Mint Mobile vs. Visible

Mint Mobile has the edge on Visible on cost. But check out the full breakdown below to see which plans have the features you need.

Mint Mobile features a highly affordable set of plans that should serve most users well. In fact, affordability is Mint’s main claim to fame (aside from the whole Ryan Reynolds thing).

The plans offer a good spread of options to suit any need. If you don’t use much data and want a supercheap wireless plan for calling and texting, you can go with the 5GB option for just $15.00 per month.

However, Mint’s Unlimited plan is definitely the best value—$30.00 for unlimited 5G data remains one of the best deals in wireless. That said, although there’s unlimited data, speeds will be reduced after 40GB (still plenty for many users).

For those wanting to use Mint as a backup home internet option, or as a travel or RV internet service, you’re in luck. All Mint plans include hotspot functionality at no additional cost. Hotspot data pulls from your standard data allotment, with an odd 10GB limit on the Unlimited plan. This may actually make the 20GB plan the best option for pure hotspot usage. Just make sure it’ll actually work where you’re going!

Visible, like Mint, is all about low-cost unlimited plans. The provider offers a simple two-plan lineup: The Visible plan comes with unlimited data, along with the standard talk and text features you’d expect. And this data is truly unlimited—no reduced speeds after a certain threshold. This helps make up for the increased price compared to Mint’s offerings.

The Visible+ plan is intriguing. This plan keeps the same unlimited talk, text, and data as the standard plan but adds two major performance boosts: 5G Ultra Wideband and a premium network experience.

Visible+ gives you access to 5G Ultra Wideband, Verizon’s fastest form of 5G (available mostly in large urban centers). Since Visible uses Verizon’s network (and is actually owned by Verizon), users can access these speeds at a reduced price.

The other big perk is the premium network experience, which means your data will not be deprioritized by Verizon. In other words, no matter how congested the network becomes, you’ll always get the fastest speeds, whereas users on the standard Visible plan may not.

Finally, Visible’s hotspot arrangement is interesting in that it’s entirely unlimited, but with data speeds capped at 5Mbps. This means that you can freely use it as an internet fallback or even your primary connection, but speeds will be slow at best. We wouldn’t recommend streaming on 5Mbps, for example. It’s also worth noting that on the Visible+ plan, your hotspot use can be deprioritized after 50GB, despite the premium network experience.

One of the larger differences between Mint and Visible is the networks the two providers use. As MVNOs, they don’t operate their own networks, but instead rent bandwidth from another carrier. Mint uses the T-Mobile network, while Visible uses Verizon.

In general, T-Mobile has wider 5G coverage, while Verizon’s strength is reliability and signal quality. However, if we’re honest, there isn’t a tremendous difference between T-Mobile and Verizon on a broad scale—they both offer nearly nationwide 5G, with plenty of 4G LTE to fall back on.

The most relevant difference between these networks is on the local level, where one might simply offer a stronger signal or faster speeds at your home or work. Verizon also tends to penetrate buildings better in our experience, whereas T-Mobile can sometimes struggle. You can check coverage maps, but your best bet may be to talk to friends or acquaintances with each network locally to see which will suit your needs better.

MVNO stands for mobile virtual network operator. These are wireless carriers that, instead of operating their own network and infrastructure, rent bandwidth from another carrier. This is much more affordable for the MVNO, and is largely how these carriers are able to offer such low pricing—yes, this is a case where the savings are actually passed on to the consumer.

Of course, nothing is perfect, and MVNOs have their faults. The main one is that data can sometimes be deprioritized. This is when the parent carriers give priority to their own customers on the network during high-traffic periods, resulting in potentially slower speeds for MVNO customers. Deprioritization isn’t guaranteed to happen, but it is something you should be aware of before jumping on with an MVNO.

Both Mint Mobile and Visible offer unlimited data, so you can stream video and browse the web as much as you like. However, under the hood, there’s a big difference in how this unlimited data is implemented.

Mint takes the more standard approach of giving you unlimited data but throttling speeds considerably after hitting a certain threshold. The various plan tiers are essentially allotments of high-speed data—once that’s gone, you can still use your plan with no additional charge, it’ll just be slower. Even the Unlimited plan only gives you 40GB of high-speed data, making the name slightly misleading.

Visible, on the other hand, gives you truly unlimited data. There is no soft cap where speeds are throttled—you can use as much as you like (within reason), and you’ll always enjoy your normal 5G performance. This makes Visible much easier to recommend for heavy users, particularly those who want to stream over the connection or use it as a stand-in for home internet.

For more on data usage out of your network coverage area, check out our Data Roaming guide.

Another key area where Mint and Visible differ is hotspot functionality—which is key for using the service as an on-the-go internet replacement or home-internet backup. Both providers offer hotspot functionality by default with all plans. However, there are some major differences in the approach.

Mint Mobile hotspot data comes right out of your plan’s standard data allotment. The exception is the Unlimited plan, which has a 10GB hotspot data cap. Hotspot speeds aren’t capped or throttled, making Mint a great option for users who need a fast hotspot but not necessarily a lot of data (say, as a backup internet service).

Visible offers unlimited hotspot functionality—no data caps at all—on either plan. This is excellent. However, speeds are capped at just 5Mbps—this is not excellent. In fact, we’d consider 5Mbps barely usable. That makes Visible tough to recommend for hotspot use unless you only use your internet connection for light tasks like email or web browsing.

Overall, Mint Mobile is the better choice for most people. Its plans are more affordable, the hotspot feature is faster, and it offers plenty of data. It’s hard to go wrong with Mint—the only exception is if T-Mobile’s coverage is poor in your area.

Visible is a great carrier that offers truly unlimited data at just a slightly higher cost. However, Visible caps hotspot speeds at 5Mbps, so it’s a tough sell if that’s your main focus.

Mint uses T-Mobile’s network for fast, nationwide 5G coverage.

Visible uses Verizon’s reliable 5G network.

No, Visible has no hidden fees. The price is a flat rate, with everything you need rolled in.

Yes, Mint Mobile offers unlimited data on all plans. However, each plan has a soft data cap, after which speeds will be reduced. This includes the Unlimited plan, which offers 40GB of high-speed data.