Visible Wireless review: Stellar budget phone plans for unlimited data

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Visible Wireless is Verizon's attempt at the low-cost mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market. It provides unlimited access to Verizon's nationwide network for as low as $25/month. 

Visible now offers three plans: a standard and two premium plans, all of which feature unlimited data. While the standard plan is subject to deprioritized speeds behind Verizon's higher-paying customers, the premium Visible Plus and Plus Pro plans offer unlimited prioritized high-speed data for additional fees. All plans also include unlimited hot spot data usage at varying maximum speeds. 

We tested the efficacy of Visible's plans through routine use, assessing the MVNO's coverage consistency, data reliability, and call quality, among other factors. For those looking to make the switch, we also outline the setup process for new users and compare plan offerings so you can judge whether Visible has a plan that suits your needs.

Plan offerings and flexibility

Visible's three plans, prepaid monthly or annually, offer unlimited monthly data at varying guaranteed speeds and various other features.

The standard Visible plan costs $25/month (or $275 annually) and includes unlimited data subject to deprioritization, unlimited talk and text to Mexico and Canada, and unlimited hot spot data. 

The premium Visible Plus plan costs $35/month (or $375 annually). Building on the base plan's offerings, the Plus plan includes prioritized high-speed data, higher-quality video streaming, faster hot spot speeds, and unlimited talk, text, and data in Mexico and Canada.

The top-tier Visible Plus Pro plan costs $45/month (or $450 annually). It builds on the Plus plan, adding even faster hot spot speeds, higher-quality video streaming, included smartwatch service, and an expansive international package for calling and texting, as detailed below.

The premium-tier Visible Plus and Plus Pro plans include one or two days monthly (12 or 24 days annually), respectively, of the service's Global Pass feature for international roaming. It offers unlimited talk and text and 2GB of monthly data (with mobile hot spot) in more than 140 countries. Monthly customers of either plan can bank and rollover unused Global Pass days to use them consecutively for trips.

Separating itself from the standard and Plus plans, the Visible Plus Pro plan's inclusion of international calling (up to 500 minutes/month) from the US to more than 85 countries and unlimited texting to more than 200 countries makes it an excellent deal relative to major carrier plans that offer similar benefits with much higher price tags.

While the Visible standard plan and upgraded Visible Plus and Plus Pro tiers include unlimited monthly data, only the Visible Plus and Plus Pro customers are guaranteed premium high-speed data. This discrepancy is important to note regarding deprioritization, as Visible's premium-tier customers won't be artificially subjected to slower data speeds in congested areas.

In contrast, Visible's standard plan has unlimited data subject to deprioritized speeds at any time, and it doesn't have access to the newer and faster 5G Ultra Wideband networks.

With any Visible plan, customers can bring their own phones as long as they're compatible with Verizon's network. Visible has a compatibility checker on their website, and if your phone isn't compatible, you can trade it in for credit toward a new phone. You can also keep your previous phone number through a "porting-in" process on Visible's website or mobile app. 

The MVNO doesn't offer much setup guidance beyond the articles on its online help center, and once your SIM or eSIM is activated, the setup process is complete. Overall, the experience as a new customer is barebones — particularly compared to a competitor like Mint Mobile, which provides the new user with a setup assistance kit, a guided walkthrough of the app and its capabilities, and a more easily navigable support site.

If you're new to Visible, you can test the service with a free 15-day trial; if the results are less than you'd hoped for, you can easily cancel the trial through Visible's app.

Coverage area

Before signing up for Visible, check the MVNO's provided coverage map to confirm whether its network (which mirrors Verizon's US network) covers your area. Additionally, check with neighbors, friends, or social media to ensure that Verizon provides dependable service locally.

Operating on Verizon's network, Visible provides dependable 4G/LTE, 5G, and top-tier 5G Ultra Wideband connections across most of the US. Visible Plus and Plus Pro offer 5G Ultra Wideband coverage in many urban areas, so your data speeds will be the fastest that a 5G connection can provide. 

An enticing reason for switching from one of Verizon's pricier premier plans to Visible plans is that you can keep the same network coverage at a substantially lower monthly cost for a single line. However, your data will be subject to deprioritized speeds in congested areas unless you opt for Visible's premium tier.

See our guide to Visible vs. Verizon for a comprehensive comparison of the MVNO's offerings and those of its backing major carrier.

Service reliability and speeds

The best feature of Visible's unlimited data plans is that your data is truly unlimited in the manner of the best unlimited data plans from major carriers, meaning speeds aren't capped after you use a certain amount of data, unlike some other nominally unlimited plans.

That said, Visible's base customers are prioritized after Verizon's higher-paying customers who use the same network and could theoretically encounter slower speeds at any time. However, in areas with less network congestion, you may not experience any meaningful disruption from deprioritization.

Even conducting our testing in New York City didn't leave us disappointed. On the standard Visible plan, we could load videos and social media apps with almost no buffering time, which means a lot in an urban area where everyone is using data simultaneously in proximity. Texts were sent from almost anywhere, calls went through fine, and the audio quality was quite good. 

Video calls, however, had mixed results. For instance, on a 4G connection, we could see and hear the person on the other end of the line perfectly fine. The reverse connection wasn't as clean, though; our call partners noted that our audio and video were skipping to the point of incoherence (despite being connected via a high-speed WiFi network). The issues disappeared when we tried another call while connected with four bars of 5G data.

This disparity wasn't entirely surprising, as a 4G connection will generally be less reliable than a 5G (or a 5G Ultra Wideband) connection. It's worth noting that we had a 4G connection rather than a 5G one, as our testing regions were entirely covered by Verizon 5G coverage, according to Visible's coverage map. The slower connection suggests that we were deprioritized in a congested area. 

One con of being on Verizon's coverage network in a crowded area is that they're a popular network for a reason, and many people use their services. Thus, Visible base customers may encounter deprioritization more frequently than those on other budget phone plans, which vie with the best cell phone plans from other major carriers.

Customer support

As far as in-app and online support is concerned, Visible offers a typically distant level of customer care that you can generally expect from a wireless carrier (particularly a larger network or an MVNO operating on one), with a help center that refers the user to a knowledge base of support articles for resolving any issues you may have in setup, activation, or account information.

Last year, Visible added an AI-powered tool to the help center that produces variously helpful and unhelpful summaries for searches in our experience.

Visible's mobile app includes the same help center knowledge base as its desktop website and a shop tab that you can use to purchase smartwatches or upgrade your phone.

From a user experience standpoint, the shop tab in the app isn't particularly useful. Since one infrequently purchases a new phone or smartwatch, it isn't the most convenient resource to include in the mobile app. It doesn't help that the app requires you to log in every time you use it, which is a bit of a chore. 

You can also manage your plan in the Account tab, view your plan specifics, and upgrade your plan from the app. All the most pertinent user information lives in the Account tab, and you can chat there with a text-based digital assistant to access quick help. However, Visible notably lacks a customer service phone number. 

Compared to the customer support offered by competitor Mint Mobile and the option to call customer service on Tello Mobile, Visible's app and site support are lackluster and not particularly user-friendly.

Read our Mint Mobile review or Tello Mobile review, and see our guides to Mint Mobile vs. Visible or Tello vs. Visible for further comparison between the budget carriers. 

Should you sign up for Visible Wireless?

The affordable unlimited plans on Visible Wireless are among the best cheap cell phone plans for those who use a lot of monthly data and know that Verizon's network adequately covers their area. 

In our testing, Visible's plans offered consistently reliable coverage, allowing us to send texts, make calls, and load apps seamlessly. Though we occasionally encountered disruptive, slower data speeds on the standard Visible plan when taking video calls in a congested area, these instances (of likely deprioritization) were momentary and ultimately a passing blemish on an overall positive experience with the service. 

However, if you don't use massive amounts of monthly data or aren't adequately covered by Verizon, Visible won't be worth its price, as other budget carriers like Mint Mobile and Tello Mobile provide tiered data plans on T-Mobile's network that are among the best prepaid phone plans for their value, and cost less than Visible's base plan.

FAQs

Who owns Visible Wireless?

Verizon owns Visible Wireless, and the MVNO operates using the major carrier's nationwide network.

How do Visible's unlimited plans work?

Visible's unlimited plans, prepaid monthly or annually, include unlimited data, hot spot access, and talk and text on Verizon's network. Under Verizon's umbrella, Visible users can consistently take advantage of 4G/LTE speeds and even 5G (or 5G Ultra Wideband for Visible Plus or Plus Pro users) if there isn't much network congestion. 

The service is a low-cost alternative for customers who want to use Verizon's network but aren't within budget for one of the major carriers' high-end plans. Visible strips the network management process down to the basics, with no annual contracts, hidden fees, or third-party service discounts, just prepaid data service. 

The caveat is that while your data is unlimited, the speed of the data is deprioritized, in that it could slow down due to Verizon network traffic at any time, unless you've purchased one of Visible's two premium plans for prioritized data.

Does Visible work internationally?

Visible works internationally, with varying compatibility in select countries through different plans and features.

All Visible plans provide unlimited calling and texting to Mexico and Canada from the US. Visible Plus and Plus Pro add unlimited data roaming in both countries.

If you're a Visible customer from the US going abroad outside Mexico and Canada, you'll have to use the carrier's Global Pass for international roaming. It provides unlimited talk and text and 2GB of monthly data in more than 140 countries.

Visible Plus and Plus Pro include one or two days each month, respectively, of Global Pass. Standard Visible users can use Global Pass for additional monthly fees starting at $5.

Visible Plus Pro users can also make calls to more than 85 countries and send texts to more than 200 countries.

Does Visible offer a family plan?

Unfortunately, Visible only offers unlimited plans for one line at a time, without multi-line discounts, and it doesn't provide a traditional "family" plan.

For example, if you have multiple standard subscription lines on your account, each line will cost $25/month. 

Visible used to provide a "Party Pay" option that added discounts for multiple lines on the same plan, but the service ended in January 2023. 

See our guide to the best family cell phone plans for options from other carriers that offer better value for groups.