If you have only one line, you could save

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  Vast 5G coverage

  T-Mobile

  T-Mobile’s 5G network has received a lot of recognition, offering strong nationwide coverage and fast overall speeds. The carrier’s plans skew toward the high end with unlimited data, but if you pick the right option, you can still get a good value.

  Pros

  • Strong 5G coverage and speeds
  • Postpaid and prepaid plan options
  • Truly unlimited plans available

  Cons

  • Taxes and fees are extra on Essentials plans
  • Expensive for a single line

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  Save with multi-month plans

  Boost Mobile

  Boost Mobile is a prepaid carrier offering many prepaid plans with multi-month savings and valuable add-ons. Boost is also working on its own 5G with DISH 5G, with AT&T and T-Mobile providing coverage in the meantime.

  Pros

  • Strong coverage with T-Mobile, AT&T, and DISH 5G
  • Multi-month savings are great for single lines
  • Todo Mexico add-on is a good value

  Cons

  • Taxes and fees are extra
  • Not all plans get multi-month discounts
  • Many plans are only available to new customers

T-Mobile is one of the most popular carriers these days, and it’s easy to see why, with strong 5G coverage, good phone support, and a wide range of plans and discounts. When it comes down to it, 5G is T-Mobile’s greatest strength; it got a head start with mid-band spectrum thanks to its deal to buy Sprint. From that same deal, Boost’s owner, DISH Wireless, got some of its own spectrum for 5G and has been working to legitimize that spectrum.

While it still uses AT&T and T-Mobile for most of its coverage outside large cities, Boost Mobile can be a good pick for those looking to save with a prepaid carrier. It has multi-month savings for some of its plans, which are good for single-line customers. With either Boost or T-Mobile, customers should expect strong nationwide 5G coverage with plenty of data for their needs.

Mobile carrier features

T-Mobile is a fairly standard postpaid carrier, boasting various plans with unlimited data that benefit from a vast 5G network. The carrier offers some streaming service perks, like Apple TV+ and Netflix, with some of its plans and travel perks like in-flight Wi-Fi and international usage. T-Mobile’s biggest savings are for multiline accounts with increasing savings up to four lines. You can even combine multiline discounts with other plans, like senior unlimited plans.

Boost Mobile, on the other hand, sticks to smaller value-oriented plans, offering multi-month savings on plans with up to 30GB of high-speed data. Even though Boost markets these plans as unlimited, you get 30GB of high-speed data each month with slower speeds after that amount. That’s not uncommon among prepaid carriers, but 30GB is plenty for most people. But it’s still worth keeping in mind.

One place Boost excels is with its international add-on, Todo Mexico PLUS. This add-on comes with unlimited talk and text in Mexico and Canada, texting to 200+ countries, and 8GB of data (1.5GB on limited data plans) to use while in Mexico. If you travel to Mexico frequently, it’s a great value.

Signal and reception

T-Mobile’s network doesn’t have a great reputation for rural coverage, with a few more empty spots on its coverage map than competing postpaid carriers AT&T and Verizon. But for most users, T-Mobile provides excellent 5G coverage, with low-band and mid-band coverage. T-Mobile uses the mid-and n41 spectrum it received from Sprint for most of its high-speed coverage and its lower band n71 fills in coverage gaps. It can also simultaneously use both bands (plus band n66) for higher 5G speeds.

As long as you live in a city or town, you can expect great 5G performance on T-Mobile. T-Mobile’s network is still the fastest tested by analysts like Ookla, the people behind the popular Speedtest app.

On the other hand, the DISH 5G network is still playing catchup with solid coverage in cities across the country. That being said, you’ll still be spending a lot of time connected to the AT&T or T-Mobile networks, depending on your SIM, phone model, and coverage. For the most part, you can expect strong coverage, at least on par with T-Mobile, and solid 5G speeds around the country.

Phone compatibility

Both carriers support most phones, so just about any of the best Android phones, including the top budget options, will work on either carrier without issues. As always, international model support will vary, and you may find weaker band support, especially if T-Mobile’s band n41 isn’t supported. That being said, most 5G phones from the last few years support T-Mobile’s and AT&T’s 5G bands.

If you have a fairly modern phone with eSIM support, you can try out T-Mobile’s network for three months to determine if it will be a good fit. On Boost, you don’t get a free trial, but for $10, you can get your first month of service with unlimited data and a free SIM.

Plans

With these two carriers, the biggest choice comes down to the number of lines. With multiline discounts, T-Mobile has some of the best value data plans you can get. But for lighter users, Boost Mobile starts to make a lot more sense. So, Boost might be a good pick for single-line users who don’t need more than 30GB of data.

T-Mobile’s plans

On the low end, T-Mobile’s Essentials plan is the cheapest postpaid option, with Essentials Saver costing just $50 for a single line. If you bring four lines, there’s a $100 per month deal available. This plan gets 50GB of premium data, unlimited 3G-speed hotspot data, usage in Mexico and Canada, and not much more. And note that Essentials is T-Mobile’s only plan where taxes and fees are extra, so double-check the final price before signing up.

Moving up, Go5G increases premium data to 100GB and offers 15GB of high-speed hotspot data. Mexico and Canada usage is upgraded with 10GB of high-speed data, 5GB in 11 other countries, and 256Kbps in 215+ other countries. Four in-flight Wi-Fi sessions are also included, so you stay connected during your travels. Netflix with Ads and six months of Apple TV+ service are also bundled in. And, of course, taxes and fees are included, so a single line will cost $75 per month while four lines will come in at $155 per month when all is said and done.

On top, Go5G Plus and Go5G Next are mostly the same apart from a couple of small differences. They both get unlimited premium data with 50GB of high-speed hotspot data. Streaming video quality is also unlocked to 4K. Apple TV+ and Netflix with Ads are included with both plans, though Go5G Next also gets Hulu with Ads. Internationally, they both get 15GB of high-speed data in Mexico and Canada and 5GB in 215+ other countries. There’s even full-flight Wi-Fi with supported airlines.

The biggest difference between the two is the upgrade schedule. Go5G Plus customers are upgrade-ready every two years, while Go5G Next customers are upgrade-ready every year. Go5G Plus costs $90 per month for a single line or $185 for four lines. Go5G Next is pricier at $100 for a single line and $225 for four lines. And with taxes and fees included, you can easily plan your bill’s final cost.

Most of T-Mobile’s plans are available with senior, military and veteran, and first responder discounts. Make sure you’re getting all available discounts when you sign up.

As a big postpaid carrier, T-Mobile also offers a few prepaid plans for those who don’t want the drama of credit checks. T-Mobile has three prepaid plans starting at 10GB with two unlimited options available. You even get a fairly massive 50GB of data before being subjected to a slowdown. T-Mobile also has three T-Mobile Connect prepaid plans that are left over from the carrier’s Sprint deal. You can get 5GB, 8GB, or 12GB of data for $15, $25, and $35, respectively. Taxes and fees are extra on all T-Mobile Prepaid plans.

Boost Mobile’s plans

On the cheap end, Boost’s 1GB plan costs $100 per year and is only available when paid yearly. This plan also gets unlimited talk and text. Moving up, the 5GB plan costs $15 per month and also includes unlimited talk and text. If you opt for the $5 Todo Mexico PLUS add-on, you get 1.5GB of high-speed data to use in Mexico or Canada.

Boost has three unlimited plans, slowed at 30GB of usage, that start at just $25 per month with unlimited talk and text. The cheapest unlimited plan doesn’t get hotspot data but is available to new and existing customers. Unfortunately, it requires auto-pay.

The next unlimited plan gets 12GB of hotspot data and costs $40 per month paid monthly, $30 per month paid every three months, and $25 per month paid yearly. You can also get an Unlimited Plus plan for $60 per month with 30GB of hotspot data and Todo Mexico included. Speaking of the Todo Mexico Plus add-on, you get 8GB of high-speed data in Mexico and Canada with these plans.

Which should you buy?

T-Mobile’s multi-line discounts make a lot of sense if you have multiple lines. For four lines, T-Mobile’s Essentials plan is just $100 per month plus taxes and fees, which makes it cheaper than Boost’s unlimited plan when paid month-to-month. T-Mobile also comes with more data with no slowdown for going over. While only 50GB of your data is premium on the Essentials plan, you can still use as much as you want. You even get 3G-speed hotspot data, which can be great for getting a laptop or tablet online in a pinch.

If you’re a heavier user or need international features, T-Mobile’s Go5G plan with high-speed international data is a strong pick. With taxes and fees included, billing is simplified, which is really something we should be able to say about prepaid carriers.

Boost Mobile could still be the best pick for the right customers, specifically lighter users and those with a single line. At $100 per year, Boost’s 1GB plan is a good value for light users. For senior citizens getting help with bills, the once-per-year billing could also be a great way to simplify financial responsibility. Plus, if you use a lot of Wi-Fi at home, you may not need as much data as you think.

That being said, Boost’s higher-end plans struggle compared to a carrier like Visible, especially now that Visible is offering discounts for annual payments.