Last Updated on June 18, 2025 by Ewen Finser
As a digital nomad, I need constant connectivity for my work. As I’ve travelled between different urban locations, most recently ‘The Lilac City’ (Spokane, WA) and even rural areas in the US, I’ve had the chance to test pretty much every major wireless carrier on the market.
If, like me, you’re constantly moving from place to place, you’ll know that having reliable, affordable cellular service isn’t just a convenience – it’s essential for your livelihood.
When choosing, at one stage my shortlist came down to choosing between Visible by Verizon and T-Mobile’s unlimited plans. If you’re weighing these two carriers up as well, it’s important to understand exactly what you’re going to pay, and what features are included.
Bottom Line Up Front
As a tech journalist, I’ve had to put wireless networks through extensive testing in the past. That means I’ve measured the speed and integrity of many data downloads. Like you, I imagine, I also value paying less instead of more for the same service.
This is why I say Visible by Verizon is the clear winner for most single line users. Pricing is transparent, as it includes all fees and taxes. Plans also start at $20 a month, for which you get unlimited data, talk and text on Verizon’s very reliable network.
By contrast, T-Mobile‘s least expensive plan costs a minimum of $50 per month (plus connection fee and other charges), plus you only get 50 GB of ‘premium’ data.
At a Glance
Visible by Verizon
From poring over its website, I’ve seen that Verizon has positioned itself as a simple budget-focused carrier, though its ‘Visible’ plans still hitch a ride on Verizon’s premium network, which covers 99% of the US population.
Its pricing page lists three main plans, clearly listing monthly fees including all taxes and charges. Every plan includes unlimited hotspot data (though the speeds will vary depending on how much you pay), talk, and text.
Subscribers can currently use the discount code ‘SAVE5’ to knock $5 off monthly prices, plus you can save even more by paying annually.
Setup is also extremely simple. I had my eSIM downloaded and ready to go in under 10 minutes.
T-Mobile
From what I’ve seen of the plans on offer, this carrier touts itself as more of a premium option, e.g., with entertainment bundles for streaming services like Netflix.
When I visited their pricing page, I found it more difficult to navigate than Verizon’s, as the default listed fees are for three lines. Once you’ve adjusted for this, you still have to take into account additional charges (around $5 from my experience), plus government taxes, and a one-time “connection fee” of $35.
You can enjoy some pretty substantial discounts if you sign up for multiple lines, plus T-Mobile has extensive 5G coverage.
Plans, Options, and Pricing
Visible by Verizon
I found the Visible pricing page really refreshing, as all charges and features are all there at your fingertips.
There are three main pricing plans:
Visible
This plan is currently priced at $20 if you pay monthly, or you can save 8% ($25) by paying $275 for the entire year.
For your money, you’ll get:
- Unlimited data, talk & text on both Verizon’s 4G LTE & 45 networks
- Unlimited mobile hotspot data (capped at 5 Mbps)
- Unlimited talk and text to Mexico and Canada (from the USA)
- SD (Standard Definition) video streaming
Visible +
This plan is currently priced at $30 per month, or you can save 10% ($45) by paying $375 for the entire year.
Perks include everything in the ‘Standard’ visible plan plus:
- Unlimited ‘premium’ data, i.e., no deprioritization of your traffic.
- Access to Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network.
- Unlimited mobile hotspot data (capped at 10 Mbps)
- Unlimited talk, text, and data whilst roaming in Mexico and Canada
- HD (1080p) video streaming.
Visible+ Pro
The ‘Pro’ plan costs $40 at present, though you can save $90 by paying $450 for a year’s subscription instead.
It comes with all the advantages of the ‘Visible’ and ‘Visible+’ plans, as well as:
- Smartwatch integration.
- Unlimited mobile hotspot data (capped at 15 Mbps)
- International calling to 85+ countries & unlimited texting to 200+
- 4K (UHD) video streaming.
There are no activation fees or hidden extra charges. The only additional fee you might have to pay is $10 per month for the Smartwatch service, though this is included on ‘Pro’ plans.
T-Mobile
As I said, when I visited T-Mobile’s pricing page, it defaulted to showing the per-line costs for people renting three lines at once.
Discounts for all plans are available for people aged over 55, serving members of the military, veterans, and first responders.
Essentials Saver
This plan costs $50 per month, plus taxes and fees.
For your money, you’ll get unlimited talk and text, though the pricing page doesn’t make it clear if this applies to the US or all of North America. Other T-Mobile Talk & Text plans include Canada and Mexico, so this may be the case.
Subscribers also enjoy 50 GB of ‘premium’ data on T-Mobile’s 5G network. The pricing page lists typical ‘premium’ download speeds of 79 – 357 Mbps, which should be sufficient for even bandwidth-heavy tasks like streaming 4K video.
There’s no additional charge for going over the 50 GB limit, but after this your traffic is slowed down considerably.
To put this into perspective, streaming one hour of HD video consumes around 1.75 GB per hour so if you did this every day for a month, you’d run through your entire 50 GB allowance, not to mention web browsing, syncing emails, and so on.
After navigating umpteen T-Mobile pages, I finally found one on its “network management practices” and discovered that for most plans the speed is reduced to 128 Kbps per second if you’re considered to be a ‘heavy data’ user. This speed is unsuitable for anything but very basic web browsing and messaging.
Experience More
This T-Mobile plan comes to $85 per month for one phone line plus fees and taxes.
For your money, you’ll receive:
- Unlimited ‘Premium’ data for your phone.
- Netflix Standard (with Ads)
- An Apple TV + subscription
- 60GB of ‘high-speed’ mobile hotspot data
- Unlimited texting, plus 15GB of high-speed data in Canada & Mexico
- Unlimited texting with 5GB of high-speed data in 215+ countries & destinations
On the plus side, T-Mobile has a very fast and reliable mobile network. This means you can enjoy some excellent speeds on your mobile hotspot (79 – 357 Mbps), versus those offered by Visible by Verizon (5, 10, or 15 Mbps, respectively).
However, the ‘unlimited’ premium data you’ll enjoy on this T-Mobile plan only applies to your phone. If you tether your connection, you’ll find it’s capped at 60 GB after which it will be throttled to an unknown speed.
I also was puzzled why the pricing page refers to this as ‘high-speed’ instead of premium data. After examining the small print on the pricing page, I saw that once you get through the high-speed allowance, your speed is reduced to ‘max 3G speeds’..
Experience Beyond
This T-Mobile plan costs $100 per month plus extra fees and charges.
Paying twice as much as for the ‘Essentials plan comes with some advantages, though, including:
- Unlimited ‘Premium’ data
- ‘Unlimited’ mobile hotspot
- A 5-year price guarantee.
- Netflix Standard (with Ads)
- An Apple TV+ subscription
- Hulu with Ads
- Unlimited texting, plus 30GB of high-speed data in Canada & Mexico
- Unlimited text, 15GB of high-speed data in 215+ countries & destinations
- Watch and tablet lines for $5 extra per month.
After going through the fine print on the T-Mobile website, I found that while there’s no cap on hotspot data, you only get 250 GB of ‘premium’ data, after which your speeds are reduced to the aforementioned ‘max 3G speeds’. That puts it at around 3 Mbps: this might be good enough for basic web browsing, streaming music, and SD videos, but not much else.
You might think (as I did at first) that this is balanced out by the bundled streaming services, but T-Mobile’s offer still doesn’t offer much value for money compared to Visible.
For instance, the current cost of the listed streaming subscriptions are:
- Netflix with Ads: $7.99
- Apple TV +: $9.99 per month.
- Hulu with Ads: $9.99 per month.
This comes to a total of $27.97. In other words, you can sign up for all three of these streaming platforms and Visible’s most expensive ‘Pro’ subscription for $40 per month and still save yourself just over $32 per month. When you consider Visible’s ‘Pro’ plan also includes the smartwatch service, your total savings come to over $37.
Admittedly, you may be able to save more on T-Mobile plans if you’re eligible for a specific discount, e.g., as a veteran, or rent multiple lines.
International Coverage
Visible
As I outlined above, all Visible pricing plans include unlimited talk and text to Mexico and Canada, so long as you’re still in the USA. The ‘+’ and ‘Pro’ plans also include unlimited talk, text, and data when roaming in these countries.
If you’re on the regular ‘Visible’ plan, you can purchase a ‘Global Pass’ for $5 per day, covering pretty much all of North America: Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For other countries you can purchase a Global Pass for $10 per day that covers unlimited talk and text, as well as 2 GB of data (with or without hotspot) in over 140 countries.
Visible+ subscribers also get one free Global Pass day per month. Visible+ ‘Pro’ subscribers get two free days. You can bank up to twelve days’ worth of Global Passes at a time.
‘Pro’ subscribers get unlimited international texts to over 200 destinations. The plan also includes up to 500 minutes of calls to 85 international destinations.
T-Mobile
Both T-Mobile’s ‘Experience More’ and ‘Experience Beyond’ plans include unlimited texting and a certain amount of high-speed data (5GB and 15 GB, respectively) in over 215 countries and destinations.
You also get unlimited texting (though seemingly not calling), plus 15 or 30 GB of high-speed data in Canada or Mexico, depending on your plan.
These allowances are at T-Mobile’s ‘premium’ data speeds, after which it’s throttled to 256 Kbps, making it only suitable for very basic instant messaging or slow web browsing.
Who should choose Visible by Verizon?
I’ve thrown my lot in with Verizon’s Visible plans because of the truly unlimited data allowance, not to mention the fact that this applies equally to my phone and hotspot.
Visible is likely also to be the best choice for you if you’re:
- Budget conscious and looking for best value when renting a single phone line.
- A digital nomad, remote worker, or just someone who regularly uses a mobile hotspot.
- In need of reliable rural coverage as you travel extensively around the US/North America.
- Someone who values clear, transparent pricing.
The only major downside I’ve found for Visible is that all customer support is online. As a tech journalist, I don’t need someone to hold my hand when glitches arise, but if you need that human touch, then you may need to consider another carrier.
Who should choose T-Mobile?
While T-Mobile is a lot more expensive than Visible by Verizon, it can be a solid choice if you:
- Want to avoid the hassle of signing up for separate streaming services, as these come bundled with certain T-Mobile subscriptions.
- Regularly download less than 250 GB of data per month via your mobile hotspot.
- Are a heavy international traveler and need comprehensive global coverage.
- Prefer in-store or telephone customer support.
The Final Verdict
When comparing carriers, Visible by Verizon wins hands down in terms of value for money. Even if you sign up for the most expensive ‘Pro’ plan as I did, you can still sign up for the listed streaming services in T-Mobile’s ‘Experience Beyond’ plan and save yourself over $37 per month.
Admittedly, the maximum 5G speed offered in this plan (15 Mbps) is much less than that offered by T-Mobile. Still, I’ve used this speed to stream 4K video without buffering and download a 1 GB file in less than 10 minutes. I use my ‘Pro’ subscription to download four large ISO files (2 – 4 GB) each per month simultaneously in under 40 minutes. I mean, how much speed do you really need?
Both T-Mobile’s “Experience” plans are great if you’re traveling regularly to countries outside North America. You can also go to a T-Mobile store for help with setup and troubleshooting, as opposed to just checking the support pages, as with Visible by Verizon.
Still, based on my analysis, I don’t see how T-Mobile can justify its high prices, especially as even Visible’s lowest-cost offer includes unlimited mobile hotspot data.