Best Cell Phone Plans of 2020: Compare Plans & Prices

Verizon Do More Unlimited: Best overall coverage and speeds

The best coverage in the country along with fast data speeds.

Verizon Do More Unlimited plan features

What we like

Verizon has the most reliable coverage in the country. It’s your best bet for getting calls and texts through wherever you roam.

Top-rated performance

Check out any well-known wireless performance ratings, and you’ll see Verizon at or near the top for coverage (offering 70% 4G coverage across the country), speed, and overall performance.^{1, 2}

Case in point: my friend’s Verizon phone was the only one with a signal out in the Utah desert. Other carriers just don’t get bars in rural areas. This was especially helpful when we needed to call a Lyft to get back to our Airbnb. (I know, we should’ve planned ahead.)

HD streaming

In this modern age of technology, you deserve HD streaming. No more SD-quality streaming like you’re watching season one of Survivor. Thankfully, with the Beyond Unlimited Plan, you can stream all the HD content you want.

If you’re fine with lower-quality streaming (480p), you could go with Verizon’s cheaper Go Unlimited plan. (We wouldn’t recommend it, but we love us some bright, crisp 1080p.)

For those of you who can’t stop streaming YouTube (guilty) or are currently binge-watching Tiger King on Netflix (also guilty), the More Unlimited is worth the extra money each month for HD streaming at 720p.

Good amount of 4G LTE data

Another downside to many cheaper unlimited data plans like Verizon’s Go Unlimited (and AT&T’s Unlimited & More℠) is that Verizon is allowed to slow, or throttle, your speed at any time if you use too much data.

The Do More Unlimited plan lets you avoid those slower speeds with 22 GB of unthrottled data each month. (Above that cap, though, you’re on your own.) That means you can go (a little) wild with live Twitch streams or uploading photos to Instagram.

It also comes with 15 GB of unthrottled mobile hotspot data that zooms along at 4G LTE speeds. So if your internet goes down in the middle of a work project, you can just hop onto your Wi-Fi hotspot and pick up where you left off.

Sadly, the old “Sorry boss, can’t work today, my internet is down” won’t really work anymore. (It was nice while it lasted.)

What we don’t like

Verizon’s amazing coverage and speed come at a price. If you’re looking for a cheap unlimited cell phone plan, you might have to do a trade-off. Here’s how the price of the Verizon Do More plan compares to other unlimited plans.

Verizon Do More Unlimited price comparison

Want a higher data cap? Get an upgrade.

If you’re maxing out every month and don’t feel like you can cut back, don’t worry. You can upgrade to Verizon’s new Get More Unlimited plan and get a mind-boggling 75 GB of unthrottled data each month instead of 22 GB of 4G LTE data. Somewhere, all the old flip phones are crying.

Of course, you’ll pay a little extra each month for Get More Unlimited compared to Do More Unlimited. But if waiting for your favorite Hulu shows to buffer makes you want to throw your device across the room, it just might be worth it.

Alternative picks

Not sure the Verizon Beyond Unlimited plan is the one for you? Check out some of our other top picks for cell phone plans.

Yes, they’re cheaper, but don’t forget that price isn’t everything with wireless plans. Unless you like not being able to tell what the score is while streaming an NBA game (we’ve been there).

Four more unlimited cell phone plans