Verizon Postpaid Pros and Cons: How is it Different from a Prepaid Plan?

Verizon is one of the three major networks in the country, along with AT&T and T-Mobile. Verizon provides the most mobile coverage narrowly beating out the other two networks. They’re 4G LTE service is available to 70% of the nation and although you can get spotty coverage if you’re in certain areas of the country- (westcoast people may experience some slower speeds compared to those in middle and east coast regions), you’ll still most likely find solid coverage with Verizon from almost anywhere in the country.

Here you’ll see a screenshot of Verizon’s Coverage Map showing their coverage and the red spots detailing where their 5G Ultra Wideband network is covered:

• You can see the map in its entirety and disclaimers through the Verizon Coverage Map tab.

That’s not to say that both AT&T and T-Mobile don’t have their advantages, there’s endless debates between which network is the best, but in reality it depends on what kind of phone you have and where you are located.

But we aren’t here to add to the debate, today we’re here to discuss Verizon Postpaid pros and cons, what the difference is between their Prepaid plans, and what might work best for you!

Here’s what you can read about:

• Prepaid vs Postpaid Phone Plans
• How does Verizon Postpaid work?
• Verizon Postpaid Plans
• Verizon Postpaid Pros and Cons

Prepaid vs Postpaid Plans: What are they?

Trying to find the right phone plan can be tedious, especially since there are so many options and packages out there offering you a variety of different things. One commonality you will see through a lot of services is prepaid and postpaid cell phone plans.

But what are they and what’s the difference between the two?

First up we have Prepaid:

Prepaid cell phone plans normally come with no contract and you pay for your service in advance before actually using it. Prepaid’s nickname is “pay as you go” which means that you pay for what you need and not anything more. If you’re someone that doesn’t use their phone a lot or finds themselves knowing exactly how many minutes, texts, and gigabytes of data you use per month a prepaid cell phone plan might be a good route to take.

If you miss a payment, you won’t have phone service. On the other side of it is if you don’t need your phone for a few months then you aren’t locked into a contract and can save money by not paying for a plan until you need it again.

Prepaid phone plans come with a lot of flexibility and when you’re looking for prepaid plans base plans they tend to have a good array of options to choose from along with “add-on” packs with things like extra gigabytes of data, minutes, texts, or hotspot capability depending on the type of plan you have.

Next there’s Postpaid:

Postpaid cell phone plans are when you pay a monthly bill for all the bells and whistles including but not limited to calls, texts, data, possible subscription service deals, and hotspot coverage. If you have an “unlimited” wireless plan you will pay the same flat rate each month for all those perks, while people with limited postpaid plans might get charged extra if they go over their allotment of data, texts, and calls for that month.

If you’re someone who is constantly on their phone and relies on it when they enter the world, postpaid phone plans are a reliable way to make sure you always have the service you need as you never have to worry about adding minutes, data, or paying before your service starts. 

Prepaid vs Postpaid

So what’s better for you? And is one better over the other?

Well, it all depends on the user. Prepaid plans are great for people who don’t want to be locked into a potential contract and are particular about their phone usage. But prepaid plans have limited plan options compared to postpaid plans and if you’re a fan of more choice then you might like going the postpaid route. 

With postpaid plans you will have a fixed amount you pay every month so you know what you’re getting with your money. There’s also the possibility of added perks like subscription services, travel benefits, etc. Though if you don’t want to be locked into a potential contract and are looking for a more budget-friendly option, prepaid might be where it’s at for you.

How does Verizon Postpaid work (and what are the perks)?

Verizon has both prepaid and postpaid plans available. While their prepaid plans tend to run a lot cheaper than their postpaid plans, with prepaid you won’t get all of those bells and whistles we talked about earlier. Verizon Postpaid plans lean more towards the entertainment bundles, while prepaid has base benefits like talk, text, and data, and Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands services.

If you go with a Verizon Postpaid plan, you could have the chance to sign up for discounted perks such as:

• The Disney Bundle which gets you Disney+ Premium with no ads, Hulu with ads, and ESPN with ads. Normal price for the bundle is $18.99/mo and if you choose this perk you’d pay only $10/mo. (Terms Apply¹).
• Netflix & Max which gives you Netflix Standard with ads and Max with ads plan. This bundle is normally $16.98/mo and if you choose this perk with your Verizon plan you’ll only pay $10/mo. (Terms Apply¹).
• Apple One which has Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+ all in a bundle. Perfect for Apple phone users. Normal price for individuals is $19.95/mo but with a phone plan you’d pay $10/mo. Family plans normally pay $25.95/mo and now only $20/mo with a family plan. (Terms Apply¹).
• The Walmart+ Membership which has its own benefits you can read about on the plans tab. Normally it’s priced at $12.95/mo but Verizon customers only pay $10/mo. (Terms Apply¹).
• Apple Music Family which allows six members to enjoy Apple Music. Regular price is $16.99/mo and Verizon customers pay $10/mo. (Terms Apply¹).
• A 100GB Mobile Hotspot originally priced at $45/mo now only $35/mo. (Terms Apply¹).
• Smartwatch Data & Safety which is normally $20/mo is now only $10/mo. (Terms Apply¹).
• +play Monthly Credit, a Verizon platform that lets you manage all of your digital subscriptions from one place. You can save $5/mo off your $15/mo credit.(Terms Apply¹).
• 3 TravelPass Days. TravelPass lets you call, text, and use data in 210+ countries around the world. These three days, 24 hour sessions, are included each month. Normally it’s $30/mo but with this potential addon you will only pay $10/mo. (Terms Apply¹).
• 2TB Cloud Storage that’s originally $14.99/mo and with the addon it’s $10/mo. (Terms Apply¹).

¹To view all of the different terms Verizon has on their specific addons for their phone plans visit the Unlimited Plans tab, scroll down till you see perks and click on the different perks to get a full detailed outline of each plan.

So as you can see there are a ton of fun perks you can get with a Verizon Postpaid plan and if any of this suits your fancy then you’d definitely be a target customer. 

Verizon has three major postpaid plans. There are bundled plans where you can select a plan that has one of the perks added on already to your plan, but if you want to focus on just the postpaid plans on their own then you’ll want to look into the three major Unlimited plans they have.

• Tip: To view all of Verizon’s phone plans you’ll want to go to the the Verizon website and click on Plans.

Verizon “Unlimited” Postpaid Plans

Now it’s good to note that these are base prices- (not counting taxes & fees) for Verizon’s Unlimited Postpaid plans for one line. If you go up to say, four lines, you will begin to save money.

For example for 4 lines the Unlimited Plans pricing changes to:

• Unlimited Welcome $65/line per month changes to $30/line per month (with Auto Pay).
• Unlimited Plus $80/line per month changes to $45/line per month (with Auto Pay).
• Unlimited Ultimate $90/line per month changes to $55/line per month (with Auto Pay).

If you’re someone that’s looking for a multi-line phone plan with good coverage and addon perks then Verizon Postpaid plans might be worth a look. 

Otherwise you might want to look at Verizon’s prepaid plans or look to a MVNO for cheaper prices.

• Tip: A MVNO also known as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator are wireless service providers that don’t own their own cell phone towers. Besides the big three, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, most cell phone networks in the country are MVNOs. Visible Mobile for instance is a Verizon MVNO and they are their own phone company but will piggyback off of Verizon’s cell phone towers’ signal and provide coverage for customers at lower rates. You might not get the strongest data speeds all the time, but you will have access to Verizon’s wide broadband network at much more budget-friendly prices.

Verizon Postpaid Pros and Cons

Cell Phone plans always come with both pros and cons, and with a major network like Verizon at the helm they may have less cons than other companies, but they aren’t perfect. So let’s get into a few reasons why Verizon postpaid plans might work or not work for you.

Pros:

• Reliable Service
• Widespread Coverage
• Endless Perks
• Big Phone Selection
• Limited Data Deprioritization

Reliable Service

Signing up directly through Verizon Wireless means you will consistently get the most reliable service you can for your area. They are considered one of, if not the best for many reasons and a big one is their service. Expect infrequent slow loading speeds and fewer dropped calls on one of America’s best network providers.

Widespread Coverage

We mentioned at the beginning that Verizon’s 4G LTE covers 70% of the nation. And that’s no small feat. Currently they are number one in 4G LTE coverage. 

• Good to note that you should check your area on Verizon’s Coverage Map because although their signal is wide reaching, it’s not perfect, so be sure to look before you buy.

Endless Perks

We talked before about Verizon’s perks and addons but just a reminder, when you sign up for a Verizon Unlimited postpaid plan you can get the following:

• The Disney Bundle
• Netflix & Max
• Apple One
• Walmart+
• Apple Music Family
• 100GB Mobile Hotspot
• Smartwatch Data & Safety
• +play Monthly Credit
• 3 Verizon TravelPass Days
• Verizon Cloud Storage

There’s also International benefits you can check out when looking through each Unlimited plan.

Big Phone Selection

Verizon has one of the biggest phone selections out of every wireless network, so you’ll have a seemingly endless choice of phones when you sign up with Verizon. And with their postpaid plans you can pay for a new phone in monthly installments along with your new plan so you can spread out the payments to be a bit more manageable.

Limited Data Deprioritization 

Data deprioritization is when your data speeds will temporarily slow during times of network congestion or if you’re in high traffic areas. However, with Verizon’s Unlimited Plus and Ultimate plans you won’t experience those slower data speeds which could be a major benefit to high frequent data users.

Cons:

• Pricey
• Unlimited Welcome Data Deprioritization

Pricey

The major drawback of Verizon Postpaid plans is the price, especially if you’re only paying for one line a month. You’ll be spending upwards of $100 a month for your phone plan which can be a lot. Verizon’s prices have always been on the higher side so if you’re looking to save we recommend looking at their prepaid plans or somewhere else.

Unlimited Welcome Data Depolarization 

Remember when we mentioned data deprioritization? Well, although Verizon’s Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Ultimate plans don’t feature slower data speeds regardless of how much you use it, the Unlimited Welcome plan does. During peak times like network congestion and high traffic areas you can experience slower data speeds with this unlimited plan which can be frustrating especially for the price you’re paying every month. Frequent data use can also be a cause of slower data speeds as if you use a good amount of it in a month, you might notice your speeds start to slow down. But don’t worry if this does happen your speeds will go back to normal at the start of your next billing cycle.

Verizon Postpaid plans offer a lot of fun entertainment perks that you will have a hard time finding from other wireless networks. With their coverage and widespread connection you’ll find that their service might just be the thing you’re looking for- as long as you’re willing to shed out a good chunk of change every month.

If you want to compare and contrast Verizon Postpaid to over 1,200 other phone plans so you know you’re getting the service that’s right for you, then make sure to check out the REALLY compare page which allows you to look at pricing, coverage, what phone plans are available, current deals and steals, and how you can make the most of your potential phone bill.