Visible vs. Mint Mobile: Which should you get?

Visible and Mint Mobile are two of the most compelling carriers you'll find if you want a great deal on a lot of data and some of the best cell phone plans today. Visible is the easy choice and offers an insane amount of value for just $40 each month, provided you have one of few supported Android phones. However, Mint Mobile is the better fit if you don't have a phone that works on Visible and you already have good coverage with T-Mobile's network. Just be prepared to spend more money upfront.

Visible vs. Mint Mobile: What is Visible's plan like?

With Visible, things couldn't be simpler. There's just one plan to choose from, and it comes with unlimited talk, text, LTE, and 5G data. Visible expects customers to get LTE data speeds from 5-12Mbps, and many people see much more than that. For the most part, we got these speeds or better in our review.

Visible's LTE speed will be more than enough for most activities, including music, video streaming, and social media. However, Visible data will be a lower priority during times of congestion, leading to some unexpected delays. While it depends on your area, Visible may be much slower than other carriers during peak times. This will be a smaller issue with 5G.

Speaking of 5G, Visible includes 5G connectivity on Verizon's network. Visible's 5G access is limited to 200Mbps, but since most of Verizon's 5G network is sharing LTE spectrum via DSS, you probably won't see speeds much faster than that most of the time.

Visible's plan includes free mobile hotspot usage (speeds are limited to 5Mbps) and costs $40 per month all-in, with taxes and fees included in the price. You'll pay exactly $40 for your bill every single month and not a penny more. Although, you can easily pay as low as $25 per month without needing to leave Visible's site.

Visible Party Pay allows you to join a party of other Visible customers, and as long as the party has four members or more, your bill is just $25 per month. While you used to need to know someone else with Visible or find a group on another site, Visible has launched a new community feature for its customers where they can easily join a party and reduce their bills. You can also get your next bill for $5 if you refer someone else to sign up.

Visible vs. Mint Mobile: Mint Mobile plan breakdown

Mint Mobile has a different way of doing things. Mint Mobile sells in bulk rather than paying for your plan month-to-month, as you do with just about every other provider. This means you pay a higher upfront price, but you're saving a lot of money if you look at the monthly rate.

If you need more data, it can be added at a rate of 1GB for $10 or 3GB for $20. You also can upgrade mid-cycle by paying the price difference if you find that you run out of data regularly.

You can buy plans in 3, 6, and 12-month increments with your choice of 4GB, 10GB, 15GB, or Unlimited LTE data. Unfortunately, the Unlimited plan is slowed to 2G speeds if you exceed 35GB of usage. Unlimited is also limited to 5GB of high-speed hotspot data. Even so, Mint Mobile has a package that will work for just about anyone.

Your monthly rate is cheaper as you buy more months in bulk. For example, if you got 15GB of data on a 12-month plan, you'd spend $300 upfront with that working out to $25/month. For comparison's sake, a three-month plan for 15GB of data retails for $45 per month (although it's currently discounted to $25 per month for your first three months). Mint Mobile allows for a lot more customization than Visible, and for almost all of the plans, your monthly rate is lower.

Mint also has a family plan of sorts with Mint Family. Mint Family allows you to pay for multiple plans from one account. To add to that, Mint Family plans get 12-month pricing though they only need to pay every three months.

Visible vs. Mint Mobile: What is coverage like on Visible and Mint Mobile?

(Image credit: Samuel Contreras / Android Central)

Both Visible and Mint Mobile have interactive coverage maps so you can see what's best for where you live. Both have 5G coverage, though T-Mobile's 5G network is quite a bit larger and faster than Verizon's at this point. It's still nice to see Visible customers can access 5G as the carrier continues to expand its network.

Verizon is well known for having some of the best rural coverage so if you drive a lot or just live far away from a city, Visible may prove to be the better option. It's worth mentioning that Visible does not support 3G and does not get access to Verizon's roaming partners. If you're currently on Verizon and have great coverage, it's worth double-checking the map anyways.

(Image credit: Mint Mobile)

Mint Mobile exclusively uses T-Mobile. T-Mobile's network has improved a lot over the past few years and is now better than it's ever been, but there are many places where Verizon's network is still superior. If you're only looking at 5G, though, T-Mobile is a clear winner. Most modern phones support T-Mobile's entire LTE network, but it might be time to upgrade if you use an older device.

Visible vs. Mint Mobile: Only Mint Mobile offers international roaming

Mint Mobile stands alone since Visible doesn't offer any international roaming when it comes to international travel. To stay connected while you're traveling abroad, all you have to do is purchase an UpRoam credit of $5, $10, or $20 that's added to your international roaming balance.

Mint Mobile charges $0.05 per text message sent, $0.25 per minute for calls, and $0.20 per megabyte in quite a few countries. In Mexico and Canada, prices are lower at $0.02 per text, $0.06 per minute, and $0.06 per megabyte. Mint's international pricing is pretty competitive, even with other carriers though if you're traveling a lot, it may be worth considering a carrier like Google Fi over Mint.

Mint Mobile and Visible both offer free calling to Mexico and Canada for customers in the US.

Visible vs. Mint Mobile: What phones can you get on Mint Mobile and Visible?

A great carrier isn't so great if you can't use your phone on it, and unfortunately, that's where Visible takes a stumble.

Visible's network is all digital, which means that all of your calls on Visible will use VoLTE. VoLTE is still a little new for carriers in general, so for now, extra care is being taken to make sure devices work flawlessly. The list of supported phones has the biggest phones, but if you're the type that likes to try out less popular Androids, your device might not be supported.

Visible currently supports any iPhone produced after the iPhone 6 and multiple Android phones, including Samsung's Galaxy S22 and the Google Pixel 6 phones.

Mint Mobile shines when it comes to supported phones. Since it's a GSM network and also supports VoLTE, you can bring over virtually any unlocked Android phone and have it work perfectly fine. Of course, Mint Mobile does sell devices, but if you already have one you'd like to use, you can get a SIM card or even activate an eSIM on a Pixel phone. You can also buy nearly any of the best Android phones to bring to Mint Mobile.

If you get a device that supports T-Mobile's 5G network, you will be able to access it on every Mint Mobile plan for no extra cost.

Visible vs. Mint Mobile: Which should you get?

(Image credit: Samuel Contreras / Android Central)

Visible is a great fit for many people, and with Verizon's network backing it, pretty much everyone will have solid coverage except for its 5G offering, which is a bit on the spotty side. Even compared to Verizon, Visible is a strong choice with plenty of speed for most people. Though Visible is let down by its lack of phone support, very few prepaid options come close in value if you need unlimited data with an unlimited hotspot.

Mint Mobile takes the lead as a better pick thanks to massive phone support, a wide range of plans, and international options. While its plans are more complex, they're still simpler than most carriers with a straightforward way to save. With the growth of the T-Mobile network, including 5G, and the addition of an unlimited plan, Mint Mobile is the better choice for most people.