This story has been updated to include response from Verizon.

Verizon debuted a prepaid mobile broadband plan that is twice as expensive as Virgin Mobile’s recently-launched unlimited prepaid broadband plan.

Verizon’s prepaid mobile broadband plan costs $80 for 5GB over the span of 30 days, twice as much as Virgin Mobile’s $40 unlimited plan and about  $20 more than Sprint’s postpaid 5GB mobile broadband plan.

The prepaid plan is also more expensive than Verizon’s postpaid 5GB mobile broadband plan, which costs $59.99. A Verizon spokesoman said the company’s prepaid plans “tend to be a little higher than contract or post paid plans but customers benefit from not having to sign a contract or commit to a plan longer than the intended use.”

Virgin Mobile’s new $40 prepaid mobile broadband plan became available today after running into an unidentified snag yesterday. The prepaid carrier, which is owned by Sprint, also offers a $10 prepaid mobile broadband plan that provides 100MB of data for 10 days.