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There’s a lot of different things you should take into consideration when you’re trying to find a new cell phone plan. You have price, coverage, data, international texts and calls, hotspot benefits, and many more important things to look into before you sign up. And when you’re looking into your options all of those things might become one big mess of numbers and words that when it comes down to a decision you aren’t sure who is what and what is where.
But don’t worry because today we’re hoping to help make things easier for you, specifically when deciding between Verizon and Boost Mobile. These are two popular options for many throughout the country, each coming with their own advantages and disadvantages. We will compare those most important things so you can eliminate a carrier from your list with ease. It’s the ultimate showdown, Verizon vs Boost Mobile, let’s match them up!
- Quick Overview: Verizon and Boost Mobile
- What the Coverage Looks Like from Both Providers
- How the Plans Compare: From Price to Features
- The Verdict
Quick Overview: Verizon and Boost Mobile
Before we go over what the coverage and phone plans look like from each provider we should first talk about the two companies as a whole, so you can get an overall idea of what to expect from each as you begin to make your decision.
-> Verizon
Verizon first got its footing in 2000, (we know right? It seems like it’s been a lot longer, how crazy is that?), and ever since then they have steadily become one of the most reliable wireless carriers in the world. In fact, they have the most nation-wide coverage, spanning over 70% of the country, so all of those commercials saying they are the leader in coverage aren’t necessarily wrong. You can look forward to consistent, strong coverage from Verizon, and signal even when you’re out seemingly in the middle of nowhere as they cover a fair share of more “rural” ground.
One other huge draw Verizon has over a lot of its competitors is their perks. If you’ve been looking for a cell phone plan that gets you more than just talk, text, data, and hotspot usage then you’ll definitely fall in love with Verizon. They’ve got plans where you can bundle and save on your favorite streaming services along with getting cloud storage and more.
With Verizon you may end up spending a little more than your average cell phone plan, but what you get for it really balances out that cost, especially when you’re comparing it to their other wireless carriers like AT&T for instance.
-> Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile is a popular MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) that has their own claim to fame through commercials and stores all throughout the country. Now you may not recognize the term “MVNO” at first, so let us explain:
A MVNO is an umbrella term used to describe smaller wireless carriers that don’t own their own infrastructure, aka cell towers, and they will instead pay and use a carrier that does own their own towers to piggyback signal so they can provide coverage to their customers. And normally MVNOs will only use one provider, but Boost Mobile is a bit of a special case.
In 2020, Boost Mobile was acquired by Dish Wireless, which is a subsidiary of the Dish Network, the famous TV provider. This was around the time the Sprint and T-Mobile merger was the talk of the town in the tech world. So because of that, Boost Mobile uses Dish Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile to provide coverage to customers.
But how does that work?
Well, like everything, there are a few stipulations in order to get access to all three networks when you’re out and about. First thing to note is that it’s still a relatively new program, so only eligible customers can get access to switch between the three networks. When you sign up for a new carrier you might get a SIM card, and a SIM card is a small microchip-like card that stores vital phone information and allows you to make calls, texts, and connect to the carrier’s network.
Most of the SIM cards you get through Boost Mobile will only have access to one network’s signal. In order to “network switch” you must have the elusive rainbow SIM which works like every other SIM card but this one allows your phone to switch or bounce between the three networks. Contacting customer support is the best way to go about getting one for yourself should you choose Boost Mobile.
What the Coverage Looks Like from Both Providers
Now that we’ve got a “sneak peek” into each provider, let’s talk coverage, so you can see what each is looking like.
-> Verizon
We mentioned in our overview that Verizon is the leader in 4G LTE nation-wide coverage, which is great for the average person, especially those in rural living where signal and coverage tend to not be the most reliable. As for 5G coverage, well, Verizon is at the bottom when you’re only comparing it to T-Mobile and AT&T, but not by a drastic amount.
Actually what’s interesting about Verizon’s 5G coverage is it’s been voted to be the winner in the “5G Games Experience, 5G Voice App Experience, and 5G Video Experience” categories. This means that if you are in a 5G or 5G+ covered area you’re going to get some performance power that outweighs others. Though again, it’s not as widespread as their major competitors, so if you have a 5G capable phone but don’t live in an area Verizon covers with 5G then it might not be worth it.
Every wireless provider’s website will have a tab marked either “Coverage” or “Coverage Map” and this is a map showing off the network’s approximated coverage. You can zoom in and out of the map and search up your home address and frequently visited locations to see what type of coverage is in your area or if they cover you at all. Here’s a screenshot of Verizon’s coverage map:
Although not pictured completely, Verizon offers coverage in the majority of the United States along with parts of Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands. You can view their full coverage map here.
-> Boost Mobile
We mentioned before that Boost Mobile is a curious case when it comes to coverage as instead of only using one provider, they use a combination of a few different ones. Which, in itself, is great because if you are on a road trip for example and are leaving the range of AT&T’s cell towers but are moving into T-Mobile’s range then you’ll still be covered. However, it’s not guaranteed that you will be able to network switch with your device and/or SIM card. This means that you will only have access to one of the networks at all times. So let’s do a quick deep dive into each of them shall we?
- T-Mobile is the leader in 5G, they have the most wide-spread coverage compared to any other provider out there right now, though their 4G LTE coverage is weaker compared to Verizon, AT&T will pick up the slack if you can switch between them- (though the difference is slight). AT&T also has solid coverage, maybe not as widespread as Verizon’s 4G LTE or T-Mobile’s 5G, they still have great availability, especially in cities.
- Dish Wireless is a bit more…elusive to say the least. They have a bit of a wonky track record and few reports have stated how far their coverage goes, but what we do know is that they only provide 5G coverage. But again, not much on numbers, so we think it’s safe to say that Boost Mobile customers will rely more on AT&T and T-Mobile’s coverage than Dish Wireless. You’re more likely to get the occasional pocket of Dish Wireless coverage rather than solely relying on that for coverage when compared to AT&T and T-Mobile.
As for their coverage map:
You can switch between their 5G and LTE coverage depending on what kind of service your phone supports and what may be in your area. Boost Mobile covers the United States and parts of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. You can get a closer look at your city by looking at their coverage map in full here.
How the Plans Compare: From Price to Features
We’ve made it to the phone plans! Here we are going to go over both carrier’s prices, special features, and more. First up we have Verizon’s postpaid plans which may look different from your average phone plan visually as we said before, Verizon focuses on bundle plans where you can select a plan that comes with a specific set of perks- (which we will list out soon). Here are the “bare-bones” unlimited plans:
Now it is good to note that the prices listed above aren’t necessarily the finalized prices you’ll see on the bill. You’ll note that those are the prices with AutoPay, without it is a bit more expensive. And these numbers also don’t include taxes and fees- so keep that in mind when tallying up your budget.
And as for your potential perks? Well check this out, when you sign up for a postpaid unlimited plan you can bundle and save while adding these exclusive benefits:
- The Disney Bundle which gets you Disney+ Premium with no ads, Hulu with ads, and ESPN with ads. Original price is $18.99/mo, only 10/mo. with Verizon savings (Terms Apply).
- Netflix & Max which gives you Netflix Standard with ads and Max with ads plan. Original price is $16.98/mo, only $10/mo. with Verizon savings (Terms Apply).
- Apple One which has Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+ all in a bundle. Perfect for Apple phone users. Original price for individuals is $19.95/mo, only $10/mo. with Verizon savings and original family plans normally pay $25.95/mo, now only $20/mo (Terms Apply).
- The Walmart+ Membership which has its own benefits you can read about on the plans tab. Original price is $12.95/mo, only $10/mo. with Verizon savings (Terms Apply).
- Apple Music Family which allows six members to enjoy Apple Music. Original price is $16.99/mo and Verizon customers pay $10/mo. (Terms Apply).
- A 100GB Mobile Hotspot originally priced at $45/mo now only $35/mo. (Terms Apply).
- Smartwatch Data & Safety which is normally $20/mo is now only $10/mo. (Terms Apply).
- +play Monthly Credit, a Verizon platform that lets you manage all of your digital subscriptions from one place. You can save $5/mo off your $15/mo credit.(Terms Apply).
- 3 TravelPass Days. TravelPass lets you call, text, and use data in 210+ countries around the world. These three days, 24 hour sessions, are included each month. Originally it’s $30/mo, only $10/mo. with Verizon savings (Terms Apply).
- 2TB Cloud Storage that’s originally $14.99/mo and with the addon it’s $10/mo. (Terms Apply).
That is a huge amount of benefits which can really make the price worth it, especially if you are already paying for any of these services already.
Boost Mobile’s plans run a bit differently as they are prepaid plans. They come in three options: Monthly, 3 Month, and 12 Month. They also have specific plans for new customers only as a benefit for your first time signing up. Here are their “New Customers Only” plans:
1There are two 5GB “New Customer Only” Plans available on the website, one is a Monthly Plan and the other is the 3 Month Plan which is where the $45 total comes from.
And here are the plans available to everyone, new and existing customers:
For their “3 Month” or “12 Month” plans you will have to pay your three or twelve month cost upfront, so for instance if you sign up for their Unlimited 3 Month Plan you will have to pay the $90 immediately before service starts.
You don’t get all the flashy bells and whistles like Verizon’s plans, Boost Mobile keeps it simple with a hotspot add-on.
The Verdict
And we’re finally at the end, the time has come for the verdict for the Verizon vs Boost Mobile showdown. We think ultimately it’s up to preference, if you’re looking for a phone plan with all those extra perks Verizon offers and you don’t mind paying a little bit more than you might normally then we’d say Verizon is definitely worth it. However, if you don’t have any interest in those perks we listed above- go for Boost Mobile. You’ll have access to all the normal phone plan stuff along with potential access to network switching if you get your hands on a rainbow SIM which is so worth it.
And if you want to compare and contrast Verizon and Boost Mobile to over 1,200 other phone plans so you know you’re getting the service that’s right for you, then make sure to check out the REALLY compare page which allows you to look at pricing, coverage, what phone plans are available, current deals and steals, and how you can make the most of your potential phone bill.