Both are retail prepaid brands with stores you can walk into, and both undercut postpaid substantially. But they fail in opposite directions: Boost is the cheapest of the two and never raises the price, while capping your data hard; Cricket charges more and, on Supreme Unlimited, removes the deprioritization that makes most cheap plans unreliable when it matters.
Key takeaways
Boost is $25/mo price-locked; Cricket unlimited runs $35 to $55 with taxes included.
Boost hard-throttles to 512kbps after 30GB — Cricket has no equivalent hard cap.
Both are deprioritized behind their host network's postpaid customers in congestion.
Cricket Supreme's 50GB hotspot is far larger than anything Boost offers.
Both have retail stores, which is rare at prepaid prices.
At $25 on Verizon with no hard cap, Visible undercuts the logic of Boost for heavy users.
Price
- Boost Unlimited — $25/mo, price-locked for as long as AutoPay stays on. New customers frequently see $10/mo for the first three months.
- Boost Infinite Access — $65/mo for unlimited data plus a new iPhone or Galaxy every year, no trade-in required to start.
- Cricket Select Unlimited — $35/mo, no hotspot. Cricket Sensible 10GB is $30/mo.
- Cricket Smart Unlimited — $45/mo with a 15GB hotspot.
- Cricket Supreme Unlimited — $55/mo with a 50GB hotspot, unlimited texting to 200+ countries, and Mexico/Canada calling and roaming. Taxes included.
- On four lines Cricket closes the gap considerably: Select is $100/mo, or $25 per line.
Boost's 30GB hard cap is the deciding number
Boost throttles to 512kbps after 30GB — not deprioritization, a hard cap, and 512kbps is slow enough that maps and video effectively stop working. Cricket applies no equivalent hard cap on its unlimited tiers. If you use more than 30GB in a normal month, the $25 price lock is irrelevant, because the plan stops being usable before the month ends.
| Boost | Cricket (AT&T) | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry unlimited | $25/mo, price-locked | Select — $35/mo, no hotspot |
| Limited data | — | Sensible 10GB — $30/mo |
| Mid unlimited | Unlimited+ — $50/mo | Smart — $45/mo, 15GB hotspot |
| Top unlimited | Premium — $60/mo | Supreme — $55/mo, 50GB hotspot |
| Four lines | — | Select — $100/mo ($25/line) |
| Hard data cap | Throttled to 512kbps after 30GB | No equivalent hard cap on unlimited tiers |
| Hotspot, top tier | 50GB, drawn from the same 30GB budget | 50GB |
| Price lock | Yes, while AutoPay stays on | AutoPay discount, not a lock |
| Yearly phone upgrade | Infinite Access — $65/mo | Not offered |
Boost's 30GB hard throttle is the number that decides this matchup, not the headline price.
Network and priority
- Boost runs primarily on its own network with T-Mobile and AT&T roaming; coverage is improving but still the least established of the three big-brand prepaid options.
- Cricket runs on AT&T, which is often stronger across the South and along interstate highways.
- Both are deprioritized behind their host network's postpaid customers during congestion — neither buys true priority data.
- Check which network is stronger at your own address before weighing any feature here; it outranks everything else on this page.
Hotspot and video
- Boost — hotspot is included but modest, and it draws from the same 30GB budget before the hard throttle.
- Cricket Select — no hotspot at all. Cricket Smart — 15GB hotspot.
- Cricket Supreme — 50GB hotspot, the most generous in this matchup by a wide margin.
- Neither brand streams HD on cellular by default — both apply video management, which consistently surprises people arriving from postpaid.
The non-price differences
- Retail — both have real stores, unusual at this price. If in-person support is why you're shopping prepaid, either works and most MVNOs don't.
- Price lock — Boost's $25 genuinely doesn't rise while AutoPay is on. Cricket's AutoPay discount is a discount, not a lock.
- Device subscription — Boost Infinite Access at $65/mo is a real differentiator: a new flagship yearly with no trade-in to start. Cricket has no equivalent.
- Perks — Cricket Supreme bundles international texting to 200+ countries plus Mexico and Canada roaming. Boost bundles nothing at $25.
- Taxes — Cricket includes taxes and fees in its advertised prices, so the figure you see is close to what you pay.
Who should pick which
- Pick Boost if you use under 30GB a month and want the lowest price that never goes up.
- Pick Boost Infinite Access if a new flagship every year for $65/mo beats buying phones outright for you.
- Pick Cricket Supreme if you need a genuinely large 50GB hotspot.
- Pick Cricket if AT&T is the stronger network where you live, or if you exceed 30GB regularly.
- Pick neither if you want to choose your network: US Mobile Unlimited Premium is $32.50/mo on Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T with a 50GB hotspot and no hard cap.
- Also worth a look: Visible is $25/mo on Verizon with no hard cap — mathematically better than Boost at the same price for heavy users.
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About the author
Jean Gilles has researched personal finance, consumer technology, and wireless pricing for over a decade. He founded ShopCellPlans in 2019 and writes every review on the site.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, Boost or Cricket? +
Boost, on a single line — $25/mo against Cricket's $35 Select. The caveat is Boost's 30GB hard throttle. On four lines Cricket narrows the gap sharply: $100 for four Select lines, or $25 per line.
What happens when I hit Boost's 30GB? +
Boost throttles to 512kbps for the rest of the billing cycle. That's a hard cap rather than deprioritization, and at 512kbps video and maps become largely unusable. Cricket applies no comparable hard cap.
Does Cricket have priority data? +
No — Cricket plans are deprioritized behind AT&T's own postpaid customers when a tower is busy, the same as Boost. Higher Cricket tiers add hotspot and perks rather than priority.
Is Boost's $25 price really locked forever? +
Yes, while AutoPay stays enabled. It's one of the few genuine price locks in prepaid — Cricket's AutoPay saving is an ongoing discount, not a locked rate.
Which network is better? +
Cricket's, in most places today — it uses AT&T, which is well established. Boost runs mainly on its own network with T-Mobile and AT&T roaming, and coverage is still maturing. Test at your address before committing.
Do both have stores? +
Yes. Both Boost and Cricket have large retail footprints, which is the main practical advantage they hold over online-only MVNOs like Mint or Visible.
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