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Verizon 5G Home Internet Review: Explore Plans, Pricing, Speeds and Availability

A red Verizon logo against a green gradient CNET background.
A red Verizon logo against an orange gradient CNET background.

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Verizon 5G Home Internet review

Fixed wireless internet is now a popular alternative to cable, fiber or DSL internet service" target="_self . One of my former CNET colleagues observed that it's closing the gap on cable internet . J.D. Power's 2024 residential internet survey" target="_self highlights that customers prefer the affordability of wireless service over wired. That same survey also shows the prominence of 5G internet in the fixed wireless internet category, with T-Mobile and Verizon leading as 5G internet providers.

Fixed wireless delivery also allows a provider like Verizon to expand more quickly than it might with fiber" target="_self installations. (Though Verizon is looking to speed up its fiber expansion by seeking to acquire Frontier Fiber" target="_self .) Fixed wireless service connects homes through a receiver that picks up Verizon's cellular signal and then broadcasts it as a Wi-Fi network. Since launching in 2018, Verizon's 5G Home Internet availability has surged. According to its most recent 2025 Q2 report , Verizon now has approximately 5.1 million customers for 5G Home Internet, putting it on pace to reach 8 to 9 million customers by 2028.

In very select regions, including parts of Verizon's coverage map , you'll find 5G plans capable of hitting near-gigabit download speeds. That wide availability and high speeds (not to mention the plans that come without data caps , contracts or hidden fees) make Verizon 5G Home Internet especially interesting if you live in an area without high-speed cable or fiber internet access . With its straightforward pricing and service terms, there's a lot to like about what Verizon is selling.

Verizon 5G Home Internet

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Verizon 5G Home Internet plans and pricing

It's worth noting that all prices listed on this page reflect available discounts for setting up paperless billing. If you decide not to go with automatic monthly payments, your price will be higher.

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Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Like any fixed wireless provider, 5G home internet speeds vary based on factors like network congestion and proximity to a 5G tower. Providers like Verizon may advertise speeds "up to" a certain threshold, but actual performance isn't always guaranteed" target="_self .

Verizon offers three plans, each offering a different speed potential. The standard plan offers max download speeds from 25 megabits per second to 300 megabits per second. You can find faster max speeds with the Home Plus plan, which ranges from 50Mbps to 500Mbps in download, and the Home Ultimate tier, which can get up to 1,000Mbps in select areas.

You may see faster typical speeds depending on use, network congestion or proximity to a 5G cell tower. Verizon reports that 5G Home and Home Plus customers should get HD video streaming (1080p) capabilities while those with 5G Home Ultimate will experience 4K video streaming .

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Even better, all plans have a price lock for at least three years and, unlike many ISPs, equipment rental is included in your monthly bill.

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What's the deal with Verizon 5G and Verizon 4G LTE?

Fixed wireless internet services don't usually boast the fastest internet connection speeds . Still, it's no wonder that millions of households turn to 5G home internet instead of the high prices and hassles of big internet providers. Fixed wireless connections are a practical option for rural areas and have affordable prices for decent speeds. However, many subscribers might experience network congestion. According to the company website, Verizon claims that "in times of network congestion, we may reduce data speeds or prioritize your data behind other traffic for the rest of that billing cycle."

This is the same with Verizon's 4G LTE home internet plan . Moreover, your typical download speeds are between 25Mbps to 50Mbps, with uploads in the single digits. 5G is much faster than that because the standard's millimeter-wave technology (aka mmWave) sends signals at much higher frequencies than LTE. Those higher frequencies can deliver gigabit speeds in the right circumstances but the trade-off is that they don't travel as far and can struggle with obstructions.

5G accounts for those high-speed range limitations by mixing slower mid- and low-band signals that travel farther for better coverage. On those frequencies, you can expect your 5G speeds to dip to about 300Mbps on midband or down to double-digit LTE levels on low-band. That's why your 5G mileage will vary as far as speeds are concerned; it all comes down to your home's location.

Who can get Verizon 5G Home Internet?

Map of Verizon 5G service areas

Each dot on this Verizon coverage map represents a city with 5G Ultra Wideband access. The red regions of the map indicate where Verizon offers 5G for mobile customers. The dots are likely spots for the strongest 5G Home Internet connections.

Verizon 5G Home Internet is available in many places but it's mostly centered on America's largest metro regions, where the development of 5G infrastructure is furthest along. That puts it on a similar (but much speedier) trajectory to fiber, with service primarily focused in America's largest cities, where the population density makes expansion more cost-effective.

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That said, deploying new cell towers and upgrading existing ones is generally faster than wiring entire regions for fiber" target="_self , neighborhood by neighborhood. While availability is still somewhat limited, there's room for hope that 5G might be able to bring faster home internet to underserved parts of the country faster than fiber, cable or other internet types.

Plug in your address to determine availability

Even if Verizon 5G Home Internet is available in your city, there's no guarantee you can get it at your address. Service requires proximity to Verizon's 5G cell towers and a strong, steady signal.

My former CNET colleague, for example, lived near downtown Louisville, Kentucky , where Verizon's 5G Home Internet is an option for some. Verizon didn't offer service at his address, even though he had a cell plan with Verizon and service strong enough for his phone to connect over 5G semi-regularly when he was at home.

Want to see whether Verizon 5G Home Internet is available at your household? Check out Verizon's availability link and plug in your address.

Verizon 5G Home Internet's simple service terms

Verizon's terms are about as straightforward as you'll find in the home internet market. The monthly rate includes all taxes and fees and you won't need to pay an additional equipment fee as you will with many providers.

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Additionally, there are no service contracts , early termination fees or data caps . That means you can use your connection as much as you like without fearing overage charges for using too much data. On top of that, Verizon 5G Home Internet doesn't come with a bait-and-switch promo rate so your bill won't jump after 12 months.

All of that is pretty appealing and it matches what we see from AT&T Internet Air" target="_self , T-Mobile and Starry , the other names of note offering high-speed wireless home internet plans. Like Verizon, they don't enforce contracts, data caps or equipment fees. That seems like a smart strategy for providers hoping to tempt customers into trying something new.

How does Verizon 5G Home Internet fare against competitors?

AT&T Internet Air is available in 47 states and more than 100 markets. It advertises speeds between 75Mbps and 225Mbps download and 10Mbps to 30Mbps up for a monthly cost of $60, which puts it on par with fixed wireless competitors.

T-Mobile and Starry offer appealingly straightforward terms, just as Verizon does, but the prices and speeds are different. For example, consider  Verizon 5G Home vs. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet . T-Mobile uses a mix of 5G and 4G LTE signals and offers three speeds (between 72Mbps and 245Mbps and up to 133Mbps to 415Mbps download) for $50 to $70 monthly.

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Starry is more impressive, as $45 a month gets you download speeds of up to 300Mbps and upload speeds of 50Mbps. That makes it the only wireless internet provider with speeds at the higher end at a value of just 15 cents per Mbps.

As for each company's coverage map, T-Mobile offers the most availability, with cellular internet service currently available to more than 50 million households across the US. Verizon now offers 5G home internet service to more than 40 million households and targets 50 million by 2025. Starry is the smallest provider of the group and is available only in Boston , Denver , Los Angeles , New York City and Washington, DC .

Verizon 5G Home Internet perks and promos

Remember how we mentioned that 5G home internet providers are trying to lure customers from other ISPs? That's certainly the case with Verizon. The company currently offers many sweeteners for anyone thinking about making the switch.

The first thing that leaps out at you is that price lock guarantee of three years. That guarantee jumps up to four years if you choose 5G Home Plus and a max of five years for 5G Home Ultimate. Additionally, if your provider charges an early termination fee for ditching it before your contract ends, Verizon will cover up to $500 of that cost when you switch. On top of that, new Verizon 5G Home Internet customers get a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not happy with your service, you can get a full refund.

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Verizon 5G Home Ultimate subscribers also get additional perks, including a Wi-Fi extender for greater whole-home coverage and $400 off select Samsung products. 

Bundling with mobile can save you money

Are you already a Verizon mobile customer? Those with select 5G phone plans can snag an additional $15 off their monthly bill when bundling their cellphone plan" target="_self with Verizon 5G Home Internet. That's a nice incentive to give Verizon a try.

Even without that discount, Verizon could offer solid value if your average speeds are high enough. However, it's difficult to say with such a range of potential speeds. For reference, Starry offers $40 a month for speeds of 200Mbps, which comes to about 20 cents per Mbps. With T-Mobile , your average cost per Mbps would be about 20 cents, assuming you're routinely hitting speeds of 245Mbps.

As for Verizon, the company says that 5G Home customers should typically expect downloads between 50Mbps and 300Mbps. If your average is 193Mbps, you're paying about 25 cents per Mbps monthly. If you have a strong connection and average download speeds are closer to 300Mbps, that cost per Mbps falls to 17 cents. If the connection is weak and your average is about 85Mbps, the number shoots up to 59 cents. As we said, your mileage may vary.

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If you choose 5G Home Plus, your monthly figures will be slightly different. Verizon's figures come out to 11 cents per Mbps for average speeds at 650Mbps, 26 cents at 300Mbps and 7 cents at 1,000Mbps. Those numbers dip even lower if you apply the Verizon mobile plan discount.

That compares favorably with the top cable providers , who typically charge at least 32 cents per Mbps. Fiber internet still offers the best value, with most plans costing around 17 cents per Mbps. If there's a choice between fiber and 5G, we'll often lean toward fiber.

What's the bottom line on Verizon 5G Home Internet?

On paper, there's not much to criticize. Verizon 5G Home Internet offers some genuinely outstanding terms and the download speeds could potentially match what you'd expect from cable or fiber. Don't forget that organizations like the  American Customer Satisfaction Index  and  J.D. Power consistently rank Verizon as a top ISP for customer satisfaction. We wish the uploads were faster than 5Mbps to 75Mbps, especially given that Starry promises uploads as high as 250Mbps, but that might also indicate that there's room for Verizon to improve over time as its 5G network expands.

That expansion of 5G infrastructure will be key to bringing availability to more people and strengthening the signal for Verizon's existing customers. If Verizon can continue growing its service map at a fast clip, and its simple, straightforward pricing proves popular, Verizon's 5G Home Internet service might be a game-changer.

Verizon 5G Home Internet FAQs

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