Verizon Quietly Changes Entire Shared Data Plan Line-Up

Verizon introduced a new line-up of prepaid plans last week that look pretty good on paper, with big discounts on each if customers stay subscribed for extended periods of time. What Verizon didn’t mention publicly at that time, was that they were also pushing out a pretty major overhaul to their shared data plans.

Verizon New Shared Data Plans

Before last week’s switch, Verizon’s shared data plan line-up included S (2GB-$35), M (4GB-$50),  and L (8GB-$70) options, as well as a single-line 5GB ($40) plan. They also had rarely-advertised XL and XXL plans After the switch, their shared data plan line-up now only includes 5GB ($55) and 10GB ($65) plans. Yes, we went from six plans down to two.

There’s quite a bit to unpack here, as the differences in the prices are calculated differently with the new 5GB and 10GB plans. Let me try to explain.

New Shared Data Plan Pricing

The old plans had a bill breakdown of a $20/mo line access charge added to the data bucket price. For example, if you had the S (2GB-$35) plan and a single line, you would pay $55/mo. A L (8GB-$70) plan with two lines would cost $110 ($20/line x 2 + $70 data plan).

The new plans have an all-in advertised price that is only good if you have autopay enabled. For the 5GB plan at $55/mo, the breakdown includes a $30/mo account access fee plus a $25/mo line access fee. However, if you don’t have autopay, that line access fee jumps up to $35/mo and the total monthly cost to $65/mo. The same story applies to the 10GB plan at $65/mo, where you pay $40/mo account access (the data) plus the $25/mo line access fee with autopay. Again, that becomes $35/mo with no autopay and $75/mo total.

Are these new plans a good deal? They sure do look cheaper. The old 5GB plan was $60/mo ($20 line fee + $40 data), while the new 5GB plan is $55 as long as you have autopay. The new 10GB plan is $65/mo with autopay, while the old L (8GB) plan was $90/mo. So yeah, if you are into shared data for whatever reason, these do look to be better deals than the old plans. The old plans were also pretty outdated and probably needed to be changed.