Be aware that the "coverage" lies in the advertising for different services may not be particularly accurate. The same is true for "wireless" computer hookups. Asking the neighbors what works in the area where you need a phone is a good idea, but be aware that most users don't have a foggy clue about what they're actually using so apply many grains of salt in liberal fashion.
I don't know what policies are at Derision Verison but the business touts advise that many "subscription" phone services may want more for their "early termination charge" than what it will cost to run out the contract, and some "automatically extend" the contract to "new" (starting over from the time of the call) if you call them to ask what their policies are.
Our "first need" for cellular phones was at our annual festival in Winfield, KS. The first year there, the phone I got worked "sometimes" and the different branded one that Lin got worked "hardly at all." Back at home, hers worked pretty well but mine was the "nevernever" kind.
A couple of years later, connections at the festival (Winfield KS) improved some, but a flood chased lots of people to Oxford - 20 miles down the highway and all (we had 3 by then) our phones were useless in Oxford. Another 20 miles in the same direction, to Wellington, they all worked pretty well.
We're now living where both the prepaid phones work, but my son's $600 smartphone with the exhorbitant "subscription" service is close to useless, but it's necessary for him because it's the only service that doesn't charge HUGE "roaming fees" (he claims one bill was $30/minute on a previous service) when he trucks into Canada.
IF ONE WORKS where you need to use it, a "prepaid" phone is probably the cheapest - and safest for avoiding hidden "gotchas." $20 or $30 dollars gets you a "serviceable" phone, and you'll likely need a $20 "time card" to get turned on. For ours, you buy a $20 card "almost anywhere" and punch in the code to get 60 minutes and 90 days. With the ones we're using now, as long as you plug in a new card within the 90 days, you get a new 90 days from the time when you add it, but the minutes are added to what's left of the previous balance. (We're using TracFone service, and others vary.)
One of the phones (a Motorola) came with a "double minutes for life" deal, so the $20 card got 120 minutes and 180 days, and the calendar time extends from the old "expiration" instead of restarting when you add a card. Usage on that one ran up the calendar time quite a bit, but depleted "minutes;" so I had to add another $20 last September, and today the phone says I've still got 100 days and 141 minutes left.
For a while, TracFone sold a "double minutes card" that you could install like a regular one and get the double credit on any of their phones for any subsequent cards - forever or until you install some other special offer. It appears that if you take a "one-shot" extra time offer that they advertise frequently it may "void" the "double time card" - forever.
My Motorola/TracFone was getting better reception than Lin's Nokia/TracFone so we got her a newer Motorola (also TracFone) and put a double-time card on it. She uses hers a lot more than I do, but hasn't exceeded about $20 per three - or more - months.
I don't know if TracFone still offers the double-minutes card, or whether any other providers have anything similar. Note that the same phone or card, that looks like another one, may have different "terms of service" and they can change at any time, so you do have to read the fine print before you buy. We haven't noticed any significant changes in our phones/service so the ones we're using appear to "grandfather" the terms in effect at purchase time as long as you keep connected. I can't say that other providers will do the same, or that our service won't change.
Some cards show your balance in cash value rather than minutes, and may show an "expiration date" rather than "days remaining. How much you get for an amount of cash varies some with the service, but I haven't seen any that were too far from what we've paid (other than our double-time bonus).
One advantage of the prepaids is that there's never an "early termination charge." If you let the calendar run out, it quits working. You can "reactivate" nearly all of them by loading another $20 card, but you usually are assigned a new phone number. Some let you request your old number, but if it's been very long since you let it lapse the number probably belongs to somebody else.
IF YOU LET PEOPLE send you text messages, and sign up for recording of missed-call messages, the charges can be a maze to figure out, and appear to eat up what you've paid for a lot faster. We don't use those features so I can't quote any real numbers.
Note though that we have a landline phone (and DSL) at home, and an answering machine on the phone there. The main use we make of our cell phones other than during festivals is to find where she wandered off to at the supermarket. (She usually grabs a handicap scooter, so she's gone real quick and too short to be seen over the racks. When she forgets her phone, I just have follow the litter trail - or ask someone with a limp.) In different circumstances you may want a different deal.