What's The Best Verizon Plan for 2023?
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Selected cell phone plans (scroll left and right):
Verizon Unlimited Welcome is the best Verizon plan for 2023.
Why is Unlimited Welcome the best?
In this article, we’ll cover:
- What makes Unlimited Welcome a top pick for most people
- How Unlimited Welcome compares to Verizon’s other plan
- What the best prepaid options are if you want to save even more money
Let’s get into it!
Why is Unlimited Welcome Verizon’s best plan?
Unlimited Welcome is the best Verizon plan for two simple reasons:
- It’s the most affordable plan Verizon offers
- It includes all the features most people need
What’s not to like about getting the features you need at the best price possible?
What is included with Verizon Unlimited Welcome?
Before you sign up for Verizon Unlimited Welcome, it is important to understand what is included with the plan.
Verizon Welcome Unlimited starts at $65 per month for a single line.
It includes unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, and 500GB of high-speed data before your speeds are slowed to 4Mbps. 500GB of high-speed data will be PLENTY for most people. According to Ericsson’s 2023 Mobility Report, average smartphone data use in North America was just 20GB per month. You’ll likely have 480GB of high-speed data left over at the end of the month and never be slowed to 4Mbps!
However, the more important thing to know about Verizon’s Unlimited Welcome plan is that the data is deprioritized.
Deprioritized data means you may experience slower speeds when the Verizon network is busy.
When is the Verizon network busy? Verizon’s network is busy any time there are a lot of people in one location trying to use their phones at the same time. This could include concerts, sports games, amusement parks, airports, or even during rush hour traffic when everyone has Google Maps open and is streaming Today’s Top Hits playlist on Spotify.
You’ll still be able to use your phone when the Verizon network is busy.
It’s just that your data speeds may be a bit slower and apps could take a bit longer to load.
Keep in mind that when the Verizon network is no longer busy, you’ll resume getting the fastest speeds available. And the reality is that customers on Verizon Unlimited Welcome will likely only notice being deprioritized less than 5% of the time.
What else does Verizon Unlimited Welcome include?
It includes 480p video streaming, free international texting, and 2GB per day of free data roaming in Canada and Mexico.
Add-ons are available for the mobile hotspot and for international data roaming. The mobile hotspot add-on gives you 100GB of hotspot data for $10, and the international roaming add-on gives you 3 days of international access for $10.
Verizon Unlimited Welcome vs. Unlimited Plus
Another big question you may be wondering is: what is the difference between Verizon Unlimited Welcome and Verizon Unlimited Plus?
Verizon Unlimited Plus is Verizon’s premium flagship plan.
It includes all the best features Verizon has to offer.
But, it does so at a price. Verizon Unlimited Plus starts at $80 per month for a single line. That’s $180 extra per year compared to the Unlimited Welcome plan.
So what do you get for all that extra money?
Verizon Unlimited Plus includes unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, and unlimited premium data. Having premium data means that Unlimited Plus customers will enjoy slightly faster data speeds during times when the Verizon network is busy. You also get 30GB of hotspot data and 720p video streaming.
All the same international features are included in Unlimited Plus as in Unlimited Welcome.
You still get the same free international texting and the same 2GB per day of free data roaming in Canada and Mexico.
You also still have to pay $10 to purchase the international data roaming add-on.
What are the main differences between Unlimited Welcome and Unlimited Plus?
- Price: Unlimited Welcome starts at $65 for a single line; Unlimited Plus starts at $80
- Data priority: Unlimited Welcome is deprioritized; Unlimited Plus includes premium data
- Network speeds: Unlimited Welcome gets speeds up to 25Mbps on Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband; Unlimited Plus gets full-speed data on 5G Ultra Wideband. Both get full-speed data on Verizon 5G Nationwide and LTE
- Hotspot data: Unlimited Welcome does not include hotspot data (it’s available as a $10 add-on) and Unlimited Plus includes 30GB of hotspot data
- Video streaming quality: Unlimited Welcome streams video content at 480p (1.5Mbps) and Unlimited Plus streams video content at 720p (4Mbps)
- Tablet, hotspot, and smartwatch add-ons: Unlimited Welcome charges $20 per connected device plan you add to your line, and Unlimited Plus charges $10 for the first connected device plan and then full price for any additional connected device plan you add to your line
- Phone trade-in deals: Unlimited Welcome is not eligible for trade-in deals; Unlimited Plus is eligible for trade-in deals
You can see the full comparison of how Unlimited Welcome compares to Unlimited Plus in the table below:
Yes, you do get more features with Verizon Unlimited Plus.
But are those features worth the price?
For most people, I don’t think so. Take a look at the price comparison below. You can see the monthly totals for both plans from one line all the way up to five lines. In the last column, you can see how much money Unlimited Welcome saves you per year:
Now, I know what you’re thinking: what about the total cost with the device promos?
This is a great question.
You see, Unlimited Welcome is not eligible for device deals or promotions from Verizon. You’ll be stuck paying full price for your phone whenever you want to upgrade. It’ll also be your responsibility to sell your old phone, or to trade it in to the manufacturer when you buy a new phone.
But Unlimited Plus is eligble for device promos.
This means when you want to upgrade to a new phone, Verizon will give you generous trade-in credit toward your new device.
For example, current customers on Verizon Unlimited Plus can trade in an iPhone 11, a three-and-a-half-year-old phone, and get $440 off a new iPhone 14. If you were to trade in an iPhone 11 to Apple, you would get just $220.
So what happens to the total plan costs if you factor in getting a trade-in deal on a new phone every three years on Verizon Unlimited Plus?
It turns out, Verizon Unlimited Welcome remains the more affordable option.
Assuming all lines on your account have an iPhone 11 to trade in today, and that all lines upgrade their phone every three years with the best deal available, here’s what the total cost per account looks like:
The reason Unlimited Welcome is more affordable is that you still get a pretty good trade-in deal from Apple.
Apple would give you $220 for an iPhone 11, which would make the iPhone 14 cost just $610 ($830 for the unlocked iPhone 14, subtract $220 for the trade-in credit).
Divide $610 by 36 months (3 years) and you’re looking at $16.95 per month for your device cost on Unlimited Welcome.
On Unlimited Plus, you do get a better deal. You get $440 of trade-in credit, which makes the iPhone 14 cost just $360 ($800 for the carrier-activated iPhone 14, minus the $440 of trade-in credit).
$360 divided by 36 months (3 years) is just $10 per month for your new phone. Honestly, not a bad deal.
The problem is that the Unlimited Plus plan itself is just so much more expensive than the Unlimited Welcome plan.
Sure, you save money on the device cost, but the net total per month is more expensive than it is on Unlimited Welcome.
What if I want to save even more money?
Great question. I’m glad you asked!
You see, when you look at just Verizon’s plans Unlimited Welcome is the best pick.
BUT, when you consider the available prepaid options, Unlimited Welcome is a terrible deal!
For example, compare Verizon Unlimited Welcome to Visible Base:
You can see Visible Base gives you about the same feature as Unlimited Welcome, and it costs under half the price for a single line.
Visible is owned by Verizon, and it uses the exact same network for coverage.
You also get some nice bonus features on Visible Base, too. You get unlimited high-speed data, 8x faster data speeds when connected to Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband, and unlimited hotspot data.
The only area Visible Base is a bit weaker than Verizon is in its international features.
But how often do you use those, anyway?
For most people, I think Visible Base is a better value plan. You get the features you need at a better price. You’d be losing money going with Verizon Unlimited Welcome directly.
The other prepaid plans get even better, too.
If it turns out you need a bit less data, then you can grab US Mobile’s 15GB plan for just $20 per month.
US Mobile’s plan includes 20GB of premium data, the option to add the hotspot feature for $2 extra, and 720p video streaming. It’s a great value plan.
To save the absolute most money on your cell phone plan, first check how much cellular data you need. Just watch the video below to find out your data usage:
Then, head on over to the Compare Plans page where you can compare the best plans that use Verizon for coverage. Simply find the plan that has enough data to meet your needs at the most affordable price. You’ll save yourself hundreds of dollars per year.
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