5G Home Internet Comparison: T-Mobile vs Verizon on Price, Speed, Incentives

The 5G home internet competition in the US is heating up with T-Mobile and Verizon offering some great incentives to attract customers. Follow the speed, pricing and all the details for each provider in our 5G home internet comparison.

Update 5/31/23: T-Mobiles 5G Home download speeds have increased and are now between 72 and 245 Mbps for most users.

And after Verizon boosted its incentives in April with a free Xbox Series S or $200 Home Depot gift card, T-Mobile is now offering free Instacart+ for a year plus a $100 Instacart credit to new customers.

Background

It’s been about two years since Verizon and T-Mobile launched their 5G home internet services and both continue to expand at a steady pace and struggle with affordable pricing and robust incentives.

AT&T does not have 5G home internet, but does offer 4G home internet for rural customers and businesses. While it lags far behind Verizon and T-Mobile across the board, we include it against it below for reference.

If you have the option of getting fixed fiber or cable internet, it will usually be the most consistent and highest performing option. However, in many cases, 5G Home Internet can be affordable with no contract, no data limits, and no self-installation. It can also be a great backup option for your wired internet connection.

5G Home Internet Comparison: T-Mobile vs Verizon

Speed

Verizon offers the fastest potential speeds for both downloads and uploads, while T-Mobiles service is more widely available.

With both, keep in mind that average 5G speeds will vary based on location and coverage. And yes, AT&T’s 4G home internet connection is blazingly slow.

Another detail, to get access to download speeds of 300-1,000 Mbps with Verizon, you’ll have to choose its 5G Home Plus plan.

Prices, installation, fine details

Both T-Mobile and Verizon offer very affordable prices, especially for customers who bundle an eligible cellular plan. That brings T-Mobiles 5G home internet down to $30 a month, and Verizons is even cheaper at $25 a month.

Even if you don’t have your smartphone service through either of them, the plans are still affordable with T-Mobile and Verizon both at $50 a month autopaid ($70 a month for Verizons Home Plus autopaid).

AT&T’s offering is not only more expensive, but much slower, has a data cap, and requires a $99 setup.

Incentives

Both T-Mobile and Verizon have a tempting list of incentives to get customers to leave traditional broadband providers.

Both make it free to switch by covering early termination fees, having free trials, and offering extra perks like a gift card or a free Xbox.

5G internet incentives from home	T-Mobile	Verified	AT&T extension
Free trial	15 days	30 days
$ for early termination fees	Up to $750	Up to $500
T-Mobile Benefits Tuesday
$50 Mastercard Gift Card
Free Xbox Series S Gift Card or $200 Home Depot

Verizon is getting bigger with the latest incentives with a free Xbox Series S or a $200 Home Depot gift card for new 5G Home Plus plans. However, T-Mobile is offering the most for early termination fees in addition to a gift card $50 Mastercards.

Availability of 5G home internet

With the Uncarrier:

AND:

• Verizon 5G Home Internet is available in most US states and covers over 30 million households
• Like T-Mobile, Verizon availability can vary even within the same city
• Check for Verizon 5G Home availability

5G Home Internet Comparison Summary

With T-Mobile and Verizon both hard at work on compelling 5G home Internet service, consumers enjoy affordable pricing, free trials, no contracts, and more. Hopefully, this year we will see AT&T officially enter the 5G home internet space which will bring more choice and competition.

At this point, if you’re not happy with your broadband provider, it’s easy to give it a risk-free trial with T-Mobile or Verizon 5G home internet, and you can even try it in conjunction with your existing internet.

It’s hard to say if there’s a clear winner between T-Mobile and Verizon. But if you already have one of the carriers for your phone plan, it makes sense to give that one a try first.

T-Mobile pros:

• Greater availability and price blocked for life

Verizon pros:

• Cheaper price for bundlers and faster overall speeds

Check if T-Mobile or Verizons 5G home internet is available in your area.

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