Unlimited Data Plan for Tablets/Jetpacks
- 5G Unlimited Plan
- Retired / Legacy Plans
- Consumer Plans
- Shared Data Plans (aka 'Tiered Data')
- Retired Plans
- Connected Device Only Plans
- Single Device Plans
- General Postpaid Policies (Member Only)
- Discounts (Member Only)
- Analysis (Member Only)
- Purchasing Options
Unlimited Plans
Consumer Unlimited Data Plans
Verizon's current family of unlimited plans was introduced on August 5th, 2019, Verizon's current mix-and-match unlimited options include four different unlimited plans, each with its own limitations. Additionally, Verizon offers a 55+ Unlimited plan to seniors with a Florida billing address.
Video overview of their current postpaid smartphone plans:
Prices include autopay discounts of $10/line:
- Get More Unlimited:
- 1 line - $90
- 2 lines - $80/line
- 3 lines - $65/line
- 4 lines - $55/line
- Hotspots/Tablets/Chromebooks - $10/line
- Do More Unlimited / Play More Unlimited (two slightly different plans with the same pricing):
- 1 line - $80
- 2 lines - $70/line
- 3 lines - $55/line
- 4 lines - $45/line
- Hotspots/Tablets/Chromebooks - $10/line (Do More) or $20/line (Play More)
- Start Unlimited:
- 1 line - $70
- 2 lines - $60/line
- 3 lines - $45/line
- 4 lines - $35/line
- Tablets/Chromebooks - $20/line (Jetpacks not eligible)
Additionally, justkids - a kid-focused, tiered-data smartphone plan - can be added to any unlimited plan.
- JustKids:
- 1 line - N/A
- 2 lines - $50/line
- 3 lines - $40/line
- 4 lines - $35/line
- Hotspots/Tablets/Chromebooks - N/A
Verizon offers a separate 55+ Unlimited plan for seniors who have a Florida business address. This plan cannot be mixed-and-match with other Verizon plans
- 55+ Unlimited:
- 1 line - $60/line
- 2 lines - $40/line
- Tablets - $20/line (Jetpacks cannot be added to a 55+ plan)
Plan Policies:
- Carrier Networks Used: Verizon
- Carrier Relation: Direct
- Plan Types Available: Smartphone, Data Only
- Device Types Permitted: Phone, Smartphone, Tablet, Chromebook, Hotspot
- Hotspot / Tablet / Data Only Devices:
- Get More Unlimited: Mobile hotspot devices (Jetpacks/MiFi), tablets, and Chromebooks can be added for $10/month each. However, lines are capped at just 15GB of high-speed mobile hotspot use, and are subject to network management after 15GB.
- Do More Unlimited: Mobile hotspot devices (Jetpacks/MiFi), tablets, and Chromebooks can be added for $10/month each. However, lines are capped at just 15GB of high-speed mobile hotspot use, and are subject to network management after 15GB.
- Play More Unlimited: Mobile hotspot devices (Jetpacks/MiFi), tablets, and Chromebooks can be added for $20/month each. However, lines are capped at just 15GB of high-speed mobile hotspot use, and are subject to network management after 15GB.
- Start Unlimited: Not eligible for adding hotspot device lines.
- justkids: Not eligible for adding hotspot device lines.
- 55+ Unlimited Plan: Not eligible for adding hotspot device lines, but can add up to 10 tablet lines.
- Hotspot / Tablet / Data Only Devices:
- Device Purchase Required: No, but can purchase a device
- Mobile Hotspot / Tethering Use:
- Get More Unlimited: Smartphone lines on this plan include 30GB of high-speed mobile hotspot use in a month per line, and then speed for mobile hotspot is reduced to 600 kbps for the remainder of the month.
- A data boost of 5GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data can be purchased for $35 - and each line can have up to 20 data boosts (ie. up to 100GB) per billing cycle. This is a flexible, albeit pricey, way to add a bunch of data when needed sporadically.
- Mobile hotspot devices (Jetpacks/MiFi), tablets, and Chromebooks are capped at 15GB of high-speed mobile hotspot use, and are subject to network management after 15GB.
- Do More Unlimited / Play More Unlimited: Thes plans include 15GB of high-speed mobile hotspot use in a month per line, and then speed for mobile hotspot is reduced to 600 kbps for the remainder of the month.
- A data boost of 5GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data can be purchased for $35 - and each line can have up to 20 data boosts (ie. up to 100GB) per billing cycle. This is a flexible, albeit pricey, way to add a bunch of data when needed sporadically.
- Mobile hotspot devices (Jetpacks/MiFi), tablets, and Chromebooks are capped at 15GB of high-speed mobile hotspot use, and are subject to network management after 15GB.
- Start Unlimited: No mobile hotspot/tethering use.
- justkids: No mobile hotspot/tethering use.
- 55+ Unlimited Plan: All mobile hotspot use is at 600 kbps.
- Get More Unlimited: Smartphone lines on this plan include 30GB of high-speed mobile hotspot use in a month per line, and then speed for mobile hotspot is reduced to 600 kbps for the remainder of the month.
- Throttling
- Get More Unlimited: Full data speed on phone device, mobile hotspot via phone is throttled to 600 kbps after 30GB (throttled at 15GB for other devices).
- Do More Unlimited / Play More Unlimited: Full data speed on phone device, mobile hotspot is throttled to 600 kbps after 15GB.
- Start Unlimited: Full data speed on device, always subject to network management, no mobile hotspot allowed.
- justkids: 5GB of full-speed data followed by unlimited 2g (128kps) speed.
- 55+ Unlimited Plan: Full data speed on device, always subject to network management, no mobile hotspot allowed.
- Network Management:
- Get More Unlimited: Lines on this plan are subject to network management after 75GB of usage in a month, per line.
- Do More Unlimited: Lines on this plan are subject to network management after 50GB of usage in a month, per line.
- Play More Unlimited: Lines on this plan are subject to network management after 25GB of usage in a month, per line.
- Start Unlimited / 55+ Unlimited / justkids: Lines on are always subject to network management
- International Roaming:
- Get More, Do More, Play More, Start and 55+ all include unlimited calling and texting in Mexico and Canada and 512MB/day of high-speed data per line. If more than 50% of your talk, text or data usage in a 60-day period is in Canada or Mexico, use of those services in those countries may be removed or limited.
- Travel Pass: Travel Passes can be purchased for $10/day for all unlimited plans. Passes include unlimited calling and texting and 512MB/day of high-speed data per line (2G reduced speeds thereafter) in 185+ countries.
- justkids: No international use.
- Domestic Roaming: Yes (justkids: 2G speeds only)
- Plan Period: 30 days
- Data Roll Over: No
- Overage Charges: No
- Streaming:
- Video Optimization:
- Get More Unlimited, Play More Unlimited: Video on smartphones is reduced to 720p, and on tablets & tethered devices reduced to 1080p. For $10/mo per line, you can enable 4K video streaming.
- Do More Unlimited / Start Unlimited / 55+ Unlimited: Video on smartphones is reduced to DVD quality at 480p, and on tablets, it's reduced to 720p.
- justkids: Video is reduced to DVD quality at 480p.
- Disney+: Customers with unlimited plans get a free year of Disney+, a $7.99/month value.
- Apple Music: Lines will be provided with the base $9.99 subscription. This cannot be used as a credit for Apple's more expensive plans, so customers cannot get Apple's $14.99 Family Plan and only pay the $5 difference.
- Get More / Play More Unlimited: Apple Music bundled with each line
- Do More / Start Unlimited: 6 month trial of Apple Music
- 55+ Unlimited / justkids: No Apple Music included.
- Video Optimization:
- Unlimited: Yes (except justkids addon line which is 5GB of tiered data)
- Lines Permitted Per Account: 10
- Single vs Multi-Line:
- Single Line: A single line can be a smartphone, Jetpack or tablet. You can add two hotspot/tablet lines for $20/line on top of a single line account.
- Multi-Line: Smartphone lines are priced at the additional line pricing. Up to 10 devices in total may be on a consumer account.
- 55+ Unlimited is limited to two smartphones but you can add up to 10 tablets and up to 25 connected devices (but not Jetpacks).
- Single vs Multi-Line:
5G Add-On
5G service can be added to the following Unlimited plans for a $10/month access fee with a compatible 5G device.
- Get More Unlimited
- Do More Unlimited
- Play More Unlimited
- Start Unlimited
However, 5G service is currently only in limited parts of a few cities. For current Verizon 5G coverage, see Verizon's 5G Phone page.
5G-Specific Terms
5G service includes:
- unlimited high-speed 5G data
- unlimited 5G mobile hotspot/tethering
- unlimited 4K streaming over the 5G network
- No deprioritization or network management
5G data is download-only - all upstream data (sent from your device to the network) will be over Verizon's 4G LTE network, but Verizon promises that data will not count toward any 4G LTE data usage.
Business Plans
Verizon offers an unlimited data business plan, however, at least one phone device must be on the plan (other lines can be data only devices). At $45/line, this plan is cheaper than Verizon's Beyond Unlimited plan. However, it comes with reduced hotspot limits.
- Phone and tablet devices get 10GB of full speed hotspot, then all hotspot data is slowed to 600kbps.
- Hotspot devices (Jetpacks) and notebooks get 10GB of full speed hotspot, the next 12GB (to 22) is throttled to 600kbps, then after 22GB you get unlimited hotspot data at 200kbps speeds.
All video is throttled to 480p.
Verizon Unlimited Data Only Plans
Verizon will activate a tablet or Jetpack as a single line of service on their Unlimited plans for $80/month ($75/month with auto pay). This plan is not advertised in the "plans" section of Verizon's website, but is listed as the default plan in the online store for data-only devices for new accounts. Additional data-only devices can be added to this plan for $20/month.
The plans includes:
- Unlimited on-device data (applicable to tablets only)
- 15GB of high-speed mobile hotspot use (throttled to 600kbps thereafter)
- Network management applies after 15GB of use
- HD (720p) streaming
- Unlimited 2G domestic roaming
- 512mb per day Canada/Mexico high speed roaming
- 5 International Travel Passes per month
5G Unlimited Data Plan
With the release of the 5G MiFi M1000, Verizon is offering a "limited time" 5G data-only plan for this device.
- The "limited time" plan includes truly unlimited 5G data for 30 days.
- After 30 days, 5G data remains unlimited but is subject to a 50GB network management threshold. Once this threshold is passed, speeds may be slowed due to congestion for the rest of the month, but users will always get at least 3Mbps on the 5G network.
- 5G service also includes 4K video streaming when connected to the 5G network.
When used on the 4G/LTE network, the following terms apply instead
- 15GB of high-speed data a month followed by unlimited data at 600kbps
- Video streams capped at 720p resolution
- The rest of Verizon's standard terms for mobile hotspots on unlimited 4G/LTE plans apply
Up until 2011, Verizon offered a truly unlimited smartphone data plan - even allowing for mobile hotspot use without throttling or network management. But, in 2011 - Verizon took the axe to allowing new customers to take advantage of unlimited plans, but grandfathered the plans in for existing customers (or those who successfully navigated the assumption of liability process).
From 2011 until 2017, the only plans Verizon directly offered new customers were capped data plans.
On July 7, 2016 Verizon introduced the 'New' Verizon Plan (which didn't have an unlimited option), but then in February 2017 Verizon revised this 'New' plan to introduce the Verizon Unlimited option - Verizon's first official unlimited offering since 2011.
In August 2017, Verizon revised their Unlimited options again. They rebranded their unlimited plans to Beyond Unlimited and Go Unlimited, and raised the price of the plan then, in June 2018, added the Above Unlimited Plan tier to line up as well as the ability to mix and match unlimited plans per line under one account.
Verizon's Beyond, Above and Go Unlimited plans were replaced in August 2019 with a new set of plans.
- Verizon's primary unlimited smartphone plans from August 2017 to August 2019. These plans grew over time, beginning with Beyond Unlimited and Go Unlimited which were derived from the "February Unlimited" plan with an increase in price. In June 2018, Verizon added the Above Unlimited Plan tier to the line up which included more mobile hotspot, a higher network management threshold and free international day passes, among other features. At this time, Verizon also added the ability to mix and match unlimited plans per line under one account and still maintain multi-line discounts.
- Should you keep it? For most people on these plans, it will likely make sense to upgrade to Verizon's current plan lineup, but you'll need to compare the features you currently have to the alternatives - the cheaper prices across every plan do make upgrading to the next tier much more palatable.
- Above Unlimited: For RVers, Cruisers and Nomads, the increase in mobile hotspot use for the top-tier Get More plan is pretty attractive and, when combined with the tablet/Jetpack line discount, seems like a no-brainer for most who are currently on an Above Unlimited plan - except for those who regularly utilize the free International Travel Passes included in Above Unlimited.
- Beyond Unlimited: There's really not much of a change except the increased auto-pay discount when switching to Play More or Do More. And you get to choose between a higher network management threshold or video resolution depending on your needs. If you keep Jetpacks or tablets on your account, then the Do More plan will offer a nice discount on those lines. If high-speed mobile hotspot off your smartphone is important to you, switching to Get More for just $10 more per month may be worthwhile to double that cap.
- Go Unlimited: Switching to Start would lose all mobile hotspot capability. If you don't use the 3G hotspot speeds, then the increased autopay discount is worth the switch.
- Should you keep it? For most people on these plans, it will likely make sense to upgrade to Verizon's current plan lineup, but you'll need to compare the features you currently have to the alternatives - the cheaper prices across every plan do make upgrading to the next tier much more palatable.
- New Unlimited Plans aka "February Unlimited" - Originally launched in February 2017, Verizon's return to unlimited plans. The plans launched with only 10GB of high-speed mobile hotspot use, but were automatically upgraded to 15GB when Beyond Unlimited replaced the plan in August 2017. The February plan pricing was cheaper (particularly for multi-line accounts) and Verizon continues to honor the pricing for those who had it.
- Should you keep it? If you have this plan, and are happy with 15GB hotspot data, there's no reason to upgrade to Beyond Unlimited and pay more for the same thing. If you need more hotspot data regularly or higher network management caps, the Above Unlimited plan may be worth considering.
- gUDP / Legacy Unlimited Data Plans - Up until 2011, Verizon offered a truly unlimited smartphone data plan - even allowing for mobile hotspot use without throttling or network management. They continue to honor grandfathering for true legacy customers, but high usage customers who are out of contract are regularly getting termination letters and those who obtained newly spawned lines via data brokers are regularly getting terminated.
- Should you keep it?: If you still have this plan, it is worth holding on to it for as long as it lasts For as long as Verizon will continue to honor these plans, they are considered gold.
- For in depth information on these plans: Grandfathered/Legacy Unlimited Data Plans.
Verizon offers tiered data plans, where data can be shared amongst multiple devices. You pick your data bucket, and then the first device you add is charged a $20 line access fee, with lines after 2 charged a $10 line access fee. Smartphones, tablets and hotspots can all be used on these plans. Verizon currently offers the following tiers:
- Small - 2GB - $35
- Medium - 4GB - $50
- 5GB "One Phone Plan"- 5GB - $40
- Large - 8GB - $70
Plan Policies
- Carrier Networks Used: Verizon
- Carrier Relation: Direct
- Plan Types Available: Smartphone (include unlimited talk/text)
- Device Types Permitted: Smartphone, hotspot, tablet
- Device Purchase Required: No, but can purchase a device
- Mobile Hotspot Use: All tiered Verizon plans include mobile hotspot use of all data
- Throttling: All data is at full speed
- Network Management: Tiered plans are not subject to Network Management
- International Roaming: Not included, but adding a 'Travel Pass' is an option which allows you to use your plan around the world. In Mexico & Canada the cost is $5 per 24-hours on tiered data plans and in other countries it is $10 per 24 hours.
- Domestic Roaming: Verizon imposes no limits on domestic roaming for calls or data when you are off their network, making Verizon's coverage map seem even larger than it already is.
- Plan Period: 30 days
- Data Roll Over: The Verizon S, M & L plans include 'Carry Over Data'. If you don't use all of your allotted data in your current billing period, it rolls over to be used the next month. You cannot build up a data balance - unused data expires after just one month.
- Overage Charges: Yes
- Safety Mode & Data Boost: Verizon's tiered data plans include the ability to turn on 'Safety Mode' to eliminate the risk of surprise overage charges for using too much data. With Safety Mode enabled, data will simply be slowed down for the remainder of the month to 2G-speed (128 kbps) once the high-speed data is used up. If you do need more fast data, you can manually purchase a "Data Boost" for $15/GB as needed.
- PopData: For those on tiered data plans, Verizon allows the purchase of 30 minutes ($2) or 60 minutes ($3) sessions of unlimited "PopData" when needed. This is an interesting option for those needing to handle a bulk upload (posting to YouTube), but for most people this is just a gimmick.
- Streaming: No streaming services are provided.
- Video Throttling: As of August 23, 2017, Verizon tiered plans (including legacy tiered data plans) are subject to 720p video resolution caps on smartphones and 1080p on tablets & tethered devices. For $10/month you can override this on 4K compatible devices.
- Unlimited: No
- Lines permitted per account: 10
- Verizon raised prices somewhat when it rolled out the New Verizon plan, so some RVers have been holding on to this generation of plan.
- Do be aware that these older plans lack Safety Mode to avoid overage charges, and have no Carryover Data.
Connected Device Only Plans
Connected Car
Verizon is the connected car provider for Toyota and Lexus vehicles. There are only tiered data options. A car can be added to an existing qualifying plan for $10/month or customers can purchase a dedicated tiered connected car data plan plus a $10/month access fee and taxes and fees.
Nissan and Infiniti vehicles use Autonet Mobile - a third party provider that uses Verizon's network. Nissan/Infinity charge separately for Wi-Fi data and telematics services/apps, and the options can get quite expensive. For data, there are only two options available - 1GB and 5GB.
Verizon offered data-only device plans for Hotspots, Tablets and Connected Devices.
Connected device plans involved data that could be shared across multiple data only devices - with a line access fee per device ($10 for tablets, $20 for hotspots). These started at 2GB for $20/month (plus device access fees) up to 100GB for $710/month. Data overages are charged at $15/GB.
Single Device Plans
For those looking to connect a single data only device (hotspot, tablet, router, wearable)- and don't need to share data amongst several devices on a plan, Verizon offers a Single Device Plan. This plan type is for one data device only - and includes an option to add voice for +$20/month if you wish to use a router with landline capabilities, such as a Smarthub or Verizon Connected Home device.
These plans start at $15/month for 1GB and range up to $150/month for 40GB. Overage charges are $10/GB.
Potential Alternatives to Consider:
For other featured cellular data plans ideal for RVers and Crusiers - here's some other options to consider:
Learn More About Selecting Cellular Data Plans
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