Are you currently paying $100 or more per month for your phone bill? If your answer is yes, there’s a good chance you’re spending too much money.
Luckily, you can cut down on your monthly phone plan by using mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs.) MVNOs charge less because they piggyback off major cell phone company networks.
Visible isn’t a MVNO, but still has the same affordability. If you’re tired of your current, expensive phone plan, our Visible review covers everything you need to know about this affordable mobile provider.
Table of Contents
What is Visible Wireless?
Visible by Verizon is a digital wireless carrier that launched in 2018. The company’s goal is to make wireless service simple and accessible to everyone.
Visible runs off of Verizon’s network, for a fraction of the cost.
Ultimately, this means that you get powerful nationwide coverage thanks to Verizon while saving money on your cell phone bill with Visible’s extremely competitive plans.
Visible also offers just one phone plan. However, this lets the provider focus on providing great service at an extremely low price.
How Much Does Visible Cost?
Visible’s unlimited data and hotspot plan starts at $25 per month, including taxes and fees.
This base plan includes:
- Unlimited 5G and 4G LTE data, talk, and text
- Unlimited mobile hotspot data
- Calling and texting to Mexico and Canada plus Wi-Fi calling on compatible devices
- The ability to bring your own phone number
You don’t pay activation fees, and Visible is a no-contract cell phone plan that lets you cancel at any time with no extra charges.
From the get-go, you’re only paying $25 per month for a comprehensive and flexible phone plan.
If you choose to upgrade, you can choose Visible+. The key difference between the two plans is Visible+ adds 5G ultra wideband and a “premium network experience”. This essentially what they refer to as premium data.
It also includes international calling from the US to 30+ countries and international texting from the US to 200+countries.
Furthermore, the company introduced additional benefits to the premium tier in March 2024. Those include:
- Connected smartwatch included for a savings of $10 monthly
- Unlimited mobile hotspot of 10 Mbps instead of 5 Mbps in the lower tier
- Global Pass in 140+ countries one day per month
Here is how pricing compares on the two plans:
Plan | Monthly Cost | Data | High-Speed Data | Hotspot Data |
---|---|---|---|---|
Visible | $25 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Visible+ | $45 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Unless you make a lot of international calls, the base plan should be sufficient.
What Happened to Party Pay?
Visible’s unlimited data, talk, and text plan starts at $25 per month. The carrier used to offer Party Pay, which allowed multiple users to sign up together to lower the price for each respective person.
It allowed phone plans in a party all benefit from monthly discounts. If you were to get four total lines on an account, each person would only pay $25 per month.
Party Pay was different from family phone plans that are usually for single households since you could create a party with people from work or even people across the country.
The best part about this perk was that everyone pays for their own phone plan separately.
Unfortunately, this feature is no longer available as of August 2022.
However, as of April 2024, the carrier introduced a new annual plan feature. If you sign up for their annual offering, you get the base plan for $275 a year for a savings of $25.
If you opt for Visible+, you pay $395 annually, for a savings of $145. Unfortunately, there is no refund available if you sign up for annual service and find it doesn’t meet your needs.
Network Coverage
One advantage of using carriers like Visible is that they operate on major cell phone networks.
As a Visible customer, this means you’ll enjoy nationwide coverage through Verizon’s comprehensive network.
If you look at the above coverage map, the dark blue represents 5G coverage availability. The lighter blue is 4G LTE.
According to Visible Wireless, over 99 percent of the U.S. population has strong Verizon coverage.
Just note that 5G nationwide coverage depends on your location and device. Also, Visible might deprioritize your speed during high periods of network congestion.
Is Visible’s Cell Service Reliable?
Visible has reliable coverage because it operates on Verizon’s nationwide network. In fact, Verizon owns Visible.
The downside to MVNOs is that you can experience speed deprioritization during periods of heavy network usage.
Fortunately, this doesn’t restrict you from texting or calling. Additionally, bumping down to 4G LTE network speed means you can usually browse the web and stream videos without issues.
What is the Difference Between Verizon and Visible?
Verizon is the parent company that owns Visible. It also owns and operates the cell phone network infrastructure that both companies operate on.
This means that Verizon and Visible Wireless have identical coverage. However, Verizon customers get priority over Visible customers, meaning Visible users experience deprioritization first.
The trade-off is that Visible is cheaper than Verizon, but keep this deprioritization possibility in mind.
Activation Process
Activating your Visible plan takes five easy steps:
- Create a Visible account with your name and email
- Verify your email address
- Bring your own phone or purchase a phone from Visible
- Receive your SIM card in the mail within a day or so or use an eSIM if your phone is compatible
- Choose a Visible plan and activate your service through Visible’s mobile app
Visible lets you transfer your existing phone number over or use a new one.
Plus, if your phone is eSIM compatible, you can activate your Visible plan in about 15 to 30 minutes upon providing payment information.
Data Speeds
Visible claims that its customers usually experience 4G LTE network download speeds of 5Mbps to 12Mbps and upload speeds of 2Mbps to 5Mbps.
It also caps video streaming at 480p resolution regardless of network speed.
Data might be slower during periods of heavy network usage. Also, when you have 5G, Visible caps speed at 200Mbps.
Ultimately, this is more than enough speed to use your phone, browse the internet, and stream videos without encountering issues.
Does Visible Offer 5G?
Visible offers 5G with its plan, and you don’t pay extra for this feature. You get nationwide 5G coverage in more than 1,800 cities.
Just note that 5G is only available on select devices. These include:
- Google Pixel 6 Pro and regular 6
- iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone SE
- Motorola edge
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, S22+, and S22
If you don’t have a 5G supported device, expect 4G LTE speeds.
Mobile Hotspot
Every Visible plan includes unlimited free mobile hotspotting. Hotspotting speeds cap at 5Mbps, but this is perfect for browsing the web, sending emails, and even streaming videos.
You might struggle when hotspotting multiple devices at once. But, for light internet usage, Visible’s hotspotting suffices.
Read our review of our top-rated mobile Wi-Fi hotspot plans to learn about other choices.
What is the Catch with Visible?
Visible might sound too good to be true because of its unlimited data plans for as low as $25 per month. The great news is that there isn’t a catch or hidden fees.
Carriers like Visible by Verizon are affordable because they don’t pay for network maintenance, so they can pass on savings to customers.
The main downside is that customers face deprioritization first, meaning they encounter slower speeds when there is a lot of usage on the main network.
Ultimately, your Visible speeds won’t always be as fast as Verizon Wireless customers. However, if you want to save money on a tight budget, the trade-off is worth it.
I’ve not personally experienced deprioritization myself, but your experience may differ.
Customer Service
There are several ways to contact Visible customer service if you have questions or problems with your plan. You can:
- Chat with Visible through its web or in-app live chat
- Tweet to Visible @visiblecare
- Chat with Visible using Facebook Messenger
Customer support is available 24/7. Overall, this level of support is consistent with other carriers, and a lack of a customer support phone number isn’t unusual.
Phone Selection
Visible lets you bring your own phone or purchase one from its store.
If you bring your own phone, it must be unlocked. This means that you’re not locked into a contract with another mobile carrier.
Popular phones that are compatible with Visible include:
- Apple (most iPhone 6 through 13 models)
- Google Pixel (models 3 through 6)
- Samsung Galaxy (S8 through S22 and other models)
- Motorola Edge, Moto E, Moto G, and Z4
Visible also supports several less-popular phones. You can use an IMEI checker on its website to check phone compatibility.
Plus, they usually offer other deals and discounts, such as a $50 electronic gift card after completing three months of payments.
You have to transfer your phone number to Visible from another carrier to qualify for this bonus.
Reward options include gift cards to companies like Amazon and Best Buy. As a bonus, you get $20 monthly pricing for three months as well.
You can purchase a new phone from Visible, but we typically recommend bringing your own device.
Pros and Cons
If you want a cheap phone plan, it’s hard to beat Visible, especially if you’re using Party Pay. However, there are several pros and cons to consider before signing up.
Pros:
- Affordable unlimited talk and text
- Nationwide coverage
- Unlimited data and hotspotting
- No credit check
- Owned by Verizon
Cons:
- Lack of plan flexibility
- Customer service only available via social media or instant chat
- Visible customers experience deprioritization before Verizon customers
If you need an affordable prepaid cell phone plan, Visible is worth trying.
How Does Visible Compare to Other Carriers?
There are plenty of affordable phone plans out there. While Visible is one of the best, it’s important to see how it compares to the competition.
Carrier | Price | Data Allowance | Unlimited Talk/Text (Y/N)? | Best For | Try |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Visible | $25+/mo. | No limit | Y | Data usage | Try |
Tello | $9+/mo. | 1GB+ | Y | Affordability | Try |
Mint Mobile | $15+/mo. | 5GB+ | Y | Flexible plans | Try |
Twigby | $15+/mo. | 2GB+ | Y | Custom plans | Try |
Tello
Tello is a leading MVNO with flexible phone plans starting at just $9 per month.
What’s nice about Tello is that you can choose how much data and how many minutes you need each month.
Unlimited data plans cost at least $25 per month, which is comparable to Visible. But, if you can skimp on data, Tello has some of the cheapest phone plans available.
Read our Tello Mobile review to learn more.
Mint Mobile
If you’re open to a prepaid phone plan, Mint Mobile has some of the most affordable unlimited plans on the market.
For example, you can get unlimited data, talk, and texting for just $30 per month if you prepay for the year or use the new customer promo. A 5GB data plan also costs as low as $15 per month.
However, the company’s plan and pricing can get confusing since you buy service in blocks of three months.
Read our Mint Mobile review to learn more.
Furthermore, read our Mint Mobile vs. Visible analysis to learn how the two carriers compare.
Twigby
Like Tello, Twigby is an affordable mobile carrier that lets you build your own plan. Since it regularly offers 50 percent off, you can get phone plans starting at around $10 per month.
Twigby recently added an unlimited data plan, and all plans provide unlimited 2G data when you use your high-speed data allotment.
Ultimately, this means Twigby is a great Visible Mobile alternative if you want unlimited data but don’t need fast speeds.
Read our Twigby review to learn more.
Visible Review
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Price
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Plans
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Coverage
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Customer Service
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Network Speed
Visible Review
Nationwide coverage, unlimited data, the ability to bring your own device, and plans that start at $30 per month make Visible a terrific phone service option.
Overall
4.1Pros
✔️ Coverage on the Verizon network
✔️ No contracts or hidden fees
✔️ Inexpensive unlimited talk and text
✔️ Unlimited data
✔️ Good for international calls
Cons
❌ No physical stores
❌ Deprioritization, which is common among low-cost providers
❌ Limited plan flexibility
Bottom Line
If you want a simple yet affordable unlimited data plan, Visible phone service is one of your best options.
With nationwide coverage and no limits on data, you’re getting a reliable phohttps://www.frugalrules.com/visible-wireless-review/ne plan at a fraction of what you’d pay with a major carrier.
Visible is competitive with other carriers. But, cell phone providers like Tello or Mint Mobile are slightly more affordable if you don’t need unlimited data.
What’s most important to you when choosing a cell phone service?
I’m John Schmoll, a former stockbroker, MBA-grad, published finance writer, and founder of Frugal Rules.
As a veteran of the financial services industry, I’ve worked as a mutual fund administrator, banker, and stockbroker and was Series 7 and 63-licensed, but I left all that behind in 2012 to help people learn how to manage their money.
My goal is to help you gain the knowledge you need to become financially independent with personally-tested financial tools and money-saving solutions.
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