Total Wireless New Unlimited Smartphone Plan Lineup With Unlimited, Throttled Mobile Hotspot Data

Verizon's prepaid subsidiary, Total Wireless, launched a new lineup of unlimited smartphone plans, several of which include unlimited speed-capped mobile hotspot data.

On the surface, these plans are similar to those from Visible, another Verizon prepaid subsidiary with unlimited speed-capped hotspot data, but there are some important differences.

Are these new plans competitive with Visible? Read on for details...

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Total Wireless Plan Details

The new Total Wireless smartphone plan lineup comes with three tiers:

Total All Access

• $60 for a single line; $115 for 4 lines with Auto Pay; taxes and fees included
• Unlimited premium 5G data
• Unlimited hotspot/tethering at 10 Mbps, limited to one connected device
• 10GB international roaming data in 140+ countries, including Canada and Mexico
• Unlimited calling and texting to 200+ destinations
• HD streaming: up to 720p on LTE/5G; up to 1080p on 5G Ultra Wideband
• Disney+ Premium included
• 1 TB cloud storage included

Total Max 5G

• $50 for a single line; $105 for 4 lines with Auto Pay; taxes and fees included
• Unlimited premium 5G data
• Unlimited hotspot/tethering at 5 Mbps, limited to one connected device
• 10GB international roaming data in 140+ countries, including Canada and Mexico
• Unlimited calling and texting to 200+ destinations
• HD streaming: up to 720p on LTE/5G; up to 1080p on 5G Ultra Wideband
• 6 months of Disney+ Premium
• 100GB cloud storage included

There is another version of this plan with the same plan terms but different pricing and eligibility called "Total MAX 5G BYO."

Primarily intended for single lines, the advertised $25/month is for one line with Auto Pay. Total’s website indicates that adding multiple BYO lines requires calling Total or visiting a store. Multi-line pricing quickly begins to match the standard plan - four lines cost the same $105/month.

Eligibility requires bringing a compatible, unlocked phone and is limited to new Total customers.

Starter

• $35 for a single line; $95 for 4 lines with Auto Pay; taxes and fees included
• Unlimited data, but subject to deprioritization
• 10GB mobile hotspot/tethering data
• Unlimited calling to 85+ countries, texting to 200+ destinations
• Roaming in Canada and Mexico
• SD streaming / up to 480p

Comparison to Visible

Visible is also a Verizon-owned prepaid brand, one of our Top Pick options, and is similar to this new Total Wireless lineup in some ways, especially on the higher-end plans, which include unlimited, speed-capped mobile hotspot.

Visible+ Pro is one of our Top Picks and includes unlimited hotspot at up to 15 Mbps for $45/month, plus video streaming at up to 4K when connected to Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, two features that aren't available on Total's plans.

For customers who don't need the higher-speed 15 Mbps mobile hotspot that Visible+ Pro offers, Visible is still generally the better option for one or two lines, unless a customer qualifies for Total MAX 5G BYO at $25/month. That plan costs the same as Visible’s Basic plan but adds 5G Ultra Wideband access, premium data, better international roaming data, and the same unlimited 5 Mbps hotspot.

For multiple lines, Total can be a better value in some cases because it has traditional multi-line pricing. Visible does not offer conventional multi-line plans, though its Inner Circle program can reduce the cost of Visible+ and Visible+ Pro by $5/month per eligible account.

For international data, Visible’s top plans include 2 GB of high-speed data per day in Canada and Mexico, plus a limited number of Global Pass days for other countries. Depending on your international travel duration and needs, this could be better or worse than Total’s flat 10 GB/month international bucket on Max plans.

Total also includes Disney+ Premium with its top plan, while Visible+ Pro includes a free smartwatch line.

Concluding Thoughts

Total Wireless’s new lineup continues the trend of prepaid options becoming more competitive with postpaid by offering premium data, improved hotspot/tethering terms, international roaming, and perks traditionally associated with postpaid plans.

While Total’s plans are worth checking out, especially for multi-line users and those who bring an unlocked phone for the $25/month MAX 5G BYO plan, we do not consider them among our Top Picks at this time.

For most mobile internet users, Visible+ Pro remains the better overall option thanks to its faster hotspot, 4k video, and included smartwatch line.

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