Best Cell Phone Coverage 2023

Long story short, Verizon still owns the championship belt for most coverage overall. T-Mobile has taken a strong, early lead in the 5G race, but expect that race to get closer throughout 2023. Last but not least, we have AT&T, who falls somewhere in the middle in both 4G and 5G coverage.

The Big Three mobile carriers—AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon—are all offering great trade-in deals right now. That means you can get up to $800 off select smartphones like the iPhone 14 Pro or the new Samsung Galaxy S22 when you trade in your old device.

Meanwhile, smaller MVNO carriers like Mint Mobile and Visible Wireless are offering up to 6 months of free cell phone service or discounts on select phones to entice new customers interested in more budget-friendly smartphones.

Find these and other offers in our monthly roundup of the best cell phone deals.

Verizon Wireless offers by far the most 4G coverage in the country. The problem with Verizon, however, is that its cell phone plans cost an arm and a leg. You can get an unlimited plan on Verizon's network for a much cheaper price.

Verizon Wireless covers 4G service for 70% of the US.¹ On average, Verizon users report getting 4G coverage 95.9% of the time while using Verizon’s network.¹ Depending upon where you are in the country, your coverage will probably feel even more reliable than that. The only pockets of America you need to worry about are more rural areas in the Southwest, Midwest, and Northwest.

If you live close to any big cities in those areas, you should expect super reliable coverage. Depending on your service location, you may be covered by 5G. Verizon's 5G coverage falls behind T-Mobile and AT&T at just 12% coverage.¹

We know that Verizon Wireless offers the best 4G coverage, but what about the network’s data download speeds? Verizon clocks in around 31.3 Mbps. T-Mobile currently owns the fastest data speeds at 79.5 Mbps, and AT&T comes in second at 38.2 Mbps.

Instagram stories, YouTube videos, and online gaming apps should all pull up quickly and smoothly on Verizon’s network.

Visible is actually owned by Verizon, so you can rest assured that you'll have excellent access to the coverage network. And the best part, of course, is that you pay significantly less for a Visible unlimited plan than you do for a Verizon unlimited plan:

Verizon users were asked to rate their wireless coverage experience on the network, and the average summed out to a whopping 9.9 out of 10. That’s like a movie scoring 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. I will see any movie that's 99% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Visible Wireless is an MVNO. MVNO stands for mobile virtual network operator. Translation: alternative carriers that piggyback on other wireless networks to provide cell phone service. MVNO carriers can charge lower rates for cell phone plans, but the tradeoff is your data and coverage can slow down in congested areas.

An MVNO basically feels kind of like getting the cheap seats at a really expensive concert—you get to see the show, but you don’t always get the best view.

You can use an MVNO mobile provider that works on Verizon’s network, but you’ll occasionally run into deprioritization. In other words, your data speeds and coverage could drop in more congested areas because the Verizon network gives priority to Verizon customers.

T-Mobile’s 4G coverage falls behind what Verizon and AT&T offer, but T-Mobile makes up for it in other places, like data speed and 5G coverage. You can access T-Mobile's 5G network for a much cheaper price thanks to Mint Mobile.

T-Mobile, so far, has taken a commanding lead of the 5G race over Verizon and AT&T. T-Mobile doubles AT&T's 5G coverage and more than triples Verizon's 5G coverage. Make sure to enter your ZIP code in the coverage map above to see what we're talking about. You're much more likely to get 5G coverage with T-Mobile's network than you will with Verizon or AT&T.

As a Mint Mobile user, you get access to T-Mobile's 5G network, along with its awesome data speeds. 

Though T-Mobile comes last in 4G coverage, T-Mobile’s network comes in first place for data upload and download speeds. This is a big deal for any of you who happen to post Instagram stories, Twitter videos, or YouTube videos. Likewise, it's a big deal for those of you who watch Instagram stories, Twitter videos, and YouTube videos. So, really, all of us.

Check out T-Mobile coming out on top for upload wireless speeds.

The average T-Mobile user gets an 10.7 Mbps upload speed and 79.5 Mbps download speed, making it the fastest wireless option out there.

Mint Mobile is our favorite MVNO carrier that operates on T-Mobile's network. Along with super-affordable pricing, you also get 5G mobile hotspot data as well. Check out how Mint Mobile's unlimited plan compares what T-Mobile offers:

T-Mobile/Mint Mobile’s coverage gets much more spotty as you venture out into the more rural areas of the country. For folks who spend a lot of time in the great outdoors, you might run into dead spots on T-Mobile’s network

If you hail from the great states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, or Nebraska we would say to avoid Mint Mobile altogether. You’re bound to run into dead zones frequently, and that’s annoying.

AT&T's network pulls ahead of T-Mobile in terms of 4G coverage at 68% and is actually close behind Verizon. AT&T's 5G coverage also comes in second at 29%, right behind T-Mobile. You can get access to AT&T's network for a much cheaper price on Red Pocket.

As it stands right now, AT&T's 4G network covers 68% of the country, and AT&T users report enjoying reliable coverage 92.9% of the time.¹ It’s about a 1–2% coverage drop from Verizon to AT&T, making the coverage difference virtually unrecognizable for most of the country. The difference between the two providers basically comes down to rural coverage. Verizon covers a few more remote areas that AT&T does not, but the coverage should generally feel the same in the vast majority of the country.

AT&T users average 38.2 Mbps download speeds. It's a few notches above Verizon (31.3) and quite a few notches below what T-Mobile (79.5 Mbps) offer, but AT&T's data speeds are still pretty reliable. I'm an active AT&T user and very rarely encounter dead spots with my data speeds. For reference, here are the average download speeds across the three major wireless networks.

With an average download speed of 38.2 Mbps, you should have no problem pulling up YouTube streams, Twitter videos, or Instagram stories. You should also be able to download apps without a problem.

Red Pocket is our pick for the most budget-friendly MVNO carrier on AT&T's network. You won't find an unlimited data plan with Red Pocket, but you can get a 100 GB data plan for $50/month, which is basically like an unlimited plan. It's also cheaper than basically any comparable AT&T plan:

Most of the country is covered, but you should still look at AT&T’s coverage map. For example, if you live in Idaho or Montana, you should really double-check the coverage map and make sure where you live is covered. 

If you pick the provider with the best 4G coverage (Verizon), you have to cope with its higher-than-average price. In other words, you pay for what you get and you get what you pay for.

To recap, here are the rankings for best 4G and 5G coverage providers in the country:

Best 4G cell phone coverage by carrier

1. Verizon: 70% 4G coverage
2. AT&T: 68% 4G coverage
3. T-Mobile: 62% 4G coverage

Best 5G cell phone coverage by carrier

1. T-Mobile: 53% 5G coverage
2. AT&T: 29% 5G coverage
3. Verizon: 12% 5G coverage

Whether you live in a rural area or a more urban area, coverage is a big deal. You never know when you’ll need to get a text out or make a call. Just think how many horror movies could’ve been prevented with good coverage.

Hands-on Testing

While we couldn't road trip and test every network in every corner of the country, we performed as coverage tests in as many areas as possible. To inform this article, we performed coverage tests in rural and metropolitan areas of California, Utah, Florida, Arizona, and Texas.

To perform coverage tests, we would make phone calls, send texts, and try to stream YouTube videos from smart devices.

Proprietary Data

The most helpful data resource comes from our proprietary speed test. Millions of users have used our speed test tool to measure wireless performance, and we can track results, carrier used, and the location where the speed test was performed. We can then use that data to get a strong sense of user experience in terms of coverage for many different areas of the country.

Key Metrics

In our methodology, we assign weights to various metrics based on their importance in determining network quality. These metrics may include:

Coverage: Extent and reliability of network coverage across different geographical areas.
Speed: Data speed performance for both uploads and downloads.
Call Quality: Clarity, connectivity, and consistency of voice calls.
Reliability: Network stability, minimal downtime, and fewer dropped calls.
Customer Satisfaction: User feedback, customer support, and overall satisfaction ratings. Social media and Reddit are in invaluable resource for anecdotal user experiences with different carriers.

Online Research

We scour reputable technology websites, industry reports, customer reviews, and social media platforms (Reddit, Twitter) to gather insights on the performance and reputation of each network. In particular, OpenSignal, WhistleOut, and carrier websites have provided excellent insight.

Whether you live in a rural area or a more urban area, coverage is a big deal. You never know when you’ll need to get a text out or make a call. Just think how many horror movies could’ve been prevented with good coverage.

How has your experience been with these providers? Any horror stories or tales of redemption? Let us know in the comments below!

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