Total Wireless

Total Wireless launched new plans at new prices on July 12th, 2024 and they may have just become the best unlimited data plans on the Verizon network for Families, but are the new plans really worth it? How do they stack up against the old plans and more importantly? How do they stack up against the competition? Here is what you need to know before we dive into the plans who need to talk about the comical branding story of Total Wireless. Total Wireless was first launched in 2015 by Trackphone. Verizon then bought Trackphone on November 23rd, 2021. Then Verizon rebranded Total Wireless total by Verizon on September 21st, 2022. And now Verizon has rebranded Total by Verizon back total Wireless as of July 12th, 2024. I'm just going to call it Total Wireless for the rest of total Wireless previously offered four cell phone plans to choose from. You could get five gigs for $30, 15 gigs for $35. Unlimited data with 10 gigs of hotspot for $45 or unlimited data with 20 gigs of hotspot for $55. Let's go through these plans one at a time. First up, the five gig plan for $30. T And quite frankly, that's a good t You could get the same five gigs of data for just $16 per month on US mobile, or you could get unlimited data for just $25 per month from visible. So it's a good t Next up, we have the $35 15 gig plan. There are seven key differences here. One, the price. Previously, the plan was $35 with auto pay plus taxes and fees. Now the new plan is $40 per month with all taxes and fees included. So kind of a price increase, but the pricing is also very similar after you factor in taxes and fees to the old plan. N Previously, you got 15 gigabytes of The data is still deprioritized. N Before hotspot data was included and you could use up to all 15 gigabytes of data as hotspot data and hotspot speeds were fully uncapped. Now you only get five gigabytes of hotspot data and hotspot speeds are limited to five megabits per second. N You can now send texts to over 200 destinations, w N Before you could only call Canada and Mexico and now you can make calls to over 85 destinations for completely free. N You now get unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 10 gigabytes of roaming in Canada and Mexico. And n The new plan is base 5G unlimited. Overall, I generally t After you factor in taxes and fees, the new plan is roughly the same cost as the old plan and it adds nice features such as unlimited The two downsides are hotspot speeds are now limited to both five gigabytes and five megabits per second and the changes to the multi line pricing. So on the left here, we have the old plan with the auto pay discount applied. In the middle, we just have the old plan and I added in $5 and estimated taxes and fees per line, w And on the right, we have the new plan, w And as you can see, the multi line pricing for two and three lines has gone up. The pricing for one and four lines is So a little bit of a price increase depending on how many lines you have. But is the new base 5G unlimited plan worth it? I don't I t It costs just $25 per line per month, regardless of how many lines you have. And it includes unlimited hotspot data at five megabits per second instead of just five gigabytes. The only advantages to the base 5G unlimited plan is if you need international calling or texting, you need roaming in Canada or Mexico, or if you prefer to manage all of your lines under one account. It turns out visible requires each line to have its own separate account. So that may be more of an inconvenience for families to manage. OK, next up is the unlimited plan. There are nine changes here. One, the price increased from $45 plus tax to $50 with taxes and fees included. And both of these prices are with the auto pay discount applied. Two, you now get 5G ultra wideband access included in the new plan. Three, the priority level has changed. The old plan was deprioritized and the new plan now comes with unlimited priority data. Priority data basically just gives you faster speeds during times when the Verizon network is busy. As an example, I went to Costco at around 2 30 p. m. on a Saturday and I got about eight megabits per second down on the plan with priority data and just around 0. 2 megabits per second down on a plan that was deprioritized. So kind of a big difference. Keep in mind, though, t When I went back to Costco at 5 30 a. m. on the next day, I got about 250 megabits per second on both the prioritized plan and the deprioritized plan. So not much of a difference at all when there's no network congestion. It is also worth noting that priority data matters more when you're connected to LTE and it won't really matter at all if you have 5G ultra wideband. OK, n Before you got 10 gigabytes at full speeds and now you get 15 gigabytes at 5 megabits per second. N You can now send texts to over 200 destinations, w N You now get free international calls to over 85 destinations, w N You now get unlimited minutes, texts and 10 gigabytes of roaming included for free, even for a single line. Before you needed two or more lines to get Canada and Mexico roaming. N T And now you get unlimited minutes, texts and 10 gigabytes of roaming in 17 countries. And n The new plan is now called total 5G unlimited. Is it worth it? Well, you're getting 5G ultra wideband access, priority data and better international features, w I am disappointed to see the hotspot speeds are now limited to five megabits per second, though. I personally would have preferred 10 gigabytes of hotspot data at the fastest speeds available. And as for pricing, well, it's also a mixed bag. Taking a look at the price breakdown from before and even after we factor in estimated taxes and fees of $5 per line, you can see the price increased for two lines and three lines. Pricing does appear to be about the same or even a bit better for one line or four lines, though. Is the new total 5G unlimited plan worth it? For one or two lines, I don't I t And it includes great features. You get priority data, unlimited hotspot at 10 megabits per second, free international texting, 500 minutes of international calling to over 30 destinations and two gigabytes per day of free roaming in Canada and Mexico. Plus, it includes an Apple Watch line for free. And I don't even t Now that said, t Suddenly, total 5G unlimited is a great value. The price drops to either $37 or $28 per line per month. And that's an exceptional value. Plus, families can easily manage all of their lines from one account with total wireless, whereas each line needs its own separate account with visible. So I would 100% go with total wireless if you have three or four lines and I would go with visible plus if you have one or two lines. Stacking the plan up against Metro by Team Mobile and Cricket and total 5G unlimited is also a way better plan. It comes with priority data, more hotspot data and much better international features. It's also very well priced. It's only a couple of dollars extra per month compared to Cricket's plan, w And it absolutely obliterates Metro's plan, w Okay, next up is the unlimited plus plan. There are eight key changes here. N The old plan was $55 plus tax. The new plan is $60 with taxes and fees included. And both of these are with auto pay. N Again, you are now going from having deprioritized data to having priority data. N Before you got 20 gigabytes of hotspot data at full speeds. And now you get unlimited hotspot data, but with speeds capped at 5 megabits per second. For me personally, I t N You go from getting free texting to 69 countries to free texting to over 200 destinations. N Again, you go from getting free international calls to 69 countries to free international calling to over 85 countries. N T And now it's included for free. You get unlimited minutes, texts and 10 gigabytes of data in Canada and Mexico, regardless of how many lines you have. N T And now you get unlimited minutes, texts and 10 gigabytes of free roaming in 17 supported countries. And n The name went from total by Verizon unlimited plus to now total 5G plus unlimited. Overall, I do feel the new plan is a bit better than the old plan. Taking a look at the multi line pricing though. And again, you can see there is a bit of a price increase. You're going to be paying more for two and three lines. Pricing for one and four lines is roughly the same as it was before. Is the new total 5G plus plan worth it? It's just got great features at an unbeatable price, especially with that annual discount. But if you have multiple lines, then totals 5G plus plan drops in price and becomes a really great option for families. So I personally would go with total 5G plus over visible plus if you have three or more lines. And stacking up totals plan against crickets and metros plans. I actually t It comes with priority data, gives you 15 gigabytes of hotspot data at the fastest speeds available, has unlimited roaming in Canada and Mexico and is a bit cheaper in price. Now that said, I still taking a look at the multi line pricing now and total wireless and cricket wireless are honestly neck and neck. You can't really go wrong with either option. The best plan for you and your family would If you get better coverage on Verizon, you may want to go with total wireless. And if you have better coverage on AT&T, then you may want to consider cricket. But how do you find out what carrier has better coverage in your area? You can do t Simply head over to the check coverage tool, enter any state, county, city or zip code, and you'll instantly see w In my case, Verizon is best. So I would probably go with total wireless in t Now, the one plan to avoid here is the Metro by T mobile plan. It's just way more expensive than the other options. And I don't feel So total wireless in 2024. Overall, it is a bit of a price increase, but the prices are reasonably similar to what you got before after you factoring taxes and fees. The plans also got more features, more priority data, more hotspot data and significantly improved international options. And the multi line pricing is excellent, what do you t Would you sign up? Let me know what you t Click the I'm Stetson and I hope that's helpful.