Image: Max McCaskill
Boost Mobile is an MVNO offering coverage on the AT&T and T-Mobile networks. It’s unique in that it offers a hybrid model between the barebones budget MVNOs and the major carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.
While Boost relies on other networks for coverage—like other MVNOs—it also offers features normally limited to major carriers, like postpaid plans, device installment plans, and even physical stores.
We’ve monitored Boost Mobile for years and have followed the carrier as it evolved, from attempts to build its own 5G network to absorbing Boost Infinite, its sister brand. Its service and pricing were compelling enough that I switched to Boost Mobile with my personal phone in mid-2024 and stayed as a customer for over a year.
I found that Boost Mobile’s Unlimited Plan is a great offer for price-conscious customers like myself. For $25/month, it includes 30GB of premium data, unlimited talk and text, and a price lock so your rate can never increase. It also offers optional paid add-ons, like mobile hotspot and global roaming.
The carrier also has solid coverage, fast data speeds, and multiple options for customer service.
That said, it’s not the best choice for everyone. Some customers won’t like that the Unlimited plan doesn’t include a built-in hotspot, and Boost’s more expensive plans don’t offer a great value.
Let’s dive into my long-term experience with Boost Mobile so you can learn why this is one of my favorite carriers.
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How I tested Boost Mobile

I spent a year using Boost Mobile as my personal wireless carrier to see how it performs in everyday scenarios.
The features and scenarios I tested included the following:
- Testing mobile data speeds in rural and urban areas
- Sending texts and photo messages
- Making phone calls
- Streaming Apple Music from my phone
- Using the mobile hotspot with my laptop
- Streaming video (Netflix and YouTube) on my phone
- Playing mobile games such as PUBG Mobile
- Downloading apps on my phone
- Getting help from Boost Mobile’s customer service
- Managing my plan via the Boost Mobile app and website
The bottom line
Boost Mobile offers an affordable, no-nonsense unlimited plan with solid speeds and coverage. My phone worked well virtually everywhere I tested it, thanks to the strength of AT&T’s 4G LTE and 5G networks. I also experienced excellent customer service and was always treated well, whether I needed help troubleshooting my device or switching carriers.
On the other hand, Boost Mobile’s value isn’t perfect. When considering its top plans, other MVNOs—like US Mobile—offer more premium data and extra features at much lower prices. Additionally, while its basic Unlimited plan’s pricing is very competitive, it doesn’t include features that other carriers offer for free, like a mobile hotspot, international texting, or coverage in Canada and Mexico.
Boost Mobile's plans and pricing
Boost Mobile offers five unlimited phone plans. The carrier doesn’t have limited plans or talk and text plans, so customers needing those should look elsewhere.
Three of the plans are standard unlimited plans with premium data allotments of 30GB, 40GB, and 50GB. The final two plans are called Infinite Access plans, and offer 30GB of premium data and an additional device installment plan perk.
Boost Mobile phone plans
| Plan | Full-speed data | Hotspot | Price | Shop this plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited | 30GB | None | $25/month | View at Boost Mobile |
| Unlimited+ | 40GB | Included* | $50/month | View at Boost Mobile |
| Unlimited Premium | 50GB | Included* | $60/month | View at Boost Mobile |
| Infinite Access for iPhone |
30GB | None | $65/month | View at Boost Mobile |
| Infinite Access for Galaxy |
30GB | None | $65/month | View at Boost Mobile |
*Mobile hotspot draws from monthly data allowance.
I was on Boost Mobile’s Unlimited plan for over a year and had a great experience. I saw fast download speeds and had excellent coverage in most areas I traveled.
Additionally, for just $25/month, this is an incredibly affordable unlimited plan, even if it does only include 30GB of premium data. However, since my usage is typically much lower than that, I never exceeded my allotment during any month as a customer. It also includes a price lock that prevents your rate from increasing while you’re on the plan.
On the other hand, this plan doesn’t offer quite as much value as you can get from other carriers. For example, it doesn’t include a mobile hotspot allotment. Instead, it’s a $10/month add-on, which would push the price up to $35/month for hotspot users. For similar pricing, carriers like US Mobile, Mint Mobile, and Red Pocket all offer larger premium data allotments and a mobile hotspot as a standard feature.
You should also note that the Infinite Access plans offer the same data allotments and lack of a hotspot feature as the basic Unlimited plan. Boost just includes an extra device installment plan perk for the newest Galaxy and iPhone devices. These plans are upgrade-ready every year (a rare perk for MVNOs), but require you to trade in your current phone each time. You are not required to upgrade every year and you’ll own the device outright if you keep it for 36 months.
Boost Mobile family plans
Boost Mobile also offers family plans and multi-line discounts on its three main unlimited plans.
The Unlimited plan includes a discount for up to three lines for the first 12 months of service. After that, you’ll pay the full $25/month price for each line, which still isn’t a bad deal since the price is already so low.
The Unlimited+ and Unlimited Premium plans get discounts on the second and third lines of a family plan. Two lines will knock $20 off your total bill, while three lines will save you around $40.
Boost Mobile’s family plan pricing looks like this:
| Boost Mobile plan | Cost per line | Total plan cost |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited |
1 line: $25 2 lines: $18.75* 3 lines: $16.66* |
1 line: $25/month 2 lines: $37.50/month* 3 lines: $50/month* |
| Unlimited+ |
1 line: $50 2 lines: $40 3 lines: $36.67 |
1 line: $50/month 2 lines: $80/month 3 lines: $110/month |
| Unlimited Premium |
1 line: $60 2 lines: $50 3 lines: $46.67 |
1 line: $60/month 2 lines: $100/month 3 lines: $140/month |
*Multi-line discount only applies for first 12 months of plan.
How I rated Boost Mobile: WhistleOut’s metrics

Fact-checking Boost Mobile’s claims
Here at WhistleOut, we review all carriers using the same five metrics: price, value, speed, coverage, and customer service. Each metric is assessed over a 5-star point system to calculate the carrier's overall score.
Boost Mobile's ratings were:
- Price: 3.5 out of 5
- Value: 3 out of 5
- Data speeds: 4 out of 5
- Coverage and network reliability: 4 out of 5
- Customer service: 4 out of 5
I spent a year as a Boost Mobile customer on my personal phone, testing each of these metrics firsthand to see what the carrier offers. The following is intended to give you an honest look at where this carrier shines and where it falls short to help you decide if it’s worth your money.
Price
Boost Mobile offers some excellent deals on phone plans. Its base-level Unlimited plan at just $25/month matches some of the cheapest pricing available. Plus, its Infinite Access plans at $65/month are also a great deal since they include a new iPhone or Samsung Galaxy phone every 12 months. To put that into perspective, T-Mobile’s Experience Beyond plan with a similar yearly upgrade feature is $100/month.
On the other hand, Boost’s Unlimited+ and Unlimited Premium plans are overpriced at $50/month and $60/month respectively. With allotments at just 40GB and 50GB, you can find much cheaper plans that include much more data. A prime example of this is US Mobile’s Unlimited Starter plan, which includes unlimited high speed data on AT&T’s network for just $25/month.
Score: 3.5 out of 5
Value
While Boost Mobile may be cheaper than major carriers, it’s not always the best value. For example, its Unlimited plan doesn’t include a mobile hotspot, which is a feature that some other carriers include for the same $25/month cost. When looking at the Infinite Access plans, the inclusion of a yearly device upgrade is nice, but the amount of data the plans include is also underwhelming.
However, don’t take these points as evidence that Boost Mobile isn’t worth buying. If you don’t use a mobile hotspot regularly—like myself—the lack of one in the Unlimited plan is not a dealbreaker. I only needed to purchase the $10 hotspot add-on twice for the entire year I was a customer. While it did cost an extra $20 overall, I felt it was a fair trade-off for the excellent coverage, data speeds, and customer service I experienced.
Score: 3 out of 5
Data speeds
Boost Mobile’s data speeds are excellent whether you’re on AT&T or T-Mobile’s network.
I frequently saw data speeds in excess of 100Mbps on AT&T’s 5G network. Some of our other WhistleOut experts have also clocked Boost Mobile’s download speeds as fast as 256Mbps. I also never noticed major bouts of deprioritization or slower speeds, which is something I have experienced on other AT&T MVNOs like Red Pocket.
Most of my time was spent on the AT&T 5G network since I live in an area that is served well by AT&T. That said, I also experienced decent 4G LTE download speeds when traveling in rural areas of North Carolina and New Hampshire.
Score: 4 out of 5
Coverage and network reliability

Image: Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile offers coverage on the AT&T and T-Mobile networks. I was on the AT&T network and saw excellent data speeds wherever I traveled. This included my home in rural North Carolina, the White Mountains region of New Hampshire, and the urban areas around Boston, Massachusetts.
Most customers will have a similar experience and find themselves on the AT&T network, as Boost has a special “hybrid MNO” agreement with that carrier. What is a hybrid MNO? While an MNO is a mobile network operator that controls its own network, a hybrid MNO is a wireless carrier that both owns its own limited network and licenses spectrum from other carriers to fill in coverage gaps.
At one point, Boost had aspirations to become the nation’s fourth major carrier. It had spent the past several years slowly building a 5G network across many cities to create the Boost Mobile Network (originally called the DISH Network). However, due to low subscriber numbers, reorganizations by its parent company EchoStar, and pressure from the FCC, Boost Mobile gave up on those plans. Instead, it sold much of its spectrum to AT&T and Starlink in the summer of 2025.
With the collapse of the Boost Mobile Network and the sale agreement with AT&T, most customers now rely on the AT&T network for coverage.
Score: 4 out of 5
Customer service
As a wireless industry expert, dealing with a phone carrier’s customer service is usually the worst part of my job. That said, I’ve never had a problem with Boost Mobile’s customer service. I’ve always been quickly connected and the agents have always been helpful. Boost’s customer service is a major part of why I stuck with Boost even as other carriers offered similarly priced plans with more data.
During my initial switching process to Boost, I accidentally deleted the new eSIM off my phone. I had to borrow a friend's phone to contact customer service for help. I didn’t have to wait on hold and it only took a few minutes to confirm my identity. From there, they walked me through the surprisingly complicated process of sharing information from my phone’s settings so they could generate a new eSIM.
The only customer service pain point I’ve found is you must call customer service to switch carriers. The agents won’t provide a port out PIN through the online chat. I’ve ported out of the carrier twice and both times were extremely easy even though I had to call. After customer service confirmed my identity and asked why I wanted to leave, I was once even offered a 50% off discount on my plan to stay. Had I not been switching to another carrier to test for WhistleOut, I’d have absolutely taken advantage of that offer.
The final major advantage of Boost Mobile’s customer service is it also offers a series of physical stores. These are certainly not as widespread as the stores from major carriers, but you may live close enough to one to visit if you need help with your plan. It’s also a feature that competitor carriers like US Mobile and Red Pocket can’t offer. In the past, there have even been special device deals that are only available to in-store customers.
Score: 4 out of 5
Signing up with Boost Mobile
Signing up with Boost Mobile is easy. You can purchase your plan online or in-person at a Boost Mobile store. The carrier offers its standard unlimited plans as prepaid options, while its Infinite Access plans are postpaid and require a credit check.
Activating and managing my plan
To activate your eSIM or physical SIM, you’ll use the Boost Mobile app. The app will either require information from the physical SIM card or contained in an email sent from Boost.
I switched to Boost using an eSIM since my iPhone 14 Pro doesn’t include a physical SIM slot. Oddly enough, Boost still sent me a physical SIM card in the mail. I thought it was a mistake, but when I briefly left Boost during an international vacation, the carrier mailed me another one once I returned to the network after the trip was over, so it appears it’s a standard practice.
Boost Mobile app
Boost Mobile has an excellent app. It’s where you’ll manage your entire plan and purchase paid add-ons like mobile hotspot data or global roaming. Just remember that once you’ve purchased an add-on, Boost will keep charging you for it every month until you remove it from your plan.
I needed to purchase mobile hotspot data twice during my time as a Boost customer. To do so, I simply pulled up the app and selected the hotspot options from the list of optional add-ons. It was instantly enabled and I didn’t need to restart my phone or disconnect from the network.
Leaving Boost Mobile
Leaving Boost Mobile and canceling your plan are the only areas where I think the carrier needs some significant work.
As I previously mentioned, you must call Boost Mobile’s customer service to leave its network. Once you port out, Boost cancels your plan, so you won’t be billed. However, this is also where I ran into some problems.
I first left Boost Mobile for around two weeks when traveling to Peru since the carrier doesn’t have international roaming there. When I tried to rejoin Boost after the trip, I discovered that the carrier disabled my ability to sign up again using that same account. I had to create a brand new account using an alternate email account. While this won’t be a problem for most customers, it is something to keep in mind for people switching to travel abroad or who frequently switch carriers.
Did I like Boost Mobile's Unlimited plan?
Yes, I liked Boost Mobile’s Unlimited plan. At $25/month, it’s one of the cheaper unlimited plans I’ve used on my personal phone. Its 30GB premium data allotment was large enough to meet my needs, and I also saw excellent coverage strength and fast data speeds.
The lack of a mobile hotspot was not a deal breaker for me as I rarely need that feature from any phone plan. That said, that will likely be the biggest sticking point for many potential customers.
Unlimited plan data allotment
The Boost Mobile Unlimited plan offers 30GB of premium data for $25/month. Despite some competitors offering more data for the same price, 30GB is still much more than the average person uses and I never exceeded my allotment at any point while I was on the plan.
The average customer only uses 10–15GB of data per month and this plan easily covers that. However, if you are a heavy user, remember that Boost also has larger unlimited plans, but they are a bit expensive for the amount they include.
How much data do I need?
The amount of data you use per month is a good indicator of how much data you’ll need in a phone plan. Most people overestimate how much data they use and end up overpaying for expensive unlimited plans.
Check out our mobile data usage guide to learn how much data you really need in a phone plan.
Mobile hotspot
The Unlimited plan does not include a standard mobile hotspot. Instead, it’s a $10/month optional add-on. Even when purchased, it’s also not a dedicated mobile hotspot and uses your overall high-speed data allotment.
I purchased the mobile hotspot twice and had a great experience both times. I needed the feature for working remotely during times I had internet trouble. The hotspot offered fast speeds and was perfect for working online and even joining Zoom calls with my coworkers.
Streaming and gaming
I also streamed videos and music on Netflix, HBO Max, and Apple Music. I never saw issues when streaming videos. I did briefly experience lagging when playing Apple Music in my car when driving through areas of low coverage, but that was not a common occurrence.
While mobile gaming, my experience with PUBG Mobile was fine, and I didn’t see any major connectivity issues.
Boost Mobile vs. the competition
When comparing Boost Mobile to other MVNOs, it’s important to keep in mind that data allotments and pricing are not the whole story.
Carriers like US Mobile and Red Pocket offer more premium data and mobile hotspot for around the same pricing, but our testers have not experienced the same robust data speeds and customer service that Boost Mobile offers.
Boost Mobile vs. competitors
| Plan | Full-speed data | Mobile hotspot | Price | Shop this plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boost Mobile Unlimited |
30GB | None | $25/month | View at Boost Mobile |
| US Mobile Unlimited Starter* |
Unlimited | 20GB | $25/month | View at US Mobile |
| Red Pocket Premium Plan |
50GB | 10GB | $30/month | View at Red Pocket |
*Data and mobile hotspot allotments on US Mobile's Dark Star (AT&T) network.
At $25/month, US Mobile’s Unlimited Starter plan is the closest competitor to Boost Mobile Unlimited. It includes unlimited premium data on the AT&T (Dark Star) network, along with a 20GB mobile hotspot. The carrier also offers access to all three major networks, though you must pay to switch among them. If you need a larger data allotment, frequently use a mobile hotspot, or want T-Mobile or Verizon coverage, US Mobile is the obvious choice in this contest.
That said, we generally had better network coverage and customer service experiences with Boost Mobile. When US Mobile originally released its AT&T network, it had high speeds but also suffered from connectivity issues. While these have largely been resolved, we still feel Boost has the more dependable AT&T access between the two.
Check out our US Mobile review to learn more about our experience on the Unlimited Starter plan.
Red Pocket also has access to all three carriers, but largely relies on its AT&T access. At $30/month, it’s slightly more expensive than Boost Mobile, but offers much more data and mobile hotspot.
On paper, Red Pocket offers more for your money, but I did not have a great experience on its network during my testing. My phone frequently suffered from slower speeds due to deprioritization and Red Pocket’s customer service was not helpful. To put it simply: Red Pocket may be offering you more on paper, but it’s not a great value for your money.
I’d recommend Boost Mobile—or US Mobile if you need a mobile hotspot—over Red Pocket. Check out our Red Pocket review to understand the issues I faced testing this carrier.
Recap: Would I recommend Boost Mobile?
I used Boost Mobile’s Unlimited plan as my personal phone plan for a year and was happy with my decision, so I feel comfortable recommending the carrier to others. During my time as a customer, I experienced fast data speeds, widespread AT&T coverage, and excellent customer service.
For people like me who use an average amount of mobile data and don’t need mobile hotspot, it’s tough to beat an unlimited plan for $25/month. While I’m currently with another carrier because I got a deep discount on my service, I’ll likely return to Boost when that deal period ends.
None of this is to say that Boost Mobile is perfect. While the carrier’s pricing is generally low, its value is not great for everyone. There are features Boost doesn’t include in its plans that other carriers offer for free, like mobile hotspot, global talk and text, and international roaming in Mexico and Canada. Each of those features is a $10/month paid add-on, which will rapidly make your plan far too expensive if you need them.
To figure out if Boost is right for you, look beyond your data needs and consider everything you use in your phone plan. If you frequently use features like mobile hotspot, international texting, or travel throughout North America, a carrier like US Mobile is a better choice. Otherwise, for simple smartphone needs like streaming and scrolling social media, Boost Mobile is a great option.
Max McCaskill
Sr. Staff Writer