There's no denying that Belong is the cheaper option, with SIM-only plans starting at $34 per month, versus Telstra's eye-watering $74 monthly fee for its cheapest SIM-only plan. However, unlike Belong, Telstra also offers prepaid plans, which start at a lower price point (albeit still higher than Belong) as well as access to its Telstra Plus perks program, which gives customers access to cheap movie tickets, presales for concerts and discounted tickets for sporting events. Telstra Plus participants also earn points for paying their mobile bill.

Regardless of whether you're looking at starting price or straight data-for-dollar value, Belong still comes out way in front of Telstra. For reference, here's how both telcos' plan prices compare.

Although Belong offers significantly better value than Telstra, it's worth noting that there are cheaper ways to get access to the Telstra Wholesale network (which Belong belongs to), or even the full Telstra network (with Boost Mobile).

Below are some popular plans from alternative Telstra-powered providers.

If you want the best mobile coverage in Australia, you want to either be a Telstra or Boost Mobile customer. Both telcos operate on the full Telstra network, which covers approximately 2.14 million square kilometres of physical land space in Australia.

In comparison, Belong runs on the Telstra Wholesale Network, which covers approximately 1.4 million square kilometres. To put this difference into perspective, take a look at the coverage map below (4G in green and 5G in purple).

In practice, Belong is still perfectly serviceable for anyone living or working in a metro area or regional hub, but if you're somewhere particularly remote, we'd recommend opting for Telstra proper (or Boost, the only MVNO with full Telstra network access).

As is the case with most MVNOs, Belong's data speeds are capped, while Telstra offers the maximum 4G and 5G speeds possible.

Most Belong plans are capped at 150Mbps, with the most expensive plan boosted to 250Mbps. Although Telstra's average 5G download speed (according to OpenSignal) is 171.7Mbps, it is theoretically capable of much faster speeds. So, if speed is important to your mobile experience, Telstra is the telco to go with.

Fortunately, neither Telstra nor Belong charge excess data fees if you blitz through your monthly allowance. They do, however, throttle your speeds for the remainder of the billing period. For Telstra, speeds drop to 1.5Mbps and for Belong, speeds are capped at 1Mbps.

By default, all Telstra SIM-only plans include standard SMS to international numbers around the globe, plus 30 minutes of calls to any standard overseas phone number. For more calls, Telstra mobile customers can add a Zone 1, Zone 2 or Zone 3 calling pack for $10, $20 or $30 a month, respectively. Zone 1 includes 23 international dialling destinations, Zone 2 adds an additional 45 to those 23, while Zone 3 adds 99 atop the base 23.

Belong SIM-only customers don’t get any international inclusions, unless you opt for the priciest mobile plan, which gives you unlimited standard international calls and SMS to 30 destinations. For the other Belong plans, you'll need to pay $5 a month for the same privilege. If those particular countries are the ones you want to call, Belong is the better choice, otherwise Telstra has better global flexibility.

In terms of international roaming, Telstra and Belong offer travel packs. Telstra charges for what it calls a Day Pass, which grants you an allotment of data, calls and SMS to use each day you're abroad:

• Zone 1: $5 per day for 2GB of data, unlimited calls and SMS in 7 Oceania destinations
• Zone 2: $10 per day for 2GB of data, unlimited calls and SMS in 80+ international destinations
• Zone 3: $15 per day for no data, unlimited calls and texts in Jamaica, Gibraltar, Guernsey, and Jersey

For prepaid Telstra customers, there are three roaming packs to choose from:

• 3 Day Travel Pack: $10 for 400MB data, 15 SMS or MMS, and 15 minutes of calls in 38 destinations
• 7 Day Travel Pack: $10 for 2GB data, 25 SMS or MMS, and 25 minutes of calls in 38 destinations
• 14 Day Travel Pack: $10 for 4GB data, 50 SMS or MMS, and 50 minutes of calls in 38 destinations

For Belong, there's just one international roaming pack. It costs $30 for 3GB of data, unlimited standard SMS and 150 minutes of calls (making and receiving). Once purchased, this pack covers you for 15 days in 45 global destinations. For better overall value, Belong is the winner, but that’s only if you’re travelling to one of the supported countries.