Earn top marks with 10GB of data for only $39 /mo. Earn top marks with 10GB of data for only $39. /mo. Or, check out unlimited nationwide 5G data plans starting from $55 /mo. Find the right plan for you. Whether you need a new phone or bringing your own phone, we have a selection of value-packed plans with tons of data to choose from. Meanwhile, Virgin Mobile. has cut the price of the iPhone 4 down to $199.99, today September 15. (A total price chart follows that compares Virgin Mobile to Straight Talk, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and AT&T) Yup, you can get iPhone 4 8GB in Black or and White for $199.99 from Virgin Mobile It works automatically, so you don’t have to log in over and over. And you only get the benefit from being a Virgin Mobile or Media customer. It also works on London’s TFL network (Sky don’t offer this). Sky Mobile don’t have any similar automatic integration with the Sky WiFi network for their customers. Just recently switched to T-Mobile from Verizon. I have been very impressed. Download speeds have been 670Mbps with uploads of 95Mbps. The most I would ever get from Verizon was about 80Mbps. down and around 10Mbps up. I'm also finding that areas that would be dead zones for Verizon, are no problem with T-Mobile. The median download speed for T-Mobile turned out to be 163.59 Mbps for Q3 2023. Verizon and AT&T came in with over 2x slower median download speeds at 75.68 and 72.64 Mbps, respectively. For My Verizon contract is up in a month and I'm looking to get onto either VM or ST. VM runs off of Sprints network and their coverage map up here(I'm… T-Mobile, AT&T & Verizon 5G/4G Coverage: 10GB: $35/mo Straight Talk unlimited data plan T-Mobile, AT&T & Verizon 5G/4G Coverage: Unltd: $45/mo Straight Talk unlimited data plan T-Mobile, AT&T & Verizon 5G/4G Coverage: Unltd: $55/mo Straight Talk unlimited data plan T-Mobile, AT&T & Verizon 5G/4G Coverage: Unltd Mint Mobile: With coverage on T-Mobile's 4G and 5G networks, Mint Mobile offers low-cost plans that come with unlimited talk and text, and either 4GB, 10GB, 15GB, or unlimited gigs of high-speed data. All of Mint's plans include free mobile hotspot access (which comes out of your data allotment) as well as free calling to Mexico and Canada. Best Cell Phone Plan Cricket Vs Virgin Mobile Vs T-Mobile, 56% OFF Best Cell Phone Plan Cricket Vs Virgin Mobile Vs T-Mobile Try Boost on our $12 Prepaid day expiry SIM, with plenty of data plus unlimited national calls/text and full coverage of the Telstra mobile If you don't don't mind not having all the features and don't mind having the latest phone, get Walmart Family. Otherwise, you really won't notice much of a difference with calls/data themselves just because the plans are cheaper. The same arrnagement applies with other services, such as Virgin Mobile and Sprint and many others. 04wbL. NEW: the MSE Forum 'Ask An Expert' event. Next week, Gary and Andrew from MSE's Utilities team will be around to answer your energy questions. Stay tuned for details Have signed up for 02 simplicity 600 mins unlim txt 500mb data 12 month contract but seen virgin media 1200 min unlim txt 1GB data 30 day contract What are virgin like? is it UK call centre's etc. 0 This discussion has been closed. Latest MSE News and Guides Verizon T-mobile Best for Best for most Best value Monthly $75-$85/mo. $70-$80/mo. Learn more View plans View plans Verizon holds out in 1st-place in the nation in all of the most important categories: coverage, speed, and phones. But are they the right choice for everyone? What about the up-and-comer, T-Mobile? After all, T-Mobile offers better prices, great perks, and solid coverage, too. So if you’re wondering which one is right for you and are thinking about switching from Verizon to T-Mobile, or vice versa, then read on in our head-to-head comparison of T-Mobile vs. Verizon. Plans and Pricing Plan Monthly price Video streaming quality Data Coverage Taxes, fees, activation View Plans T-Mobile one $70/month 480p Unlimited at 3G speeds Up to 5GB LTE in Mexico and Canada; data at 2G speeds when international No activation fees; all included View plans T-Mobile One Plus $80/month HD Unlimited 3G + 20 GB 3G LTE Up to 5GB LTE in Mexico and Canada; data at 2G speeds when international No activation fees; all included View plans Verizon Go Unlimited $75/month 480p Unlimited 4G + 600kbps Up to 512MB of data per day in Mexico and Canada; TravelPass needed for international data (+$5-10/day) Fees are not included View plans Verizon Beyond Unlimited $85/month 720p Unlimited 4G + 15GB of 4G LTE Up to 512MB of data per day in Mexico and Canada; TravelPass needed for international data (+$5-10/day) Fees are not included View plans Above Unlimited $95/month 720p Unlimited 4G + 20GB 4G LTE Up to 512MB of data per day in Mexico and Canada; TravelPass needed for international data (+$5-10/day) Fees are not included View plans T-Mobile has fewer ‘gotchas’, fewer restrictions, and better prices -- that makes them a winner in our book. Unlimited plans Having a great cell phone plan means more than just offering the lowest monthly rate. You also need add-ons and a great balance between data, coverage, and speeds. T-Mobile simply wins this round. Not only is T-Mobile’s lone unlimited plan cheaper than any of Verizon’s unlimited options (starting at $70/month vs. $75), but it’s less restrictive, too. You only get your data slowed down if you hit 50GB during the billing period — Verizon’s similarly-priced plan, Go Unlimited, reserves the right to throttle your speed at any time. Verizon’s Beyond Unlimited gives you just a 23GB threshold, with only the Above Unlimited plan (75GB) exceeding T-Mobile’s data limit. Although both T-Mobile and Verizon Go Unlimited restrict video streaming to 480p, you can upgrade to T-Mobile One Plus for HD streaming and other extras like 10GB of LTE hotspot data and free Wi-Fi on Gogo-enabled flights– for just an extra $10/month. That’s still cheaper than T-Mobile’s Beyond Unlimited, which costs $85/month for similar extra features. Another area to note is that T-Mobile doesn’t require any contracts — you pay by the month and cancel at any time. Verizon doesn’t either, but when they did away with their 2-year contracts in 2017, they raised their activation fee from $20 to $30 and upgrade fees to $20. T-Mobile eliminated their activation fees. Each of these costs for T-Mobile includes taxes and fees, which we love: what you see is what you get– no added fees. Family Plans Plan 1 Line 2 Lines 3 Lines 4 Lines View Plan T-Mobile One $70/mo. $120/mo. $140/mo. $160/mo. View plans Verizon Go Unlimited $75/mo. $130/mo. $150/mo. $160/mo. View plans Verizon Beyond Unlimited $85/mo. $160/mo. $180/mo. $200/mo. View plans T-Mobile also comes out on top with family plans. A family of 4 will pay $160/month for unlimited data. The equivalent plan at Verizon — Beyond Unlimited — costs you $200/month. Other plans If you’re a single user who doesn’t need unlimited data, both carriers also offer a selection of prepaid plans, and T-Mobile has an Unlimited Talk and Text (no data) plan, as well — a great option for those of us who want to be less connected. Verizon T-Mobile Extra fees The “what you see is what you get” principle we commended T-Mobile for earlier still applies here: there are no extra fees — all taxes and fees are included in their listed price, and there’s not even an activation fee. Verizon, however, has a laundry list added to your monthly rate: one-time activation of $30/new line, $20/line/month line access charge, varying network surcharges, plus tax (or higher, depending on state). When it comes to contract termination fees, the good news comes from T-Mobile again: they have no contracts, so you don’t have to pay any termination fees if you cancel your account. Verizon, however, charges you between $175 and $350 to terminate your contract, depending on your device. Winner: T-Mobile for better pricing, fewer restrictions, and zero “gotchas.” Coverage T-Mobile Verizon Coverage is always a tricky category. As long as where you live is covered that’s all that really matters, right? I mean, if T-Mobile only covered Antarctica and Verizon covered all the rest, but you lived in Antarctica, then T-Mobile would be your personal winner, right? Unfortunately for T-Mobile, they don’t cover Antarctica, we don’t live there even if they did, and as a reviewer coverage area matters. While Verizon wins this category due to covering a larger percentage of the country, T-Mobile’s loss isn’t really as bad as it might look since they still cover the more populated Verizon. Performance In the 2019 OpenSignal report, OpenSignal declared Verizon the winner in nearly all their measured categories. That’s a stark contrast from previous reports, wherein OpenSignal’s own words were “accustomed to handling T-Mobile accolades”. Verizon has made a comeback in the last 6 months, with T-Mobile coming in a close second. And we do mean close second. They were only behind in 4G (a lead over Verizon in Download Speed was a tie for some reason though?). They also only lost Upload speed by Their most significant loss, in video experience, was a category that every provider was mediocre at. RootMetrics, who have declared Verizon the overall winner for 10 years, ranked them 1st once again, making this the Big Red’s 11th consecutive year topping the scoreboard. Power’s Customer Care study muddies the waters a bit by awarding T-Mobile an 833 and Verizon a second-place score of 812. You could view this as an endorsement of their customer experience, but we can tell you that when it comes to figuring out the basic details of a plan, Verizon wins hands down; we had to visit half a dozen pages to even find all the plans that T-Mobile Verizon takes the category. Phone selection Most flagship phones are available at just about every major carrier– both T-Mobile and Verizon offer the latest iPhones and Androids. However, Verizon is the only carrier who you can buy Google’s Pixel phones from directly. They also landed the Moto devices before any others, although those are now available at T-Mobile, counter, T-Mobile has a wider device selection when it comes to the more budget-conscious among us. They offer a solid selection of phones under $200 from LG and Samsung, as well as the branded Revvl. And it’s worth noting that you can buy a Pixel from Google, then take it to any carrier you want. You can bring your phone over to either carrier, but with T-Mobile your unlocked phone is more likely to work with their GSM-based network– something Verizon can’t say. Winner: Verizon wins for its exclusives– T-Mobile wins affordability and greater compatibility with unlocked phones Customer service Power ranked T-Mobile as the highest full-service carrier (833), with Verizon coming in close behind (812). That shouldn’t be wondered at too much, with T-Mobile’s new “team of experts” program, which immediately connects customers with real humans when they call or initiate an online chat. That’s something the other carriers need to emulate to beat. Winner: T-Mobile. Perks With more perks and extras included into their monthly rates, T-Mobile easily wins this one. Both Verizon and T-Mobile know how to add a little sugar to the deals they offer, with both providing some interesting perks. T-Mobile - Traveler perks T-Mobile gives subscribers all the perks. To start with, T-Mobile ONE gives you an hour of inflight data and free inflight texting so long as your flight is GoGo-enabled; upgrade to ONE Plus and you get unlimited data. And once arrive at your international destination, you’ll be able to text and use data in 140+ countries worldwide. T-Mobile - Netflix + T-Mobile Tuesdays But if you’re not a big traveler, no big deal – T-Mobile still has some perks for you. Netflix is free with 2 or more lines, and everyone regardless of number of lines has access to T-Mobile Tuesdays. T-Mobile Tuesdays provide rewards to all T-Mobile customers that can include free movies, sports tickets, and more. Nice. Verizon - Verizon Up In comparison to T-Mobile, Verizon’s perks are pretty scant. You can use data when traveling, but you need to pay an additional $5-10 per day, depending on the country, for a TravelPass. But Verizon has it’s own rewards program: Verizon Up. It’s rewards are similar to T-Mobile Tuesdays’, but Verizon has customers earn “credits” to use as currency. It works like this: spend $300 and you get a credit; for every credit you earn, that’s one reward. Winner: This one should be ultra-clear: with more perks and extras included into their monthly rates, T-Mobile easily wins this one. Recap -- who wins? There’s a reason carrier rankings are so tight at the top… so there’s just one question to ask: what do you care about most? Both carriers are pretty neck-and-neck– where Verizon wins one area, T-Mobile wins another. In our comparison, both carriers won 3 areas won in coverage, performance, and device selection– but lost when they split their unlimited offerings into separate tiers and came up short in customer service. The Un-carrier provides a lower monthly bill, better perks, and stronger customer service– but their coverage and network performance falls up short. To Sum Up: Verizon is more expensive than T-Mobile, but in some cases they’re definitely worth the money. Verizon has:Better coverage. So if you live in a rural area, you’ll be better off. Better devices. While T-Mobile has added the Google Pixel to their lineup, Verizon has had them longer and has some of the first models for those on a budget. Better speed. Again, Verizon has better speeds – although it’s a close race. We love how T-Mobile includes their taxes and fees into the monthly price – that sets a good tone right off the bat. But T-Mobile’s rural performance is subpar to Verizon. But, T-Mobile has: Better data. T-Mobile gives you a 50GB soft data cap, more than double Verizon’s perks + Internationals: T-Mobile’s T-Mobile Tuesday doesn’t require you to spend a certain amount of money or do anything special – you’re automatically enrolled. Plus you can score a free Netflix subscription and solid international service while a reason that carrier rankings are so tight — it’s a close race between pretty evenly matched competitors. And with that narrow gap, there’s just one question to ask: what do you care about most? FAQs Does either carrier have overage charges? T-Mobile provides a very generous 50GB per month soft data cap. The best part? You won’t even see any overage fees, either — just some slow-down. But 50GB of data per month is a wildly high cap — you could stream standard definition video for an hour every single day without coming close to it. Verizon, on the other hand, has a data cap of 22GB per month, and for every 1 GB that you pass over that cap, you’ll be charged $15. Does either carrier allow you to bring your own phone? Yes, both carriers allow you to bring your own phone, or as Verizon says, “BYOD.” That said, not every device is compatible with the carriers’ network. But when it comes to that, T-Mobile is a little more “BYOD”-friendly, with a higher chance of compatibility although if you have any questions you should call them or look into it more yourself. Last one -- can I keep my old phone number? Luke is the managing editor and site manager of Dailywireless. As a wireless enthusiast/consumer, he reviews a lot of services based on his own experience. Disgruntled as he may be, he tries to keep his articles as honest as possible. The retailers featured on this page may compensate us when our readers follow links to their websites and make a purchase. MoreWe look at whether you're better off joining Three or Virgin Mobile when it comes to network coverage, speeds, prices and benefits. Last updated: 15th February 2022 How Virgin compares with Three for signalRead whyat in new window) Virgin Mobile now use Vodafone’s network (they used to use EE), meaning they get access to one of the most widespread networks for call signal (2G/3G) and for 4G data signal (see 5G further down).More of the UK’s landmass is covered with call signal on Virgin than on Three, meaning you’re more likely to stay connected while you’re on the go, even in some pretty surprising also stay connected to 4G more often on Virgin if you’re out in the countryside. In urban areas there’s little difference between the networks for both call signal and 4G data. In any case, you should use both networks' coverage checkers below to see how coverage is in your area. Check everywhere you’ll actually use your phone, that’s more important than the national link: More about Virgin Mobile's networkIf your phone is 5G-ready, then you can get 5G on both Three and Virgin on all of their plans. While both are expanding their networks rapidly, it seems Three is coming out ahead of cover 300+ UK towns and cities while Virgin cover a comparatively low 120+ towns and cities. But, 5G is still only on a street by street basis. So how well do each network cover their declared locations?On both networks you’ll only really get 5G in the busier, more populated areas. This includes train stations and other transport hubs as well as stadiums and high streets. Neither network is great at covering whole towns and cities. Both sell 5G at no extra cost. You'll get it on every SIM only plan or phone contract, as long as the model itself has 5G data as a link: Latest news on Three's 5G rollout Don't just look at your home postcode but where you work, your commute, where you go for pleasure: anywhere you'd use your phone "Virgin have the better blend of coverage overall. You’re more likely to stay connected on the go with them than Three, but the differences disappear in urban areas. Which is better for 5G will depend on your location."Compare pricing and deals We look to see if Three or Virgin Mobile have quicker downloadsRead whyat in new window)Both Virgin and Three sit in the middle for fastest 4G speeds. They’re not the fastest, nor the slowest. We use the results of independent network tester Opensignal who take millions of measurements from volunteer measure Three’s speeds at around Mbps and Virgin’s hosts Vodafone at around Mbps. But these are only averages and don’t give you the whole there’s no speed caps on Virgin, we can say you get the same peak speeds of around 80 Mbps in city centres and lows of 6 Mbps in rural areas as we got in our tests. Three got peaks of 44 Mbps and lows of around 10 Mbps. So from our experience we’d say you can get higher peak speeds on Virgin, but if you’re out in the sticks you might get better 4G speeds on Three. If you’re not satisfied you can always return your SIM within 14 days of receiving link: Three's 4g+ Big Network Build news✔ Three are racing ahead for 5G speedsSince 5G has been live for a while on both networks, we can make some pretty accurate predictions of typical 5G speeds using results from Opensignal and Speedtest by on Three fall between Mbps to a blistering Mbps vs speeds on Virgin’s host network of Mbps to Mbps. Both have a lot of variation in results, so we think it’s dependent on your location. Both are revolutionary compared to 4G and will allow more advanced features to be developed for phones that weren't previously possible. But if you want bragging rights, Three are probably the current best reason Three currently have the advantage is that they've secured more radio spectrum in the same more-optimal wavelengths to broadcast their 5G on. It's paying off now but as more spectrum gets sold, Three may not have a permanent link: What speeds might Three's 5G achieve? "Three get you faster average 4G speeds and blistering fast 5G. It will depend where you live, however. Some areas might not have 5G and Virgin tends to have faster 4G speeds in city centres. But Three are generally faster over all your usage."Compare pricing and deals Here we look at other things Virgin and Three offer to keep you connected on your overall call signal is weaker than Virgin’s and tends to suffer more indoors, as their frequencies aren’t as good at getting through building materials. But indoor signal can suffer on all help out, both networks have got WiFi calling (lets your phone make calls via WiFi where no mobile signal) and 4G calling (utilises more types of signal for calls, so better chance of having reception).Three’s is much better overall. With Virgin’s you can’t transfer a call from WiFi signal to 4G signal without your call dropping. Their list of supported devices is also quite short, and if your phone isn’t on there it’s not likely to think Three's list of supported phones is actually a little defensive (the phones the guarantee rather than the models that might work). It kicks in easily when needed and supports SMS texting link: Our guide to the best WiFi calling networks✔ Virgin Mobile offer more WiFi hotspots than ThreeVirgin Mobile customers get a real advantage from joining a mobile provider that's also part of a broadband supplier: Virgin Media. You can tap into their broadband any of Virgin’s pay monthly plans you’ll get access to a network of million+ hotspots, which are usually located in places like restaurants, transport hubs (including the London Underground) and on the high is useful as it saves on using up your mobile data allowance. You get unlimited usage. Using less data means you could in theory choose a smaller, cheaper plan (although the actual savings are hard to predict).Three don’t offer nearly as many hotspots, but you do get free WiFi on the London Underground, which pairs well with their great WiFi calling to keep you connected (here's how to get that on Three).Useful links: Free UK-wide WiFi on Virgin Mobile | Three's free WiFi on the Underground"You’ll probably have better luck getting WiFi calling to work on Three and they also have a better feature. WiFi hotspots on Virgin are nice, but there’s plenty of free WiFi out there anyway. Three have the upper hand overall."Compare pricing and deals Both Three and Virgin Mobile have free data schemes, so which is more generous?There used to be an excellent benefit on Three called Go Binge. It gave you an effectively unlimited data allowance to stream a selection of apps on your phone, even if you were on a plan that had a data are a few networks still offering similar schemes, which you can read about here. But Three aren't one of them. Virgin do have something similar, for social media messaging data, which you can read about video and music streaming are some of the data-hungriest activities you can do on your phone, so not having this count towards your data usage on Three was a real Three are getting in danger of becoming a bit of a low-frills provider. They've stripped out other benefits too recently, like their Wuntu Rewards app and their easyJet upgrade link: Read Three's existing customer guide for Go Binge ✔ Virgin Mobile's free data focusses on social media appsVirgin don't have anything quite as generous as Three's Go Binge was in terms of writing off the cost of data for specific apps but they do still have something:If you're on a pay monthly phone or SIM only contract, they'll not charge you for data you use for pictures and texts via the messaging apps Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger. And also the social network effectively means you can use these as much as you like without worrying about the data. In our guide to networks that offer free data, we point out that you use this type of app a lot but that they're not really the biggest consumers of basically saying it's a nice feature if you use your phone with these apps a lot but don't expect it to save you huge amounts of link: Data-free messaging on Virgin Mobile"Now Three don't offer Go Binge to new customers, this is a win for Virgin Mobile by default."Compare pricing and deals Is roaming on Virgin Mobile as good as Three's Go Roam? On any of Three’s pay monthly plans you used to be able to roam in 71 worldwide destinations and this was one of our favourite roaming schemes. But you no longer get access to this if you’re new to you have to pay a daily charge while you’re abroad to be able to access your regular UK allowance. It’s currently £2 per day in the EU and £5 not too terrible for worldwide roaming, but there are still a lot of networks that offer inclusive EU roaming. It’s sad to see our former favourite for roaming Three not even offer EU roaming £5 a day doesn’t sound too bad when compared to some of the really expensive rates you’ll have to pay in worldwide destinations. Virgin’s rates are particularly high. But either way it’ll get expensive fast. Useful link: Full details on Three's free roaming scheme ✔ Virgin Mobile promise to keep inclusive EU roaming While mobile networks no longer have to offer free inclusive EU roaming, Virgin Mobile have promised to keep their roaming scheme in place. You can check all their roaming destinations Mobile don’t go beyond this basic provision though. And have quite a few finickity rules about how much of your normal data you can use abroad (see their roaming calculator here to work it out).So if you mainly travel within the EU, you’re covered with Virgin. But if you regularly go further afield, you might want to check Virgin’s extra roaming costs here as you could end up paying a lot for even using a little bit of can set a cap to make sure you don’t accidentally overspend. While Virgin’s roaming scheme isn’t anything special, it’s still nice that they offer it. And it’s a lot better than Three’s scheme for EU roaming. Useful link: Virgin's guide to all their roaming costs "We think the majority of people do their roaming in the EU. The fact Virgin still include it and Three don’t, means Virgin with this category by default."Compare pricing and deals Here's what you'd miss out on by joining Three instead of Virgin Virgin offer a decent benefit that helps you save a bit of your data when using certain social media apps. It won’t save you quite as much as a free data streaming data scheme would, but it’s still nice to you're on a pay monthly phone or SIM only contract, they'll not charge you for data you use for pictures and texts via the messaging apps Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger. And also the social network means you can browse these apps without having to think about how much data you’re using. As we said in our guide to free data schemes, this won’t save you a lot of data, even if you use these apps a basically saying it's a nice feature if you use your phone with these apps a lot but don't expect it to save you huge amounts of data. Useful link: Data-free messaging on Virgin MobileMost people's data usage varies from month-to-month, depending on what you've been doing with your phone. Sometimes you'll get right near your data-limit or over, sometimes you'll get nowhere offer a solution to the annoyance of losing your unused data and help you get the most of what you paid for (see all the networks that offer it here).It's called Data Rollover on Virgin, and it comes with every pay monthly SIM only plan or phone contract. It lets you keep unused data to use next month instead. It's a second chance to use think it pairs well with their WiFi hotspot network and free social media data as you can save a lot of data then roll it over for your next month. Three don’t offer any form of data rollover, not even on pay as you link: Everything you need to know about data rollover Which of the two currently has the best value SIM only plans? Here are the key promotions Three and Virgin Mobile have on right now We look at prices and differences between their smartphone deals Virgin offer what are known as “split contracts” for their phone deals. This is where you have a separate finance agreement (loan) for the cost of your phone and one payment for your usage (mins, texts, data).This means you can pay off your loan and upgrade your phone early, you can change or leave your usage plan whenever while still paying off your phone and they also let you set your contract length at either 24-months or you’ll need a good credit rating, because most of Virgin Mobile’s smartphone contracts are based on credit agreements (basically loans). Otherwise, you’ll find a decent range of iPhone, Samsung and some other cheaper Android models with Virgin Mobile, all with no upfront link: See Virgin's full range of phones ✔ Three's contracts are more conventionalGetting a contract on Three is very different to getting one on Virgin. All their contracts are 24-months only and there’s no credit agreements or early upgrades. It’s a lot simpler, but a lot less phone range is very similar to Virgin's. We've built a new tool for you to compare phone contract prices on Three, Virgin and other mobile search for the phone you want, click on it, set the usage plan you want and it’ll show you a comparison of what sort of prices you’ll get on each look at our popular model example comparison further down the page to compare Virgin Mobile and Three's starting prices on some of the best selling link: Compare mobile phone contracts "When comparing 24-month contracts, Virgin tend to be cheaper. Add to that the option to take a 36-month contract to reduce monthly costs, the choice to upgrade early and change your usage plan and Virgin are a much more attractive option overall."Compare phone contracts