Visible vs. Boost Infinite: Which carrier is better?

Visible and Boost Infinite, also known as Boost Mobile, are both popular prepaid carriers that offer amazing deals on unlimited plans. They each offer simple, easy-to-understand phone plans that are definitely more “budget-friendly” than some of the bigger carriers’ plans. Both Visible and Boost offer some unique incentives for prospective customers. But, like every carrier, each has its positives and negatives, so which offers better phone plans? Let’s put them head to head and see which brand comes out on top. 

In this article, we plan to discuss the ins and outs of both carriers and what they offer. We’ll also cover:

• What the coverage of both carriers looks like
• How prices of their plans compare to how much data you get
• The features each carrier offers for their plans 

Coverage & Reception - How do Visible and Boost Compare?

Visible is on the Verizon network, while Boost is on several networks. 

Visible and Boost are mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs. This means that they purchase service access wholesale from one of the three major networks that own infrastructure across the country – AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile – giving customers service at a much cheaper price. Visible is an MVNO of Verizon, while Boost is an MVNO of AT&T, T-Mobile, and Dish. 

REALLY Looks: Why is Boost Infinite on several different networks? And is it actually just Boost Mobile?

Boost Infinite was a postpaid wireless company that was the “sister” of Boost Mobile, which was entirely its own separate service. Back when the Sprint and T-Mobile merger was afoot, Dish Network ended up getting into the ring and fought to acquire Boost Mobile, they ended up successfully doing so in the summer of 2020. And just two years later the open beta of Boost Infinite was brought into the world with full access to customers released in the following year.

However, earlier this year (July 2024), it was announced that the parent company of both Boost Mobile and Boost Infinite would merge, combining its Boost Mobile and Boost Infinite subsidiaries into one brand: Boost Mobile.

Originally Boost Mobile just had prepaid plans, while Boost Infinite just had postpaid plans, but now it’s all under one name: Boost Mobile, and Boost does both prepaid and postpaid cell phone plans now. 

⭐For the sake of ease and less confusion we will refer to Boost Mobile and ⭐ Boost Infinite as “Boost” throughout the article, since they are no longer separated.

Coverage is dependent on compatibility and location. You may be under just T-Mobile or AT&T, or you could have multiple thanks to the “rainbow SIM” (A rainbow SIM card functions the same as a regular SIM card but instead of it being linked to one wireless provider it can instead link and switch between a few different carriers- providing the user with coverage from multiple different cell towers). More information can be found from Boost’s website and Help Center.

But let’s get back into MVNOs: A common aspect of MVNOs you should know about is they are more likely to subject users to data deprioritization and throttled speeds. 

• Data deprioritization is “the temporary slowing of data speeds for certain customers in order to give priority to other customers.” Which means that those who are direct customers of the “parent” company will get network priority when you’re in a high traffic area like a concert hall or sports stadium, or when there’s network congestion.

• Throttling is also more likely to occur with MVNOs and “the dramatic slowing of your data speeds to the point that it becomes almost unusable.” This will happen when you go over a certain number of gigabytes of data for the month, which is referred to as a “data cap.” You’ll see this number displayed somewhere on your carrier’s website. Your normal speeds will slow down until the start of your next billing cycle.

Often, the quality of coverage comes down to your area. One carrier’s coverage may be better in New York, while another’s coverage may be better in California. It’s important to compare between providers on a coverage map of your specific city. Ookla’s coverage map allows you to see where cellular towers are located and which company owns them. This coverage map provides information about coverage from 2G to 5G for several providers.

Verizon has the most nation-wide 4G LTE coverage out of every wireless carrier in the country which is no small feat. Covering over 70% of the country, Verizon has had it’s footprints all over the map giving reliable coverage to even the most rural of areas when it comes to LTE.

However, T-Mobile’s 5G coverage and access is hailed as the best coverage overall. So you can expect some pretty solid 5G speeds for any MVNO under the T-Mobile umbrella. Their 4G LTE isn’t as widespread as their two major competitors, Verizon and AT&T, but it’s by no means a dealbreaker. 

AT&T are very much considered to be the “middle of the pack” when comparing it directly to Verizon and T-Mobile. Their 4G LTE sits comfortably between the two, behind Verizon but ahead of T-Mobile, and their 5G network is above Verizon but below T-Mobile. 

• There isn’t a ton of concrete information on the Dish Wireless Network but what we do know now is qualifying Boost customers will become a part of America’s Smart Network™ which is “a nationwide ecosystem of the most advanced network coverage in the palm of your hand,” built by Dish Network. TLDR: It looks like anywhere your 5G coverage may dip, Dish Wireless may pick up some of the slack if available.

Another good way to look at your coverage options is to go directly to the source and see what the Visible and Boost coverage maps look like from the websites themselves, then you can see the Visible Wireless Coverage Map here and the Boost Coverage Map here.

Plan Options - A Close Look at Visible vs. Boost

Both Boost and Visible offer unlimited plans for their users. 

Like most plans you’ll see on the market, both carriers offer unlimited talk and texting options with any plan you choose. Visible offers premium data, which does not slow down no matter the amount of network traffic. Both companies deprioritize data, which you know means you’ll have slower connection speeds in high traffic areas like concerts venues and sports arenas.

Visible Plans

Both Visible plans offer unlimited data. 

Visible only offers two plans – Visible Base and Visible+. Visible+ offers more features as well as premium data. Both plans offer a hotspot, with that data coming from your overall plan data. As an MVNO on Verizon’s network, Visible is on QCI tier 9. Visible+ has higher priority for its 50GB of premium data, which will be further explained below. 

It’s also important to note that Visible is a single line carrier – meaning you can only have one phone on an account. If you’re buying a plan for your family or with your significant other, you need to make separate accounts with separate plans for everyone. 

If you purchase your phone from Visible, your device will be locked for the first 60 days after activation. Both plans they offer renew monthly, and taxes and fees are included with the advertised price. As you can see there are a lot of Pros and Cons with Visible Wireless, so it’s always good to read up before you sign up!

Visible Base

This plan is always deprioritized.

As we said before, like most plans you’ll see on the market, Visible’s base plan has unlimited talk and text. 

Visible Base also has unlimited data with no cap – meaning you have truly unlimited data that never slows down no matter how much you use. However, the Visible base plan is always deprioritized. Your data and connection will slow down at any point of high traffic in your area, so you have access to Visible’s high-speed data no matter how much you use, but they can’t guarantee that it will stay consistent at all times.

The plan also includes unlimited mobile hotspot data. Again, your data is deprioritized and may slow down in times of high network traffic. 

This plan has two payment options, you can either pay monthly or annually. 

The Visible Base Monthly plan is $25 per month (taxes and fees included) and the Visible Base Annual plan is $275 a year (taxes and fees included, save $25 with this payment option).

Visible+

This plan gives you 50GB of premium data, then unlimited deprioritized data. 

Visible+ gives you access to Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, which is their network for premium data. As such, the 50GBs of premium data you get with this plan will not slow down no matter how much network traffic in your area. After you use the 50GB, your data is unlimited – but subjected to the same deprioritization as the Visible Base plan. The mobile hotspot is also premium data for the first 50GB at speeds up to 10Mbps, then is deprioritized after. 

This plan has two payment options, you can either pay monthly or annually. 

The Visible+ Monthly plan is $45 per month (taxes and fees included) and the Visible+ Annual plan is $395 a year (taxes and fees included, save $145 with this payment option). At this rate, you get the 50GB of premium data at $0.90 per GB.

Boost’s Unlimited Plans

Boost offers three regular unlimited plans and two special “infinite” access unlimited for its users. 

We’re talking only about Boost’s postpaid plans, meaning you pay for the previous month of service after you use it. They offer five plans in total, each one is unlimited. Additional add-ons, like hotspot access and extra high speed data, cost $10 per month. Their QCI tier is 7 on T-Mobile, 8 on AT&T, and 9 on Dish.

Image courtesy of Boost Mobile’s website.

You can have up to five lines on an account. If you purchase your phone from Boost, your device will be locked until you pay off your phone. The plans they offer renew monthly, and taxes and fees are not with the advertised price. In the past we’ve reviewed the Boost Mobile brand before, just like Visible, there are Pros and Cons with Boost Infinite to be aware of.

Boost also has two other unlimited plans called “Infinite Access for iPhone” and “Infinite Access for Galaxy” which we will go over in detail after we take a look at Boost’s base unlimited plans:

Unlimited

This plan offers 30GB of high-speed, premium data. 

This plan offers 30GB of high speed, premium data before slowing to unlimited data at 512kbps, or 3G speeds. 3G speeds still allow you to browse the internet and send texts or emails, but streaming videos may be more difficult. The plan does not include hotspot access, but an add-on is available for $10 per month. You can use up to 30GB in hotspot data with the add-on. 

The plan costs $25 per month. At this rate, you get 30GB at $0.83 per GB. 

Unlimited+

This plan has a mobile hotspot attached.

This plan offers 40GB of high speed, premium data before slowing to unlimited 3G speeds. This plan does have hotspot access which takes data from your monthly unlimited package. This plan has up to $300 Device Savings according to their page.

The plan costs $50 per month. At this rate, you get 40GB at $1.25 per GB. 

Unlimited Premium

This plan has 50GB of high-speed, premium data.

This plan offers 50GB of high speed, premium data before slowing to unlimited 3G speeds. This plan also has hotspot access which again, takes data from your monthly unlimited package. This plan has up to $430 Device Savings according to their page. 

The plan costs $60 per month. At this rate, you get 50GB at $1.20 per GB. 

Next we have Boost’s “Infinite Access for iPhone” and “Infinite Access for Galaxy” plans:

These two plans are under their “Buy Now, Pay Later” section where every year you’ll be able to save up to $1000 on a brand new iPhone and $800 on a brand new Samsung Galaxy. Then you can sign up for their “Buy Now, Pay Later” program where they require Autopay and a soft credit check at account creation.

Infinite Access for iPhone

This plan gets you limited time $1000 off of all iPhone 16 models.

This plan offers 30GB of high speed, premium data before slowing to unlimited 3G speeds. The plan does not include hotspot access, but an add-on is available for $10 per month, where you can use up to 30GB in hotspot data with the add-on. 

When you purchase an Infinite Access for iPhone plan you will pick and buy your iPhone (you can choose $0 down today + taxes, or pay for the phone fully at check-out), and then every year you can request a free annual upgrade where Boost will send you the new iPhone and you send your old one back.

The plan costs $65 per month. At this rate, you get 30GB at $2.16 per GB. 

Infinite Access for Galaxy

This plan gets you up to $800 in device savings.

This plan also offers 30GB of high speed, premium data before slowing to unlimited 3G speeds. The plan does not include hotspot access, but an add-on is available for $10 per month, where you can use up to 30GB in hotspot data with the add-on. 

Just like Infinite Access for iPhone, when you purchase an Infinite Access for Galaxy plan you will pick and buy your Galaxy (choose $0 down today + taxes, or pay for the phone fully at check-out), and then every year you can request a free annual upgrade where Boost will send you the new Galaxy and you send your old one back.

The plan costs $65 per month. At this rate, you get 30GB at $2.16 per GB. 

Features - Visible vs. Boost

While both carriers offer pretty good deals for their customers, there are some differences in the features and benefits that may entice you to pick one over the other. If you’re a frequent traveler, talk to your international friends and family a lot, or are looking for a bit more “perk” with your plan then this section will break down all of that juicy info so you can know what you’re potentially gonna get.

Visible and Boost offer similar features on their best plans. 

If you’re looking for a plan with more included features, such as international connection or domestic roaming data, it’s best to compare carriers with what they offer. 

Domestic Roaming Data

Visible offers domestic roaming data on their plans. Boost Mobile plan includes “100 minutes per month of domestic voice roaming, all at no additional charge. International voice, SMS texting, and data roaming aren't covered” as per their website.

Mexico & Canada Connection

Visible offers talk and text in Mexico and Canada. However, Visible does not include roaming data for Mexico and Canada with Visible Base. Visible+ includes 2GBs of roaming data per day that slows down to 2G speeds after you use it each day.

Boost’s Unlimited Premium, Infinite Access for iPhone, and Infinite Access for Galaxy plans comes with unlimited talk & text and 5GB of data while roaming in Canada and Mexico. To get talk, text, and data to Mexico and Canada on their other plans, users can purchase an additional add-on for $10 per month. 

International Connection

Visible does not give you international roaming data, but you can buy it with their Global Pass. Though, Visible+ gives you international talk and text, Visible Base does not offer this feature. The Global Pass is an add-on with their plans, you can get these benefits:

Every Boost plan except for their base $25/mo. Unlimited plan comes with Global Talk & Text. There is an additional add-on users can purchase for $10 per month for their other plan.

Video Streaming Quality

Both Visible and Boost’s plans stream at 480p Standard Definition. 

Streaming Services

Visible and Boost do not offer this feature. 

Cloud Storage

Visible and Boost do not offer this feature. 

Device Financing

Visible has partnered with Affirm which is a financial company and through them you can “Buy Now and Pay Later” with select phones and Smartwatches. You can get APR financing through Visible’s deal with Affirm- (note that you may need to make a down payment, so be aware of that before you look into the program). Then once you’re done paying off said loan, the device(s) are yours. More information you need on Visible and Affirm can be found here.

If you buy a phone from Boost, the carrier allows you to pay for your device in installments over time through their “Buy Now, Pay Later” program which you will need to qualify for.

WiFi Calling

Both carriers offer WiFi calling, which allows you to send and receive phone calls over a WiFi connection rather than cellular reception. 

Spam Protection

Visible offers spam protection on both of their plans, which blocks spam calls and protects you from potential fraud. Boost does not offer this feature. 

Free Trial

Visible offers a 15 day free trial. Boost does not include this feature.   

Customer Service 

Visible and Boost do not have physical stores, leaving all of their customer service to online support. 

Visible and Boost Mobile are digital-only carriers, meaning they only offer customer support online. Visible offers 24/7 chat support from a live agent. Boost offers support over the phone at (833)-212-6678.

The Verdict

Both Boost and Visible offer amazing deals, but Visible offers better data plans and Boost offers better features. 

WIth Visible’s unlimited deprioritized data plan and 50GB premium data plans, they offer better deals than Boost Mobile when it comes to data amounts. However, both Visible and Boost offer similar features, though Boost also has the leg up when it comes to included features, like their Infinite Access plans. At the end of the day it’s going to depend on your data usage.

We’d recommend checking your data usage before committing to a plan.

Want to compare other carriers?

Really.com helps users compare between features, coverage, price, reviews, and more!

We’ve compared Visible with other carriers before: Visible vs. Total by Verizon: Which carrier is better?

And if you want to compare and contrast Visible Wireless and Boost 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.