Visible vs. US Mobile Cell Phone Plans Review: Power or Flexibility

Visible is the better choice thanks to premium data, unlimited hotspot, and a more consistent nationwide experience.

Best for heavy data users
Visible
Visible Wireless
4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8
Starts at$25.00/mo. for 1 line
  • Icon Blank
    Data: Unlimited data (premium with higher-tier plans)
  • pro
    Unlimited premium data on Visible+ and Visible+ Pro
  • pro
    Verizon 4G LTE + 5G coverage on all plans
  • pro
    $5 discounts with Inner Circle
  • pro
    Fios bundling available on any Visible plan
  • con
    5G device and 5G coverage needed for 5G speeds
Best for budgeters
US Mobile
US Mobile
Starts at$10.00/mo. for 1 line
  • Icon Blank
    Data: Starting at 2GB
  • pro
    Unlimited data with Unlimited Premium
  • pro
    Access to all three major networks
  • pro
    Discounts for any group size
  • pro
    US Mobile covers two subscriptions with multiple lines
  • pro
    5G+ accessible
Brianne Sandorf
Jan 22, 2026
Icon Time To Read7 min read
Icon CheckEdited ByBrenna Elieson

Visible and US Mobile are two of the most popular low-cost carriers, but they deliver value very differently. Visible is a Verizon-owned prepaid brand with three simple unlimited-data plans; US Mobile is a multi-network MVNO that lets you switch between Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile to find the best performance where you live.

The biggest difference between the two carriers is data consistency under congestion. Visible+ and Visible+ Pro include unlimited premium data, meaning your speeds aren’t deprioritized in busy places. US Mobile offers high data caps for cheap, but speeds may drop to the low end of the typical range. Therefore, for most everyday users, Visible is the more dependable long-term choice.

How do I know? I used both Monica Yoshida’s hands-on test of Visible Wireless and Kelly Huh’s month-long review of US Mobile. Their plan analyses, user experience observations, and practical stress tests breathe life into this comparison piece.

Read on to learn more about why Visible is probably the best choice for you.

Why you can trust us

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“I haven’t found one other prepaid cell phone carrier that also offers [what Visible offers].” –Monica Yoshida
"Anyone that’s already a member can invite you to join their Inner Circle. Just accept the invite, and choose how you’d like to interact with the other members.
 If you’ve already been invited to join an Inner Circle, tap the link within 24 hours to join."

Visible’s introduction to its multi-line plan, Family Circle

Share your experience and rate your mobile carrier

Your feedback helps others find the right cell phone plan. Whether your experience was great, frustrating, or somewhere in between, we want to hear about it.

The matchup: How we rate Visible vs. US Mobile

For all our mobile reviews, we give an expert rating based on four main criteria:

Then we average the scores to make an overall rating.

In this review, we compare those ratings face to face. We then offer analysis for important factors to keep in mind. Want to know more? Read our full-length Visible Wireless and US Mobile reviews.

Dollar value

Visible

5/5

US Mobile

4/5

First things first—let’s compare Visible vs. US Mobile plans. Both carriers have three main plans:

Visible Wireless plans

  • Visible—$25.00/mo. for unlimited data and unlimited 5Mbps hotspot
  • Visible+—$35.00/mo. for unlimited premium data and unlimited 10Mbps hotspot
  • Visible+ Pro—$45.00/mo. for unlimited premium data and unlimited 15Mbps hotspot

US Mobile plans

  • By the Gig—$10.00–$35.00/mo. for 2–20GB of data
  • Unlimited Starter—starts at $22.50/mo. for unlimited premium data and 20GB hotspot data
  • Unlimited Premium—starts at $32.50/mo. for unlimited premium data and 100GB of high-speed hotspot data

Below, we take a closer look at each of the plans in comparison to the equivalent plan from the other carrier:

Visible Wireless vs. US Mobile: Cheapest plans

The basic Visible plan offers simplicity and consistency, while the By the Gig strength lies in affordability.

VisibleUS Mobile By the Gig
Typical speeds5G: 34–143Mbps
4G LTE: 11–75Mbp
Dark Star: 30.5–389Mbps
Light Speed: 79–357Mbps
Warp: 30–702Mbps
Prices$25.00/mo.$10.00–$35.00/mo.
DataUnlimited standard data (may be deprioritized)2–20GB
Hotspot dataUnlimited at 5MbpsFrom 2–20GB data allotment

If you sign up with the basic Visible plan, what you see is what you get. For just $25 a month, you get unlimited cell phone and hotspot data (although that data may be deprioritized). Your phone also operates over the much-coveted Verizon 5G and 4G LTE networks—a nice win.

With the US Mobile By the Gig plan, you have more flexibility with both price and data. You can choose to go as low as $10 a month for 2GB, as high as $35 for 20GB, or somewhere in between. The By the Gig plan has no unlimited options, so you won’t get as much data as with Visible. And US Mobile performance depends heavily on which network (AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile) you choose. Ultimately, which network is best for you relies on your location, which may make it difficult to know what carrier to go with.

US Mobile networks
Pin

US Mobile offers your choice of AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile, but it doesn’t call them by their names. Instead, its network names are AT&T (Dark Star), T-Mobile (Light Speed), and Verizon (Warp). Each network comes with slightly different data allotments, so make sure you know what you’re getting.

It’s important to clarify that your phone doesn’t cycle through the three networks to give you the best service at any given location. When you sign up, you have to pick one for your device to stick to for an extended period.

Visible Wireless vs. US Mobile: Mid-tier plans

Visible+ perks make it feel like a postpaid plan, while Unlimited Starter comes with an awesome 12-month discount—as long as you sign up for the annual plan.

Visible+US Mobile Unlimited Starter
Typical speeds5G UW: 195–634 Mbps
5G: 34–143Mbps
4G LTE: 11–75Mbps
Dark Star: 30.5–389Mbps
Light Speed: 79–357Mbps
Warp: 30–702Mbps
Prices$35.00/mo.$22.50/mo. (for 12 mos.)
DataUnlimited premium data70GB–unlimited premium data
Hotspot dataUnlimited at 10Mbps10–20GB

Visible+ feels closer to a postpaid experience at prepaid pricing, offering unlimited hotspot and unlimited premium data at just $35 a month. That’s a fantastic rate for unlimited everything.

Unlimited Starter also comes in hot, with up to 20GB of hotspot data and up to unlimited premium data for $22.50 if you get the annual option. If you go for the monthly option, it’s $25 a month, which is still a good deal, just not as good. Also note that though this plan costs less, it doesn’t come with unlimited hotspot data like Visible+ does.

Visible Wireless vs. US Mobile: Top-tier plans

Visible+ Pro and Unlimited Premium are actually fairly similar in both offerings and price.

Visible+ ProUS Mobile Unlimited Premium
Typical speeds5G UW: 195–634 Mbps
5G: 34–143Mbps
4G LTE: 11–75Mbps
Dark Star: 30.5–389Mbps
Light Speed: 79–357Mbps
Warp: 30–702Mbps
Prices$45.00/mo.$32.50/mo. (for 12 mos.)
DataUnlimited premium data70GB–unlimited premium data
Hotspot dataUnlimited at 15Mbps50–100GB

Visible+ Pro is the same as Visible+—unlimited premium data, unlimited hotspot—with one key difference: Visible+ Pro’s hotspot performs at a speed of 15Mbps, 1.5 times faster than the Visible+ hotspot (and 3 times faster than the basic Visible hotspot). And Visible provides all of this for $45 a month.

Unlimited Premium’s main perk is also a hotspot upgrade. The plan comes with up to 100GB of standard data (if you’re on the Dark Star network). Once you use that up, you get 100GB of data that runs at 8Mbps, and if you run out of that, you’re stuck at 600Kbps speeds until your plan renews for the next month. Most folks are unlikely to use up all 100GB of standard data, but if you think you might, then this plan isn’t for you.

It’s also worth pointing out that if you go for the annual plan, Unlimited Premium starts off at $32.50 a month. If you go for the monthly plan, it costs $44 a month, putting the Visible+ Pro and Unlimited Premium at about the same price.

Other plan information

US Mobile has one other plan option, called Unlimited Flex. This plan is harder to compare to Visible plans as it’s an annual plan only.

With Unlimited Flex, you pay $210 for 12 months (the equivalent of $17.50 a month) for unlimited talk, text, and data; 10GB of mobile data; and 5GB hotspot data.

US Mobile Unlimited Flex
Typical speedsDark Star: 30.5–389Mbps
Light Speed: 79–357Mbps
Warp: 30–702Mbps
Prices$210.00/yr.
Data10GB
Hotspot data5GB

Family plans and multi-line discounts

The Visible Wireless approach to family plans is called Family Circle. With Family Circle, everyone gets a discount of $5 each month for being in a group plan.

US Mobile offers a more traditional approach with its By the Gig plans. The more folks who sign up together for By the Gig, the more money they can save, especially if they have higher-tier plans. And apparently, the sky’s the limit—US Mobile’s website even lets you calculate how much your phone would cost in a group of 80 people.

Number of lines
Visible Wireless monthly discount per line
US Mobile monthly discount per line
2$5.00/mo.$1.00–$13.50/mo.
3$5.00/mo.$1.33–$18.00/mo.
4$5.00/mo.$1.50–$21.25/mo.

Add-ons

One of Visible’s biggest charms is that it offers an opportunity to bundle with Verizon’s excellent Verizon Fios internet.

Network coverage

Visible Wireless

5/5

US Mobile

3/5

While US Mobile offers choice, Visible offers consistency, and that difference heavily influences our ratings of the services.

Visible operates directly on Verizon’s extensive 4G LTE and 5G network, including 5G Ultra Wideband on its higher-tier plans. That gives Visible a naturally strong foundation, especially in suburban and urban regions, where Verizon consistently shows broad availability. This makes Visible a “set-and-forget” option for most consumers who don’t want to worry about picking the right network for their area.

US Mobile takes a very different approach by giving customers access to all three major networks—AT&T (Dark Star), T-Mobile (Light Speed), and Verizon (Warp). In theory, this flexibility is a major perk; in practice, performance varies dramatically depending on which network you choose. During testing in Utah, Light Speed (T-Mobile) delivered the most reliable experience, while Warp was usable but slow, and Dark Star performed poorly despite the coverage map showing 5G+ in the area. That kind of variability means the burden is on you to choose the right network, and the experience can change as soon as you travel to a different region. Welp.

Data performance

Visible Wireless

5/5

US Mobile

4/5

Visible’s Visible+ and Visible+ Pro plans include unlimited premium data, meaning your speeds aren’t deprioritized in congested areas—a rare perk at prepaid prices. All Visible plans also include unlimited hotspot usage, which is something many prepaid competitors cap or restrict. For users who work on the go or stream frequently, this combination of premium priority and unlimited hotspot makes Visible a top-tier performer at a sub–$50 price point. Even the base Visible plan handles daily use smoothly, with slowdowns occurring only during heavy congestion.

US Mobile data allowances are generous—including 70 GB for $25 and unlimited high-speed data for $35—but the experience is less consistent. In testing, speeds frequently landed near the low end of US Mobile’s published “typical speed ranges,” especially on Dark Star (AT&T) and Warp (Verizon). Light Speed (T-Mobile) is noticeably better, sometimes approaching the reviewer’s regular T-Mobile postpaid speeds, but it’s still generally slower than what customers can get with Visible. US Mobile hotspots work reasonably well for everyday tasks, but the provider does not emphasize hotspot speeds or caps as a standout feature, leaving them a lower priority on the host networks.

Customer service

Visible Wireless

4/5

US Mobile

4/5

Visible’s support is simpler but limited, while US Mobile’s support is broader but sometimes has to deal with more complicated problems because of the multi-network design. If you want a straightforward experience with minimal surprises, Visible is probably your best bet.

Visible is entirely chat-based, with no customer service phone number, which can be a dealbreaker for users who prefer voice support. During testing, my colleague Monica Yoshida experienced a queue that started 37th in line but moved quickly, reaching 7th place in under 15 minutes. Once connected to a representative, Yoshida received helpful and clear communications. Overall, she found Visible’s system works well for customers comfortable with digital interactions, and its app makes most tasks quick to manage.

US Mobile offers a more traditional support model with chat, phone, and email options, and my colleague Kelly Huh found these channels responsive and helpful for everyday needs. Activation via eSIM was fast, billing was simple, and cancellation required nothing more than switching off Autopay. However, US Mobile’s biggest pain point showed up during a network transfer. Switching from Warp to Dark Star temporarily wiped out all service for over an hour and required Wi-Fi and patient troubleshooting, demonstrating that flexibility brings complexity.

Visible Wireless vs. US Mobile: Which should you choose?

Overall quality

Visible Wireless

4.8/5

Visible is the stronger choice for most people because it blends Verizon’s network, unlimited hotspot, and premium data into a predictable, work-ready plan. If you watch videos, hotspot from your phone, work on the go, or travel to Mexico and Canada, Visible+ and Visible+ Pro offer an unbeatable value.

Visible
Visible Wireless
Starting at$25.00/mo. for 1 line
Data: Unlimited

US Mobile

3.8/5

US Mobile is the right fit for people who want low bills above all else or live in an area where a particular network shines. Its $10 By the Gig plan is ideal for light users, and its 70 GB and $35 unlimited plans pack a ton of data under a low-price umbrella. Just expect MVNO-level performance and occasional troubleshooting if you experiment with network switching.

How we came up with our rating

reviews.org logo png

How we came up with our rating

This comparison is based entirely on two expert Reviews.org evaluations: one for Visible Wireless by Monica Yoshia and one for US Mobile by Kelly Huh. Each review includes real-world testing such as network switching, eSIM setup, hotspot use, app download tests, browsing, and coverage checks in multiple locations. The reviewers also used plan analysis, OpenSignal data, and carrier fine print to assess value, reliability, and user experience.

It’s worth noting that at Reviews.org, we maintain strict editorial independence. Carriers cannot approve or edit our reviews, and our recommendations are driven solely by our testers’ findings, independent research, and consumer value analysis.

Learn more about how we review on our Methodology page.

Brianne Sandorf
Written by
After five years with Reviews.org, Brianne can and will tell you which internet or mobile provider you should sign up for. She’s talked with internet customers across the U.S. and beyond and addresses their real-life concerns in every piece she writes. Brianne also created the ratings system for the Reviews.org internet service provider reviews and wrote most of them. Brianne channels her lifelong interest in detective work by hunting for obscure, need-to-know information about internet service providers. She’s always learning so that she can pass her knowledge on to Reviews.org readers. Her writing and expertise have appeared in numerous other publications, including Move.org, Parents.com, and the Stanford student blog. Her work for Reviews.org is also cited in a research paper about smart home assistants titled “Expert-Generated Privacy Q&A Dataset for Conversational AI and User Study Insights.” Brianne is a homegrown Utahn who loves to travel and see new places. She graduated from Westminster College with a double major in honors and creative writing. After 20 years in a 8,000-person city, she now lives in Murray, a bustling metropolis of 50,000 where she and her husband raise their two little girls.

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