If you are looking for an affordable cell phone plan, you may have come across Verizon Prepaid.
Verizon Prepaid offers low-cost cell phone plans that start at $35 for a single line.
You could save anywhere from $60-$660 per year by going with a Verizon prepaid plan over a Verizon postpaid plan.
But how good is Verizon Prepaid coverage?
In this article, we will cover:
- Verizon Prepaid 5G coverage
- Verizon Prepaid LTE coverage
- Verizon Prepaid coverage by state
- Verizon Prepaid data speeds by state
- Verizon Prepaid coverage vs. coverage from major carriers
Let’s dive in!
Verizon Prepaid Coverage Quick Stats:
- Total area covered: 55.9%
- Total square miles covered: 2,127,513
- 5G area covered: 11.3%
- 5G square miles covered: 428,167
The above data comes from the FCC and the United States Census Bureau.
Verizon Prepaid Coverage
Verizon Prepaid offers prepaid cell phone plans directly from Verizon.
A prepaid plan simply means you pay up front for your month of service.
There is no credit check with a prepaid plan.
In contrast, postpaid plans do require a credit check and also allow you to pay your bill in the middle of your month of service or even after your month of service.
But how does Verizon Prepaid differ from Verizon postpaid?
The answer:
It doesn’t.
That’s right, if you sign up for Verizon Prepaid, you are getting the exact same coverage as Verizon postpaid customers.
The same nationwide LTE coverage. The same 5G nationwide coverage. And the same 5G Ultra Wideband coverage.
Check Verizon Prepaid coverage in your area by using the two coverage maps below.
The first coverage map is an estimated coverage map of Verizon Prepaid coverage. The map was created using data from the FCC.
The second map is a verified map of Verizon Prepaid coverage. It was created using crowd-sourced data uploaded to CoverageMap.com.
Use the search bar in the upper right corner of the maps to check coverage in your location:
Download the free Coverage Map app for iPhone and Android.
What Network does Verizon Prepaid use?
Verizon Prepaid uses Verizon’s 4G LTE and 5G networks for coverage.
Coverage is the same between Verizon Prepaid and Verizon Postpaid.
Verizon Prepaid 5G Coverage
Verizon Prepaid uses Verizon’s 5G Nationwide and 5G Ultra Wideband networks to provide 5G coverage.
What is the difference between 5G Nationwide and 5G Ultra Wideband?
5G Nationwide is Verizon’s larger 5G network. It covers 230 million people, or about 69% of the U.S. population. However, 5G Nationwide does not have the fastest speeds.
Performance on 5G Nationwide is about the same as on 4G LTE.
5G Ultra Wideband, meanwhile, is Verizon’s super-fast 5G network.
You can get speeds ranging from 300 Mbps all the way up to 4 Gbps. Verizon is still building out its 5G Ultra Wideband network though. It currently covers about 222 million people, or just 60% of the U.S. population.
It is important to note that only some Verizon Prepaid plans come with full access to 5G Ultra Wideband.
Other planes may still connect to 5G Ultra Wideband, but speeds may be limited to 25 Mbps.
Verizon Prepaid LTE Coverage
Verizon Prepaid offers coverage on Verizon’s robust nationwide LTE network.
Verizon LTE covers 98% of the U.S. population.
Verizon Prepaid Coverage by State
How good is Verizon Prepaid coverage in each state?
Here is a detailed breakdown of what percentage of each state Prepaid covers. We have even included what percentage of the coverage is great, good, or poor quality.
Take a look:
Verizon Prepaid Data Speeds by State
Having great coverage is nothing without having fast data speeds.
How fast is Verizon Prepaid?
We decided to find out. We used the crowd-sourced data submitted to our Speed Test Map to calculate the median speeds of Verizon Prepaid in each state.
We found Verizon Prepaid’s median download speeds ranged from 11.1 Mbps in Alaska to 135.3 Mbps in Washington, DC. Upload speeds on Verizon Prepaid were between 6.6 Mbps in Mississippi and 24.6 Mbps in Rhode Island. And latency was between 26 ms to 128 ms.
Verizon Prepaid vs. Verizon Coverage
Verizon Prepaid has the same coverage as Verizon Postpaid.
Verizon Prepaid vs. AT&T Coverage
Verizon Prepaid has similar coverage to AT&T.
Verizon Prepaid covers 55.9% of the U.S. and AT&T covers 57.0%.
However, Verizon Prepaid has less 5G coverage than AT&T does.
Verizon Prepaid covers 11.3% of the U.S. with its 5G Nationwide and 5G Ultra Wideband networks.
Meanwhile, AT&T covers an impressive 31.7% of the U.S. with its 5G network:
Data speeds are about the same between Verizon Prepaid and AT&T.
When we look at our crowd-sourced speed test data, Verizon Prepaid has median download speeds of 61.2 Mbps and median upload speeds of 11.7 Mbps.
AT&T has similar performance. It has the same median download speed of 61.2 Mbps and a slightly slower median upload speed of 11.3 Mbps.
Overall you are likely to get exceptional coverage and good data speeds on both Verizon Prepaid and AT&T.
Use our AT&T coverage map to see what AT&T coverage and data speeds look like in your specific area.
Verizon Prepaid vs. T-Mobile Coverage
Verizon Prepaid has better coverage than T-Mobile.
You will get coverage across 55.9% of the United States on Verizon Prepaid.
On T-Mobile, you will only have service in 35.3% of the U.S.:
To T-Mobile’s credit, it does have substantially better 5G coverage than Verizon Prepaid does.
Verizon Prepaid covers just 11.3% of the U.S. with any form of 5G.
T-Mobile, meanwhile, covers 27.3% of the U.S. with 5G:
T-Mobile customers are also enjoying measurably faster data speeds on T-Mobile than on Verizon Prepaid.
When we look at median performance from our crowd-sourced speed test data, we can see Verizon Prepaid gets 61.2 Mbps for its median download speed and 11.7 Mbps for its median upload speed.
T-Mobile delivers almost 2.5x the performance.
The median download speed on T-Mobile was 152.3 Mbps. The median upload speed was 17.3 Mbps.
You are likely to have coverage in more places on Verizon Prepaid, especially in more rural areas.
However, if you do live in an area with strong T-Mobile signal, then you are likely to get faster data speeds on T-Mobile when compared to Verizon Prepaid.
See exactly what T-Mobile data speeds and coverage look like in your area with our T-Mobile coverage map.
Verizon Prepaid Coverage Frequently Asked Questions
What towers does Verizon Prepaid use?
Verizon Prepaid uses Verizon towers.
Is Verizon Prepaid coverage good?
Verizon Prepaid has excellent cell coverage. It covers 98% of the U.S. population with its LTE network and over 230 million Americans with its 5G network.
Does Verizon Prepaid offer 5G?
Yes, Verizon Prepaid offers 5G on both Verizon’s 5G Nationwide and 5G Ultra Wideband networks.
Does Verizon Prepaid have coverage in Canada?
All Verizon Prepaid plans include unlimited minutes, texts, and 2GB of high-speed data per day in Canada. After 2GB, data speeds are slowed down to 512 Kbps.
Does Verizon Prepaid have coverage in Mexico?
All Verizon Prepaid plans include unlimited minutes, texts, and 2GB of high-speed data per day in Mexico. After 2GB, data speeds are slowed down to 512 Kbps.
Does Verizon Prepaid have international coverage?
You can purchase the Verizon TravelPass add-on for $10 per day to use your Verizon Prepaid plan outside of North America.