So instead of declaring a winner between the two, we’ll go through T-Mobile’s and Verizon’s plans, performance, and perks to highlight what they do well (and not so well). That way you can choose the plan that’s best for you. Meanwhile, smaller T-Mobile and Verizon MVNO carriers like Mint Mobile and Visible Wireless are offering six months of free wireless service for new customers who sign up for a six-month plan or $200 virtual gift cards. Find these and other offers in our monthly roundup of the best cell phone deals. Although unlimited data plans seem to be the future of wireless service, it may still be overkill for some users (like your kids or your parents). If you know you aren’t an unlimited-data kind of user, then you might want to go with Verizon or check out these cheaper plans. Let’s dive deeper into these plans. If you’re looking for a no-data, no-frills talk and text plan, then T-Mobile has you covered for just $20 a month. But if you want a limited data plan, with anywhere from 500 MB to 5 GB of data, then Verizon has a few options starting at $30 a month. The biggest downside to this plan is that your data can be deprioritized during times of congestion. Basically, that means the company will slow down your speeds to give service to more important customers (i.e., people who give them more money). If you want to be one of those people who give T-Mobile more money ($10 more) to get full speeds all the time, then you can get the Magenta plan. But Verizon tries to make up for deprioritization with some perks, like free subscriptions to Disney+ and Apple Music. Not to mention that Verizon operates the best mobile network in the country (we’ll talk about that more in a minute). When you start looking at the higher-tiered plans from Verizon and T-Mobile, the main benefits you find are increased high-speed data caps and better streaming quality. Both Verizon’s Get More Unlmited and T-Mobile’s Magenta Plus plans will give you HD video streaming. But Verizon is the clear winner when it comes to the high-speed data cap, giving truly unlimited high-speed data for its Get More plan, no matter how much data you use. Compare that to T-Mobile’s 50 GB, and you’ll see why some people pay a few extra bucks for the Get More Unlimited Plan.
T-Mobile plans have a 50 GB data cap. Verizon plans range from 50 GB (Play More and Do More Unlimited Plans) to unlimited (Get More Unlimited plan).
If you frequently stream on the go or obsessively play Hearthstone (like my fellow writer here at Reviews.org does), you’ll run through data pretty quickly. Having a higher data cap means you can expect the same speeds for a longer amount of time. Let’s compare the coverage maps for Verizon and T-Mobile to see just where the two differ. If you happen to live in one of those states, you’ll enjoy much more reliable coverage with Verizon’s network than you would with T-Mobile’s network. Verizon wins the coverage battle over T-Mobile’s network, but then again, Verizon wins the coverage battle against every provider. Expect reliable coverage with either phone carrier, but Verizon goes above and beyond, especially in rural areas. Here’s a list of some of the most popular phones that T-Mobile is currently selling. But there are a few reasons it might make sense to choose one over the other.
