There are the major wireless carriers in what is often referred to as the big three. The carriers include Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. Each of these carriers offers unlimited plans, and each offers discounts when you get going with a family plan account. Though on the carriers websites, you’ll often find these discounts referred to as multi-line discounts.
Once you decide on your carrier — you then need to decide which plan will work best for your needs. Many users immediately look towards an unlimited plan, as that can simplify things and remove any worry about running out of data. The slightly tricky part is that each of the major carriers offers several different unlimited options.
We’ve been focusing on carriers here on the Swappa Blog lately, and most recently, we are outlining the unlimited family plan options offered by each of these carriers. You can find the series of posts linked here, and up for today is Verizon.
Is a Verizon unlimited family plan really unlimited?
As you’ll find with other carriers — the answer is yes, Verizon does offer unlimited plans. In fact, Verizon has four different unlimited plans that are available for families. Verizon has the Start Unlimited, Play More Unlimited, Do More Unlimited, and the Get More Unlimited.
These four options are unlimited in terms of data. Users will not have to worry about running out of data, or paying any overages for data. However, Verizon does make use of a soft-cap. A soft-cap will not cut you off, but it does mean Verizon may slow your data speeds during times of network congestion. The soft-data cap limit for each plan is as follows:
- Start Unlimited – Data speeds may be slowed at any time during congestion.
- Play More Unlimited – Data speeds may be slowed after 50 GB during congestion.
- Do More Unlimited – Data speeds may be slowed after 50 GB during congestion.
- Get More Unlimited – Data speeds may be slowed after 50 GB during congestion.
With the possibility of having your data speeds slowed at any data level with the Start Unlimited plan, you may be tempted to immediately jump to one of the higher-priced plans — but it is important to understand that your speeds will not always be slowed (deprioritized).
Verizon mentions they only do this when the network is busy and congested. The difference with the three higher-priced plans is that you get a guaranteed amount of data at the highest speeds before deprioritization becomes a possibility.
How much is a Verizon unlimited family plan?
Verizon has four different options for unlimited plans. These plans are available for all users — from single-line accounts to multi-line (family) accounts with five or more lines. The discounts vary based on the plan you choose, and on the number of lines you have on the account. Basically, the greater the number of lines, the greater the discount you’ll see on your statement.
Start Unlimited
- 2 Lines: $120 per month ($60 per month per line)
- 3 Lines: $135 per month ($45 per month per line)
- 4 Lines: $140 per month ($35 per month per line)
- 5 Lines (and above): $150 per month ($30 per month per line)
*Plus taxes and fees. Prices shown include an Auto-Pay/Paperless Billing discount of $10 per line, per month.
Play More Unlimited
- 2 Lines: $140 per month ($70 per month per line)
- 3 Lines: $165 per month ($55 per month per line)
- 4 Lines: $180 per month ($45 per month per line)
- 5 Lines (and above): $200 per month ($40 per month per line)
*Plus taxes and fees. Prices shown include an Auto-Pay/Paperless Billing discount of $10 per line, per month.
Do More Unlimited
- 2 Lines: $140 per month ($70 per month per line)
- 3 Lines: $165 per month ($55 per month per line)
- 4 Lines: $180 per month ($45 per month per line)
- 5 Lines (and above): $200 per month ($40 per month per line)
*Plus taxes and fees. Prices shown include an Auto-Pay/Paperless Billing discount of $10 per line, per month.
Get More Unlimited
- 2 Lines: $160 per month ($80 per month per line)
- 3 Lines: $195 per month ($65 per month per line)
- 4 Lines: $220 per month ($55 per month per line)
- 5 Lines(and above): $250 per month ($50 per month per line)
*Plus taxes and fees. Prices shown include an Auto-Pay/Paperless Billing discount of $10 per line, per month.
Verizon unlimited family plan features
Start Unlimited | Play More Unlimited | Do More Unlimited | Get More Unlimited | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unlimited Talk & Text | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Unlimited Data | Yes (Data speeds may be slowed at any time during congestion) | Yes (Data speeds may be slowed after 50 GB during congestion) | Yes (Data speeds may be slowed after 50 GB during congestion) | Yes (Data speeds may be slowed after 75 GB during congestion) |
5G Data | 5G Nationwide | 5G Nationwide & 5G Ultra Wideband | 5G Nationwide & 5G Ultra Wideband | 5G Nationwide & 5G Ultra Wideband |
Mobile Hotspot | No | Unlimited with 15 GB at 5G Nationwide / 4G LTE speeds | Unlimited with 15 GB at 5G Nationwide / 4G LTE speeds | Unlimited with 30 GB at 5G Nationwide / 4G LTE speeds |
Plan Perks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Included Perks | Disney+ (for 6-months) | Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ | Disney+ (for 6-months) | Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ |
Apple Music (for 6-months) | Apple Music (for 6-months) | Apple Music (for 6-months) | Apple Music | |
50% off Unlimited connected device plans | 50% off Unlimited connected device plans | |||
600GB of Verizon Cloud storage | 600GB of Verizon Cloud storage |
Outside of the above-noted features for each of these unlimited plans — Verizon has a unique setup for multi-line (family) accounts. Instead of requiring a single unlimited plan for each account, Verizon allows you to choose an unlimited plan for each line on the account.
As an example, a family with two adults and two children could have an account with the Get More Unlimited plan for each of the parents, and the Start Unlimited plan for each of the children.
Verizon unlimited family plan discounts
Verizon has discount options similar to the other major carriers. If you are a current Verizon subscriber or looking to switch to Verizon — you’ll find a discount for auto-pay and paperless billing, which is available for all subscribers. The remaining discount options require some level of qualification. For example, those over 55 will find a discount option. There is also a discount available for first responders, nurses, teachers, military, and veterans, which Verizon refers to as “serving those who serve.”
Auto-Pay & Paperless Billing
This discount is the simplest of the discount options. If you set your Verizon account up with paperless billing and auto-pay — you will save $10 per month, per line.
It is important to note that Verizon lists prices on their website with the auto-pay discount already applied, so if you opt not to use auto-pay — you will need to add $10 per month, per line to the price you see listed. All pricing here in this post also has the auto-pay discount applied.
Military & Veterans
This discount will vary based on the number of lines you have on your account and is available for active-duty military, as well as honorably discharged veterans. Verizon uses the MilVetID verification system by Veterans Advantage, which is an extension of their VetRewards program.
First Responders, Nurses, Teachers
Similar to the military and veterans discount, the pricing for first responders, nurses, and teachers will vary based on the number of lines you have on your account. Those looking to take advantage of the first responder, nurse, or teacher discount will confirm eligibility through ID.me.
Discount prices for Military, Veteran, First Responder, Nurse, and Teacher accounts are as follows:
- Start Unlimited: 1-line $60 (per line), 2-lines $47.50 (per line), 3-lines $36.66 (per line), 4-lines $30 (per line)
- Play More Unlimited: 1-line $70 (per line), 2-lines $57.50 (per line), 3-lines $46.66(per line), 4-lines $40 (per line)
- Do More Unlimited: 1-line $70 (per line), 2-lines $57.50 (per line), 3-lines $46.66 (per line), 4-lines $40 (per line)
- Get More Unlimited: 1-line $80 (per line), 2-lines $67.50 (per line), 3-lines $56.66 (per line), 4-lines $50 (per line)
55+ Senior
The 55+ Senior discount is available for subscribers who are 55 or older, live in Florida and have one or two lines on their Verizon account. Single-line accounts are billed at $60 per month, and two-line accounts are billed at $80 per month ($40 per line). Similar to the other pricing — these prices assume the auto-pay discount.
The 55+ Unlimited plan includes the following:
- Unlimited Talk & Text
- Unlimited 4G LTE data (Data speeds may be slowed at any time during congestion)
- Unlimited Mobile Hotspot (600 Kbps)
- DVD-quality video streaming
- Mexico and Canada included
- Verizon Up Rewards
Just Kids
The Just Kids option from Verizon is a discount, however, it is only available when packaged with a regular Unlimited plan account. The Just Kids pricing is $35 per month and offers the following features:
- Unlimited Talk & Text to 20 Contacts
- 5G Nationwide and 4G LTE data
- Unlimited data at 5Mbps
- Parental Controls & location tracking
Looking to buy a Verizon phone?
Once you’ve made the decision to go with Verizon — the next step is to ensure that everyone in your family has a compatible phone. Buying a new phone at full retail pricing can be expensive for a current-generation phone, and trying to outfit a family would only make that price tag even higher. But the good news is that you can opt to get a newish phone here on Swappa, which means a potential savings of hundreds of dollars on each phone you buy. You will just want to make sure you have a Verizon compatible phone, or an unlocked device that is compatible with Verizon.