The paid service with NetZero runs $10 a month for 500MB, $20 per month for 1GB, $35 a month for 2GB, and $50 a month for 4GB. There are no overage fees with NetZero because the service simply stops working when you max out your allotted bandwidth.

Verizon 4G Jetpack

The Verizon JetPack is the only one of these three options, which can be acquired cheaper by subsidizing it through a two-year commitment to a Verizon data plan. If you buy it with a contract, it's only $70, but we're going to compare it based on the no-contract price of $270.

The Verizon Jetpack 4G LTE (also known as the MiFi 4510L) only allows five simultaneous Wi-Fi connections like the iPad, and it has the lowest endurance of the three with an estimated five hours of hotspot time on a full charge.

As with the Verizon 4G iPad, you have to get a 5GB data plan for $50 per month to share the data connection. If you go over the 5GB, each additional 1GB costs another $10.