Verizon is the second most popular carrier in the US. With just over 153 million subscribers, Verizon is a top choice if you’re shopping for a new cell phone plan with the greatest amount of coverage.
Verizon also offers a variety of unlimited data plans, all with different price points and loads of fine print. With so many options, it can be tough knowing where to start. In this post we’ll be exploring all of Verizon’s unlimited plans for 2021, cutting through all the marketing jargon and helping you get one step closer to finding the best Verizon unlimited plan for you.
Is a Verizon “unlimited” plan really unlimited?
Verizon offers a variety of unlimited data plans to suit each person’s individual needs. It can get a little convoluted, but we’ll try out best to make sense of it. First off, let’s start with Verizon’s definition of “unlimited.” Whenever you see “unlimited data,” it basically means you won’t be charged for any overages when exceeding your monthly allotment. For instance, “5GB of high speed data” means you can stream all the music, videos, or listen to podcasts at the highest speeds their 4G or 5G network allows — something Verizon now calls “premium data” — until you’ve reached 5GB of data for the month.
What happens once you’ve exceeded your premium data for the month? After that, Verizon will slow your data speeds at their discretion (like turning down a water faucet to a trickle), giving you a fraction of the 5G or 4G speeds you’re used to. This is typically done during peak hours when their network becomes congested and the carrier needs to free up some bandwidth. It can be confusing because your phone will still display a 5G or 4G connection, but you may notice things taking longer than usual to load (images, videos, music).
Whether you’re receiving a photo in iMessage, trying to load an article on the web, or simply browsing Facebook, waiting 1-2 minutes for an app to load content (or worse, failing altogether) can make for a severely handicapped experience.
Which Verizon Wireless unlimited plan is best for you?
Verizon replaced their previous Go, Beyond, and Above Unlimited plans with their new Start, Play More, Do More and Get More plans back in August 2019 and even reduced the price by $5 in the process. Each Verizon unlimited plan includes unlimited calls, text messages, and data in the US, Canada and Mexico. Sounds simple enough, but when you look at what’s included in these unlimited data plans, things get a little hairy. Don’t worry, we’ll break it down for you below.
For a single line, you can find four unlimited data plans currently available on Verizon Wireless: Start Unlimited ($80), Play More Unlimited ($90), Do More Unlimited ($90), and Get More Unlimited ($100) — this is the actual price for each plan before all available discounts. You’ll find prices are slightly lower on Verizon’s website, where they automatically show prices for multiple lines (which is significantly cheaper than for a single line) and only after available discounts like Auto Pay & paper-free billing.
Start Unlimited $70*
Verizon’s Start Unlimited Plan is the lowest “unlimited” tier they offer and is similar to the old Go Unlimited plan that it’s replacing. Verizon puts Start Unlimited users at the back of the line, giving priority to higher their higher tier plans whenever their network becomes congested.
That means Start Unlimited users can find their data speeds being throttled (slowed down) at any point throughout the day and without warning, making for an unpredictable and inconsistent wireless experience. Verizon also restricts Start Unlimited video streaming to 480p (YouTube, Netflix, etc), which is a roundabout way of saying they slow down data speeds for video apps and services.
- Full-speed premium data – N/A
- Video streaming – 480p (standard definition)
- Mobile Hotspot – N/A
- 5G – Additional $10, includes unlimited 5G Mobile Hotspot and 4K video streaming
- Perks – Apple Music 6/mo trial, Disney+ 6/mo trial, Discovery+ 6/mo trial
Who should get this plan: People who care more about saving money than streaming high quality music, podcasts, or videos to their device and don’t plan on upgrading to a 5G enabled phone anytime soon.
Play More Unlimited $80*
Verizon’s Play More Unlimited Plan is a definite upgrade over the cheaper Start Unlimited plan and replaces Verizon’s previous Beyond Unlimited plan. You’ll find a fair amount of premium data — 50GB — delivered at full 4G or 5G (where available) speeds.
Video streaming is improved as well, so apps like YouTube and Facebook will show videos in 720p HD, with the option to upgrade to 1080p full HD video streaming for an additional $10 charge. Play More also adds Mobile Hotspot with 15GB of premium data if you want to share your data to a computer or tablet, and throws in Apple Music at no charge (a $10 value).
Also, free for a limited time is 5G Ultra Wideband, with true unlimited Mobile Hotspot and unlimited 4K video streaming when connected to Verizon’s 5G network — no data deprioritization or throttling. Verizon says Play More customers will see a $10 charge and credit for 5G services on their monthly bill, a reminder that this is an added perk and doesn’t normally come free.
- Full-speed premium data – 50GB
- Video streaming – 720p
- Mobile Hotspot – 15GB 4G LTE
- 5G – Limited time offer, includes unlimited 5G Mobile Hotspot and 4K video streaming
- Perks – Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ free, Apple Music 6/mo trial, Discovery+ 12/mo trial, Verizon Up Rewards
Who should get this plan: If you need a fair amount of high-speed data, enjoy streaming services like YouTube, and plan on upgrading to a 5G enabled device in the near future.
Do More Unlimited $80*
Verizon’s Do More Unlimited Plan is probably the most confusing out of the bunch. With Do More you’ll get 50GB of high-speed data, which is great, but video streaming is reduced to 480p standard definition by default but can be changed to 720p in your account settings. You’ll lose your free Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, but Do More tries to makeup for it with other perks…
These perks include 50% off a companion device plan for your tablet, smartwatch or a Verizon JetPack (portable Hotspot). Verizon also throws in 600GB of free Cloud Storage (a $5/month value), which can backup and sync contacts, photos, videos on iOS devices, while Android devices can also backup messages and documents. Not a bad deal, especially if you need more than your iPhone’s complimentary 5GB of iCloud storage.
Whether these perks are enough to sweeten the deal is up for you to decide. It’s certainly a strange plan and does more to confuse customers than make their buying decision any easier.
- Full-speed premium data – 50GB
- Video streaming – 720p
- Mobile Hotspot – 15GB 4G LTE
- 5G – Limited time offer, includes unlimited 5G Mobile Hotspot and 4K video streaming
- Perks – Disney+/Apple Music/Discovery+ 6/mo trial, 50% off tablet, smartwatch, or JetPack Unlimited plan, 600GB Verizon Cloud Storage, Verizon Up Rewards
Who should get this plan: If you have a lot of photos/videos you want to back up safely to the cloud, or use a lot of connected devices like a cellular equipped Apple Watch — this plan is for you.
Get More Unlimited $90*
Verizon’s Get More Unlimited Plan is the highest tier with the fewest amount of restrictions and the most free perks. The Get More Unlimited plan features the same 50GB premium data pool offered in lower tier plans, but adds perks like free Apple Music, Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.
You’ll also get 50% off a companion device plan, and 600GB of free Verizon cloud storage, along with 30GB of premium hotspot. There’s no smoke and mirrors, the plan is easy to understand and a great option for heavy smartphone users who want to enjoy the best the internet has to offer and have pockets deep enough to afford it.
- Full-speed premium data – 50GB
- Video streaming – 720p (HD)
- Mobile Hotspot – 30GB 4G LTE
- 5G – Limited time offer, includes unlimited 5G Mobile Hotspot and 4K video streaming
- Perks – Free Apple Music, free Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+, 50% off tablet, smartwatch, or JetPack connected device plan, 600GB Verizon Cloud Storage
Who should get this plan: Multi-device users who rarely connect to WiFi and spend lots of time streaming music, video, backing up photos/videos, playing games, and plan on upgrading to a 5G device in the near future.
Verizon unlimited plan discounts
*Auto Pay & Paper-free billing
If you’re looking to bring down the price of your monthly Verizon Wireless bill, the carrier does offer a wide variety of discounts that can help. The first is so easy that Verizon’s website only shows the price of their wireless plans after discount. Simply enroll in Auto Pay + paper-free billing and Verizon will discount your monthly bill by $10. All of Verizon’s current unlimited plans are eligible and include Start, Play More, Do more, Get More and Just Kids Unlimited plans.
Multiple line discount
If you’re looking for multiple lines, Verizon offers a good incentive to bundle them up. By adding lines to your Verizon unlimited plan, you can further drive down the cost. This is great for families or a group of friends willing to chip in on a “family plan.” The best part? You can combine the multi-line discount with Auto Pay & Paper-free billing to get an additional $10 off each line.
- 1 line – Full price
- 2 lines – $10 off each line
- 3 lines – $25 off each line
- 4 lines – $35 off each line
- 5 lines or more – $40 off each line
You can even mix and match, so if you wanted the Get More Unlimited plan for yourself, you can add a cheaper Start Unlimited plan for the kids and you would still get the discounted multi-line pricing.
Just Kids discount
Speaking of kids, Verizon also offers a discounted unlimited plan specifically for kids called Just Kids. You can only add it to an existing unlimited plan (Just Kids cannot be purchased alone) for $60 and it offers 5GB of 4G LTE data, 480p video streaming, unlimited talk/text, and a slew of parental controls. Of course, the bigger the multi-line plan you’re adding this to, the bigger the discount (especially if you’re taking advantage of the Auto Pay discount).
Senior discount
Verizon also offers an unlimited plan made especially for seniors (55 and up) who live in Florida. It offers unlimited 4G LTE (deprioritized), talk, text, 480p video streaming, and unlimited Mobile Hotspot at 600Kbps.
- 1 line – $70
- 2 lines – $90
Of course, enrolling in Auto pay and paperless billing will take $10 off the top, bringing prices down to $60 for one line or $80 for two. That’s $10 cheaper than Verizon’s lowest Start Unlimited plan, with the Senior plan offering Mobile Hotspot (albeit with really slow data speeds) as a bonus perk.
Military and first responders discount
Unlike the lower priced unlimited plans for kids and seniors, Verizon provides an actual discount for military personnel, veterans and active duty, retired and volunteer state and local first responders. The discount scales up based on the number of lines on an account and allows the freedom to choose between any current Unlimited plan. Here’s how much you’ll save:
- 1 line – $10 discount per account
- 2 – 3 lines – $25 discount per account
- 4 or more lines – $20 discount per account
First responders are also eligible to receive a 25% on select accessories ordered through their My Verizon account, or 10% when purchased in a Verizon retail store. Eligible military and first responders can register for the Verizon discount program here.
Looking for Verizon customer service or tech support? Head over to our Verizon contact info page for more.
Shopping for a Verizon phone?
Back in 2015, Verizon Wireless eliminated traditional two-year contracts. Seen as a win for consumers who don’t want to be tied down to a specific carrier, it also meant Verizon no longer subsidized the prices of the phones sold in their stores or online. But instead of paying $200 for a new phone with a two-year contract, consumers now have to pay full price for a Verizon phone, either paying the full amount upfront or by making installment payments over the course of 24 months.
Of course, Verizon subscribers also have the option of bringing their own compatible phone to Verizon (as long as it supports Verizon’s network bands). Don’t pay $1,000 on a brand new iPhone when you can save hundreds of dollars by picking up a newish Verizon iPhone on Swappa.
