Verizon 5G Home vs. AT&T Internet Air Compared

Max McCaskill Sr. Staff Writer

Updated 06 January 2025

In this guide:

Price and plans
Coverage and availability
Download speeds
Equipment and installation
Customer service
Recap

Verizon and AT&T now offer home internet service using their 5G wireless networks.

AT&T Internet Air and Verizon 5G Home Internet are alternative options for customers who can’t hook up to these providers’ physical fiber networks. Which is the best? Despite AT&T having a larger 5G network, Verizon 5G Home internet is generally available to more customers. This is because AT&T prefers to sign customers up for its slate of fiber plans and offers 5G home internet as a last resort. Verizon also takes the win for lower-priced bundles and faster top speeds.

Let's dive into these two internet services to see if 5G internet is right for you and which provider meets your needs.

Get to the point: Is Verizon 5G Home or AT&T Internet Air cheaper?

Both Verizon and AT&T’s plans start at $60/month, but Verizon 5G Home becomes much cheaper with a bundled wireless plan.

	AT&T Internet Air	Verizon 5G Home	Verizon 5G Home Plus
Price	$60/month	$60/month	$80/month
Price w/ wireless bundle	$48/month	$35/month	$45/month
Data	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Download speed	75–225Mbps	85–300Mbps	300–1,000Mbps
	View at AT&T	View at Verizon	View at Verizon

The similar starting costs of AT&T Internet Air and Verizon 5G Home likely won’t sway you to choose one service over the other. However, if you’re willing to bundle your wireless phone and internet bills with one carrier, you can score lower prices on Verizon’s and AT&T’s internet plans.

Verizon 5G Home Internet plans

Verizon offers two 5G internet plans with different pricing and speed tiers:

Verizon 5G Homefor $60/month
Verizon 5G Home Plus for $80/month

Verizon 5G Home starts at $60/month and offers download speeds from 85 to 300Mbps.

Verizon 5G Home Plus starts at $80/month and includes download speeds from 300 to 1,000Mbps. Not only does Verizon offer incredibly fast speeds, but customers also receive UHD 4K video streaming capabilities and a three-year price lock. Just note that you have to live in an area with a strong 5G connection to get the fastest speeds.

Verizon’s internet plans receive a significant discount when bundled with a wireless plan that includes 5G Ultra Wideband. Verizon has two phone plans with that feature: Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Ultimate.

Bundling Verizon 5G Home internet with either of those wireless plans drops the bill you’ll pay:

Verizon 5G Home lowers to $35/month
Verizon 5G Home Plus lowers to $45/month

Verizon	Verizon myPlan + 5G Home Mobile Broadband 100/10 Mbps Unlimited Data $35/mo with AutoPay and any Verizon mobile phone plan with AutoPay and any Verizon mobile phone plan View Plan	$35/mo with AutoPay and any Verizon mobile phone plan with AutoPay and any Verizon mobile phone plan	View Plan
Verizon	Verizon myPlan + 5G Home Plus Mobile Broadband 300/20 Mbps Unlimited Data $45/mo with AutoPay and any Verizon mobile phone plan with AutoPay and any Verizon mobile phone plan View Plan	$45/mo with AutoPay and any Verizon mobile phone plan with AutoPay and any Verizon mobile phone plan	View Plan
Verizon	Verizon 5G Home Mobile Broadband 100/10 Mbps Unlimited Data $50/mo with AutoPay with AutoPay View Plan	$50/mo with AutoPay with AutoPay	View Plan

AT&T Internet Air plans

AT&T offers just one 5G home internet plan: AT&T Internet Air. It starts at $60/month and includes unlimited data. The speeds range from 75Mbps to 225Mbps, which is fast enough for virtually any internet task including streaming movies, playing video games, or working remotely.

AT&T wireless customers with an eligible plan can snag a 20% discount:

Internet Air drops to $48/month

You can snag the discount with all of AT&T’s postpaid wireless plans:

Looking for a cheaper bundle? Try Visible wireless and Verizon internet

Visible is a smaller carrier offering two unlimited plans on Verizon’s lightning-fast 5G network. Visible is owned by Verizon, so these plans can also be bundled with Verizon 5G Home internet for a discount.

The cheapest one-line bundle from Verizon is Unlimited Plus and 5G Home for $115/month. Visible’s plans start at $25/month and include unlimited data, an unlimited mobile hotspot, and a $5/month internet discount. The standard Visible plan and 5G Home bundle would only cost $80 compared to Verizon’s $115/month bundle. You can save over $400 on a year of service.

Check out the Visible plan below or see our list of the best wireless and internet bundles.

Visible	Visible $25 Visible Plan Unlimited 4G LTE/5G data Verizon 5G Network in select areas with compatible devices Unlimited mobile hotspot data $25.00/mo Taxes & Fees included View Plan	$25.00/mo Taxes & Fees included	View Plan
Visible	Visible $35 Visible+ Plan Unlimited 5G Ultra Wideband and 4G LTE/ 5G speeds Verizon 5G Network in select areas with compatible devices Unlimited mobile hotspot data $35.00/mo Taxes & Fees included View Plan	$35.00/mo Taxes & Fees included	View Plan

Coverage and availability

Verizon 5G Home and AT&T Internet Air use each carrier’s 5G wireless network to provide internet service. That said, neither offers expansive coverage for their 5G internet. AT&T and Verizon have smaller 5G networks, so coverage is mainly limited to urban areas and select cities.

Verizon 5G Home coverage map

Verizon 5G Home internet map. — Each red dot is a city with 5G Home Internet coverage.
Image credit: Verizon.

Verizon’s 5G coverage is the smallest of any major carrier operating in just 12% of the country. The 5G coverage centers around urban areas, meaning much of the nation’s population will have access to Verizon 5G. Once you leave a city, you’ll likely drop to Verizon’s 4G LTE network instead.

These coverage gaps mean Verizon 5G Home internet is only available to customers living in cities with extremely strong Verizon’s 5G infrastructure.

AT&T Internet Air coverage map

AT&T’s Internet Air service is also limited. AT&T has the nation’s second-largest 5G network, but the carrier does not extend internet service throughout its coverage area. AT&T primarily offers fiber internet plans. Its 5G internet plan essentially serves households who can’t hook up to its ultra-fast fiber network.

Despite AT&T having a larger 5G network than Verizon, most customers will have an easier time joining Verizon’s service.

Is Fiber better than 5G internet?

Yes, AT&T’s and Verizon’s fiber internet plans are better than 5G home internet. Fiber internet is more reliable and offers faster speeds than 5G wireless internet. Even better, the cheapest fiber plans offer faster download speeds than AT&T Internet Air—and Verizon 5G Home—for around the same cost.

In fact, two WhistleOut staffers have AT&T fiber and absolutely love it. Hop over to our AT&T internet review to read about their experiences in detail.

Download speeds

Both internet services include truly unlimited data and offer similar speed ranges:

Verizon 5G Home ranges from 80–300Mbps
Verizon 5G Home Plus ranges from 300–1,000Mbps
AT&T Internet Air ranges from 75–225Mbps.

Verizon’s top plan has the fastest speeds of any 5G internet plan and even rivals offerings from some cable and fiber internet plans. Peak download speeds of 1,000Mbps will let you do virtually any internet task from playing competitive video games to 4K streaming. AT&T’s speeds are not exactly slow, but you’ll probably have a better experience with Verizon (if your coverage is strong).

Note your individual experience with both services will depend on where you live. You may not have access to the fastest internet speeds if you don’t live near an ultra-wideband 5G tower.

If you already have a phone plan with AT&T or Verizon, testing your data speeds can give you a good idea of how fast 5G internet may be in your home. Try out our speed test below:

Internet Speed Test

Is your internet fast enough? Test internet speeds at your location with a single click.

Equipment and installation

Both AT&T and Verizon include free 5G wireless gateways as part of their plans. Neither piece of equipment stands out as better than the other.

Installation is also easy. It’s a self-install process, so there’s no need to schedule an appointment with a service technician. Simply plug the gateway in and it will automatically connect to the 5G network. You may need to try it in several locations in your home to find the strongest signal, but you won’t need to worry about the gateway facing a certain direction—like with satellite internet dishes.

Customer service

As massive telecom companies, AT&T and Verizon have several options for customer service including phone numbers, live online chat, and support sites. That said, just because there are multiple options doesn’t mean customers love the customer service.

Many customers complain about both provider’s customer service. AT&T’s customer service has a rating of 1.3 on TrustPilot with most customers complaining about wait times. Verizon’s customer service has a rating of 1.2 on TrustPilot. While wait time was an issue, many customers also complained about their difficulties connecting to a human agent instead of a robot. Pro tip: We have a Verizon customer service guide to help you avoid that problem.

Verizon 5G Home Internet customer service

Verizon online troubleshooting
Live chat through the Verizon website
Phone support at 1-800-837-4966

AT&T Internet Air customer service

AT&T online troubleshooting

Live chat through the AT&T website
Phone support at 1-800-288-2020

Recap: Verizon 5G Home Internet is best

When compared with AT&T, we rank Verizon 5G Home Internet as the best option for wireless internet service. Although neither is widely available, you’re more likely to find a plan with Verizon. It also offers faster speeds and a deeper bundled discount.

AT&T Internet Air is still a solid option if you can’t join Verizon's plans. Overall, AT&T Internet Air has more limited availability, and many customers won’t be able to purchase a plan. If you’re already an AT&T wireless customer and live in an area where its 5G home internet is available, you can trust it’s an excellent choice for internet service—but also check for AT&T fiber, which gives you faster speeds and more reliable service than 5G wireless.

Max McCaskill

Sr. Staff Writer

Max is a Senior Staff Writer at WhistleOut, specializing in mobile plans, operating systems, and carrier news. He regularly tests and reviews dozens of phone plans firsthand, evaluating real-world data speeds, coverage reliability, and plan features. He's been featured in publications such as Yahoo Finance, AARP, AP News, and GoBankingRates.

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