# Google Fi Beats TextNow and Visible in a 30-Day Test of Cheap Unlimited Plans
Three carriers, three unlimited plans, all within a few dollars of each other — and after a month of living with the newest of the three, Tom’s Guide has a clear winner. The test put TextNow’s $35.99-a-month unlimited plan through 30 days of real use and stacked it against the two budget names it has to beat: Google Fi’s $35 Unlimited Essentials and Visible’s Visible+ Pro.
The headline result is simple: at the same monthly price, Google Fi gives you the better package. But the details are where the three plans actually separate, and TextNow still has a couple of tricks the other two don’t.
## The three plans, side by side
TextNow’s paid unlimited plan costs $35.99 a month and includes 20GB of high-speed data before speeds drop to 500 kbps. Google Fi’s Unlimited Essentials costs $35 a month with 30GB of high-speed data, slowing to 256 kbps after that. Visible+ Pro is the priciest of the three at $45 a month standard — the $39 figure floating around is a promo-code price (HOLIDAYHACK) that locks in for five years — but it is the only one with truly unlimited premium data, slowing only to 1.5 Mbps for heavy users during congestion.
All three include unlimited calls and texts and 5G Ultra Wideband. The gaps show up in the extras: Visible+ Pro includes a mobile hotspot, smartwatch data and calls, texts and 2GB of data in Canada and Mexico. Google Fi includes smartwatch data but no hotspot on the Essentials tier. TextNow includes neither.
## What 30 days on TextNow actually felt like
The setup was the first surprise. Switching carriers by eSIM is usually a chore, but TextNow’s took minutes: download the app, sign in, enter the phone’s IMEI, and the eSIM profile arrived shortly after. The reviewer moved the same line across three phones during the test without a repeat of the usual support-call saga — a sharp contrast with Visible, where a device swap once cost him hours with support. Google Fi, for the record, was just as smooth.
Speeds were the second surprise, and a more mixed one. TextNow averaged around 80 Mbps down and 4 Mbps up — fast enough for Instagram and TikTok reels on the commute with no buffering, but well short of the roughly 200 Mbps the same reviewer measured on Google Fi over ultra-wideband. For a mostly-on-Wi-Fi user, 20GB of full-speed data is plenty. For a heavy user, it is a ceiling you will feel.
The biggest adjustment is that everything runs through the TextNow app. Calls and texts live inside it, with default-app permissions set during setup. On Android that was a minor change, and the paid tier removes the intrusive ads from TextNow’s free tier. The messaging client handles GIFs, stickers, video and emoji reactions. What you don’t get is a hotspot or smartwatch connectivity — although the reviewer did manage to switch the hotspot on and use it in a pinch, with no throttling or shutdown during the month. Treat that as a lucky break, not a feature: the carrier could crack down on unauthorized tethering at any time.
## Where Google Fi pulls ahead
At the same $35 a month, Fi simply packs more in: 10GB more high-speed data, faster measured speeds, free smartwatch data, and its dual-network “Super Network” switching, which hops between networks to patch dead zones. Add the frictionless eSIM setup and there is very little to argue with.
Visible+ Pro is the pick if you want everything — hotspot, smartwatch data, international perks — and don’t mind paying $45 a month for it (or $39 with the promo code). TextNow’s case is narrower but real: the $8.99-a-week option is genuinely useful if you only need service for a short stretch, and the free ad-supported tier still works as an emergency backup when your main carrier goes down.
> **The Bit Take:** Three plans, one price band, three different answers. Google Fi wins the everyday pick because it gives you the most for the same $35. Visible+ Pro is the right splurge if hotspot and travel perks matter to you. And TextNow? It’s the best backup plan in the bunch — cheap, flexible by the week, and free when you need nothing at all. Just don’t buy it expecting it to be your only line unless you live on Wi-Fi.
**Sources:** Tom’s Guide, “I’ve tested TextNow, Google Fi, and Visible — here’s the unlimited cell phone plan I recommend” (2026-11-12); US Mobile, “Best Unlimited Data Plans November 2026 Edition” (prices checked November 3, 2026); TextNow, “Best Affordable Unlimited Data Plans, Starting at $0” (prices checked November 2, 2026).
