Mint Mobile vs. Verizon Wireless Review

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'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.

View Mint Mobile Plans | Read Full Mint Mobile Review

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).

View Verizon Plans | Read Full Verizon Review

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.

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'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.

View Verizon Plans | Read Full Verizon Review

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.

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.

View Verizon Plans | Read Full Verizon Review

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?

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.

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.).

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.

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.

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. 

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.

• Best Cell Phone Plans 
• Best Unlimited Data Cel Phone Plans
• Best Prepaid Cell Phone Plans
• Best Cell Phone Deals

Sources