The best mobile phone plans in Australia in July 2021

Spintel $65 5G Mobile Plan

Best value mobile phone plan: SIM Only

Spintel $65 5G Mobile Plan at a glance:

• $55 initial monthly fee (6 months)
• $65 per month (normally)
• $720 first-year cost
• 200GB data
• 5G network access
• Optus network
• Month-to-month plan

This category is usually the exclusive domain of the Circles.Life 100GB monthly plan, which tends to rarely be charged at its full $38-per-month price and, instead, hangs around the $30 monthly pricepoint. In fairness, that Circles.Life plan has identical dollars-to-data value going around this month, but it’s edged out by the overall value of the Spintel $65 5G Mobile Plan.

Instead of paying that typical $65 monthly fee, the first six months are charged at $55 apiece. Regardless of what price you’re paying, this Spintel plan comes with 200GB of data to use each month. If you’re in an area that has Optus 5G coverage, you can take advantage of 5G speeds, too.

Compare phone plans with the daily updating list below of popular SIM Only plans with at least 50GB of data.

$55 Optus Choice Plan

Best value mobile phone plan: Postpaid

For our best value Postpaid phone plan, we use the iPhone 12 64GB as the handset for our comparisons and plans with 10GB or more on 24-month handset repayment terms. These Postpaid plans can also be paired with other telco-offered iPhone or Android handsets.

$55 Optus Choice Plan at a glance:

• $96.58 per month
• $55 plan; $41.58 iPhone 12 64GB
• 80GB data
• 5G network access
• International talk and text
• Optus Sport
• Optus network
• Month-to-month plan

Vodafone has enjoyed a lot of victories in this category, switching between competitively priced Postpaid plans with plenty of data. At the start of this month, Vodafone may have the slightly cheaper plan, but the $55 Optus Choice Plan has better inclusions.

You’re looking at $95.68 a month, which is around $10 cheaper than it used to be, for 80GB of data. This includes access to the Optus 5G network, which is currently farther-reaching than the Vodafone 5G network. This plan also comes with unlimited talk and SMS to 35 selected countries as well as an Optus Sport + OS Fitness subscription.

Below is a daily updated list of the most popular plans with at least 10GB of data that you can pair with an iPhone 12 64GB handset.

Mate + Tidal music subscription

Best mobile phone plan: Perks

Subscriptions for video streaming services seem to be the way to go when it comes to taking out this category. Late last year, Telstra secured this spot with a three-month Binge Standard giveaway. In the early months of 2021, it was Vodafone with a three-month Amazon Prime and Amazon Music Unlimited combo (the music part is back for now).

Now it’s a music-streaming service again, this time from Mate, albeit one focused on high-quality audio. If you sign up for the Better Mates, Great Mates, Best Mates Soul Mates or Elite Mates SIM Only plans, you nab up to 12 months of Tidal Premium music streaming subscription valued at $11.99 a month (and up to $143.88 in value if you stay for a year).

Galaxy A52 with Woolworths Mobile

Best cheap mobile phone plan: Postpaid

For the best cheap Postpaid phone plan, we used to use the Samsung Galaxy A51 128GB handset, but that’s since been replaced by the newer A52 model. Though available in 4G and 5G versions, we’ve opted for the cheaper A52 4G to help keep costs down. Postpaid plans are also based on 24-month interest-free handset repayments.

Woolworths Mobile $25 Mobile Phone Plan at a glance:

• $52 per month
• $25 plan; $27 Samsung Galaxy A52 4G
• 18GB data
• 300GB data bank
• 10% off monthly Woolies shop
• Telstra network
• No contract

If you want to pay off a new handset and have a decent Postpaid plan to pair it with, have a gander at the Woolworths Mobile $25 Mobile Phone Plan with a new, well-priced Samsung Galaxy A52 4G handset. This no-contract plan will cost you $52 a month (up from $43 per month) with 24-month handset repayment terms, plus it comes with 18GB of data, which is a great amount for everyday users.

There are some neat perks, too. For starters, any unused data can be banked between months (300GB, up from 200GB) and you can get 10% off your Woolies shop once a month (up to $50 in savings). If you did want the absolute cheapest A52 4G Postpaid plan, the Southern Phone Small Mobile Plan costs $35 a month but it only includes 2.5GB of data.

Circles.Life 20GB Monthly Plan

Best cheap mobile phone plan: SIM Only

Circles.Life 20GB Monthly Plan at a glance:

• $20 initial monthly fee (12 months)
• $28 per month (normally)
• $240 first-year cost
• 20GB data
• 33GB bonus data
• Optus network
• Month-to-month plan

To help create more of a gap between our pick of the best cheap and cheapest mobile phone plans each month, we’ve upped the spend limit for this category from $15 a month to $20 or less. There are a lot of plans that compete around this pricepoint, particularly when it comes to limited-time promo pricing.

Case in point, this month’s winner: the Circles.Life 20GB Monthly Plan, which normally costs $28 a month but is charged at $20 a month for the first 12 months. Just get in by 13 July 2021 (unless extended) with the WhistleOut Exclusive promo code ‘50GBWOEXCL’ to nab the pricing. Getting in by that deadline also nets you 30Gb of bonus data on top of the 20GB base inclusion, plus Circles.Life chucks in 3GB of bill-shock protection if you burn through all 50GB.

For comparison, below is a daily updating list of popular SIM Only plans in Australia that don’t cost more than $20 a month.

Moose Mobile 9.80 SIM Only Promo

Best cheapest mobile phone plan: SIM Only

Moose Mobile 9.80 SIM Only Promo at a glance:

• $9.80 initial monthly fee (12 months)
• $15.80 per month (normally)
• $117.60 first-year cost
• 6GB data
• Optus network
• Month-to-month plan

We tend to let this category stretch up to as much as $15 per month, but we also love plans that are offered around the $10 mark. It used to be that you could only hope for 2GB max per month, but that’s changed in recent times. Take this month’s winner, for instance.

The Moose Mobile 9.80 SIM Only Promo plan comes with 6GB of data. Normally, you’d have to pay $15.80 per month to access this plan, but Moose Mobile has revitalised its ongoing promo pricing so new sign-ups only pay $9.80 a month for the first year.

Have a gander at the list below for a daily updating snapshot of the cheapest mobile plans with at least 1GB of data that cost no more than $15 a month.

Vodafone $65 SIM Only Super+ Plan

Best mobile phone plan: Big data

Vodafone $65 SIM Only Super+ Plan at a glance:

• $65 monthly fee
• $780 first-year cost
• 100GB base data
• 200GB base data
• 5G network access
• Bundle discounts
• International calls
• Three-month Amazon Music sub
• Vodafone network
• Month-to-month plan

This month feels like it’s packed with options for those who crave more than 100GB of data. While this category is typically measured against the Circles.Life 100GB Monthly Plan, this month’s winner boasts three times that amount of data. Vodafone may have ditched its first-year promo pricing, but the telco’s $65 SIM Only Super+ Plan has enough data to justify the cost.

You’re looking at 100GB of base data and, if you get in by 29 July 2021, you can triple that care of 200GB of bonus data. In terms of perks, this plan also includes access to the Vodafone 5G network, you can save money by bundling (up to 20% off), there are international call inclusions and a three-month Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.

Compare phone plans with the daily updating list below of popular SIM Only offerings with at least 100GB of data.

Boost Mobile $30 Prepaid

Most popular Telstra network phone plan

If coverage is your primary concern, you might be looking for the best deal on Telstra’s network (or wholesale network if we’re talking MVNOs). This section doesn’t get the same monthly treatment as the rest of our top picks, but our “most popular” plan filter is still a good indication of the best trending deals and is updated every day.

At the start of the month, Boost Mobile had edged out the seemingly incumbent Belong 20GB Mobile Plan. The Boost Mobile $30 Prepaid plan needs to be recharged every 28 days and usually comes with 20GB of data. The first three recharges come with a bonus 17GB of data, and you can roll over unused data to the next recharge. This Boost plan also comes with unlimited calls to 20 selected countries, plus 300 minutes of standard calls to 30 additional dialling locations.

The top spot for most popular Telstra network plans may change throughout the month based on demand, but this pick is accurate as of 7 July 2021.

Optus Prepaid Epic Data – $30 Recharge

Most popular Optus network phone plan

Those who have sufficient Optus coverage that don’t feel like spending a primo on Telstra can suss out the results below to find out which plans on the Optus network are trending this week.

At the start of the month, the Optus Prepaid Epic Data – $30 Recharge plan was comfortably ahead as the most popular plan on the Optus network. That $30 cost every 28 days gets you 10GB of data normally, but 30GB of bonus data on the first three recharges. You can bank unused data (up to 200GB) and stack days in advance (up to 84) if you recharge before expiry, plus there’s unlimited standard international calls to 15 selected countries.

The top spot for most popular Optus network plans may change throughout the month based on demand, but this pick is accurate as of 7 July 2021.

iiNet Mobile 40GB Plan

Most popular Vodafone network phone plan

There aren’t as many Vodafone MVNOs on the scene as there are for Optus and Telstra, but Australia’s third-largest mobile network has plans with great value and plenty of data. Take a look at the top trending plans below to find a great deal.

TPG and iiNet were battling it out over the last couple of months, but that’s changed at the start of this month with iiNet comfortably out in front. While the more affordable iiNet 8GB Mobile Plan had the silver medal, the iiNet Mobile 40GB Plan was a whisker ahead at the start of the month. This makes sense given the $15 monthly fee for the first six months before it jumps back to its $29.99 regular fee. Either price, you’ll get 40GB of data, which is plenty.

The top spot for most popular Vodafone network plans may change throughout the month based on demand, but this pick is accurate as of 7 July 2021.