Verizon MVNOs: Who Uses Verizon Towers?

Mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) are carriers that piggyback off the towers of leading mobile providers, such as Verizon. While there are ways to lower your Verizon cell phone bill, Verizon MVNOs provide the same reliable network coverage at a fraction of the cost. They also have special deals and perks to sweeten the deal.

While we go deeper into our best picks for Verizon MVNOs in this piece, there are lots of others to choose from. Here’s a full list of all the MVNO carriers that use Verizon towers:

Some Verizon MVNO carriers also use other T-Mobile and AT&T's towers, so you may have the option to switch between towers depending on which network works best in your area. 

Not all MVNO carriers are alike, even if they all use Verizon's towers. We analyzed plans, prices, and extra perks to find the best MVNOs that work for various budgets and lifestyles. Here are our preferred picks:

The best prepaid Verizon carrier is Visible Wireless, which offers unlimited talk, text, and data for as low as $25 per month. Visible dominates the MVNO lineup due to its unlimited high-speed data on Verizon's 5G and 4G LTE networks. “I got tired of paying the high prices with Verizon. Visible is way cheaper and for my usage I haven't noticed any difference in coverage or performance,” says Bison Messink, a current Visible customer.

The Visible basic $25 plan blocks high-risk spam and robocalls, gets unlimited talk and text to Mexico and Canada, and provides unlimited use of your phone as a mobile hotspot.

If you want the fastest speeds, you can go with the $35 Visible+ plan or the $45 Visible+ Pro plan that gives users all the same perks as the basic plan and more: Customers get unlimited guaranteed high-speed data, and speeds are 10 times faster than Visible's $25 plan. 

US Mobile is the mobile world's best-kept secret. The MVNO offers network coverage across T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T, so you can choose which network best suits you. If you want to choose Verizon as your network, go with the Warp network to get top speeds for an affordable price.

US Mobile offers a sweet line-up of unlimited talk, text, and data plans, alongside its trusty By the Gig plan. We rank US Mobile the Best Verizon MVNO for families thanks to its shareable data feature, which is especially useful if you have people in your family who don't use as much data but still want to stay connected. The By the Gig plan only costs $10 per month for 2GB of data and $8 per line for any additional lines. Additional data can be purchased if needed.

Spectrum Mobile's internet and mobile bundle is the best Verizon MVNO bundle you can get. The deal includes one line of Spectrum Mobile for free (yes, that's correct) for one year with an internet plan. This plan usually costs $30 per month, saving you $360 in one year.

This is an exclusive deal for Spectrum internet customers, so make sure you take a look at those plans and see if you're up for the switch. The total cost for the internet and mobile bundle comes to $50 to $70 per month for 500 to 1,000Mbps for the first year of service.

The baseline Unlimited mobile plan comes with unlimited talk, text, and data, with reduced speeds after you use 30GB. If you upgrade to the Unlimited Plus mobile plan, you can use up to 50GB of data before speeds slow down.

Twigby Mobile is one of the most affordable Verizon MVNOs, offering a bunch of plans with varying amounts of data for under $40 a month. While many mobile providers sell unlimited data plans, the truth is, you likely don't need endless gigabytes. I highly recommend finding out how much data you really need and then selecting a plan that suits your usage, or else you end up paying for more than necessary. I have Wi-Fi at home and at work, so over the course of a month, I only use between 1 and 5GB of mobile data. 

Currently, all Twigby plans come with a three-month introductory offer, which slashes the monthly rate down from $5 to $10 per month. If you want to save your money for a few months, getting the Unlimited plan for only $25 per month for three months is a steal. 

Red Pocket Mobile is our best budget carrier that uses Verizon's towers. Several plans come with a 50% discount for the first month, so you pay as little as $10 per month. You can also pick which network you want out of Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. This is helpful for those who know what network works best where they live and travel.

RedPocket Mobile plans get unlimited talk, text, and data for just $10 to $40 per month, with varying high-speed data caps from 1 to 30GB. All plans come with free international calls to 20+ countries and roaming in Mexico and Canada. 

If you want truly unlimited high-speed data, it costs $30 per month, which beats getting a Verizon plan for a minimum of $65 per month.

Verizon MVNOs run on the same cellular towers as Verizon, so they provide the same coverage as Verizon. Verizon's 4G LTE network covers 99% of the U.S., while Verizon's 5G mobile network is continuing to expand. 

Verizon's coverage, and subsequently, Verizon MVNO coverage, offers the best coverage experience according to OpenSignal's Mobile Network Experience Report. This is because Verizon provides a strong experience in areas where users would reasonably expect to find coverage, typically where there is a higher population. You might not find a solid connection in the wilderness, but chances are, you can stay connected in areas you live, work, and travel.

See Verizon's coverage map below.

Although Verizon and Verizon MVNOs have the same coverage, there is a difference when it comes to domestic roaming agreements.

Let's say you're a Verizon customer who travels to a remote area without native Verizon coverage. Domestic roaming allows you to switch to another cellular network, indicated by a "Extended" at the top of your device. 

Verizon MVNOs don't have this extended coverage, so you don't have service in these areas. For most users, this doesn't make a huge difference, since Verizon's 4G LTE network covers most of the country. However, it's always good practice to check if your Verizon MVNO can offer some level of domestic roaming or coverage in your specific area. 

An issue you may run into with a Verizon MVNO (and Verizon itself) is how fast your speeds are. You may be connected to the slower 4G LTE network rather 5G, if you aren't located within Verizon's 5G coverage area.

For example, Visible's $25 plan gets you up to 143Mbps on its 5G network, but only 75Mbps on its 4G LTE network. The Visible+ plan, on the other hand, gets you access to an even faster tier of speed with Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network, which can get up to 634Mbps. 

That being said, you only need 5Mbps to stream a video in SD quality and 10Mbps to stream music. 

In order to switch to a Verizon MVNO, you need to see if your phone is compatible and unlocked.

First, check if your phone is already unlocked or if it's tied to another network. If you bought your phone from a carrier like AT&T or T-Mobile, you have to unlock it (or get a new phone altogether) to use with a Verizon MVNO. If you bought your phone from Verizon, your device is compatible with a Verizon MVNO, although you still need to unlock it in order to switch to an MVNO.

If you use an older phone (anything that wasn’t made in the last five or so years), then you need to check if your phone uses GSM or CDMA, or is dual-band.

GSM and CDSM are different frequency bands of cellular service, with T-Mobile and AT&T using GSM and Verizon using CDMA. Older phones may only operate on one or the other type of network. Newer devices are often dual-band and can operate on either GSM or CDSM, and thus can switch between different carriers.

There are several reasons why switching to a Verizon MVNO makes sense:

• It's more affordable. The Verizon MVNOs mentioned in this article run from $10 to $45 monthly, whereas Verizon plans start at $65 monthly.
• You pay for what you use, not more. If you don't use a lot of data, why pay for it? Verizon MVNOs give you that option. 
• Verizon MVNOs use the same network as Verizon. This means you have access to fast, reliable speeds and widespread coverage.