Best Boost Mobile plans in 2023: Pricing, phone options, and more (2024)

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Boost Mobile was Sprint’s top MVNO in the years before the T-Mobile merger. Now, it’s become the flagship member of Dish Network’s mobile service. However, it’s still Boost at heart and definitely worth your money. In this guide, we take a look at the best Boost Mobile plans as well as the best Boost Mobile phones.

The 1GB plan is perfect for seniors, first-time teen owners, and others that are mostly going to stick to Wi-Fi. The fact you can pay for it all at once makes it not only a good value, but something you don’t have to worry about every month.

One plan that we’d probably avoid is the 5GB plan, unless you really only use 3-5GB of data a month. Why? For $10 more you get unlimited data. It’s just too close of a price gap between the 5GB plan to make it worth it unless you really know you’re never going to use more than 5GB of data.

So let’s take a closer look at the 1GB plan and the two different unlimited offerings:

It’s a great plan as long as you know you can stay below the cap, but your data access cuts off entirely when you hit that limit. Still, you’re only paying $100 a year — or what works out to $8.33 a month.

Starting at just $25 per month, this is a heck of a value for those interested in an affordable unlimited plan. Need hotspot data? There’s also a version of this plan that adds 12GB of hotspot data for just $15 more a month.

If you’re itching for some music, you’ll be able to stream at 1.5Mbps. Gaming streams at an impressive 8Mbps, and video is available in high-definition 1080p resolution. It’s the media lover’s mobile plan.

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Comparing Boost Mobile to the competition is an interesting task right now. It used to rely on Sprint, but now new customers will be using the T-Mobile network until Dish gets its structure in place. For the time being, it aligns closest with Metro by T-Mobile, Visible, Cricket Wireless, and Google Fi as far as top alternatives are concerned. Check out the table below for a closer look at each option.

Metro by T-Mobile has also recently joined the Affordable Connectivity Program or ACP. This essentially offers a more affordable way for qualifying subscribers to access their smartphones. The basic 5GB plan becomes free, while all other plans are reduced by $30 per month.

As for the plan, Google Fi’s Unlimited Plus plan is a tremendous international option. You can call over 50 countries and territories for free, and contact with other areas can start at just one penny. Each line gets unlimited data up to 22GB, a Google One membership, and full-speed hotspot tethering. If you want to save a few bucks, you can try the Simply Unlimited plan as well.

Many of the best Cricket features are available as add-ons, so it’s easy to run your bill up by a few bucks. However, that’s the secret to unlocking Cricket’s full potential. Options include more hotspot data, better international access, and extra data on select plans. You’ll have to splurge on the high-end Cricket More plan if you want 5G speeds, though.

One of the best reasons to choose Visible’s service is the revamped Party Pay feature. You can go in with up as many friends as you want, and you’ll each cut your bill down to $25 per month. If one of you pays late, it won’t impact the other partiers. If you have some family and friends that you’d like to bring along, you can refer up to 12 per year. Each time you bring a new user, both of you will pay just $5 per month.

Boost Mobile is already an affordable alternative to the Big Three carriers, but what if it’s not for you? We can’t offer Sprint-based alternatives as the network is slowly converting, but you can consider many T-Mobile MVNOs. Here are a few of our favorites, broken down for easy skimming:

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Galaxy A53 5G

Like many low-cost MVNOs, Boost Mobile skews towards affordable devices from many major manufacturers. That said, it has a pretty impressive range, and you’ll find all the latest devices from Samsung, Apple, and more. This includes flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S23. Let’s highlight just three of the best choices: one flagship, one mid-range, and one on the more budget side of things.

Keep in mind these aren’t the very three best phones in existence. Simply, we picked one phone for each price range based on a combination of promotional value, review performance, and more.

Not impressed by our picks? Be sure to check out Boost Mobile’s full phone list or our guides to the best phones or best cheap phones.

Samsung Galaxy S23 is a great flagship for most

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

If you’re looking for a good every person’s phone, the Galaxy S23 might just be it. The phone is attractive, powerful, and has one of the best AMOLED displays on the planet. At 6.6 inches it’s not a small screen, but it’s not a massive phone either. It’s possible to use with one hand, though it is more comfortable to use with two.

Samsung ditches its own Exynos processors this year in favor of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 “for Galaxy” chipset variant. This chip slightly overclocks the CPU and GPU. Though its not a massive improvement to the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, our tests found it does offer slightly improved performance. Its not just a fast processor, the Galaxy S23 also is backed by 8GB of RAM and has storage configurations up to 1TB.

Those looking for great battery life will be equally impressed by the Galaxy S23. Its 4,700mAh battery can easily handle a full day of heavy use, streaming video for hours and hours. It also charges quite fast, at 0% to 100% in just one hour. There’s also 15W wireless charging if you’re into that.

As you can see, the Galaxy S23 is a well-rounded phone, but what about the camera? Thankfully that’s another strong suit for the S23. It has the same sensors as the S22, but they still produce spectacular photos so it’s not a bad thing. Samsung’s camera software is also very feature-rich, with one of our favorite features being Samsung’s Expert Raw mode. This gives you more control over your photos by letting you process them manually.

Apple iPhone SE is a decent mid-ranger

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Apple’s iPhone SE series is a bit of a weird one. You get all the power of a modern Apple phone but crammed into the shell of an iPhone from ten years ago. The end result is a phone that is a great budget iPhone, but is not without its compromises. Let’s start with the good. The new iPhone SE (2022) is powered by Apple’s impressive A15 Bionic chip. This makes it capable of running all the latest iOS games and apps without skipping a beat.

Unfortunately, it’s also pretty limited by its 4.7-inch display. This makes the phone feel really tiny, though it is great for one-handed use. Another downside is the phone only comes with 64GB of storage in the base model, which might not be enough for those who juggle a lot of apps or keep photos off the cloud.

Really though, the biggest downside is the camera. In our time with it, the iPhone SE proved to have an okay camera at best. This isn’t too surprising for a budget phone, but its a big deal when you consider the iPhone is known for packing good cameras.

On the downside, the Galaxy A53 packs a pretty weak processor. The Exynos 1280 isn’t a powerhouse, and so you may occasionally run into some stutters or lag. Still, in most day-to-day situations, you really won’t notice. Just some apps might run slightly less smoothly than they would on a more expensive handset.

Moving past the SoC, the A53 5G actually has a decent spec sheet. You get a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with an 120Hz refresh rate. You get 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and microSD support. There’s also a massive 5,000mAh battery with 25W wired charging.