The Ultimate Comparison: Verizon Go Unlimited vs Start Unlimited

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Remember the last time you forgot to bring your phone and decided not to reroute? Yeah, we neither. Cell phones have increasingly become one of the essential items that we can’t leave at home. They’re just as important as your keys and wallet. In the past decade alone, the smartphone industry has been rapidly growing more than ever. It brings us into the golden era of technological advancement with new phones released every year now.

But what’s a phone without its internet connection? Some of the biggest carriers today have only existed for the past two decades. Yet they become one of the most profiting industries with the service they provide. Companies are competing to provide the best plans with the most affordable price and the fastest connection.

Consumers now have the freedom to choose which plans that are best suited for them. With a wide range of prices and services, it can be a tall task to choose which one is the most suitable for you. In this article, we’ll go through all the details of Verizon Go Unlimited vs Start Unlimited to help you decide.

Verizon

With the best coverage in the country, it’s not surprising that Verizon has become the second-largest wireless carrier in the United States. Verizon has about 120.3 million subscribers as of 2020 and to put things into perspective, that’s almost half the population of the US. Its 4G LTE network covers about 98% of the population which in 2015 won top honors in each category of RootMetrics RootScore Reports.

Verizon also offers some of the best benefits for its subscribers, including some of the best phones that can be used on the Verizon Network. The others being the exclusive streaming access to National Football League games and NFL Network on their devices. This was made free at the beginning of the 2015 NFL Season. In 2017 this exclusivity was removed as the company focuses more on distributing digital content through their internet media brands.

In 2019, Verizon rolled out four new unlimited phone plans which replace its three previous plans. Both Verizon Go Unlimited and Start Unlimited are the most basic data plans and also happen to be the cheapest. So, which one is better?

Verizon Go Unlimited vs Start Unlimited

Aside from the $5 price difference and hotspot service availability, there are really no other differences between the two plans. Start Unlimited doesn’t include a mobile hotspot, unlike the Go Unlimited. While Go Unlimited was priced at $75, you can use Start Unlimited at $70 per month with the Auto-Pay.

Both plans offer premium service and coverage on the US’ most powerful 4G LTE network as well as 5G nationwide. Being entry-level plans, both Go Unlimited and Start Unlimited cover the basics. That means you have no guaranteed pool of high-data like other “unlimited” plans. Note that both plans also don’t include Verizon’s limited-time free 5G data offer. In order to enjoy this service, you’ll have to pay another $10 per month.

Yet the drawbacks are still there, Verizon can deprioritize your network anytime during network congestion. To put it simply, this means the carrier can slow down your connection anytime the network is too “crowded.” Both Go Unlimited and Start Unlimited are also not the best option if you spend a big chunk of your screen time watching Netflix or YouTube. The video streaming quality is limited to 480p DVD quality and you can enjoy Apple Music free only for 6 months.

To be frank, there’s not much to offer from either Go Unlimited or Start Unlimited. Unless you’re going to use it on your kid’s phone or the elderly. But then again, Verizon also offers the Just Kids plan which is a plan specifically designed for children. It’s only $50 per month and offers 5GB monthly data as well as unlimited talk and text to 20 parent-approved contacts.

No more Verizon Go Unlimited

The most important information is Verizon Go Unlimited is no longer open to new subscribers. Previous subscribers who already have this data plan can mix and match with their current available plans; Start Unlimited, Play More Unlimited, Do More Unlimited, and Get More Unlimited. Check out the comparison table below.

Verizon Unlimited Data Plans 2021

[su_table]

Plan Details Start Unlimited
($70)
Play More Unlimited
($80)
Do More Unlimited
($80)
Get More Unlimited
($90)
Data Limits None None None None
5G access where available + $10/ month with 5G capable device Access included with a 5G phone Access included with a 5G phone  Access included with a 5G phone
Video Streaming Quality 480p 720p 720p 720p
Mobile Hotspot Unavailable Unlimited data with 15 GB on 4G LTE Unlimited data with 15 GB 4G LTE Unlimited data with 30 GB on 4G LTE
Free Disney+ subscription Yes, for one year Yes, for one year Yes, for one year Yes, for one year
Free Apple Music Yes (only for 6 months) Yes Yes (only for 6 months) Yes
Texting and Data (in over 140 countries) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Unlimited talk, text, and data in Canada and Mexico Yes Yes Yes Yes
Verizon Cloud Not included Not included 500 GB 500 GB

[/su_table]

For most people, the most favorable plan is either the Play More Unlimited or Do More Unlimited. These plans are more of a split-up of the previous Beyond Unlimited plan with a $5 cut price tag. Apart from its Verizon Cloud availability and Apple Music, what differs from these plans is the available data. Play More Unlimited offers 25GB LTE before congestion while Do More Unlimited offers 50GB. Keeping this information in mind, if you prefer to have Apple Music included in your plan rather than the 500GB Verizon Cloud, Play More Unlimited is your best bet.

In case you already have a phone and thinking to switch to Verizon Network, read how you can buy an unlocked phone and use it with Verizon here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Verizon Go Unlimited and Start Unlimited?

There are two main differences between Verizon Go Unlimited vs Start Unlimited. The latter no longer offers mobile hotspot service and priced at $70, a $5 cut from Go Unlimited. Note that Verizon Go Unlimited is no longer open to new subscribers. Existing Verizon Go Unlimited subscribers can mix and match with the currently available plan. If you’re looking for the cheapest Verizon data plan, Start Unlimited is available.

Is Go Unlimited better than Start Unlimited?

Both plans are identical. The only better feature in Go Limited is the available hotspot although it came only in 600 Kbps which was extremely slow. There’s no hotspot option with Start Unlimited. If tethering service is an important feature for you, opt for the Play More Unlimited that comes with a 15GB unlimited mobile hotspot.

Is Verizon Start Unlimited really unlimited?

Sorry to break it down to you, but no. In fact, none of the available “unlimited” plans offered by Verizon is what we all know to be unlimited data. It’s still subject to de-prioritization and limited streaming quality. But to be fair, almost all major carriers share the same problem.

Is Verizon Start Unlimited Good?

For anyone who isn’t in the 5G network are and is fine with 480p quality streaming, Verizon Start Unlimited is enough. You still have the benefits of unlimited Talk & Text as well as the Mexico & Canada Talk, Text, & Data. You also get a free Apple Music plan for the upcoming 6 months. Does this sound like your monthly data usage? Then Verizon Start Unlimited is good enough for you.

Conclusion

So, what is the verdict? Which one is better between Verizon Go Unlimited vs Start Unlimited? Now that we know all the available Verizon Unlimited Data plans in 2021, we get to learn more that they’re not so much different from the previous three. We thought they would clear up the confusion with the previous plans. So, when we found out that they’re even more confusing, we have mixed feelings about it. The changes aren’t that sweeping, apart from the different names, all the available plans get a $5 price cut equally and we now have two similar mid-tier plans. Bear with us on this one.

Get More Unlimited plan is now available if you’re used to the “Above Unlimited” plan before. Other than being $5 cheaper, Get More includes a discount on tablet data which you didn’t have in Above Unlimited. Yet, this comes with a trade-off, you won’t be able to enjoy the free travel passes that Above used to offer.

Speaking of Verizon’s entry-level data plan, Go Unlimited was sufficient. With Start Unlimited, we think that dropping the hotspot benefit is not much of a big deal. Especially when everybody knows that it runs at an extremely slow speed of 6000 Kbps. That said, you can expect the very same benefits of Go Unlimited in Start Unlimited and paying $5 less now.

According to Verizon’s Go Unlimited FAQ page, you can longer add the plan to your account. So practically you’re left with Start Unlimited for Verizon’s cheapest data plan. Existing subscribers can mix and match their plan with Verizon’s current unlimited plans. All things considered, if you still want to stick with the cheapest option, you can enjoy all the benefits in Go Unlimited in the current Start Unlimited.