10.07.25
Best Verizon Phone Plans in 2025: Unlimited, Prepaid, Budget and More
by Kathy
An MVNO might sound like just another technical phone term, but it’s the ultimate secret to lowering your phone bill and getting reliable phone service with a cheaper phone plan.
An MVNO is a mobile virtual network operator, which is just a carrier that is able to provide cellular service without owning the cellular towers. An MVNO piggybacks off a major carrier’s network (like AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon), but as it doesn’t own the towers – and therefore doesn’t have to pay for the cost of expanding or maintaining them – can offer its phone service for a much cheaper price.
So, should you switch to an MVNO? What is the best MVNO? Are there disadvantages to using an MVNO? We’ll help you answer all those questions and more, so you can pick the best phone service that meets your needs!
Key Takeaways
MVNOs lease network access from the major carriers (T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon) for the same nationwide coverage.
MVNOs can offer cheaper phone plans as a result, but without the premium perks that major carriers offer.
MVNOs are not the best for finding the best phone deals or phone financing promotions.
How Does an MVNO Work?
An MVNO purchases access to an MNO’s (Mobile Network Operator) network at wholesale pricing, allowing them to resell it to you – the customer – at a discounted price.
While MVNOs don’t own their own networks, they still handle their own billing, support, plan management, and SIM or eSIM activation, so if you’re on a plan with, say, Mint Mobile, you wouldn’t contact T-Mobile for issues with your data or signal, you would still contact Mint Mobile directly.
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MVNO Coverage and Data Speed Performance
MVNOs’ coverage would be the same as an MNO. For example, if you’re on a phone plan with an MVNO that’s using AT&T’s network, you would expect to receive the same coverage as an AT&T plan. The main difference being that MVNOs get lower priority data, so the data speeds themselves are either slower, or can experience slowdowns during times of congestion (like in crowded urban areas). You should always check the broadband fact sheets on a phone provider’s plans to confirm the data speeds to verify if the range is sufficient for your needs (if you’re an avid online gamer, for example).
MVNO Billing
MVNOs are synonymous with prepaid phone plans, as they all operate on a prepaid billing system, whereby you pay for the phone service in advance, unlike MNOs that send you a bill after your month of service.
MVNO Customer Support
MVNOs’ customer support ranges between different carriers. Most MVNO carriers are online-only, which allows them to offer even cheaper prices, but does also mean they don’t offer in-person support for activations or phone purchases. For those online carriers, you can expect to receive support in the form of a telephone line or an online chat service.
MVNO Phone Selection, BYOP, and Deals
The majority of MVNOs offer both new phones and a Bring-Your-Own-Phone (BYOP) option. Some (like TextNow) may only offer a BYOP option, providing SIM cards to activate an unlocked phone on their service.
Since MVNOs are prepaid services, they can’t offer the same phone financing programs that postpaid plans can, as they don’t run credit checks. There are a few, however, that sell phones on instalment plans that are either a “lease-to-own" plan or use a third-party “Buy Now, Pay Later” service like Affirm or Klarna, or can offer promotions for phones with a commitment to a required phone plan.
How to Set Up an MVNO
Setting up an MVNO is very similar to setting up a regular phone plan, with the major difference being that there is no additional credit check or contract to commit to:
Pick the best MVNO for your needs. Whether that’s based on coverage, price, or customer support availability.
Pick the plan from that MVNO that works for your needs. Whether that’s based on the cheapest phone plan you can find, the cheapest unlimited data plan you can find, the best talk & text only plan, best family plan or senior plan, or just the best prepaid phone plan.
Check if your own phone is compatible with that carrier via their device compatibility checker to bring your own or pick a new phone from their own lineup (if available).
Choose to bring your own number or pick a new one.
Fill out your details and make the purchase.
After the purchase is complete, you will either be shipped a SIM card or sent an email with a link or QR code to activate an eSIM.
After the activation is complete, you can start using the service on the new network!
Types of MVNOs
There are over 50 MVNOs in the U.S. Without getting into the technicals, the types of MVNOs can be broken down simply into which MNO they’re borrowing their network from: T-Mobile, AT&T, or Verizon.
T-Mobile MVNOs:
There is a considerable amount of T-Mobile MVNOs, so we pulled a list of the most popular ones:
Mint Mobile. A low-cost prepaid phone provider that offers plans in multi-month bundles (3-,6-,or 12-months) for bulk discounts. See our detailed review of Mint Mobile for more details.
Metro by T-Mobile. A direct prepaid brand of T-Mobile that’s more expensive than other MVNOs but does benefit more from T-Mobile's network and offers more subsidized phone deals.
Tello Mobile. A low-cost carrier that offers the ability to customize plans with different configurations of data and minutes/texts.
Ultra Mobile. A carrier known for its strong international/roaming features – premium perks that aren’t usually included in MVNO phone plans.
Google Fi. Google’s own phone service that offers unlimited plans alongside a more flexible “pay by the Gig” plan, with both options giving you international roaming access by default.
AT&T MVNOs:
There aren’t as many AT&T MVNOs, but we still only focused on the most popular ones:
Cricket Wireless. A direct prepaid brand of AT&T that’s more expensive than other MVNOS but does benefit from AT&T’s mobile network and offers more premium perks and phone deals.
H2O Wireless. A standard MVNO with a small selection of prepaid phone plans and phone promotions.
Consumer Cellular. A simpler MVNO that specializes in plans for seniors and AARP members, while also offering standard plans for everyone else.
Verizon MVNOs:
Verizon, like T-Mobile, does have a longer list of MVNOs using its network, so we focused on the most popular ones:
Visible. Not a fully independent MVNO, as it’s technically “owned” by Verizon (rather than just leasing a network from them), but does come with more premium features as a result.
Total Wireless. A Verizon MVNO that is able to offer premium data (no slowdowns) at more reasonable prices and complimentary perks.
Straight Talk. A long-term MVNO that is available in Walmart (online and in-store) for added convenience.
Xfinity Mobile. An MVNO that can only be accessed if you’re already an Xfinity Internet customer, so you can’t sign up for their phone plans as a standalone.
>>Read More: Best Verizon phone plans.
Hybrid MVNOs (All Three Networks):
Hybrid MVNOs would be ones that are able to access all three networks, giving their customers the choice of the appropriate SIM card that would work best in their area. They include US Mobile, Red Pocket Mobile, and Patriot Mobile.
What are the Best MVNOs?
The best MVNOs are subjective – it all comes down to what your needs are. While T-Mobile hosts a majority of MVNOs on its network, their coverage may not be the best for your area (even if the prices of those MVNOs are). So, the best MVNO depends on which MVNO is able to provide you with the best coverage, the most valuable phone plan that is within your budget while providing the necessary data coverage and speeds, and can cover any other essential needs you have (like a dedicated customer service team or high mobile hotspotting data limits).
MVNO Pros and Cons
Choosing to go with an MVNO over a major carrier does come with a lot of money-saving benefits, but it’s also worthwhile to consider some of the concessions you have to make as a result. Here is our full list of the pros and cons of an MVNO:
Pros
Cons
Cheaper Fewer options for device promotions and/or financing
No contracts (more flexible) Less availability for customer support
No credit checks No or limited perks
Same coverage as the major carriers Deprioritized data
FAQs about MVNOs:
Got questions or comments? Send us a note at [email protected]!
