Does Verizon Own Straight Talk? (All You Need To Know)

Do you have a Straight Talk wireless plan and are wondering if Verizon owns the company?

If so, you can learn all you need to know about Verizon, and whether the cell phone giant owns Straight Talk, if you keep reading through this article!

Does Verizon Own Straight Talk In 2024?

Verizon acquired Straight Talk when it purchased Tracfone in a deal with more than $6 billion. In the acquisition, Verizon has acquired all brands that are a subsidiary of Tracfone, such as Straight Talk and other Walmart brands as of 2024. However, Verizon has better coverage, customer service, and download speeds when compared to Straight Talk.

Do you want to learn more details about Straight Talk and Verizon? If so, continue reading below for more useful information!

Is Straight Talk Being Bought Out by Verizon?

Straight Talk has officially acquired Tracfone and the brands within Tracfone, including Straight Talk.

Additionally, even though Verizon acquired Tracfone, Straight Talk, Simple Mobile, Net10, and other brands under the Tracfone family, Straight Talk will still be offered as a standalone service.

Does Straight Talk Have the Same Coverage as Verizon?

Straight Talk has almost the same coverage as Verizon, especially if you’re using a Verizon phone with Straight Talk, but that’s not always the case.

Most Straight Talk users are primarily on the Verizon network, which means they will have identical coverage as those just using Verizon.

However, if you’re using Straight Talk with another phone, such as AT&T, the coverage won’t be quite as good as if you were using Verizon.

Is Straight Talk as Big as Verizon?

Straight Talk is not nearly as big as Verizon, but it has 9.3 million subscribers, which does make it the largest MVNO within the United States and beats all other Tracfone brands combined.

However, Verizon Wireless has 121.3 million subscribers, which is a significantly higher number than Straight Talk.

Despite the fact that Verizon has lost a portion of subscribers in the past few years.

Verizon’s revenue for 2020 was $128.292 billion, whereas Straight Talk revenue is around $117 million.

Overall, there is a huge difference between both companies when looking at revenue and subscriber counts.

Nevertheless, with Straight Talk being acquired by Verizon through the Tracfone deal, Straight Talk’s revenue is likely to increase and gain more subscribers in 2024.

Is Straight Talk Better Than Verizon?

Straight Talk is not nearly as good as Verizon, and it’s not better than Verizon overall unless you have poor credit and need a prepaid cell phone.

Those with poor credit are going to have higher contract fees at Verizon, which is a drawback when compared with Straight Talk.

Furthermore, Verizon offers better customer service than Straight Talk, even though it’s not quite as fast.

Both Straight Talk and Verizon use 4G LTE technology and most people that have Straight Talk run on the Verizon network.

Therefore, while both services are similar, Verizon remains significantly better.

Straight Talk will get 31.1 Mbps download speeds and 15.6 Mbps upload speeds.

Whereas Verizon regularly has download speeds of 53.3 Mbps and upload speeds of 17.5 Mbps.

What’s the Difference Between Verizon and Straight Talk?

Verizon and Straight Talk differences are found mostly within the price of the plans and the features you get with each.

Furthermore, Verizon plans are more expensive and start at around $80 per month, whereas Straight Talk has plans as low as $35 per month.

Straight Talk is a prepaid cell phone, so you don’t have to worry about a credit check as you do with Verizon, which is better for low-income households.

On top of that, Verizon has hidden fees that Straight Talk doesn’t have.

Plus, Straight Talk also has multiple add-on options, is easily accessible at Walmart, and offers no activation fees.

Does Straight Talk Run-Off Verizon Towers?

Straight Talk does run off Verizon towers if you’ve chosen to use the Verizon network, but it can run off T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint towers as well.

Since Straight Talk is a mobile virtual network operator, which is known as MVNO, it can work on any of the four major networks and use those towers accordingly.

However, it’s unclear at this point what the acquisition by Verizon will do to Straight Talk in the future, and if the acquisition will require Straight Talk to run exclusively on Verizon towers.

What Networks Do Verizon and Straight Talk Use?

Verizon only runs on its company network, while Straight Talk can run on Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, or Sprint networks.

Since Straight Talk is a mobile virtual network operator, it doesn’t have a network of its own, which is what makes MVNO different from brands like Sprint or Verizon.

However, most Straight Talk customers run on the Verizon network since it offers better coverage, although in some locations AT&T runs smoother.

To know more about Verizon, you can also check our posts on whether or not Verizon owns Sprint, if Verizon owns Comcast, and if Verizon is compatible with Straight Talk.

Conclusion

Verizon acquired Tracfone in a huge multi-billion dollar deal, and in turn acquired Straight Talk, which is a subsidiary of Tracfone.

Straight Talk is significantly smaller than Verizon, although it offers more affordable cell phone options for those with poor credit.

However, Verizon has better customer service and download speeds, even though Straight Talk primarily runs on the Verizon network.