Should I switch from Verizon to T-Mobile?

T-Mobile is currently the leader in the 5G network across the country. In particular, the 5G Ultra-Capacity has positive feedback from many users. But then, is the service still as good as Verizon? And should I switch from Verizon to T-Mobile?

Well, Verizon and T-Mobile are the most compared cell phone providers. They both have amazing service features and perks you may want to take advantage of.

For instance, Verizon still holds the title on the overall coverage, including in rural areas. T-Mobile, on the other hand, has more affordable pricing on both the postpaid and prepaid subscriptions.

In just the two situations, it can be tricky to pick the phone provider to continue using. But when you compare their other offerings, it becomes easier to choose.

So, let’s break down the other perks and see whether you should stay with Verizon or switch to T-Mobile.

Verizon vs T-Mobile: A Summary of the Cell Phone Providers

Feature	Verizon	T-Mobile
Founded	2000	1999
Carrier Network	Verizon	T-Mobile
eSIM support	YES	YES
5G Download Speeds	4000+Mbps	1100+Mbps
Lowest Phone Plan	$30/ month	$10/ month
Unlimited Minutes	YES	YES
Unlimited Data	YES (with no cap)	YES (with no cap)
Family Discount	YES	YES
Free Mexico/ Canada Call	YES	YES
Mobile Hotspot	Unlimited	Unlimited
WiFi Calling	YES	YES
Free Roaming in Canada/ Mexico	YES	YES
Extra Perks	Free Disney Bundle, Apple One, Walmart+, Apple Music Family, +Play Monthly Credit, TravelPass, etc	Netflix, Apple TV+, T-Mobile Travel, AAA Membership, etc

In this chart, you can see Verizon and T-Mobile seemingly have a lot of similarities. But when we dive deep into these features, the difference is there.

Say roaming in Canada/ Mexico, both carriers include it free of charge. However, T-Mobile has up to 15GB of high-speed data (then unlimited 2G speeds), whereas Verizon has 2GB/ day before throttling.

If on the Verizon unlimited plans, you can also roam in other 210+ countries free of charge. The international roaming includes unlimited talk, text, and 10GB of high-speed browsing before dropping to unlimited 2G speeds.

On the other hand, T-Mobile gives you international roaming with unlimited text and 5GB of high-speed data before throttling. To call when in these other countries and destinations requires a credit charge of $0.25/minute.

Still on the roaming, Verizon and T-Mobile have domestic roaming free of charge. That means your phone may continue to work on various features while outside the native coverage.

When comparing Visible vs Verizon the other day, though, we saw Verizon has nearly two dozen LTEiRA partners. Hence, the reason it still works in areas where its competitors get zero bars.

Should I Switch from Verizon to T-Mobile Phone Service

Besides the network roaming, other things to consider when deciding whether to change from Verizon to T-Mobile are:

· Verizon or T-Mobile on Network Coverage

I know I’ve mentioned it already, but network coverage is very crucial when choosing a phone to use. If you reside in the cities or well-populated towns, either T-Mobile or Verizon could work.

However, I’ve seen quite a handful of users complain that the Verizon network has been congested in urban areas lately. And with a congested network, functions like browsing and streaming tend to deteriorate.

Conversely, T-Mobile is doing very well in the same cities, whereby you can even access 5G Ultra Capacity indoors. The problem starts when you start driving away from the cities towards remote/ rural areas.

When your T-Mobile phone drops to zero bars in these remote areas, Verizon will still be two or even full bars. So, it (Verizon) is the best option for those in many parts of Oregon, Montana, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

· Verizon or T-Mobile for Browsing Data Speeds

A high, consistent data speed is crucial for smooth browsing or streaming tasks. It can also be very handy for sharing, downloading, or uploading data online.

T-Mobile currently leads with the most reliable 5G network. It has the best 5G mid-band (C-band) access, thanks to early adoption of the technology. Hence, the reason many customers praise the high data speeds while even indoors.

The fastest 5G data speed of T-Mobile I’ve seen on my end is in the 1100+Mbps. But the consistent speeds are usually 500+Mbps on good days or 100Mbps to 300Mbps during network congestion.

Meanwhile, Verizon data speeds peak at up to 4Gbps (4000Mbps) on the 5G Ultra-Wideband capacity. While great, these speeds are not always consistent, as you must be within the 5G UW cells.

Sadly, the 5G UW cells are most common in cities or high-populated towns. Worse, Verizon is yet to reach the capacity of T-Mobile on the C-band coverage.

So, many people still have access to the Verizon 5G on the low-band spectrum that utilizes existing LTE infrastructure. And this means the data speeds are similar or only slightly faster than the 4G LTE.

· Verizon or T-Mobile for Phone Deals

Both Verizon and T-Mobile have great phone deals. They have free phone offers for new customers and trade-in discounts for existing customers.

In either case, you can save up to $700 or more on the latest high-end brands- with the postpaid service, of course.

For prepaid customers, T-Mobile and Verizon still have phone deals for you. The carriers have free phones from entry-level brands for the new customers that switch. Then, the existing customers often get partial discounts.

· Verizon or T-Mobile for Cheap Phone Plans

Verizon and T-Mobile have a lot of service plans to choose from for your phone. The best phone plan to pick will depend on what you want.

If you want to cut down your phone bill, T-Mobile has cheap prepaid connect plans for as low as $10/ month. The T-Mobile Unlimited plans (on postpaid) are also cheaper than Verizon by at least $5.

Furthermore, the pricing on some of the T-Mobile phone plans includes taxes and surcharge fees. However, all the Verizon plans have taxes and additional fees separately.

While the Verizon phone plans are pricier, they still hold slightly more perks. Besides the international roaming I mentioned earlier, other perks include discounts on Verizon Home Internet, device plans, and entertainment subscriptions.

· Verizon or T-Mobile for Unlimited Data

Are you a heavy data user? Both Verizon and T-Mobile have phone plans with “truly” unlimited data. However, you’ll get unlimited data with either prioritized or deprioritized speeds, depending on the amount you pay.

The more expensive plans will have prioritized data, whereby the browsing speeds are higher than other users during congestion. Then, the cheaper unlimited tiers get deprioritized data- browsing speeds drop more than other traffic when the network is busy.

That said, T-Mobile has a cap of 100GB premium data on its plans. When you hit this cap, you’ll have deprioritized unlimited data for the remainder of the month.

On the other hand, Verizon has priority data on its two premium unlimited plans throughout. So, you can browse as much as you want without ever experiencing deprioritization issues.

Note: Verizon offers the Unlimited Welcome plan with “truly” unlimited data on deprioritized speeds until 500GB. After hitting the 500GB cap, your data speeds drop to 4Mbps for the remainder of the month.

· Verizon or T-Mobile for Mobile Hotspot

Do you use the mobile hotspot of your phone a lot? Verizon is no doubt the best option. The premium unlimited plan has a mobile hotspot with a 60GB cap for the fastest 5G or LTE data speeds available. Then, for the rest of the month, you get 3Mbps when connecting to 5G Ultrawideband or 3G (600kpbs) speeds on 5G Nationwide and LTE.

As for T-Mobile, the premium unlimited plans have a hotspot with 50GB of the fastest 5G/ LTE speeds. Then, your hotspot speeds drop to 3G for the rest of the month.

· Verizon or T-Mobile for Extra Perks

Verizon and T-Mobile both have some extra perks to enjoy along with your service. The extras for T-Mobile include:

• A Netflix basic subscription
• An Apple TV+ subscription
• One-year membership of AAA
• Inflight WiFi and texting on eligible airlines
• Scam Shield Premium for calls and voicemails
• T-Mobile Travel, with up to 40% discount on accommodation, rental cars, etc.

Meanwhile, Verizon has quite a long list of perks. They include:

• Apple Music Family
• 3 TravelPass Days
• Netflix Standard & Max
• +Play Monthly Credit
• Smartwatch Data & Safety
• 2TB Verizon cloud storage
• 100GB Mobile Hotspot data
• Discount on Verizon Home Internet
• Walmart+ Membership with benefits
• Apple One – TV+, Music, iCloud+, Arcade
• Disney bundle- Disney+ premium, Hulu, ESPN+

It’s worth mentioning nearly all of these Verizon perks are no longer bundled together. Unlike the grandfathered unlimited plans, the new plans have the extras (except the home internet discount) as an add-on.

For instance, the Unlimited Welcome will cost you $75/ month (instead of $65) when bundled with Disney Bundle. If you want Disney Bundle and Apple One, that will be an extra $20 on your service bill.

Is a Switch from Verizon to T-Mobile Worth it?

As mentioned earlier, the question of whether you should switch from Verizon to T-Mobile depends on what you want. From the summary above, we can conclude situations when you can switch to T-Mobile are:

• You want to cut down your phone bill
• Don’t travel to the rural areas often
• Would like to redeem their free phone deals
• You want to take advantage of the 5g network
• Also, you don’t use your mobile hotspot often
• You’re not interested in the Verizon Home Internet discounts

Before you make the final switch to T-Mobile, I’d recommend you first run the free test drive they offer. The test phone plan includes unlimited talk, text, and data. So, you should be able to go through all the crucial aspects.