While the big three networks regularly fight it out to gain your business, there is just as much competition between smaller Aussie telcos. Not only do these providers need to offer plans with enough value for money to lure you away from the likes of Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, but they also need to compete against each other for your business.
Often with these Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), the most competition tends to be how much data can be packed in for the lowest prices. Whether the MVNOs offer prepaid or postpaid phone plans, there is some fierce competition out there.
Two such MVNOs are Amaysim and Boost Mobile. Both of these telcos specialise in prepaid phone plans and are generally known for offering good value for money, with both providers having won Canstar Blue’s Most Satisfied Customers for Prepaid Plans. (Amaysim in 2019 and 2023, and Boost Mobile in 2018). Still, there are a couple differences between these telcos — let’s take a look to see how Amaysim and Boost Mobile compare.
Amaysim vs Boost Mobile: a quick glance
Amaysim operates on the Optus 3G, 4G and 5G networks while Boost Mobile operates on the Telstra 3G, 4G and 5G networks. Boost Mobile is actually the only MVNO to have full access to the Telstra network through a special arrangement, and it also offers access to the Telstra 5G network on all of its plans, however most plans include a speed cap. Amaysim also offers 5G, however it isn’t available on all plans.
As already mentioned, both Amaysim and Boost Mobile offer prepaid phone plans, and all plans from both telcos include unlimited standard national calls and SMS. One of the biggest differences is the suite of plans on offer. Amaysim offers four plans which all run on a 28-day expiry period along with a short-term seven-day plan, and two 12-month plans. Boost offers five plans on a 28 day expiry, a seven-day plan and three 12-month plans. Both telcos also offer some international call value, but that varies between plans.
Both telcos also have additional offerings beyond the prepaid phone plans. Amaysim offers a range of mobile broadband data-only plans, as well as a range of brand new iPhones that you can buy outright. Boost Mobile offers refurbished mobile phones that can be bought outright, with free plans sometimes included. Both telcos also offer international roaming packs that you can add on to your existing plan.
The best phone plans from Amaysim and Boost Mobile
When comparing these two telcos, the price points for these plans are fairly similar — both telcos have plans around the $20, $30, $40 and $50 price points, but you’ll notice the biggest difference is with the data inclusions. While Amaysim does offer more data at these price points, Boost Mobile is still quite generous with what it is offering. For example, Amaysim’s cheapest plan is $22 with 10GB of data, while Boost’s starts at $22 with 7GB of data. However Boost offers 5G network access on its cheapest plan, while Amaysim doesn’t.
You can also pick up deals like bonus data and discounts on plan fees from time to time, so keep an eye out for what is currently on offer from both telcos.
Let’s take a look at some plans side-by-side to see how they compare. The following table includes a selection of Amaysim and Boost Mobile 28-day prepaid phone plans from Canstar Blue’s database with a minimum of 10GB of data, listed in order of advertised cost from lowest to highest and then data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our comparison tool to see a wider range of plans from other providers. These are products with links to referral partners.
Amaysim Prepaid Plans
Amaysim keeps things fairly straightforward, with a range of four plans all across a 28-day expiry period, one short-term plan and two 12-month plans. All plans include unlimited standard national calls and SMS. The $30 plan includes unlimited standard international calls to 28 countries including Canada, China, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK and USA, while $40 and $50 plans include calls to 42 countries.
As for data, inclusions start from 10GB and go all the way up to 120GB, which is plenty if you like to do a lot of web browsing, or video and music streaming. Video streaming will use about 1GB of data per one hour of standard-definition streaming: so if you’re watching several hours per week, 120GB should be more than enough, but keep in mind that high-definition video streaming uses about 3GB of data per hour.
If you’d prefer to ‘set and forget’ your prepaid plan, there are two long-expiry plans available, with two plans over 12 months, both of which include unlimited data banking but 4G network coverage only.
So, lets take a look at Amaysim’s five 28-day prepaid plans to give you an idea of what you’ll get for your money. The following table lists Amaysim’s prepaid plans from Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost, lowest to highest. This table includes products with links to a referral partner.
Boost Mobile Prepaid Plans
Boost Mobile also offers a range of 28-day plans along with a short-term plan and three 12-month plans. There are also a few more advantages to selecting this telco, with 5G access included on all plans, but with speed caps. Data rollover is also available, but not on all plans.
All plans, excluding the $22 plan, also include unlimited standard international call and SMS to 20 countries, along with a set number of minutes and SMS to an additional 30 countries.
Boost’s cheapest plan 28-day plan is the $22 plan with 7GB. You won’t get any of the international calls or SMS included on this plan, but if you need the international calls, you’ll need to pay a minimum of $35 per 28-day expiry, with 25GB of included data.
The following table includes Boost Mobile’s 28-day prepaid plans from Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost from lowest to highest.
Long-term plans compared
Both telcos offer long-expiry plans, but prices and data inclusions do vary greatly between the two telcos. Amaysim’s 12-month plans are $240 with 200GB of data to use and $300 with 240GB of data, however neither plan includes 5G access and only the $240 plan includes international call inclusions. Boost offers a $230 12-month plan with 160GB of data included, a $300 plan with 240GB of data included and a $365 plan with 365GB of data included. While Amaysim offers the cheaper 12-month plan, Boost offers a more expensive 12-month plan with a bigger data inclusion, so how much data you’ll need over those 12 months could determine which provider’s plan is better suited to you.
If data inclusion is the best measure for you in terms of which telco you sign up to, you might want to see what kind of value you get for your money. Amaysim’s $240 plan with 200GB of data will work out to be around $20 per month for 16GB of data with unlimited data banking. Boost’s $230 plan with 160GB of data will work out to be around $19 per month for around 13GB of data, with 5G access included.
The following table includes Boost Mobile’s long-term prepaid plans from Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost from lowest to highest. This table includes links to a referral partner.
Amaysim vs Boost Mobile — the final word
Now that we’ve compared plans from both telcos, you can see that there is really very little difference between the two in terms of price – the biggest difference could come down to the networks each telco uses. While we’ve provided a snapshot of how these two telcos compare, there are plenty of others offering prepaid plans, along with postpaid providers and telcos with phones available on a plan, so there is plenty of choice out there.
- Price: There is very little difference between the two telcos when it comes to price — there are plans around $20, $30, $40 and $50 from both, however the biggest point of difference is that Amaysim offers the cheaper 28-day plan, along with cheaper long-term plans.
- Data: Once again, the differences in data offerings are fairly small. While Amaysim does offer more data at comparable price points, both providers offer data rollover.
- Expiry periods: Amaysim offers plans on seven-day, 28-day and 12-month expiry periods, while Boost Mobile also offers seven-day, 28-day and 12-month expiries. The 7-day expiry could work if you’re after a temporary plan for a couple of weeks, if you’re interested in trying out either telco before committing, or for travellers looking for a plan to use for the duration of their trip. It’s also worth noting that a 28-day expiry period will require you to recharge a minimum of 13 times a year.
- 5G access: Boost includes this on all plans with capped speeds of 150Mbps or 250Mbps depending on your plan, and uncapped speeds on its most expensive 28-day plan. Amaysim only includes 5G on three of its 28-day plans and with 100Mbps or 150Mbps capped speeds only.
All in all, there is no saying which of these two telcos is better — it all comes down to what you want from your prepaid plan. If you want lots of data, you might find Amaysim has some better options, while Boost Mobile could be a stronger option if you want a longer expiry period with bigger data inclusions. Both telcos have their strong points, and it could even come down to choosing the Telstra network or Optus network. However, it’s still worth comparing phone plans from a wide range of mobile phone providers to help you find the phone plan that is right for your needs.
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