Visible Wireless review: Unlimited high-speed data on Verizon's network for lower fees

With our Visible Wireless review, you're going to have a well-rounded idea about this MVNO. If you’re looking to save money on your phone bill, you must've already come across an ad for Visible and its unlimited data plans. Moreover, if you like everything unlimited and have been a customer of one of the mainstream carriers like T-Mobile, Verizon, or AT&T, Visible's prices can seem too good to be true. However, before you make the switch, make sure to know what you’re getting and not getting with Visible.

With just two simple yet feature-packed plans to choose from, Visible takes away all the effort and confusion from the picture. Being fully owned by Verizon, Visible uses the former's extensive LTE and 5G network infrastructure for coverage. Although it's true that the speeds you get with Visible won't quite likely compare to what you'll get with one of Verizon's premium plans, but the difference won't really be that much of a problem anyway. Visible offers unlimited data, access to Verizon's 'Ultra-Wideband' 5G network, hotspot connectivity, international usage, and much more.

Visible Wireless Review: Price and availability

Visible has two plans called Visible and Visible+. Of these, Visible is the base plan and costs $25 per month for one line, including taxes and fees. It includes unlimited talk, text, and data on Verizon's LTE and nationwide 5G networks. The plan also gives you unlimited hotspot data functionality at fairly modest speed of 5Mbps, but it's still better than nothing.

Then there's Visible+ (or Visible Plus), which costs $45 per month for one line, again with taxes and fees included. This plan enables access to Verizon's 'Ultra-Wideband' 5G network for blazing-fast speeds, while also giving you 50GB of premium data. You still get unlimited hotspot data functionality, with the speed bumped to 10Mbps, and among other notable additions are international calling to over 30 countries, as well as international texting to more than 200 countries. Of course, you also get roaming in Mexico and Canada, free smartwatch connectivity (only with Apple Watch), and a free 'Global Pass' for a day per month.

As affordable as both of Visible's plans are, what's even better is that now you have the option to pay upfront for a full year of service. If you choose to do that, you can save even more cash.

If you need international features, Visible Plus will make a lot more sense but if you talk to your overseas friends or family members using a chat app like Telegram, you could save some money with the base Visible plan.

Visible does not have physical stores and is not available at Verizon stores either, so if you’re looking to get signed up, you’ll need to do it online through Visible’s website, or via the Visible app. Luckily, support for eSIM activation means you can get signed up in just a few minutes. If you have an iPhone with eSIM support, you can even try out the network for free for 15 days.

Visible Wireless Review: What works well

If you’ve been following Visible for a while, you might be familiar with the carrier’s old plan which started at $40 per month with Party Pay bringing the monthly price down to $25. That plan is now gone, having been replaced with the base Visible plan, which itself has undergone a few changes that have made it a fantastic value.

With the old plan, your phone needed to connect through one of Visible’s servers which often led to underwhelming speeds and high ping times. Visible has changed that with these two new plans, which means that your phone access the network the same way any Verizon phone would. This also means your experience will be much closer to someone using a Verizon prepaid plan, and if the network isn’t congested a lot, you can even get some really fast LTE/5G speeds.

Visible’s new plans came with a bump in speeds that was immediately noticeable. I put Visible through its paces by taking a drive through the countryside to a small town in the middle of some large hills. Visible’s coverage remained strong and never missed a beat as I used Google Maps for navigation, along with music streaming on my stereo system.

The speeds weren’t as fast or consistent as my AT&T connection in that area, but I only experienced a single dead zone tucked in between some buildings. For the most part, I was happy with the performance and would have been perfectly happy using it as my main line. I had multiple tests come in over 50Mbps and even some topping 100Mbps on LTE. After finding a spot on Verizon's nationwide 5G, speeds were solid at around 50Mbps.

Keep in mind that we really don’t need a ton of speeds on our phones, and the most important thing is that they remain consistent. Whether you’re downloading an app, making a video call, or just browsing online, Visible’s speeds are going to be more than fast enough for a good experience.

When Visible launched, it was a bit harder to recommend since its network demands VoLTE support for calling. At that time, VoLTE support was also inconsistent across versions of phones, but things are a lot better these days making it easier to bring your phone to Visible's network. You can check your IMEI on Visible’s site to be sure, but majority of the best Android phones like Samsung's Galaxy devices, Google's Pixels, and iPhones should work. I tested Visible using my Samsung Galaxy S20+, a phone that's quite old at this point, and it took less than a minute for the phone to get connected after I put the SIM in. With the newer devices, your experience is likely going to be a lot better.

The phone I used doesn’t support Verizon’s C-band 5G network, so I was only able to test the so-called nationwide 5G network but overall, performance was quite good. I was also able to use Visible’s hotspot feature with no issue. Visible includes unlimited hotspot data at 5Mbps on the base plan, so you can effortlessly share your data with another device like a laptop or a tablet, as much as you want. Just keep in mind that the speeds won’t be enough to replace fixed home internet, but it’s great to have in a pinch. Visible’s hotspot even worked as a backup connection with eero Internet Backup. As mentioned before, if you go for Visible Plus, your mobile hotspot speed is increased to 10Mbps for an even better experience.

I can’t praise Visible’s unlimited hotspot enough. While some carriers stick to chunks of high-speed data with severely limited speeds after, Visible’s consistency can make it much more useful in a pinch. One of my good friends switched to Visible on my recommendation a little over a year ago. Since then, he has had some medical issues that have seen him in and out of numerous hospitals and recovery centers.

His Visible hotspot was an invaluable ally throughout the whole thing allowing him to download the latest Nintendo Switch games (with some patience), keep his PC up to date, and even play some online games. Sure, the connection wasn’t perfect, but I’m extremely grateful he was able to fire up Sea of Thieves with some Discord with his friends who live hundreds or thousands of miles away when his other Wi-Fi option was overloaded to the point of being unusable.

As far as the basics of a phone plan go, calls and texts also worked as expected with no trouble receiving mass texts or completing calls. Calls were reasonably clear, and I had no trouble hearing the party on the other line.

Visible Wireless Review: What falls short

One of the ways Visible keeps people from wasting data on its service is by limiting video streams to 480p (SD). That’s good enough for YouTube and while it’s sufficient for many people, it doesn’t good enough today. For example, it’s not comparable to 720p 60fps videos on YouTube so if you watch a lot of gaming content, you’ll notice the lower resolution and choppy frame rate. I understand that Visible doesn’t want people streaming HD videos 24/7 but at around 2Mbps for streaming, Visible doesn’t feel all that great for multimedia.

Visible's unlimited hotspot data is one of its highlight features, especially if you have multiple other devices in your daily carry, like a tablet, laptop, or gaming handheld. The 5Mbps speed limit on this hotspot connection with the base plan is noticeable in everything from browsing the web to downloading apps. While it's great to see that the Visible Plus plan has been updated to 10Mbps for hotspot connectivity, it would have been nice to also see the base plan get a little boost.

Finally, the base Visible plan has access to Verizon’s UWB 5G signal. This makes a lot of sense because that network has a lot more capacity than the low-band nationwide network, but Visible limits the speed to be more in line with nationwide 5G and LTE. While that's reasonable for the price of the plan, it seems odd after the way carriers like Verizon, hyped the capacity and speeds of 'Ultra-Wideband' 5G.  No wonder they don't show the 5G UW logo on the base plan.

It’s also worth noting that despite its low-cost focus, Visible does not offer a plan with ACP. ACP stands for Affordable Connectivity Program, and it provides cheap or free data access to those in need. This government assistance is available with a number of carriers such as Metro by T-Mobile, but not Visible.

Visible Wireless Review: The competition

If you’re looking for unlimited data on Verizon's network, one of your next best bets after Visible is US Mobile. US Mobile has both a custom plan for light users, as well as two unlimited plans (and a third unlimited plan available annually) for heavier users. US Mobile's Unlimited Starter plan is most similar to the base Visible plan, but it has a few differences that may make the carrier a better pick for some. Unlimited Starter starts at $25 per month and offers unlimited talk, text, and data with 35GB of high-speed data on Verizon’s network. Unlimited Premium is similar to Visible Plus and it costs $44 per month, offering 100GB of premium data and even some subscription perks when you bring three lines. US Mobile offers both multi-line and multi-month discounts as well for further savings.

If you’d rather be on the T-Mobile network, Mint Mobile should be one of your first considerations. As I saw in my Mint Mobile review, this prepaid carrier offers four data plans with the top unlimited plan coming with 40GB of high-speed data. While this is a cut compared to Visible, most people aren’t using that much data anyway. Mint Mobile saves customers money by offering discounts to those who buy in bulk. For example, Mint Mobile’s unlimited plan is only $30 per month if you pay for the entire year upfront.

Google Fi is a favorite for Android enthusiasts, but it hasn’t always been the best in terms of value. Luckily, Google Fi’s current plans are more competitive than ever with its Simply Unlimited plan sticking out for domestic users. This plan trims all of the fat and leaves you with 35GB of high-speed data and 5GB of hotspot data. It’s pricey at $50 per month for a single line but has multi-line discounts available so you can pay as little as $25 per month with four lines. Google Fi also makes it easy to upgrade to its premium plan if you end up needing to travel internationally.

Visible Wireless Review: Should you sign up?

You should buy this if...

• You need a high-speed data plan with no limits.
• You need unlimited hotspot data usage.
• You only have a single line to get connected.
• You want to save on Verizon Home Internet

You should not buy this if...

• You need high-speed hotspot connectivity.
• You are bringing the whole family.
• You want HD quality streaming.
• You qualify for the ACP government assistance.

Signing up for Visible is really a rather simple choice when you get down to it. If you need more than 35GB of high-speed data on your phone line and don’t want to deal with the nickel-and-dime tactics of postpaid carriers, Visible is easily one of the best choices, with transparency on exactly what you’re paying upfront with all taxes and fees included.

Astute readers may have also noticed that quite a few carriers are offering service that seems to be modeled after Visible’s success such as US Mobile’s unlimited plans, and Google Fi Simply Unlimited. Visible has more competition than ever but it still offers one of the best values in wireless service. All this with a single line also makes it one of the best plans for a single adult, and the lack of any multi-month discounts means you never feel trapped with Visible. If you need unlimited wireless service and live in an area with strong Verizon coverage, preferably C-band 5G, Visible should be at the top of your list.

Review Changelog

This review has been updated with the latest Visible plan information, including the updates to Visible Plus hotspot speeds, international features like Global Pass, and the option to pay upfront for an entire year of service. I tested Visible in November and December of 2022.