Boost Mobile: Plans and prices

There are only two telcos that use the full coverage of the Telstra mobile network: Telstra and Boost Mobile. While Telstra owns Belong as a budget brand, Boost Mobile operates independently despite the coverage perk. If you’re after a Prepaid mobile plan, particularly a long-expiry option with great coverage, Boost Mobile is worth considering. Here’s everything you need to know about Boost Mobile in Australia.

• Boost Mobile operates on the full Telstra mobile network, which supports 5G, 4G and 3G devices and is collectively available to 99.5% of Australians.
• Boost Mobile exclusively sells Prepaid mobile plans with either 28-day or 12-month expiry. Look elsewhere for SIM Only plans.
• All Boost Mobile plans have access to the Telstra 5G network (where it’s available). Depending on the plan, speeds are uncapped or capped at 150Mbps or 250Mbps download speeds.
• Boost Mobile 28-day Prepaid plans let customers roll over any unused data to the next recharge.

Boost Mobile exclusively sells Prepaid mobile plans. This means plans are paid in advance of use and either expire after 28 days or 12 months, depending on which Boost Prepaid mobile plan you choose.

Every Boost Mobile plan has access to the Telstra 5G network as well as 4G and 3G via a couple of main Prepaid durations. If you prefer a monthly-ish Prepaid plan, consider a Belong Mobile 28-day Prepaid recharge. Alternatively, Belong Mobile also offers 12-month long-expiry Prepaid plans. All Boost Mobile Prepaid plans include unlimited standard national talk and text. The pricier the Prepaid plan, the more data you get. Boost Mobile also offers Starter Packs (including a cheap seven-day option) and ongoing Prepaid recharges.

The max download speeds for any Boost Mobile plan are determined by the Prepaid plan type and how much you pay. For instance, most Boost Mobile Starter Packs and 28-day Prepaid recharge plans, plus all of the telco’s 12-month plans, include max speeds up to 150Mbps. Boost Mobile’s penultimate priciest plan offers download speeds up to 250Mbps, while the most expensive 28-day recharge has uncapped download speeds. Opensignal data suggests that average real-world speeds are collectively around 60Mbps with upload speeds around 9Mbps. In Telstra 5G areas, expect average speeds around 81Mbps, though Telstra 5G network speeds have the potential to offer hundreds of megabits of download speed.

Like other Prepaid telcos, the thing to watch out for with Boost Mobile plans is initial bonus data. For instance, Boost Mobile long-expiry Prepaid plans may come with bonus data on first use, while 28-day plans may include three rounds of bonus recharge data. It’s better to pay attention to regular ongoing data instead. Bearing in mind that 35GB of data is the median amount for Australian users, most Boost Mobile plans are geared towards users with casual data needs, with most plans falling under this allowance.

Most Boost Mobile Prepaid plans come with an international call allowance. This includes unlimited standard calls to 20 selected dialling destinations, plus a plan-dependent allocation of call minutes (300–3,600) to a further 30 places. A certain number of standard texts, between 300 and 3,600, are also included with most Boost Mobile plans.

Here are the 20 selected destinations for unlimited calls with eligible Boost Mobile Prepaid plans: Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States of America and Vietnam.

And here’s the list of 30 other destinations that use call minutes with eligible Boost Mobile Prepaid plans: Argentina, Austria, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Mexico, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden and United Arab Emirates.

If you’re in the market for a Boost Mobile Prepaid deal, you’ll find it below (if there’s one going today).

Boost Mobile isn’t particularly big on perks outside of the plan features mentioned above. While there aren’t any upfront plan fees, Boost Mobile isn’t one of the telcos that offers eSIM. Instead, you’ll have to stick with a traditional physical SIM card. Admittedly, Boost Mobile has said it’s looking into eSIM for its customers. Boost Mobile does have data rollover for select plans, but it only applies to unused data for the next recharge.

As is the trend with telcos, international roaming is an optional paid add-on for Boost Mobile customers. There are a few different options, which have three-day, seven-day or 14-day expiries. The more you pay, the longer the duration, and the better the inclusions. Data ranges from 1GB to 5GB, call minutes from 15 to 60 minutes, and texts from 15 to 60.

Here are the 40 destinations supported by Boost Mobile international roaming: Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Samoa, Serbia, Singapore, Soloman Islands, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

Boost Mobile is one of a handful of telcos to offer refurbished mobile phones. The telco also sells refurbished iPads and smartwatches. Select from a range of refurbished Apple iPhones or Samsung Galaxy smartphones. Prices range from around $250 to more than $900. Boost Mobile also offers a limited selection of handsets that bundle a 12-month Prepaid SIM card.

Boost Mobile operates on the full Telstra network, which is compatible with 5G, 4G and 3G devices. Note that the Telstra 3G network is shutting down on 30 June 2024. Practically speaking, Boost Mobile Prepaid plans are available to 99.5% of Australians; 85% of Aussies can use the Telstra 5G network. Use the interactive map below for a visual representation of Telstra coverage across 5G, 4G and 3G networks.

Switching from one telco to another in Australia is a straightforward process, and that includes Boost Mobile. Follow these steps to sign up to a Boost Mobile Prepaid plan:

1. Select the Boost Mobile Prepaid plan that you want to buy, then click on the orange ‘Go to Site’ button (if available) to go to the Boost Mobile website.
2. On the Boost Mobile website, click on the orange ‘Buy now’ button beneath the corresponding plan to confirm your selection, then click ‘Next’ to proceed.
3. Input your first and last name, date of birth, phone number and email address, then choose whether you’d like to keep your existing number or have new mobile digits.
4. Follow the remaining checkout prompts to confirm setup and delivery details.

When your SIM card arrives, insert it into a compatible device, then head to the Boost Mobile activation page. Input the SIM serial number, then provide service, ID and contact details, plus your recharge preferences, to start using your Boost Mobile plan.