Best Reviewed
Prepaid Cell Phone Plans
- Prepaid cell phone plan with advanced phones Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk *Est. $35
- Best prepaid phone plan for occasional use T-Mobile Prepaid *Est. $10
- Prepaid phone plan with international calling TracFone *Est. $10
- Best as an emergency phone T-Mobile Prepaid (annual plan) *Est. $100
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Verizon Wireless Prepaid
*Est. 25 cents per min. and up
Reviewed
April 2012
Pros
- Excellent network coverage
- Good choice of handsets
Cons
- Plans are expensive
- Limited plan options
Reviewers say that Verizon Wireless Prepaid has the best prepaid wireless call quality. However, its prepaid plans can be expensive. Verizon's Daily Access plan charges prepaid subscribers a 99 cent access fee on days when calls are made, plus 10 cents per minute including nights and weekends (another version drops the 10-cent charge but charges $2 per day for unlimited calls). Verizon's Prepaid Basic plan omits the daily access fee, but calls cost 25 cents per minute and texts cost 20 cents. Verizon also offers pay-by-the-month plans, but its Unlimited Talk & Text for smartphones (*Est. $75) costs substantially more than other carriers' -- and Verizon charges extra for unlimited data access (*Est. $30 per month), which is included with other carriers' unlimited plans, such as Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk (*Est. $35 per month and up). If you are looking for cheaper prepaid wireless plans, reviewers suggest you look at TracFone (*Est. $10 for 30 min. and up) or T-Mobile Prepaid (*Est. $10 for 30 min. and up).
We found the most reliable reviews of Verizon Wireless Prepaid in three major national surveys at ConsumerReports.org, J.D. Power and Associates and PCMag.com. PrepaidReviews.com rounds out these survey results with an overview of the Verizon Wireless Prepaid plan, including comments from hundreds of users who give Verizon Wireless Prepaid a 2.5 out of 5 star rating. About.com also offers a helpful comparison between Verizon Wireless and other prepaid plans.
Our Sources
1. ConsumerReports.orgDetails/Subscribe
ConsumerReports.org ranks Verizon Wireless's prepaid service alongside prepaid offerings from AT&T, Consumer Cellular, T-Mobile, TracFone and Virgin Mobile. Rankings are based on feedback from more than 66,000 cell phone users nationwide.
Review: Prepaid Cell Phone Service Ratings, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, January 2011
In this survey of about 6,400 prepaid wireless cell phone users, Verizon Wireless receives a ranking just below the industry average overall, coming in seventh place out of nine carriers reviewed.
Review: 2011 Wireless Non-Contract Customer Satisfaction Index Study, Editors of J.D. Power and Associates, March 31, 2011
This article addresses overall satisfaction with cell phones and cell phone service as reported by PCMag.com readers in 2012. T-Mobile gets the Reader's Choice award for prepaid carriers. A chart shows how each service stacks up in a dozen categories, such as price and handset choices.
Review: Reader's Choice Awards 2012: Smartphones and Mobile Carriers, Ben Gottesman, March 28, 2012
Verizon Wireless comes in at sixth place in TopTenReviews.com's evaluation of prepaid cell phone services for 2012. Its relatively low ranking, compared to its first place finish in the Cell Phone Providers review, is due to its lack of a monthly service plan. Its prepaid phone selection is not as extensive as its other service plans. Note that TopTenReviews.com's evaluation of prepaid cell phone providers is based only on features and doesn't look at how each phone service performs.
Review: 2012 Prepaid Cell Phones Comparison, Editors of TopTenReviews.com
Editors give Verizon's prepaid wireless plans 4 out of 5 stars in their ranking of prepaid phone plans. More than 550 users posting comments give Verizon an average of 2.5 stars out of 5.
Review: Verizon Prepaid Wireless Cellular Service, Editors of and contributors to PrepaidReviews.com, May 13, 2010
6. About.com
Adam Fendelman, About.com's former guide to prepaid wireless, says Verizon Wireless has some intriguing prepaid options, but it can't compete with Virgin Mobile's prepaid wireless plans overall. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)
Review: Is Prepaid Wireless or a Monthly Contract Cheaper?, Adam Fendelman, Oct. 12, 2009
Prepaid Cell Phone Plans Runners Up:
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