AT&T iPhone vs. Verizon iPhone Speed Test: Which Is Faster?

Verizon customers spent months waiting for Apple's iPhone to become available on "Big Red's" network, and now that it's here, they're still waiting: according to new research from Ookla, transfer rates on AT&T's iPhone are about twice as fast as they are on the Verizon iPhone.

Wired describes the findings from Ookla's speed test:

The AT&T iPhone's average download speed was 1,769 Kbps, and the average upload speed was 730 Kbps. By way of comparison, the Verizon iPhone's average download speed was 848 Kbps, and the average upload speed was 506 Kbps.

The results come from 43,000 AT&T iPhones and 14,000 Verizon iPhones all over the United States. Most Speedtest.net app users ran the tests multiple times, totaling 106,000 results from AT&T iPhone users and 49,000 results from Verizon iPhone users.

Speed is only one metric by which to measure a network, however, and Ookla did not examine dropped calls or comprehensiveness of coverage in comparing the two carriers.

Numerous reviewers have noted that service on the Verizon iPhone appears to be far more reliable than AT&T's, with users experiencing fewer dropped calls.

"[T]he Verizon iPhone is nearly the same as AT&T's iPhone 4 -- but it doesn't drop calls," wrote the New York Times' David Pogue in a review. "For several million Americans, that makes it the holy grail."

We want to hear from you: which iPhone is faster, in your experience? What are the other differences you've noticed between the Verizon iPhone and the AT&T iPhone?

Quick Poll

In your experience, which is faster?

Verizon's iPhone

AT&T's iPhone

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Comments

[Adam Story]

12:45 PM on 02/22/2011

My Dad has a Verizon iPhone and I have an AT&T one. I also used Speedtest.net and my results over about 20 test were very similar to the ones reported. Some notes, however: AT&T was not nearly as consistent, I would either get a really high download speed or a super slow one. Verizon was steadily at around .800 Mbps. They were identical on wifi.

Mostly, performance depends on where you live. If you live in either a rural area or very large city, go with Verizon, because the Death Star does not have 3G in rural areas, and they can't handle the large crowds in cities. If you live in suburbia or a smaller city, AT&T should work just as well if not better.

[Etropalld]

07:29 PM on 02/21/2011

The phones are the same. The service is different. Stupid question.

[kaoshotbeatz]

06:09 PM on 02/21/2011

yea they both r bad my wifes iphone blew up look at this i posted it on the inter net so apple see whats there putting out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAmURtauN-o

[Tory Jhons]

07:37 AM on 02/21/2011

now we are really appreciate for this one this comes with new features.

http://www.cellhub.com/t-mobile-cell-phones/samsung-galaxy-s-4g-black.html

Samsung Galaxy S 4G

[kaoshotbeatz]

06:09 PM on 02/21/2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAmURtauN-o
watch this apple blows up

[Terrence Tang]

04:23 AM on 02/21/2011

this's good

[MaxPowerXP]

11:39 PM on 02/20/2011

Faster speeds don't mean much when you don't get good reception to begin with.

[King Cashaw]

09:39 PM on 02/20/2011

Speed, not sure of, but when it comes to coverage, AT&T wins for me. Ask my brother in law, who uses Verizon. He purchased iPhone from Verizon Saturday, and plans to return, and cancel Monday. He is switching to AT&T.

[westbygoddoug]

08:18 PM on 02/20/2011

In Kentucky and Indiana I have found Verizon to be far superior to AT&T. It isn't even close.

[Adam Story]

12:47 PM on 02/22/2011

In Paducah, Hopkinsville, Louisville, and Lexington, I prefer AT&T, as long as you aren't at a Cat's (AT&T crashes in arenas and stadiums). Everywhere else, Verizon's better.

[Henry Hudson]

07:50 PM on 02/20/2011

The question we should ask is why do we pay 50% more for our wireless services then everybody else in western countries and why can't we buy our own phone and choose the service we want??

[rjhuntington]

06:03 AM on 02/21/2011

"...why do [Americans] pay 50% more for our wireless services then everybody else in western countries and why can't we buy our own phone and choose the service we want?"

It's the US-corporatism government-protected monopoly system. In the United States' Fascistic Capitalism economic model, corporate interests and profits trump the needs, interests, and safety of the people and the environment.

[Socalman]

07:27 PM on 02/20/2011

I don't own an iPhone right now, but I am planning on one the instant my current AT&T contract is up. I have had such terrible voice service from AT&T in the LA/OC area that I am the joke of people I talk to. They comment that AT&T phones have a 2-minute timer in them. No call can last longer than that! So when my contract is up, Verizon gets a new iPhone customer, because based on my experience with AT&T I will not pay a premium to not be able to use the network!!

[shirleyfeeney]

01:54 AM on 02/21/2011

My parents have a place up in Big Bear and they get great service on Verizon. I have relatives in the sticks back east and they're all on Verizon too, as is one of my siblings in a remote NorCal area. You can't beat the service. I've been with them for about 15 years, and wouldn't leave just for the iPhone. Instead, I waited patiently for it to come to me ;)

[Waterphoneman]

07:01 PM on 02/20/2011

Dropped calls on AT&T? That has never happened to me on my IPhone 4.

[Sue Harbison]

08:47 AM on 02/21/2011

I was thinking the same thing. I've NEVER had a dropped call on my AT&T IPhone 4. Perhaps it's a geographical thing.

[endearingnoises]

12:44 AM on 02/22/2011

These articles are always frustrating for that very reason. Two people could be arguing about which company offers better service and they could both be right because they live in different places. I've been forced to switch back and forth between ATT and Verizon twice now just because I moved to areas where one had awful service and the other had great service. It goes both ways

[VapeGirl]

03:26 PM on 02/20/2011

Which is faster? Neither. Samsung Fascinate for the win! That is until Thunderbolt is released with Froyo. ^_^

[matsrg]

02:08 PM on 02/20/2011

Its amazing how it can differ in general between the 2 operators. Does it not depend on the actual geo location?
http://myiphone.se

[onlythetruthcounts]

01:47 PM on 02/20/2011

New iPhones in June. Just reminding potential buyers...

[shirleyfeeney]

01:55 AM on 02/21/2011

yes, we know, and there's no word on if AT&T is getting it exclusively or if Verizon is getting it, or both.