Visible by Verizon is an impressive prepaid carrier that has been offering totally unlimited data for a few years now, but the network’s actual performance wasn’t perfect. That being said, Verizon has continued to upgrade Visible’s plans over the years, first improving its speed, and then further improving performance by moving it over to the Verizon network core. With its top Visible+ plan even offering 50GB of premium data and Ultra Wideband 5G access, it looks like Visible has addressed most of its problems.
Visible is a carrier that’s easy to cheer for, with its competitively low prices, lack of tacked-on fees, and commitment to unlimited data. While I admit I don’t need unlimited anything and could get by with around 20GB a month, there’s something special about not tracking how much data you’re using while streaming, downloading, and using hotspot data. Visible has even added some handy international features to make it more competitive with postpaid options.
Visible
Visible’s unlimited data plans are some of the best mobile values you can get, with no high-speed data cap, unlimited hotspot data, and annual payment options. If you’re looking to save with a prepaid carrier without giving up the peace of mind that comes with unlimited data, either one of Visible’s plans could be the right upgrade.
- Fast UWB 5G available with Visible+
- Simple pricing with monthly and annual options
- Totally unlimited data and hotspot
- Updated international options sweeten the deal
- Slower 5G speeds on the base plan
- International passes are pricey
- No family plan management
Price and availability
Single-line values for one or 12 months
You won’t find a Visible storefront anywhere, but if you have a little DIY spirit, you can sign up for Visible using the Visible app or website in just a few minutes. Visible can be set up with an eSIM in a few minutes, or you can order a physical SIM. To test out the carrier, I used a Moto G Power 5G and Visible+ service provided by Verizon Value for this review.
Read our review
You can buy a new phone directly from Visible with everything required for set up, or you can bring your own phone. If you bring your own, you’ll find out whether your model is eSIM compatible or if you’ll need a physical SIM before you finish setting up your account.
Visible has just two unlimited plans: Visible and Visible+. Visible is its cheapest plan, at $25 per month or $275 per year. With this plan, you get unlimited data at basic 5G speeds, similar to what you would expect with a strong LTE connection, as well as unlimited hotspot data at 5Mbps.
Visible+ has a few more features and faster speeds for $45 per month or $395 per year. Visible+ not only has 50GB of premium data per month but also access to Verizon’s fastest 5G speeds with Ultra Wideband (UWB) support. Visible+ also gets a hotspot upgrade with 10Mbps, and videos can be streamed at 720p resolution. If you have an Apple watch, free smartwatch support is included. Visible+ also gets a few extra international features that could be worth it for those with connections overseas.
What’s good about Visible?
Visible’s plans stick to the basics with prices to match
Without a doubt, the best thing about Visible is its plans. Starting with the price, Visible’s two options undercut much of the competition with a $25 per month price on the cheaper plan, and $45 per month for the Visible+ plan I tested. Sticking to the simplistic theme, Visible has baked in the taxes and fees, so when your bill comes, there are no surprises. On the other hand, there are no multiline discounts, so whether you’re looking for service for just yourself or your family, the price is the same.
However, if you’re willing to pay for a year of service upfront, you can save over the monthly price, it’s definitely worth a trip to Visible’s Deals page to see if there are any promotions for service or on a new phone. At the time of writing, there is a promotion to get the base plan for $20 per month for 25 months, for example.
I also like how Visible+ has continued to offer more and more to justify its price. In the past few months, Visible increased the hotspot speed for Visible+ to 10Mbps and 5Mbps on the base plan. While neither of these are that fast compared to home internet speeds, if you’re in a pinch and need a connection with enough speed for basic streaming or browsing, you can. I even downloaded several gigabytes of a game on my Steam Deck using Visible’s hotspot. While it’s not ideal for large downloads, they’re possible with some patience. In a more recent update, Visible also increased the streaming video quality from 480p to 720p with a simple toggle for the feature in the Visible app.
At the same time, Visible improved international support on Visible+. It already included usage in Mexico and Canada with 2GB of data per day and one Global Pass for other countries per month, but now the Global Passes can be saved so you can use multiple at once. If you have a trip planned in a few months, you can stock up on Global Passes, up to 12, before you leave.
All this doesn’t mean a thing if the performance isn’t good, and thankfully, it is. I live in a rural area that only gets spotty Verizon 5G, but LTE did well enough to keep me connected with reasonably smooth data usage. With the LTE connection at home, I could stream video at SD quality, but moving up to HD could cause some buffering. Once I left the house and headed toward town, where Verizon’s nearest tower was, things started to look a lot better.
Verizon’s 5G coverage is still mostly limited to urban and suburban areas, and I saw my phone dipping down from 5G UW (Ultra Wideband), Verizon’s fastest mid-band connection, to 5G and LTE frequently. Still, when it comes to rural coverage, Verizon was solid enough outdoors that I never worried about being without a connection. Verizon’s mid-band 5G UW connection is a work in progress and growing reasonably quickly, but I wouldn’t expect the sort of mid-band coverage T-Mobile is pulling off any time soon.
I did find some 5G UW; speeds were very good. I regularly saw results of over 150Mbps and even had some get close to 500Mbps. Keep in mind, this isn’t mmWave coverage, but mid-band, so these are respectable results. Commendably, upload speeds always felt good enough, which is one place T-Mobile seems to struggle a bit.
To get the best out of Visible’s network, your phone should handle 5G with support for C-band connections. That’s band n77, which is Verizon’s mid-band 3.7GHz spectrum. This is a common band, so if you’re buying one of the best Android phones, it will more than likely work just fine on Visible. Keep in mind that bringing a phone from another carrier could have some software compatibility issues, but there’s still a wide range of options, from budget devices like the Moto G Power 5G 2024 to high-end phones like the Galaxy S24.
You can check your phone’s IMEI to be sure it will work with Visible. If it doesn’t, or you’re just ready for something new, the carrier sells a solid range of new devices. There’s even a trade-in program for your old phone as well as an upgrade program that can pay up to the last 50% you owe on a phone when you pay with Affirm.
Last but not least, if you’re an iPhone user, and you’ve got Android friends, Visible supports RCS on iPhone. This isn’t as obvious as you might think, with several carriers, including Mint Mobile and Boost Mobile, still lacking RCS support for their iPhone users. Whether your messages are green or blue, you can send high-quality pictures and longer messages.
What’s not good about Visible?
No multiline accounts on Visible
For the most part, my experience with Visible was very positive, but having recently spent time with Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile on the T-Mobile network, I was a bit surprised to see how much of my time on Verizon was limited to LTE. Once in a city, 5G connects right away, but the fact of the matter is, Team Red is still behind Team Magenta for overall 5G coverage. While I could point to speed tests coming out on top for T-Mobile as well, I was never hampered by Visible’s speeds. At least not on Visible+.
The Visible app is decent in terms of presentation and information, but I was annoyingly logged out of the app every time I tried to open it and needed to sign back in. I eventually set up biometric login to make the process quicker, but I would have liked the app to be a bit more responsive and available. This was on a phone sold by Visible, by the way, so the build of Android 14 on this Motorola phone shouldn’t be foreign to the carrier. But this is more of a nitpick, and overall the app functioned as it should.
Speaking of the app, if you want to set up multiple lines for your family with Visible, each one will need its own account. Not only is there no discount for bringing multiple lines, you can’t even manage them while signed in to a single account. When it comes to multi-line management, other carriers like Mint Mobile and US Mobile do a better job. But if you only need a single line or are happy for everyone in the family to manage and pay for their line, Visible is still a strong choice.
Read our review
One truly annoying thing about Visible is that it still hasn’t managed to support any of the best smartwatches for Android. While the free smartwatch connectivity with Visible+ is a great perk, it’s soured by the fact that anyone running Android can’t use it. I have to say, I don’t know the technical complexities of smartwatch support at a carrier like Visible, but plenty of other carriers, including Verizon, handle the task just fine.
Finally, while this is true for most prepaid carriers, Visible has no physical stores. If you need support or just want to talk to someone about your Visible account, you’ll need to chat with support online or call. And if you head into a Verizon store, you shouldn’t expect any support for your Visible account.
Should you sign up?
Calling all heavy users on a budget
For the most part, I’m very comfortable recommending Visible to most users. Verizon’s network, while it’s still playing catch-up to T-Mobile with 5G, still delivers plenty of usable speed. For lighter users, the base Visible plan is probably the better choice with its lower monthly price, but Visible+ offers a very worthwhile upgrade over that plan with impressive 5G speeds, plenty of hotspot speed to work or browse with, and international features that are as good as many postpaid plans.
Visible also has a strong track record of updating its plans without increasing the price. The Visible of today is a better value than the Visible of last year, with prices that prove that if it really has to, Verizon still knows how to compete. The carrier has transformed from an obscure unlimited option for tech-savvy bargain hunters into something just about anyone can set up and use. With easy eSIM or pSIM setup and prices that won’t surprise you, Visible is a great choice for those tired of paying for an expensive postpaid unlimited plan.
Visible
If you’re looking to get your first phone plan on your own or just want to save without giving up unlimited data, Visible can be a great pick. Since you can even pay annually, Visible can be a great carrier if you’re looking to save without having to count how many gigabytes of data you need.
