5G home internet competition is heating up in the US, and providers like T-Mobile and Verizon are offering some big incentives to attract customers. Follow along for speeds, pricing, and the finer details for each provider in our 5G home internet comparison.
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It’s only been almost a year since Verizon and T-Mobile launched their 5G home Internet services, and they’re both picking up speed.
T-Mobile recently said that its 5G home Internet is available for 40 million homes, and Verizon shared in January that its 5G home Internet is available for 20 million.
While Verizon increased its incentives in January with a 50% discount for existing customers, T-Mobile announced its own similar promotion in early May.
AT&T doesn’t have 5G home Internet, but it does offer 4G home Internet for rural customers and businesses. Although it lags far behind Verizon and T-Mobile across the board, we’ll include it in the comparison below for reference.
5G Home Internet Comparison: T-Mobile vs. Verizon
Speed
Verizon offers the fastest possible speeds for both downloads and uploads, while T-Mobile’s service is more widely available.
With both, keep in mind that your average 5G speed will vary depending on your location and coverage. And yes, AT&T’s 4G home internet is extremely slow.
| 5g home internet | T Mobile | Verizon | AT&T (only 4G) |
| download speed | 33 to 182 Mbps | 85 to 1,000 Mbps | 10 to 25 Mbps |
| upload speed | 8 to 25 Mbps | 10 to 50 Mbps | up to 1 Mbps |
Another detail, to get access to 300-1,000 Mbps download speeds with Verizon, you’ll need to choose its 5G Home Plus plan.
Pricing, Setup, Fine Details
T-Mobile and Verizon are both offering very affordable pricing, especially for customers who bundle up a qualifying cellular plan. This brings T-Mobile’s 5G home internet down to $30/month and Verizon’s even cheaper at $25/month.
Even if you don’t have your smartphone service through any of them, the plans are affordable with both T-Mobile and Verizon at $50/month with Autopay.
| 5G Home Internet Details | T Mobile | Verizon | AT&T |
| Price with cellular plan | $30/month | $25-35/month | $59.99/month |
| Price without cellular plan | $50/month | $50-70/month | $69.99/month |
| contract | I | I | I |
| taxes and fees | Involved | Involved | Excessive |
| data cap | I | I | 350 GB |
| self setup | I | I | I |
| installation fee | I | I | $99 |
| price lock | Life span | 2-3 years | I |
AT&T’s offering is not only more expensive, but much slower, has a data cap, and requires a $99 installation.
Incentives
Both T-Mobile and Verizon have a tempting list of incentives for customers to give up on traditional broadband providers.
Both are free to switch by covering up to $500 in early termination fees, have free trials, and throw in additional perks like free streaming devices and streaming services.
| 5G Home Internet Promotion | T Mobile | Verizon | AT&T |
| free Trial | – 15 days | – 30 day | I |
| Up to $500 for introductory term fees | I | I | I |
| free streaming device | I | I | I |
| Benefits of T-Mobile Tuesday | I | I | I |
| Free Disney+ Bundle for 1 Year | I | I | I |
| Free Paramount+ for one year | I | I | I |
Verizon is offering its own Stream TV set-top box for free while T-Mobile is offering $50 that can be used for any streaming device, including the Apple TV.
5G home internet comparison wrap-up
Both T-Mobile and Verizon are pushing hard for 5G home Internet service, with consumers taking advantage of affordable prices, free trials, no contracts, and more.
Hopefully, with the launch of more C-band 5G coverage this year, we’ll see AT&T officially enter the 5G home internet space that will bring more choice and competition.
At this point, if you’re unhappy with your broadband provider, it’s easy to do a risk-free trial with T-Mobile or Verizon’s 5G home Internet, and you can even try it with your existing Internet.
It’s hard to say whether there’s a clear winner between T-Mobile and Verizon. T-Mobile gets points for greater availability and a lifetime value lock. And Verizon is ahead of the bundler with an affordable price and faster overall speeds.
See if 5G home internet from T-Mobile or Verizon is available in your area.
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