Best Reviewed
Prepaid Cell Phone Plans
- Prepaid cell phone plan with advanced phones Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk *Est. $35
- Best prepaid phone plan for occasional use T-Mobile Prepaid *Est. $10
- Prepaid phone plan with international calling TracFone *Est. $10
- Best as an emergency phone T-Mobile Prepaid (annual plan) *Est. $100
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Pros
- Low-priced, unlimited monthly service
- Large selection of calling features
- Good choice of phones
- Access to Sprint's push-to-talk service
Cons
- Pricey phones
- Patchy network
Boost Mobile Monthly Unlimited offers unlimited talk, messaging, data and walkie-talkie for $50 a month, with no contract and no hidden taxes or fees. Reviewers like Boost Mobile's sleek, advanced phones, although they can be costly; like other prepaid providers, Boost Mobile doesn't discount its handsets the way contract carriers do. Boost Mobile uses its parent company Sprint's network, which allows for its unique push-to-talk, walkie-talkie feature, but reviewers say coverage is spotty. An attractive feature of Boost Mobile's fee schedule is the reduction of your bill by $5 for every six months of on-time payments (down to $35). The fee for Android phone users is an extra $5 a month.
Reviewers and customers alike praise Boost Mobile. It comes in at first place in J.D. Powers' survey of over 6,400 prepaid wireless users, and the editors at TopTenReviews.com awards Boost Mobile the gold medal, citing its cost of service and monthly plans as a deciding factor.
Top-rated Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk (*Est. $35 per month and up) also uses the Sprint network, but it offers slightly more advanced smartphones and gets more attention from reviewers. If you're not a heavy cell phone user and don't need a monthly unlimited plan, critics suggest checking out T-Mobile Prepaid (*Est. $10 for 30 min. and up), another major national carrier that offers full-featured prepaid phones.
J.D. Power and Associates ranks prepaid wireless providers based on its extensive nationwide customer surveys. PrepaidReviews.com also ranks prepaid wireless plans and posts subscriber comments and ratings. The New York Times and CNET compare several of the most popular prepaid plans.
Our Sources
Boost Mobile comes in first place in this 2011 survey of nine non-contract cell phone providers. The reviewers state that Boost performs particularly well in four of the six categories they reviewed: cost of service, account management, offerings and initial promotion. Boost beats out MetroPCS and TracFone for this position.
Review: 2011 Wireless Non-Contract Customer Satisfaction Index Study, Editors of J.D. Power and Associates, March 31, 2011
Boost Mobile wins the Gold medal at TopTenReviews.com's 2012 evaluation of prepaid service plans, beating out Cricket Wireless and Virgin Mobile. Boost Mobile receives full marks for its monthly plans, which the editors consider to be the broadest range of all the prepaid carriers in the review. However, this company receives a lower score for its phone selection. Boost Mobile is a subsidiary of Sprint operating on its network, so it has excellent domestic coverage. Keep in mind that TopTenReviews.com's evaluation of prepaid cell phone providers is based only on features and doesn't look at how each phone service performs.
Review: 2012 Prepaid Cell Phones Comparison, Editors of TopTenReviews.com
Boost Mobile earns a 4-star rating (out of 5) from editors at PrepaidReviews.com, thanks to its feature-rich plans and walkie-talkie service. However, Boost Mobile averages only 2.5 stars from more than 600 users, some of whom cite customer service and coverage problems.
Review: Boost Mobile Prepaid Cell Phones, Editors of PrepaidReviews.com, Feb. 25, 2009
4. CNET
In this 2009 report, CNET analyzes nine popular prepaid wireless carriers, including Boost Mobile. Although reviewer Marguerite Reardon doesn't pick a favorite, she says Boost Mobile's "low-cost unlimited plan and good selection of phones É make it a great buy" for anyone who wants to replace a contract plan.
Review: Prepaid Wireless: In Search of the Perfect Bargain, Marguerite Reardon, May 15, 2009
Prepaid Cell Phone Plans Runners Up:
Net10 *Est. $15 for 200 min. and up
4 picks including: J.D. Power & Associates, MSNBC…
Boost Mobile *Est. $50 per month
3 picks by top review sites.
Straight Talk *Est. $30 for 30 days and up
2 picks including: The New York Times, Viewpoints.com…
AT&T GoPhone *Est. 10 cents per min. and up
1 pick including: J.D. Power & Associates…