Best iPhone plans in Australia

Joining the iPhone club has never been the cheapest experience, but it doesn’t need to break the bank either. To help you find the right iPhone plan for you, we’ve done all the hard work to find the best plans for every type of user, whether you’re after the newest iPhone 12 or happy to settle for an older model.

To keep costs low, we’re using the iPhone 12 64GB as our comparison model (unless noted otherwise), paid over a 24-month period. If you’d prefer an iPhone 12 mini, Pro or Pro Max, want more storage, or a longer 36-month payment plan, no problem. Simply click the ‘Go’ button next to your preferred plan and change your device selection on the telco’s website.

Let’s go.

Best value iPhone plan

Vodafone $40 Lite Plan

• 50GB data (10GB + 40GB bonus)
• 24-month handset repayments
• Capped speeds of 2Mbps once 40GB max-speed data is used
• 5G network access included
• 3-month Amazon Music Unlimited subscription
• Bundle discounts
• No contract

If you’re keen to keep the monthly cost of repaying an iPhone 12 over 24 months as low as possible but also want access to a great plan, the Vodafone $40 Lite Plan is well worth considering. It’s the cheapest iPhone 12 plan available at the time of writing and includes a generous 50GB data (10GB + 40GB bonus for each month you stay connected).

Speaking of data, part of Vodafone’s appeal is its “infinite data”, which caps your internet speed at 2Mbps when you’ve used up the 50GB full-speed data. That means no excess data costs and a connection speed that can keep you happily online with basic connectivity. It’ll be easier to burn through data on this plan, too, because it includes 5G access. You can also save extra bucks by bundling this plan with one or more eligible plans.

Here’s how Vodafone’s plan stacks up against the most popular plans:

Best iPhone plan for perks

Vodafone $65 Super+ Plan

• 200GB data (100GB + 100GB bonus)
• 24-month handset repayments
• Capped 10Mbps speed after 200GB
• 5G network access
• 3-month Amazon Music Unlimited subscription
• Bundle discounts
• Unlimited international calls to Zone 1 countries, 200 minutes to Zone 2 countries
• No contract

If you’re not put off by that high monthly fee, there are a stack of perks to be found in the Vodafone $65 Super+ Plan. This plan comes with a bunch of perks, from monthly savings and bundling discounts to three months of Amazon Music Unlimited included at no extra cost and more than enough international call inclusions to keep you connected to loved ones around the world.

This plan also comes with 5G access as standard, and given faster 5G speeds, you’ll want plenty of data to take advantage of it. While this plan normally comes with a generous 100GB, Vodafone has doubled it to 200GB at the time of writing. Even if you burn through that 200GB of data, you have unlimited additional data to use, albeit capped at a very respectable 10Mbps.

Not convinced? Here are more popular iPhone 12 plans:

Best big-data iPhone plan

Optus One Plan

• 500GB data
• 24-month handset repayments
• Capped 1.5Mbps speed after 500GB
• 5G network access
• Optus Sport + Fitness included
• Unlimited international calls and text to 35 countries
• No contract

The mobile data wars between telcos are now bearing more fruit for consumers. Optus has the most data you can nab in a monthly plan – a whopping 500GB. Vodafone offers it too, but it’s not technically a 500GB plan, rather a 150GB with 350GB bonus.

Even if you somehow manage to burn through that half a terabyte of data, Optus offers no excess mobile data charges, which means speeds are throttled to 1.5Mbps for the duration of the billing cycle. This plan has other perks, too, like international talk and text, 5G network access, and Optus Sport + Fitness.

Here’s how it compares to other big-data plans (200GB+):

Best iPhone plan for coverage

Telstra $65 Medium Upfront Mobile Plan

• 80GB data
• 24-month handset repayments
• Capped 1.5Mbps speed after 80GB
• 5G network access
• Data-free Apple Music streaming
• Data-free live sport (AFLW, Netball and My Football Live apps)
• 30 minutes standard international calls to all
• No contract

If coverage is the most important factor for you when considering a new iPhone plan, Telstra is your best bet – particularly if you live in a more rural area. As Australia’s fastest-growing 5G network, however, the buy-in isn’t cheap, with Telstra’s $65 Medium Upfront Mobile Plan being the least expensive way to get 5G access with Telstra.

For your money, you’ll get 80GB of full-speed data, capped at 1.5Mbps if you go over. There’s also data-free Apple Music streaming (though you will have to pay for the subscription), as well as data-free live sport through the AFLW, Netball and My Football Live apps. Despite the high price tag, this plan only comes with 30 minutes of standard international calls, so if you need more, you may need to fork out for an International Calling Pack, which can cost an additional $10 to $30 per month.

If 5G doesn’t matter so much to you but you still want Telstra’s coverage, here are their most popular iPhone 12 plans with and without 5G access:

Cheapest iPhone plan

iPhone SE (2020) on Vodafone $40 Lite Plan

• 50GB data (10GB + 40GB bonus)
• 24-month handset repayments
• Capped speeds of 2Mbps once 40GB max-speed data is used
• 5G network access included
• 3-month Amazon Music Unlimited subscription
• Bundle discounts
• No contract

If you simply want an iPhone on a plan and don’t care about getting the latest and greatest, it’s hard to go past the iPhone SE. Apple’s budget-friendly handset packs the innards of the fantastic iPhone 11 into the compact body of the iPhone 8, and the result is perhaps the best value device Apple has ever made.

Paired with Vodafone’s killer value $40 Lite Plan and you’ve got yourself a seriously good deal, with 50GB to play with each month (and capped speeds of 2Mbps afterwards), 5G access, bundle discounts for eligible plans, and even a three-month Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.

To see how it stacks up against the competition, here are the most popular iPhone SE (2020) plans right now:

Best iPhone 11 plan

Vodafone $40 Lite Plan

• 50GB data (10GB + 40GB bonus)
• 24-month handset repayments
• Capped speeds of 2Mbps once 40GB max-speed data is used
• 5G network access included
• 3-month Amazon Music Unlimited subscription
• Bundle discounts
• No contract

Vodafone’s $40 Lite Plan comes out on top once more, offering a great value iPhone 11 plan for those who don’t necessarily need 5G, but still want one of the best iPhones Apple has ever produced.

You’ll get 50GB of data to use for uploading those happy snaps, watching Netflix, and streaming music via Amazon Music Unlimited (of which you get three free months). Once your max-speed data has been used up, you’ll be capped at 2Mbps, which isn’t super flash, but certainly enough for basic browsing.

Here are more popular iPhone 11 plans:

Most popular iPhone plans

iPhone 12

iPhone 12 mini

iPhone 12 Pro

iPhone 12 Pro Max