Mint Mobile vs. Verizon Wireless Review

Which company will give you the most bang for your buck?

Best Pricing
Mint Mobile
Mint Mobile
4 out of 5 stars
4
Starting price:$15.00/mo
  • pro
    Amazing prices
  • Fire Emoji

    Get any three-month plan for $15/mo

  • con
    Prepaid plans only
Best Coverage
Verizon
Verizon
4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5
Starting price:$65.00/mo
  • pro
    Lots of plans to choose from
  • Fire Emoji

    Free Unlimited Intro mobile line with 400Mbps 5G Home Internet

  • con
    Expensive
Easton Smith
Sep 13, 2024
Icon Time To Read7 min read

Verizon Wireless is one of the Big Three cellular providers in the country and offers some of the best coverage. Of course, premium service comes at a premium cost.

Meanwhile, Mint Mobile is a newer company that's moving fast and breaking things with its simple, affordable plans. It's a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that uses T-Mobile's network to provide service.

So which is best for you, Mint or Verizon? We'll go through everything you need to know about the two carriers, from their plans to their coverage and data speeds. Let's dive into it.

$180 for a year of Unlimited
Deals

Get an entire year of  Mint Mobile's Unlimited plan for $15/month when you buy a new phone.


Buy a new Mint Mobile phone and get a full year of Mint's $30 Unlimited plan for just $15/month.

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Mint vs. Verizon unlimited plans

Verizon's plans are powerful, but Mint can save you a lot of money

If we strip away all of the branding and advertising of mobile companies, we're left with one essential thing: cell phone plans. These plans really speak for themselves. So let's take a closer look at what Mint and Verizon offer, so you can find the one that's best for you.

Mint Mobile unlimited plans

Mint's four plan offerings all include unlimited talk and text, plus some amount of premium data. You can use your allotted data as mobile hotspot data, but there aren't really other perks.

Mint's plans are basically a "what you see is what you get" sort of deal. But what you see is a really low price tag. In particular, Mint Mobile's $30 Unlimited Plan is probably the best deal in wireless right now. Especially since new customers can get it for just $15 a month for your first three months. That's 40GB of high-speed data and unlimited talk and text for the price of two coffees. Verizon's prices ... not so much. Here's a gander.

Verizon's unlimited plans

It's a whopping $35 a month difference between Mint Mobile's unlimited plan (after promo prices) and Verizon's basic unlimited plan. Listen, we all know Verizon's awesome coverage is a big deal, but saving $35 a month on an unlimited plan makes a big difference too. But if you want more perks with your cell phone plan, it might be worth opting for the more pricey Verizon plans.

For instance, Verizon's perks come in $10 packs which you can add to any plan. Plus, with Verizon, you'll get a significantly higher data cap than Mint's unlimited data plan—unlimited data versus 40GB (after you reach your data cap, your data gets slowed down). Verizon's Unlimited Welcome plan has truly unlimited data, but your speeds will slow during times of congestion. With Mint Mobile's Unlimited plan, you get 40GB before speeds are slowed, and most people don't use that much data each month.

Of course, that Unlimited Plus plan is almost three times pricier than Mint's unlimited plan. And it's not just Mint. When you compare Verizon's unlimited data plans to other leading plans on the market, they tend to be the priciest (but also the most robust).

Mint Mobile vs. Verizon family plans

Why buy a single-serving cell phone plan when you can save some money by going family size?

Family plans make it much easier to manage multiple lines for you, your spouse, and your kids. Plus, you can usually nab a big discount when you add your third, fourth, and even fifth line.

Only Verizon offers family discounts on multiple lines, but you can still had up to five lines on one account with Mint. Here's a look at some of the most popular Verizon family plans on the market.

Verizon family plans

These plans may look pricey at first glance, but each one does include three lines. So, at $165 a month, this Unlimited Plus family plan is actually a full $75 cheaper than if you were to purchase the lines individually. In other words, it's basically two-thirds the cost.

But, even with family plan discounts, Verizon's prices are far above the cheapest unlimited data plans on the market.

Mint Mobile family plans

Mint's family plans don't offer extra savings, but you can still add up to five lines on one account. For three lines, you'll pay literally half the cost of one line on Verizon's Unlimited Plus plan. And if you don't need unlimited data, your monthly price could be even lower.

Mint Mobile vs. Verizon prepaid plans

Prepaid plans require you to pay your bill at the beginning of each month (or the beginning of your billing period, whenever that may be). The advantage of these plans is that they don't require a credit check and tend to be cheaper.

All of Mint Mobile's plans are prepaid, so we're not going to review them again (see above for details on these plans). But the Verizon plans we reviewed above are all postpaid, which means that you can pay your bill at the end of the month.

However, Verizon does have a few prepaid plans on offer. Here's a look at those.

Verizon prepaid plans

These plans are clearly cheaper than Verizon's postpaid mobile plans. But they're still pricier than Mint's, without offering any obvious advantages. In fact, Verizon's prepaid plans offer less full-speed and hotspot data at a steeper price than Mint. So, we'll just come out and say it: if you're looking for a prepaid plan, Mint is clearly a better deal than Verizon.

Mint Mobile vs. T-Mobile data

Mint's data is slightly faster ... unless you're being deprioritized

Cell phones used to be a lot like old landline telephones (minus the land part): you mostly used them to call people. But these days smartphones are closer to computers. You're more likely to be browsing, posting, gaming, or working on your phone than talking on it. And all these fancy new activities require data.

But not all cellular data is created equally. There's 4G data, LTE data, and 5G data. These Gs signify "generations" of data technology, the higher the number, the faster the data. Faster speeds mean better streaming, web surfing, and everything else.

So, what will your speeds be like with Mint and Verizon?

Verizon vs. T-Mobile data

As we mentioned above, Mint Mobile runs on T-Mobile's network. So, when you're asking which company has better data speeds, you need to compare Verizon and T-Mobile. Let's take a look at what our research shows about data speeds.1

  • T-Mobile
    • Average download speed: 54.1 Mbps
    • Average upload speed: 10.5 Mbps
  • Verizon
    • Average download speed: 30.2 Mbps
    • Average upload speed: 8.2 Mbps

To be honest, the difference between Verizon and T-Mobile isn't huge, and most users likely won't notice anything.

Verizon vs. Mint coverage

Verizon's coverage is the best in the nation, but Mint's isn't bad

Your awesome new mobile phone plan ain't worth much if you've only got a half bar of service. So, let's talk coverage.

Verizon's coverage is known as the best in the nation. But T-Mobile's (whose network Mint uses) is not bad at all, especially since the company absorbed Sprint. If you live in an urban area, either carrier should cover you just fine.

But for those who live in more rural places, the quality of your coverage may depend entirely on which network has a better presence in the area. Take a close look at these two maps to see if Verizon or T-Mobile is better where you live (or work, travel, etc.).

T-Mobile's coverage map

Verizon's coverage map

Mint Mobile vs. Verizon customer service

Mint Mobile is known for friendly customer service, meanwhile Verizon could improve their overall experience

Mint Mobile is known for its friendly customer support and helpful staff. Of course, they have gotten some negative reviews where users complained they didn't receive the deals or promotions that Mint Mobile advertised. But overall, most customers don't have a lot of complaints compared to other mobile carriers.

When it comes to customer service for other mobile carriers, most of them have a lot of room for improvement. Verizon is no exception. Many customers have been unimpressed by Verizon's lackluster customer support.

T-Mobile vs. Mint Mobile phones and devices

Ditch that old clunker and grab yourself a new device

Of course, you can use your old, unlocked iPhone - the one with the dying battery and the cracked screen - and just throw a Verizon or Mint Mobile SIM card in it. But why not pick up a brand new device on the cheap when you sign up for a new unlimited cell phone plan

Both Verizon and Mint will sell you one of the hottest new phones. Verizon deals are especially great when you sign up for an unlimited data plan. Take a look.

Verizon cell phones

Mint Mobile cell phones

Recap: Is Verizon better than Mint?

Now that we've gone through all the details, let's do a quick overview of the highlights. Here's the TL;DR version of Mint versus Verizon.

  • Unlimited plans: Mint offers simple, affordable, and robust plans with anywhere from 5GB of data to unlimited data. Verizon's plans are much pricier, but they come with perks, like higher data caps, free subscriptions, and a stronger network.
  • Family plans: You can save money on both a Mint and Verizon plan when you add the whole family. Mint's family plans are a lot cheaper than Verizon's, but if you want more premium data, Verizon's discounts are still pretty good.
  • Prepaid plans: Verizon's prepaid plans are a lot pricier than Mint's, without offering any other advantages. If you're looking for a prepaid plan, Mint is a better deal.
  • Data: Mint runs on the T-Mobile network, which offers great data speeds and coverage. Verizon's network has even better coverage and comparable data speeds. The main difference between these carriers for most people will be deprioritization, which could result in Mint customers having slower data speeds.
  • Coverage: Verizon's coverage is the best in the nation. But T-Mobile's (whose network Mint uses) isn't bad at all, and much cheaper.
  • Customer service: Mint Mobile is known for its down-to-earth and friendly customer service, Verizon has some work to do. 

Methodology

We spent a lot of time researching and compiling data to write this article. Our analysis and suggestions are based on a deep knowledge of the industry (having written in-depth reviews of dozens of cell phone carriers).

Most of all, we trust the users. So we’ve also looked at customer reviews from each carrier to better understand what they do right, and where they could improve.

FAQ

Have additional questions? We've got answers.

Mint Mobile is an MVNO that runs on T-Mobile towers and offers the same coverage that T-Mobile customers receive, with the downside of deprioritization when the network is congested.

When evaluating data performance, there are other factors to consider, such as throttling and deprioritization. Yes, they are different things. Here are some quick definitions:

  • Throttling: All mobile plans—even unlimited data plans—have data caps. If you go beyond your cap, you'll experience significant slowdowns (like going from 4G LTE to 3G speeds). These slowdowns will affect everything, including your mobile hotspot data.
  • Deprioritization: Some mobile plans—usually cheaper, prepaid plans—come with a risk that their data speeds will be deprioritized, or slowed, when the network is busy. This happens during peak use hours or in really crowded, urban areas.

When it comes to Mint Mobile's speed, a big factor could be deprioritization. Mint's plans are all subject to deprioritization. Meanwhile, Verizon's unlimited plans are not deprioritized.

The risk of throttling and deprioritization is one of the main reasons that people might consider paying the extra bucks to go with Verizon over Mint Mobile.

Related articles

Sources

Easton Smith
Written by
Easton has worked as a freelance writer and researcher for several years, reviewing health, lifestyle, and technology products. He has probably read more Terms of Use contracts than any human alive. When he’s not sitting in front of a computer, Easton spends his time camping, climbing, and volunteering with humanitarian aid organizations.

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