Boost Mobile Review 2021

Boost Mobile is one of the OG discount phone providers, but it stays  relevant with powerful data plans and awesome perks like free hotspot data and 5G network capability.

The biggest issue that Boost has is its pricing. Its plans are more expensive than many other mobile virtual network operators’ (or MVNOs).

Read on to figure out if Boost is worth the cost, or if there's a better phone plan out there for you.

Unlike many other MVNO carriers that specialize in a specific sort of plan, Boost Mobile does a little bit of everything. It has affordable limited data plans, powerful unlimited plans, and several super-cheap talk and text plans to choose from. Here’s everything you need to know.

Let’s start with the roses (we’ll get to the thorns in a second). Here are the things that make Boost Mobile great.

If you want a simple, well-rounded plan that gives you unlimited talk and text, plus some data, then Boost has a great spread of options. The carrier has 2G, 5G, and 10 GB options (learn more about how much data you need in our article). 

While 2G won’t be enough for a lot of people, and the 10 GB plan has a pretty steep price (you can get unlimited data from Mint Mobile for less), we really like the middle-of-the-road 5 GB plan for $25. It’s a reasonable amount of data at a totally reasonable price.

Boost Mobile is all about giving you options. In this spirit, the carrier offers two unlimited data plans. One costs $50 and the other costs $60. So, what’s the difference? Really, it comes down to hotspot data and other perks.

The $50 plan from Boost Mobile gives you unlimited talk, text, and data, and 12 GB of hotspot data. The $60 plan gets you an extra 18 GB of hotspot data (for 30 GB total) and unlimited high-definition video streaming.

In our opinion, the perks aren’t quite worth the extra $10, making the $50 plan a better deal for most customers.

As we mentioned above, Boost Mobile actually uses T-Mobile’s network. We’ll talk more about coverage and network performance below, but here we want to highlight one perk of Boost Mobile’s service: 5G connectivity.

One of the biggest drawbacks of going with an MVNO carrier like Boost is the slowed data speeds. But getting on a 5G network will help offset the sluggish data speeds, and T-Mobile’s 5G network is the biggest and fastest in the country right now.

All of Boost’s data plans will give you access to T-Mobile’s 5G network. This is great news for folks who live in major metropolitan or suburban areas (those in more rural areas probably won’t see 5G for another few years).

Boost is doing plenty of things right. But no carrier is perfect. Here’s where we think Boost has room for improvement.

If you’re willing to pay top dollar for a high-performance cell phone plan then you should probably go with one of the “big three”—AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. The appeal of MVNOs is not that they offer better performance, but cheaper prices.

This is why we’re kind of disappointed in Boost’s prices. At $60, Boost’s best unlimited data plan is the same price as T-Mobile’s Essentials plan, and just a few dollars cheaper than unlimited plans from AT&T and Verizon.

It’s hard to justify spending so much on an unlimited data plan from Boost when you could get one for much cheaper from a company like Visible Wireless or Mint Mobile. (You can see direct plan-for-plan comparisons between some of these plans in the section below this).

The biggest thing you’re missing out on when you use an MVNO carrier is fast and consistent data speeds. All MVNOs, including Boost Mobile, are subject to data deprioritization.

Data deprioritization means that the network owner (in this case, T-Mobile), will slow down your data speeds when it's busy. So, while T-Mobile customers may get enough data to watch an HD movie on a Tuesday evening, Boost customers may get a pixelated mess when they try to stream a Youtube video.

Data deprioritization affects customers differently, depending on the time and their location, but in general it will mean slower data speeds overall.

As we mentioned before, Boost Mobile’s prices aren’t necessarily the best. You can take a look at how they compare with similar plans from other carriers in the chart below.

One of the best ways to save money on your phone bill and score some cool perks is to sign up for a family plan. Boost Mobile lets you add lines to your account for your friends and family, but, unfortunately, it’s discounts aren’t that amazing.

Here’s what you need to know about Boost Mobile’s family plans.

We wish this section was longer. But there’s not much to write home about when it comes to Boost Mobile’s family plans.

You can add up to five lines to your Boost Mobile account. This makes it easier to manage your bills and make sure that everyone in your family has all the talk, text, and data that they need.

This is the part where we get to whine and moan about everything we don’t like. Here’s what to watch out for with Boost’s family plans.

Boost offers some promotional deals on its family plans. As you can see in the WhistleOut widget at the beginning of this section, you can get a four-line family plan with unlimited data for just $140 a month. That’s definitely cheaper than buying four individual unlimited data lines at $50 each.

But, there’s a catch. This deal is just for the first month. After that, the pricing goes right back up to the standard rate. You can read the fine print right here.

Unfortunately, this is the case with a lot of Boost’s family plan deals. They are murky, limited, and at the end of the day, just not that great (especially when you compare them to other carriers, like Visible Wireless).

Boost’s family plans are, like the company’s individual plans, deprioritized on the T-Mobile network. That means you’ll see slower data speeds, especially when the network is “congested”.

Even with Boost Mobile’s first-month family plan discount applied, it’s still more expensive than most other carriers. There’s really no reason to go with a family plan from Boost when you could get a cheaper plan with better performance from another carrier, like T-Mobile.

Here’s a quick look at how a 4-line family plan from Boost compares with the competition.

Boost Mobile doesn’t have its own wireless network. Instead, it gets boosted by T-Mobile’s (see what we did there?). This is good news for Boost customers.

T-Mobile’s network has seen some vast improvements in recent years, since its merger with Sprint. The network has the fastest data speeds and best 5G coverage in the United States. Check out how the coverage looks in your area using the interactive map below.

The only real drawback with T-Mobile’s network is the spotty rural coverage. There are parts of Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and other states where you’ll have a hard time getting bars on T-Mobile (and, therefore, Boost Mobile).

Are you sick of staring at your feed through a cracked screen? Is your iPhone 7’s battery life putting a damper in your day? Maybe it’s time for an upgrade. Lucky for you, Boost Mobile sells the latest flagship devices from Apple, Samsung, and more. You may even be able to score a sweet discount.

This chart from WhistleOut shows some of Boost Mobile’s most popular phone models right now and any deals that the company is offering. You can click on any of them to see the details (and to see more phone deals from Boost Mobile).

Just like cable providers, cell phone companies don’t have the best reputations for good customer service. But our test interactions with Boost Mobile’s customer service reps went pretty well.

You can call in, live chat someone from Boost’s website, or use social media like Twitter. We say skip calling in if you can—it’s a lot of automated menus and wait times. But Boost Mobile’s social media response to us was fast and helpful. Twitter for the win.

Alright, folks, that’s it for our in-depth Boost Mobile review. We’ll just leave this recap here to help you make a final decision about the carrier.

• Cell phone plans: Boost offers plenty of talk, text, and data plans for all kinds of users. We like the company’s two unlimited data plans and free hotspot data allowance. The high prices, not so much.
• Family cell phone plans: Boost’s family plans just aren’t very impressive. You can save a few bucks by adding additional lives, but you’ll find better savings with other MVNOs.
• Coverage and data performance: Boost is an MVNO that uses T-Mobile’s network, which means amazing data speeds and a great 5G network, but limited coverage in rural areas.
• Cell phones and devices: iPhones, Galaxies, and plenty of other awesome phones await you. Boost even offers some sweet discounts for new customers.

For this Boost Mobile review we looked at a number of different sources, including customer reviews, the company’s website, third-party performance and coverage data, and our own proprietary data from over 100,000 mobile customers.

Ultimately, we evaluated Boost Mobile based on several key factors:

• Price
• Data speeds
• Perks (like hotspot allowance and HD streaming)
• Network coverage
• Customer service

Any lingering questions about Boost Mobile? Look for the answers in our FAQ section here.

Boost Mobile uses T-Mobile’s network to bring service to its customers. That means fast data speeds, great 5G performance, and decent coverage in metropolitan and suburban areas. Sadly, there are some coverage gaps in the rural West.

Boost Mobile uses T-Mobile’s network (which incorporated Sprint’s network in a merger), which means that it operates using GSM standards. However, some customers who joined Boost when it used Sprint’s network may still get service with CDMA phones.

Because Boost Mobile uses T-Mobile’s network, phones from other GSM networks (like AT&T) should be fully compatible. But, most new phones (that are unlocked), should work on with Boost Mobile no matter where they were originally purchased.

To learn more about CDMA and GSM phones (and how to see which one yours is), read our article on the subject.

To reach Boost Mobile’s customer service department call: 1-833-502-6678