T-Mobile 5G Home Internet vs. Verizon 5G Home Internet

Let’s cut to the chase here: Verizon’s 5G home internet offers faster and more reliable speeds than T-Mobile’s. It’s better for streaming, gaming, working from home, and almost everything else.

However, Verizon’s 5G internet service has a limited coverage area, while T-Mobile’s covers much of the country. In places where Verizon isn’t available, T-Mobile’s service is still decent, especially for small families and couples that don’t need a ton of bandwidth.

We’ll go over everything you need to know about both of these internet service providers (ISPs) in this side-by-side comparison review. You can always skip to the price charts or the recap section at the bottom if you just want the TL;DR version!

T-Mobile keeps its 5G home internet service simple by offering only one plan. Verizon, on the other hand, offers a few different plans at different prices. We’ll go over everything you need to know about both companies’ plans here, starting with Verizon.

Verizon has two different tiers of service. The lowest one gives you speeds up to 300Mbps and the pricier one gets you up to 1,000Mbps. (That’s a gigabit per second!) In both tiers, you can get a steep discount if you’re an existing Verizon Wireless customer.

Here’s a closer look at the company’s plans and pricing.

Verizon’s regular prices run in the middle of the pack compared to other high-speed internet companies. For example, Xfinity offers a 300Mbps plan for $50 a month, and Spectrum has a 300Mbps plan for $49.99 a month.

But with the discount for Verizon Wireless customers, this 5G home internet becomes one of the best deals around. Internet with 300–1,000Mbps speeds for just $35–$45 a month is almost too good to be true.

You’ll get free equipment and installation with all of Verizon’s 5G Home Internet plans. One of our staff writers used the service's free trial and said that “it was incredibly easy to set up. Just plugged it in, set up my login info, and there was internet all over my house.”

With Verizon 5G Home Internet, there are no annual contracts and no data caps, so you don’t have to worry about using up all of your monthly data when you’re binging the new season of The Kardashians.

In short, we think that Verizon 5G Home Internet is great for:

• People who want to cut the cable cord and adopt a new technology for streaming TV
• People who need reliably fast internet speeds, like serious gamers and work-from-homers
• Big families that have multiple devices connected at all times

Ever since its merger with Sprint, T-Mobile (which is primarily a cell phone carrier) has been growing its network, improving its data speeds, and trying to corner new markets. Now it’s emerged as one of the major players in 5G home internet.

T-Mobile’s only plan is pretty straightforward. It costs $60 a month, no matter where you are, and it gives you 33–182Mbps data speeds.

While $60 is a reasonable price for a high-speed wireless internet provider (especially in rural areas with less ISPs), it doesn’t look that great when you compare it to Verizon’s. You can get better speeds for the same price (or cheaper if you’re an existing Verizon customer).

If you're looking for hefty bandwidth that 5G internet can't really offer, we recommend providers like Spectrum, Optimum, or Frontier. 

There are no pesky equipment fees or start up costs with T-Mobile. And the company doesn’t require a contract, so you can always switch to Verizon (or another high-speed internet carrier) if a better deal comes around.

Plus, T-Mobile has some promotions to sweeten the deal for new customers. If you’re on T-Mobile's Magenta Max cell phone plan, you can save $10 a month on home internet. And new customers will get a $50 prepaid Mastercard when they switch from another provider.

Overall, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is a great options for:

• People who live in rural areas who want an alternative to satellite internet and DSL
• Renters and new home owners who don’t want to commit to an expensive internet plan right away
• Existing T-Mobile Magenta Max customers

5G is the newest and most advanced mobile network technology. But not all 5G internet networks are the same. In fact, Verizon and T-Mobile’s networks differ in pretty significant ways.

There are two main types of 5G. One is called sub-6GHz. Some companies also call this nationwide 5G. This kind of 5G utilizes older 4G LTE mobile networks to bring customers a faster mobile data experience. It’s the kind of 5G that T-Mobile uses.

The other kind is called millimeter wave (mmWave) or wide-band. It is significantly faster than sub-6GHz because it uses a new technology that has a wider frequency. The downside is that the network’s range is shorter. This is why Verizon’s 5G home internet speeds are so much faster but its coverage area so much smaller.

Another way that millimeter wave 5G is better than sub-6GHz is that it tends to have faster upload speeds. This is important for those who need to Zoom in to work meetings or upload big files for work.

In short, when you compare 5G home internet to other high-speed networks, like cable and fiber optic, only millimeter wave service can really compete. If you have a big family or you use your internet to work from home, then Verizon is definitely the way to go.

Verizon’s 5G home internet seems to be the obvious pick for most people. But if you live in a suburban or rural area, T-Mobile might be the only available option. Let’s take a closer look at the availability for both services.

In this map from Verizon, you can see all of the cities (marked by red dots) where its 5G Home Internet service is available.

While that is a good number of cities, it’s really nothing compared to the service area of T-Mobile’s 5G internet service, which covers over 30 million homes in the U.S. Its coverage looks pretty similar to the company’s mobile 5G coverage, which you can see in this interactive map.

For many people, the decision between T-Mobile and Verizon will just come down to which one is available where they live.

Because 5G home internet is so new, there’s not a lot of information out there about the customer service experience. But, since T-Mobile and Verizon are both huge cell phone companies, we can dig into some of that data.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index has found that both companies provide pretty good customer service. In fact, they are neck and neck, with T-Mobile scoring 74 (out of 100) and Verizon getting 73 (out of 100).

Hopefully, this review has made your decision crystal clear. But if you’re still not sure which 5G home internet service is right for you, here’s a quick recap of the most important points.

• Plans and prices: Verizon offers two different speed tiers and steep discounts for existing mobile customers. For most people, it will give you more bang for your buck. But T-Mobile’s one-size-fits-all plan may work for those in rural areas.
• Speeds: Verizon wins this category handily. Its millimeter wave 5G home internet service is in a league of its own. While T-Mobile’s speeds top out around 180Mbps, Verizon’s can easily get 200Mbps on the lower end.
• Availability: T-Mobile’s best asset in this comparison is its availability. Over 30 million households are within T-Mobile’s 5G service range, while Verizon only covers a couple dozen metro areas.
• Our Takeaway: Verizon’s faster speeds and low prices make it perfect for most customers, including cord-cutters and remote workers. But T-Mobile’s nationwide availability makes it a better option (or the only option) for those in more rural areas.

Still unsure about T-Mobile or Verizon? We've compared T-Mobile to other popular providers like Google Fiber and Optimum. Or you can read our comparison review of Verizon and Google Fiber.

When we write a comparison review like this one, we take every step of the process seriously. We begin with thorough investigation of all the data, including prices, third-party analysis, customer reviews, and performance metrics.

We make sure that in every category we give our readers all of the information that we found. We make recommendations based on what we think certain kinds of users will want, but ultimately it’s up to you to decide what’s best for your lifestyle.