Visible vs. Xfinity Mobile: Which carrier is better?

Visible and Xfinity Mobile are popular carriers that offer premium data for cheaper prices. Each carrier has its positives and negatives, but which offers better phone plans? Let’s put them head to head and see which brand comes out on top. 

In this article, we plan to discuss the ins and outs of both carriers and what they offer. We’ll also cover:

• What the coverage of both carriers looks like
• How prices of their plans compare to how much data you get
• The features each carrier offers for their plans 

Coverage & Reception

Visible and Xfinity Mobile are on the Verizon network 

Visible and Xfinity Mobile are mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs. This means that they purchase service access wholesale from one of the three major networks that own infrastructure across the country – AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile – giving customers service at a much cheaper price. Visible and Xfinity Mobile are both MVNOs of Verizon. 

Often, the quality of coverage comes down to your area. One carrier’s coverage may be better in New York, while another’s coverage may be better in California. It’s important to compare between providers on a coverage map of your specific city. Ookla’s coverage map allows you to see where cellular towers are located and which company owns them. This coverage map provides information about coverage from 2G to 5G for several providers.

Plan Options

Visible and Xfinity Mobile both offer premium data. 

Like most plans you’ll see on the market, both carriers offer unlimited talk and texting options with any plan you choose. Both companies offer premium data, which does not slow down no matter the amount of network traffic. Both companies deprioritize data on certain plans as well, meaning you’ll have slower connection speeds in high traffic areas like concerts venues and sports arenas.

Visible Plans

Both Visible plans offer unlimited data. 

Visible only offers 2 plans – Visible Base and Visible +. Visible + offers more features as well as premium data. Both plans offer a hotspot, with the data coming from your overall plan data. As an MVNO on Verizon’s network, Visible is on QCI tiers 8 and 9. Visible + has higher priority for its 50GB of premium data, tier 8, which will be further explained below. Visible Base is on tier 9.

It’s also important to note that Visible is a single line carrier – meaning you can only have one phone on an account. If you’re buying a plan for your family or with your significant other, you need to make separate accounts with separate plans for everyone. 

If you purchase your phone from Visible, your device will be locked for the first 60 days after activation. Both plans they offer renew monthly, and taxes and fees are included with the advertised price. 

Visible Base

This plan is always depriotized.

Like most plans you’ll see on the market, Visible’s base plan has unlimited talk and text. 

Visible Base also has unlimited data with no cap – meaning you have truly unlimited data that never slows down no matter how much you use. However, the Visible base plan is always deprioritized. Your data and connection will slow down at any point of high traffic in your area. 

The plan also includes unlimited mobile hotspot data. Again, your data is deprioritized and may slow down in times of high network traffic. 

The plan costs $25 per month. 

Visible +

This plan gives you 50GB of premium data, then unlimited deprioritized data. 

Visible + gives you access to Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, which is their network for premium data. As such, the 50GB of premium data you get with this plan will not slow down no matter how much network traffic in your area. After you use the 50GB, your data is unlimited – but subjected to the same deprioritization as the other plan. The mobile hotspot is also premium data for the first 50GB, then deprioritized after. 

At this rate, you get the 50GB of premium data at $0.90 per GB. 

The plan costs $45 per month, with a $10 welcome discount for the first month.

Xfinity Mobile Plans

Xfinity Mobile plans are postpaid rather than prepaid. 

Xfinity Mobile offers 3 limited data plans and 3 unlimited data plans. Each plan, except Unlimited Intro, offers premium data. This means your data will not be deprioritized in times of high traffic and network congestion. However, the data Xfinity Mobile offers will slow or stop completely once you reach your plan’s data cap. 

Unlike Mint Mobile and most other MVNOs, Xfinity Mobile’s plans are postpaid. You’ll pay for the previous month of service rather than the upcoming month because of this. As Xfinity Mobile is an MVNO of Verizon, their QCI tier is 9. You can have up to 10 lines on one account. 

If you purchase your phone from Xfinity Mobile, your device will be locked until its completely paid off and for 60 days after activation. The plans they offer renew monthly, and taxes and fees are not included with the advertised price. 

1GB

This plan stops after 1GB of premium data. 

As Xfinity Mobile’s smallest plan, this plan offers 1GB of premium data. Your connection won’t slow down. However, your data will stop after 1GB. The plan also includes hotspot access, where you can use all plan data. Hotspot access stops after the cap. 

The plan costs $15 per month. 

3GB

This plan gives you hotspot access with all data. 

This plan also gives you premium data, which stops after 3GB have been used. Users also get hotspot access with the 3GB, which stops after the data cap.

The plan costs $30 per month. At this rate, you get 3GB at $10 per GB. 

10GB 

This plan gives you 10GB of premium data. 

You get 10GB of premium data with this plan before it slows to 3G speeds. You also get hotspot access, which you can use all plan data for. 

The plan costs $60 per month. At this rate, you get 10GB at $6 per GB. 

Unlimited Intro 

This plan gives you 20GB before slowing your speeds. 

Xfinity Mobile’s Unlimited Intro plan gives you 20GB of full speed data before slowing down your speeds to 3G. With 3G speeds, users can browse the internet and send texts or emails, but streaming videos and playing games without WiFi may be difficult. Unlike other unlimited plans with Xfinity Mobile, this plan deprioritizes your data. You may experience slower speeds in high traffic areas. The plan also gives you unlimited hotspot data at 3G speeds. 

The plan costs $45 per month. At this rate, you get 20GB at $2.25 per GB. 

Unlimited Plus

This plan gives you 30GB of premium data. 

Xfinity’s Unlimited Plus plan gives you 30GB of premium data, which doesn’t slow down even in high traffic. After 30GB, the plan slows to unlimited data at 3G speeds. This plan also gives you 5GB of hotspot data. 

The plan costs $55 per month. At this rate, you get 35GB at $1.57 per GB. 

Unlimited Premium 

This plan gives you 50GB of premium data. 

Unlimited Premium is Xfinity Mobile’s biggest plan, as they give you 50GB of premium data before slowing your speeds to 3G. After this initial 50GB, your slow speed data is unlimited. This plan also gives you 15GB of hotspot data. 

The plan costs $65 per month. At this rate, you get 65 GB at $1.00 per GB. 

Features

Visible offers more features with their plans. 

If you’re looking for a plan with more included features, such as international connection or domestic roaming data, it’s best to compare carriers with what they offer. For example, Visible offers more features included than Xfinity Mobile, such as international capabilities.

Domestic Roaming Data

Visible and Xfinity Mobile both offer domestic roaming data on their plans. 

Mexico & Canada Connection

Visible offers talk and text in Mexico and Canada. However, Visible does not include roaming data for Mexico and Canada with Visible Base. Visible + includes roaming data that slows down to 2G speeds after 0.5GB each day. Xfinity Mobile offers an add-on for talk in Mexico and Canada, but does not offer text or data. 

International Connection

Visible does not give you international roaming data. However, Visible + gives you international talk and text. Visible Base does not offer this feature. Xfinity Mobile offers an add-on, called a Global Travel Pass, where users pay a flat rate for international talk, text, and data. 

Video Streaming Quality

Visible’s plans stream at 480p Standard Definition. All Xfinity Mobile plans, with the exception of their Unlimited Intro plan, stream at 720p High Definition. The Unlimited Intro plan streams at 480p Standard Definition. 

Streaming Services

Visible and Xfinity Mobile do not offer this feature. 

Cloud Storage

Visible and Xfinity Mobile do not offer this feature. 

Device Financing

If you buy a phone from Xfinity Mobile, the carrier allows you to pay for your device in installments over time. Visible does not offer this feature. 

WiFi Calling

Both carriers offer WiFi calling, which allows you to send and receive phone calls over a WiFi connection rather than cellular reception. 

Spam Protection

Visible offers spam protection on both of their plans, which blocks spam calls and protects you from potential fraud. Xfinity Mobile does not offer this feature. 

Free Trial

Visible offers a 15 day free trial. Xfinity Mobile does not offer this feature.   

Customer Service 

Visible does not have physical stores, leaving all of their customer service to online support. Xfinity Mobile offers retail locations across the country as well as online customer support.

Visible is a digital-only carrier, meaning they only offer customer support online. Visible offers 24/7 chat support from a live agent. Xfinity Mobile offers physical locations across the country, and customers can find the closest store to them with their website’s store locator. They also offer online chat support 24/7.

The Verdict

Visible offers better unlimited plans. 

If you’re looking for an unlimited plan, Visible offers better features and a better price per GB for their Visible+ plan than Xfinity Mobile. However, as Visible doesn’t offer limited data plans, Xfinity is the better option if you’re looking for a limited data plan. 

We’d recommend checking your data usage before committing to a plan.

Want to compare other carriers?

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