Visible may offer one of the cheapest cell phone plans, but some may find it difficult to commit to wireless phone service outside of a major phone carrier. Even if Visible is part of Verizon and uses the parent company's cell towers to provide service.

So Visible is offering a free trial that allows you to use Visible as your phone provider for 15 days. And you don't have to give up your current cell phone.

Under Visible's free trial program, which begins today (January 6), carriers will distribute trial phone numbers to potential customers who have an eligible device and sign up through Visible's website. This allows them to continue to use their existing cell phone and their phone number alongside the Visible trial phone number.

After 15 days, if you decide that Visible is the right phone service for you, you can keep that phone number or port your existing phone number. Alternatively, you may unsubscribe from Visible.

A potential obstacle for some people taking advantage of Visible's free trial is the requirement that they have an eligible device. Currently, only the iPhone XR and later Apple phones (including the 2020 iPhone SE) are eligible to try Visible's service; Android devices are not currently eligible to try the service (although Visible does support Android devices (although Visible does support Android devices in its regular service).

Visible is particularly attractive as a phone service because its single plan offers unlimited data for $40 per line per month. This is a fraction of what you would pay for an unlimited data plan from a major carrier like Visible's parent company Verizon, whose unlimited data plans start at $70 per month.

Adding additional lines lowers the cost per line of Visible service: a four-line account costs $100 per month, or $25 per line; Visible's multi-line accounts are open to family members as well as friends living at different addresses.

I tried Visible's service both to test the phone on Verizon's cellular network and to review Visible itself. I found that, in general, Visible's service was comparable to what I could get from the major carriers, although download speeds could lag behind what Verizon customers might experience in the same area during periods of congestion.

Of course, you don't have to take my word for it, as a free trial of Visible is being offered.

Visible is a Verizon MVNO (virtual mobile network operator); MVNOs use another carrier's towers (in this case, Verizon's towers) to provide cellular service. This also means that Visible customers can use Verizon's 5G service if they live in an area where 5G is available and have a compatible cell phone.