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Boost Mobile has a focus on keeping young Australians connected with a good quality mobile plan. As part of this, it likes to offer lots of data on its prepaid offerings.
It is one of only 2 MVNOs in Australia to have access to the full Telstra (99.5% of Australians covered) mobile network, rather than the wholesale version (98.8%). In many ways, Boost is a more affordable version of Telstra, with far fewer fancy features but some nice extras nonetheless.
Most of Boost Mobile's prepaid plans last for 28 days, but you can pick up plans that last a week or a year instead, as you need.
Boost Mobile has a set of prepaid plans with expiry periods that stretch from 7 days to 28 and all the way up to 6- and 12-month long-expiry options. The 7-day plan only offers 3GB, but could be a good choice if you're only visiting Australia for a short period of time and need a quick and accessible plan.
Boost's regular monthly plans offer unlimited calls and texts, and a data allowance for the month. You pay ahead of time for your 28 days of usage, but if you run out you can purchase small data add-ons for more.
All but the cheapest plan include bonus data on the first three recharges, and all of the plans have some international destinations included for texts and calls.
The long expiry plans from Boost Mobile give you a big chunk of data upfront, intended to last you 6 months to a year. The data is available all at once, though, so you're responsible for budgeting it over the expiry period.
The table below sets Boost Mobile's long expiry plans against one of its monthly options to show how much you can save.
Plan | Expiry period | GB available over a year | How does it compare? |
---|---|---|---|
20GB for $30 | 28 days | 260GB | Over a year, you'll pay $391 for 260GB. This is equivalent to about 21.7GB per month. |
30GB for $200 | 365 days | 30GB | In a year, you'll spend $200 – about $191 less than the 28-day plan and less data. Works out at about 2.5GB per month. |
240GB for $300 | 365 days | 250GB | You're paying $300 for 240GB to last the year. This is roughly $90 cheaper than the monthly option, but you get 20GB less. Equivalent to 20GB per month. |
As you can see, the 365-day plan saves you a significant amount compared to the 28-day expiry option, but you get slightly less data overall. That said, if you're looking into grabbing a long expiry plan and you're not a heavy mobile user, 240GB for a year could still be enough for you.
Boost Mobile is a telecommunications brand that started in Australia back in 2000, and has since expanded overseas to the United States. It was initially partnered with Optus, but has since aligned with Telstra and built a solid brand.
This doesn't necessarily make it the most competitive MVNO in existence, considering how many providers are on the market. Here's what you should know about the main features on Boost Mobile's plans:
Here are the other features included in Boost Mobile's offerings:
Since Boost offers more than just calls and data, we've summarised the features it provides in the table below:
Feature | |
---|---|
Automatic prepaid recharge | ![]() |
Auto data top-ups | ![]() |
Entertainment extras | ![]() |
Data-free media streaming | ![]() |
Roll-over data | ![]() |
Data sharing | ![]() |
International calls/texts | ![]() |
International roaming | ![]() |
Rewards program | ![]() |
Student/pensioner discounts | ![]() |
It really depends on what you're looking for in a mobile plan. While Boost Mobile's plans may look like a good deal on the surface, its regular prepaid plans are actually very middle of the road in terms of value after the bonus data disappears. If you're looking to access Telstra's widespread coverage, then Boost Mobile might still be worth a consideration to avoid Telstra's premium mobile plan prices.
For more competitive offers on regular prepaid plans, try something like an ongoing high-value plan from ALDImobile, or even a similarly priced amaysim plan where your data allowance isn't dependent on just the first three recharges.
To give you an idea of how Boost compares, we've lined it up against offerings from Telstra (which owns the network that Boost operates on) and amaysim (an MVNO competitor).
Boost | Telstra | amaysim | |
---|---|---|---|
Plan name | 20GB for $30 | 8GB for $30 | Unlimited 30GB |
Plan cost | $30 | $30 | $30 |
Data allowance | 20GB (+15GB for first 3 recharges) | 8GB (+17GB for first 3 recharges) | 30GB |
Expiry period | 28 days | 28 days | 28 days |
Included extras | Data rollover, international calls, free Apple Music streaming | Data rollover, international calls, data-free media streaming, Telstra Air, Telstra Plus | International calls |
Boost Mobile outshines Telstra on data value, but doesn't have anywhere near the same number of bonus inclusions. Meanwhile, amaysim blows both of them away in terms of sheer dollar for data value.
Boost Mobile's main appeal is for users who are after Telstra's comprehensive network coverage or those who are only planning to stick with them for three recharges or less. After the bonus data inclusions on the three charges, Boost's value unfortunately starts diminishing.
Boost provides four methods for recharging:
Boost accepts the following payment types for all recharges:
In terms of how "good" Boost is compared to Telstra, it really depends what you're after in your mobile plan. Since Boost is an MVNO, it doesn't offer nearly as many extras and features on its plans as Telstra, but it has generally more competitive prices.
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Boost Mobile is a reseller of Telstra services that promises to simplify your monthly mobile charges and keep talk, SMS and data prices competitive.
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I need more info on what card I want.
Hi Dan,
Thanks for your inquiry. Please note that we are not affiliated with Boost Mobile or any company we feature on our site and so we can only offer you general advice.
If you are referring to Boost Mobile SIM only plans, you are on the correct page. You may click on ‘View details’ on the side of your preferred plan to see more info or you may visit Boost mobile official site, where you can purchase the plan.
You can also go to this page and make use of the search filter to compare plans that will suit your needs.
Cheers,
Rench