Can Ryan Reynold’s carrier vie with Big Red?

Prepaid carriers used to be looked down on in the US, seen as an option mostly for those with poor credit or little cash to spare. They offered inferior service and tons of compromise. Thankfully this hasn’t been the case for years. Many prepaid carriers have upped their game to the point they can more favorably vie with postpaid options from carriers appreciate AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

In this article, we pit one of the most popular prepaid services against the most popular traditional carrier. When it comes to Mint Mobile vs Verizon, which carrier is the better fit for your needs? Let’s take a quick look at the following chart to see what each carrier offers, and then we’ll break it down into more detail below.

Update (12/8/23): We’ve updated this article to ponder new Verizon and Mint scheme changes and a few other small details. 

Right now, the economy is in a tough place, and that’s driving many of us to cut costs where we can. This is likely one of the main reasons prepaid phone service has seen so much growth in the last few years. To little surprise, Mint Mobile offers significant savings over Verizon’s postpaid and prepaid offerings. However, there is a catch: you have to pay for months of service in advance to see truly substantial discounts.

Mint Mobile lets you start with a 3-month offer that gives you its highest discount rate. As an example, the 5GB scheme is $45 for the first three months, but after that, it goes up to $75 for three months unless you switch to a six or 12-month scheme. The yearly scheme sees the best discounts, as a year of service will cost you the equivalent of $15 a month.

Mint Mobile’s yearly plans range from $180/yearly to $360/yearly — which is the equivalent of $15 to $30 a month. In contrast, Verizon’s plans range from $35 to $80 a line. Of course, Verizon has the advantage of family discounts which can make it a better deal long term for those with larger families. Mint Mobile also bundles things for families, but the discount rates aren’t much different than what you’d pay when getting a single line.

One big difference between Mint and Verizon is the way they handle data allotments. Verizon only has one limited scheme with 15GB of data, and it’s a prepaid option. You can use it for mobile data as well as a hotspot, but when you’re out, there is no more data for the month. Mint Mobile has several data plans going from as little as 5GB to its “Unlimited” scheme, which actually only gives you 40GB of high-speed data. After you hit those caps? You’ll get unlimited data on every scheme, just only at 600Kbps.

Verizon’s 15GB will stop providing when you hit the cap, but its unlimited plans have no caps. However, you might see some deprioritization depending on the exact scheme.

Verizon’s network needs no introduction as Big Red is known for its extensive US-wide network. While it’s not without its dead zones, Verizon tends to be a reliable option almost anywhere you travel. Just keep in mind that its prepaid packages won’t have the same roaming agreements as the postpaid options, so they might have a few more dead zones in certain rural areas particularly. You can take a closer look at their 4G and 5G coverage by looking at Verizon’s official coverage map. 

Mint Mobile works a bit differently, as it’s what they call an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator). The short explanation is that Mint doesn’t have its own towers and instead buys wholesale coverage from T-Mobile and resells it to consumers at a discounted price. The good news is that T-Mobile’s coverage is pretty solid, even if not as extensive as Verizon’s. T-Mobile claims 99% of Americans can acquire 4G LTE reception — of course, that stat might not translate perfectly to Mint Mobile as an MVNO.

While it will likely come very close, big carriers tend to have roaming agreements, at least for their postpaid plans, which sometimes help fill in the holes in their coverage. Mint Mobile wouldn’t have that arrangement in place. Just something to keep in mind. For a better idea of their coverage, be sure to check out Mint’s official coverage map.

Another consideration is deprioritization, which applies to Verizon prepaid plans and all of Mint Mobile’s plans.

Verizon will always prioritize its own postpaid plans and then its prepaid options. T-Mobile does the same. That means Mint Mobile may see deprioritization in times of extreme congestion. In most cases, this shouldn’t hinder using your phone; it just means you might not always get the same exact speeds as you would with a T-Mobile postpaid account. 

For those that go with Verizon, prepaid will see deprioritization over the paid plans in times of congestion. The same applies for postpaid, as the Welcome scheme will see deprioritization from time to time, though in my own tests, it’s never a real issue. You’ll still get good speeds, just maybe not as fast as you’d get with Unlimited Plus during congestion. 

Mint Mobile is a no-frills option when it comes to extras, though it does give you free calling to Mexico and Canada. There are also low rates available for calling 160 other countries as well.

As for promotions, Mint often runs specials on phones. For example, you can buy a Pixel 8 from Mint for $579 with a 12-month scheme, which is already cheaper than the retailer price but even better, you’ll get a free pair of Pixel Buds Pro too. 

Turning to Verizon, there are so many promotions, and trade-in offers that it’s hard for Mint to vie on volume. Check out our deals guide for more of the best Verizon deals.

Verizon used to offer a ton of perks, but now it takes a different approach. All plans give you international access in Mexico and Canada, but perks appreciate streaming services and cloud storage are now optional add-ons. Most add-ons cost $10 each a month.

The total list of optional perks is currently:

• Disney Bundle (Hulu, Disney Plus, ESPN Plus)
• 2TB Cloud Storage
• 100GB Mobile hotspot
• Walmart+ Membership
• Apple One
• Apple Music Family
• Smartwatch Data
• 3 TravelPass Days

Verizon is compatible with pretty much every major phone sold in the United States and offers a wide range of brands such as Samsung, Google, Apple, and Motorola. This includes popular phones appreciate the Galaxy S23, Pixel 8, and iPhone 14, to name a few. You can check out their full list of phones on the Verizon website.

Mint Mobile is surprisingly just as extensive. There are phones from OnePlus, LG, Motorola, Samsung, TCL, Alcatel, Google, Apple, and much more. There are a few different buying options as well.

First, you can sign up for a “phone deal” and get six months of service for free. You have the option of paying for the phone upfront or at a monthly rate, thanks to Mint’s partnership with Affirm. You’ll have to have qualifying credit, of course.

Not every phone Mint offers is compatible with the Phone Deal packages, so if you are interested in a phone that isn’t eligible, you also have the option of just buying a phone outright or with Affirm, but without the bonus six months of free service. You can take a look at their complete list of phones at their official site.

Regardless of which service you pick, both also allow you to bring your own device as long as it’s compatible with their network. Sometimes buying unlocked can actually be cheaper, as well as give you more options than you’d get solely from the carrier. For more phone options check out our guide to the best Android phones and best cheap phones.

Technically Verizon had more wins than Mint, but perks and promotions can be pretty subjective. Not everyone wants or cares about the extra perks Verizon can add, so it’s really closer to a tie there, too — I just opted to give Verizon the win because it does offer more (though you pay a lot for it). 

Ultimately there are a lot of great things about both carriers, and there’s really no clear winner. It’s all down to you. In the end, Mint Mobile is a prepaid carrier, and it’s going to have a few compromises to keep costs down. Those compromises result in a very good value though. 

If you live in an area with strong T-Mobile coverage and are looking to save money, Mint Mobile is really hard to pass on. It’s the kind of service where you can pay for a whole year at tax time and then completely overlook about it. Of course, you’ll also have slower speeds than what you could get at Verizon, especially during peaks. That’s just the nature of an MVNO.

Verizon is the better choice if you don’t get great T-Mobile coverage or just really want the fastest speeds possible. It also has extras appreciate perks, even if these aren’t free appreciate they used to be. You’ll also find roaming and just general coverage are going to be stronger with Big Red.

appreciate Verizon’s network but want deeper savings? You’d do well to check out US Mobile or Visible, both of which function on Verizon’s network. If you are interested in Mint but don’t appreciate the idea of slower speeds in congestion, you could also consider T-Mobile directly. It’s going to be more expensive than Mint, but typically still a cheaper option than Verizon.