Boost Mobile’s prepaid plans offers great value, with a wide variety of features at a low price. However, that comes with a couple of caveats.
Boost runs on Sprint’s network, which ranks third out of the Big Four (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile) in overall performance, according to the latest RootMetrics report. Also, you probably can’t bring your old phone to Boost. It’s fairly strict about the kinds of phones allowed on its network, and its hardware isn’t compatible with all handsets.
Boost Mobile makes sense if you already have a Boost phone or another compatible phone from Sprint. Also, if you live in a metropolitan area, where Sprint’s LTE coverage has recently improved, Boost might be worth a look, as its current promotions give savvy customers great value.
AT A Glance
- Plans start at $35 per month for 2GB of data
- Strengths: Strong slate of features for affordable price
- Weaknesses: Network performance not the most robust; probably can’t bring your own phone
Boost Mobile cell phone plans
Boost Mobile offers three basic plans, all with unlimited calling and texting. The only variable is the high-speed data: 2GB, 5GB or unlimited. (Like most “unlimited” data plans, Boost’s unlimited plan offers unthrottled data only up to a point, in this case 23GB per month. That’s more than most people will ever need, though.) Boost doesn’t charge you for running over your high-speed data allotment; you’ll just be bumped down to 2G speeds for the rest of the billing cycle.
With all three plans you can stream music from Pandora, iHeartRadio, Slacker Radio, Milk Music and 8tracks without eating into your data allotment. Also included: You can use your phone as a Wi-Fi hot spot (only up to 8GB on the unlimited plan) for connected devices, like your laptop or tablet. Boost allows incoming calls and texts for 60 days after a missed payment.
Boost Mobile’s plans:
- 2GB: $35
- 5GB: $45
- Unlimited: $60
Boost Mobile’s network
Boost is owned by Sprint and operates on its network. Sprint confirms that Boost Mobile customers receive the same service and data priority as Sprint customers. That’s good news for Boost users, as the smaller operators that share network space with the Big Four are sometimes deprioritzed.
However, Sprint’s network, while improving, doesn’t match up to Verizon’s or AT&T’s. Its overall performance ranked behind those two companies, according to RootMetrics, though it finished ahead of T-Mobile.
In one recent Consumer Reports survey, customers rated Boost Mobile’s voice, text and data reliability higher than Sprint’s. In overall customer satisfaction, Consumer Report’s aggregate score, Sprint’s prepaid service ranked dead last out of 13 prepaid providers. Boost ranked ninth, with customer’s rating it particularly well on “value for money.” (You can check Boost Mobile’s coverage here.)
Where to buy Boost Mobile
You can buy Boost Mobile-compatible phones at Best Buy, Target, RadioShack and Wal-Mart, or on Boost’s site. There’s also most likely an independent cell phone store near you that sells Boost phones. You can add credit to your account at any 7-Eleven, Walgreens or CVS.
Boost will not activate unlocked phones from other carriers, but it does allow use of a particular set of Sprint phones, including the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6.
Current Boost Mobile deals
As of this writing, Boost is offering a “grow your data” deal. For every three on-time bill payments you make, Boost adds 500MB of data to your plan, up to an additional 3GB after 18 on-time payments. That means you could start out with the 2GB plan, make every payment on-time for 18 months, and end up with 5GB of data for $35 per month.
If you’re switching over from Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile, Boost is offering a family plan deal: two lines of unlimited talk and text with 10GB of data per line at $60 per month. If you’re switching from MetroPCS or Cricket, Boost is offering its standard family plan pricing, but with 10GB of data per line.
How Boost Mobile compares on price
Boost is competitive on price, especially among prepaid plans offering 5GB to 6GB of data. It’s also one of the few prepaid carriers with an unlimited plan, and a cheaply priced one at that.
With the current “grow your data” promotion, you can get great returns for on-time payments. For example, if you set up one of the basic 2GB plans with the autopay discount, you’ll get $5 off your monthly bill. After a year and a half of on-time payments, you’ll have earned an extra 3GB of data per month, meaning you’ll be paying $30 a month for unlimited talk and text with 5GB of data. That’s a great value.
How Boost Mobile compares on features
Boost is no slouch when it comes to features, including offering unlimited music streaming from certain apps without digging into data. That’s rare among the prepaid carriers.
Click the image to see in more detail how Boost Mobile stacks up on features. Asterisks indicate features available for an additional charge.
Autopay discount: Boost offers $5 off its basic plans if you set up your credit or debit card to automatically pay your bill.
Family plans: Boost currently has two tiers of family plans, both with unlimited talk and text: 1.5GB of data per line or 5GB of data per line. You can have up to four lines on one plan, ranging from $70 per month for two lines with 1.5GB each, to $120 for four lines with 5GB each. There are multiple ways to set up your family plan, but ultimately you’ll be paying anywhere from $25 to $35 per line, per month.
Unlimited 2G: After running out of your monthly high-speed data, Boost allows unlimited 2G data until the end of your billing cycle at no extra cost. However, 2G is much, much slower than the new 4G LTE being rolled out across the country. Uploading 30 pictures on 2G takes around 20 minutes, versus a minute on 4G LTE.
Unlimited music streaming: Boost allows music streaming from Pandora, iHeartRadio, Slacker Radio, Milk Music and 8tracks without eating into your monthly data.
International calls/texts: For an extra $5 per month, you can get unlimited calling and texting to Mexico and Canada. For $10 a month you get unlimited calling to Mexico and Canada, unlimited calls to certain international landlines, and a bucket of minutes for calling certain countries’ mobile phones. Boost also sells bundles of minutes solely for calling an individual country.
Mobile hot spot: You can use your phone as a Wi-Fi hot spot to connect other devices to the Internet. Bear in mind that any Wi-Fi hot spot use comes out of your monthly data allotment, and that the unlimited plan only allows 8GB of hot spot data.
The bottom line
Boost already offers low prices relative to its competition and adds several attractive features, such as mobile hot spot capability and unlimited music streaming.
However, you’ll probably have to purchase a new phone, and you might run into problems with Sprint’s network. Ask other people in your area if they like their Sprint coverage. If so, Boost is a tempting option if you’re light on money but heavy on data use.
Stephen Layton is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: slayton@nerdwallet.com.
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