Verizon Welcome Unlimited: The Full Story

Hi everyone,

I've done a deep analysis on Verizon's Welcome Unlimited Plan. 

I now have the full story. 

It turns out that under no circumstance is Verizon Welcome Unlimited worth it. 

Why?

I recently learned Verizon offers a $500 BYOD eGift card on 5G Play/Do/Get More for up to 5 lines. 

This credit gives a family of 4 $2000 in eGift cards. 

You can use the eGift cards to pay for your cell phone bill. 

This effectively makes the price of 5G Play and 5G Do More $3 per line per month for the first year of service.

That's even cheaper than Welcome Unlimited, which was $10 per line per month with the $240 BYOD eGift cards per line.

You can get a better plan at a cheaper price by going with 5G Play More or 5G Do More. 

Plus, you're then eligible for Verizon's Mix-&-Match so you can customize what line is on what plan. 

That said, things change after 1 year.

If you look at these plans in the long-term, the story changes. 

Xfinity Mobile and US Mobile Unlimited Basic are the cheapest options for a 3-year period. 

But not by much. 

Xfinity Mobile and US Mobile will only save a family of 4 between $120 and $480 over the entire 3-year period. 

The real savings are for the single-line users, who can save between $840 and $1,560 over 3 years. 

And that's even including the BYOD discounts for Verizon, giving them the best shot at being affordable. But Xfinity and US Mobile are still cheaper.  

So what's the takeaway?

• Single-line users should avoid Welcome Unlimited. If you're new to Verizon, do the $500 BYOD eGift cards on 5G Do More, Play More, or Get More for your first year. Then switch to US Mobile or Xfinity Mobile. Or just sign up for US Mobile or Xfinity Mobile to begin with
• Families should also avoid Welcome Unlimited. If you're switching to Verizon, do the $500 of BYOD eGift cards on 5G Do More, Play More, or Get More. After your first year, use Mix-&-Match to lower your bill. Putting lines on 5G Start will help cut costs by a lot. Otherwise US Mobile and Xfinity Mobile continue to be great options

Want to see the full comparison for yourself?

Check out this epic spreadsheet.

It compares pricing between 1-5 lines for between 1-3 years of service. 

One tab includes all discounts.

A second tab looks at just the cost of the cell phone plans with no discounts (besides Xfinity which basically gives you a discount no matter what).