Reach Mobile vs. Verizon Wireless Review

Verizon is known for its reliable nationwide coverage, powerful unlimited plans, and a 5G network that offers impressive speeds. Reach is a smaller prepaid carrier that offers a cheaper unlimited data plan compared to Verizon's tiered myPlan options. On top of that, Reach also gives a portion of your cell phone bill to charity. 

Reach Mobile uses T-Mobile's network to provide coverage for its users, which isn't quite as reliable as Verizon's network. Still, if you want an unlimited plan at the fraction of the price and contribute some of your bill to charity, Reach Mobile could be perfect for you.

With Reach Mobile, you’ve got five basic choices: a 2 GB, 5 GB, 10 GB, or 15 GB plan, plus two unlimited data plans. No matter which one you choose, you’ll get mobile hotspot data, HD video streaming, and unlimited talk and text. Just take a look at the chart below.

Reach’s prices are incredibly affordable. But keep in mind that these are just the promo prices, and your cost will go up by $10/month once the deals expire. Even without the promo pricing, Reach's $45/month unlimited plan beats the price of Verizon's tiered myPlan options, though it ties Simplicity's standard $45/mo rate and loses to Simplicity's $30/mo promo rate.

Weird fact of the day: most “unlimited data” plans aren’t truly unlimited. Instead, they have a data cap. After you reach your cap, you’ll still get data, but it will be dramatically slower, meaning you might have problems with streaming, scrolling, and other basic functions.

Unfortunately, Reach Mobile has one of the lowest data caps we’ve ever seen on an unlimited data plan. It’s just 20 GB, which many people can burn through in a week or less. So, if you need a reliable, high-speed data plan for Zoom meetings at work, you might want to go with Verizon.

But the bad news doesn’t really end there. Reach’s data will never be as reliably fast as Verizon’s, even before you reach the data cap. That’s because the company is an MVNO and its customers will always be at risk of having their data deprioritized (slowed down) when the network is congested.

So, if Reach isn’t the cheapest or the most powerful carrier, why would people choose it? For many, it comes down to the company’s awesome charitable giving. “Get a plan, give a plan” is one of the company’s mottos, and it's got the data to back it up.

Reach has partnered with programs that provide cell phones and service to women in poor and rural areas throughout the globe. You can use the Reach Mobile app to see just how much talk, text, and data you’ve contributed to Reach’s program.

Verizon is a giant in the mobile industry that has tons to offer for all kinds of customers. Just take a look at all of these cell phone plans the company sells.

If you want a plan with just a little bit of data, Verizon doesn't really have a low-data option anymore — you're better off going with Reach (or another MVNO like Mint Mobile).

Verizon's unlimited lineup is where things get interesting instead. Simplicity is the newer, flat-rate option, while Welcome, Plus, and Ultimate make up Verizon's tiered myPlan lineup. Here's what you need to know about them.

• All of these plans come with unlimited talk, text, and data and access to Verizon's 5G network. myPlan tiers also come with cool perks like a discounted Disney+ subscription (which we highly recommend).
• Simplicity is Verizon's cheapest unlimited plan, charging one flat price per line with no tiers to navigate. Activation and upgrade fees are waived automatically, though you'll skip myPlan's perks and phone upgrade deals.
• Unlimited Welcome is the cheapest myPlan tier. It has no hard data cap but on this plan your data can always be slowed down due to deprioritization (much like on Reach's plans). You don't get any mobile hotspot data.
• Unlimited Plus gives you access to Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network (faster data speeds, no slowdowns) and 30GB of mobile hotspot data every month.
• Unlimited Ultimate adds 200GB of hotspot data, unlimited international data, talk, and text, and 4K streaming—the top tier for heavy data users and frequent travelers.

In short, Simplicity is Verizon's pick for a simple, affordable price, while Welcome, Plus, and Ultimate are pricier powerhouses that will satisfy those who work, game, stream, and post on their phones all day.

Verizon is all about hooking up hard working people with a good deal. Military members and veterans, first responders, nurses, teachers, and students can all register for a discount on their Verizon mobile plan:

• On the Simplicity plan, eligible customers get 10% off per line.
• On myPlan (Unlimited Welcome, Plus, or Ultimate), eligible customers can save up to $25 a month, depending on plan and discount program.

Only one of these discounts can be applied per account, so if you qualify for more than one (say, you're both a veteran and a nurse), you'll need to pick whichever works out best for your plan and line count.

To summarize all of the above: Reach is still the better choice if you don't need unlimited data and want to give back. But for unlimited data, Verizon now competes on price too, since Simplicity stays competitive with Reach's promo rates, and Verizon still wins on perks and data reliability.

Read Full Reach Review | View Reach Plans | Read Full Verizon Review | View Verizon Plans

When it comes to family plans there really isn’t any competition between Verizon and Reach. That’s because Reach Mobile doesn’t really do family plans. Yes, you can add an additional line to your account, but you won’t see any cost savings when you do.

Here’s an example to illustrate the difference. Let’s say you, your spouse, and your two kids all want unlimited data plans. If you sign up for a four-line unlimited data plan from Reach, it will cost you more than if you signed up from Verizon. Take a look.

Reach’s plan costs a good bit more, while offering way less. You’ll still have that 20 GB data cap, data deprioritization, and a lack of perks.

Verizon, meanwhile, offers pretty awesome deals on all of its plans when you add extra lines. If you’ve got more than one person who wants a cell phone plan in your family, there’s really no reason to not bundle together with Verizon.

Read Full Reach Review | View Reach Plans | Read Full Verizon Review | View Verizon Plans

Reach Mobile used to use Verizon's network to provide coverage for users, but apparently those two companies broke up at the beginning of 2022 and now Reach has paired up with T-Mobile.

Verizon technically covers more of the United States than T-Mobile, but it's still a pretty close call. Take a look at the coverage maps below to get an idea of the coverage difference:

Verizon coverage map

T-Mobile coverage map

Where T-Mobile (and by extension, Reach Mobile) wins over Verizon is in data speeds. T-Mobile's 5G network isn't quite as fast as Verizon's 5G network, but it's much more widely available. 

As you can see, Verizon comes in a close second place, behind T-Mobile. But keep in mind that Reach customers won’t always get top speeds due to deprioritization. The nice thing about about paying for a big carrier like Verizon is that you won't get your speeds deprioritizited when the network gets congested.

If you’re ready to replace that old iPhone with a busted screen, then you’re in luck. When you sign up for a new plan from Reach or Verizon, you can nab a good deal on a brand-new phone.

If you want a new flagship phone from a major company, then Verizon has a way better selection. But Reach comes in with some sweet deals on cheaper devices. 

Which will it be? Are you a do-gooder who wants a cheap plan from Reach or a data-lover who wants a powerhouse plan from Verizon? Maybe a quick recap will help you decide.

Plans: Reach is still the better choice if you don't need unlimited data and want to give back. Verizon's tiered plans aren't the cheapest, but Simplicity holds its own on price, and Verizon still wins on data, coverage, and speed overall.

Family plans: Verizon's myPlan tiers are the clear winner here, with steep discounts on multi-line plans (Simplicity, by contrast, charges the same flat rate per line no matter how many you add). Reach, on the other hand, offers no family plan discounts or perks to speak of.

Coverage and performance: Reach uses T-Mobile to provide network coverage and Verizon uses (you guessed it) Verizon. Verizon offers more coverage overall, but T-Mobile makes up for it with faster average data speeds. Since Reach Mobile is an MVNO carrier, your data speeds can be throttled when the network gets busy.

Our research for this comparison article began with the basics. We used WhistleOut’s comparison charts and public data from Reach and Verizon to evaluate every single plan offered by both carriers, and established a comparison based on prices, data caps, deprioritization, perks, and other features.

Then we used our own proprietary data from over 100,000 customers, as well as online customer reviews, to rate the performance of each carrier in several categories, including data speed and data deprioritization. We looked at the fine print to understand how price changes, phone deals, and other aspects of each carrier’s service can affect potential customers.

We think our final review looks at every angle, providing our readers with useful information and honest recommendations. You can read our article about how we rate cell phone plans if you’d like to learn more about our process.

Still have pressing questions about Verizon vs. Reach? Hopefully we've got you covered with this FAQ, but if not, drop us a line in the comments, and we'll try to get you an answer.