The Visible+ plan includes several features not offered on Visible’s Standard plan:
- High-priority data (aka “Premium Network experience”)
- Access to Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband service
- Roaming access in Mexico and Canada
- International calling from the US to 30+ countries
- International texting from the US to 200+ countries
Pricing
Typically, the Visible+ plan comes in at $45 per month while Visible’s standard plan costs $30 per month. However, Visible is running two promos that can bring those rates down:
- Standard plan is $25 for everyone
- Visile+ is $35 per month for customers that port in a number and use the code VISIBLE35
Is Visible+ Worth The Extra Cost?
International Features
Most Visible+ subscribers won’t take advantage of the international features. But if you will, there’s obvious value there.
High-Priority Data
Visible+ includes 50GB per month of high-priority data.1 For most people that 50GB allotment is easily enough to cover all of their data use.
In my view, the high-priority data is the biggest reason to choose Visible+. In some areas, Verizon’s network is congested, leading to slower speeds and less reliable service. With high-priority data, you’ll experience fewer ill effects from network congestion.
Congestion is location-dependent, and it’s hard to know how much it’ll affect you. That said, Verizon’s network tends to have more frequent congestion issues than AT&T or T-Mobile.
If you’re trying to be frugal, consider starting on Visible’s standard plan and upgrading to the Visible+ plan only if you find congestion to be an issue. If you opt for Visible’s standard plan and regularly find yourself with lousy service despite a strong signal, that may indicate that you’ll benefit from high-priority data. However, folks that take the frugal route and decide to upgrade may lose eligibility for Visible’s promos.
My Experience
In my own case, I started with Visible’s standard plan and eventually upgraded to Visible+. At the time, I lived in an area of downtown Chicago where network congestion seemed to be an issue. I noticed surprisingly large improvements after upgrading to Visible+.
5G Ultra Wideband Access
With Visible+, subscribers can access Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband service. This service uses high-frequency spectrum and tends to deliver better speeds than Verizon’s other services. It’s a meaningful perk but perhaps overrated. 5G Ultra Wideband is genuinely much faster on average than Verizon’s 4G and low-frequency 5G services. However, getting good performance from your phone service is mostly about having a decent connection to the network as often as possible. Occasionally bumping from a decent connection to an ultra-fast connection rarely has a material affect on normal users’ experiences.
Visible’s coverage map allows users to toggle between Visible’s standard plan and Visible+ to see regions with Ultra Wideband coverage. However, Visible’s map seems to under-represent 5G Ultra Wideband coverage. You may get better results by looking at Verizon’s coverage map and zooming in on where you live. Once zoomed in, Verizon’s map shows richer details about where 5G Ultra Wideband is available.
Verdict
If you’ll make good use of the international features, Visible+ is worth it. Otherwise, you’ll need to consider the value of high-priority data and Ultra Wideband access. In my own case, I easily found upgrading to Visible+ to be worth the cost. However, if you live in an area where Verizon’s network is rarely congested or don’t care too much about having top-notch performance from your cell service, you can opt for Visible’s standard plan and save a fair bit of cash.