The best mobile phone plans in Australia in April 2021

Circles.Life 20GB Monthly plan

Best value mobile phone plan: SIM Only

Circles.Life 20GB Monthly Plan at a glance:

• $22 per month (12 months)
• $28 per month normally
• 50GB data
• 3GB bill-shock protection
• Optus network
• Month-to-month plan

While the Circles.Life 100GB Monthly Plan used to be a popular victor for this category, it’s a lower-data plan from the same telco that takes the cake this month. At first glance, paying $28 a month for the Circles.Life 20GB Monthly Plan doesn’t seem like great dollars-for-data value. Then you realise that $28 is the typical price that’s reduced to $22 for the first 12 months as long as you get in by 30 April 2021.

But it gets better. That “20GB” in the plan name only refers to the base data and doesn’t include the extra 30GB of bonus data, nor the 3GB of “bill-shock protection” that Circles.Life throws in if you manage to burn through 50GB in a month. Just like the reduced 12-month pricing, if you want the bonus data for the first year, get in by 30 April 2021.

You can see a range of other popular 30GB+ SIM Only plans below.

Vodafone $55 Super 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 eligible iPhone or Android handsets.

Vodafone $55 Super Plan at a glance:

• $101.20 per month
• 10% discount for 18–25s
• 60GB data
• 40GB bonus data
• Capped 10Mbps after 100GB
• 5G network access
• No contract

While Vodafone’s $40 Lite Plan was our top pick in December (and we were tempted to pick it again this month), the telco’s continued extension of its promo pricing and bonus data sees us crowning another Vodafone plan once again: the $55 SIM Only Super Plan. Yes, it’s more expensive, but it comes with $10 of monthly credit for the first year, bringing the monthly cost to $101.20 for the first 12 months when paired with an iPhone 12 64GB handset. Just sign up by 29 April 2021 to nab the credit for the life of the plan and the 40GB bonus data to pair with the 60GB base data.

Recently, Vodafone was offering Amazon Prime and Amazon Music Unlimited subscriptions, but those are gone. Still, if you’re aged between 18 and 25, you can save a further 10% off your bill for the life of the plan, and those outside of that age bracket can bundle this plan with other eligible ones to save further bucks, too.

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 streaming services seems 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.

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 Best Mates or Soul 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 A12 with Woolworths Mobile

Best cheap mobile phone plan: Postpaid

For the best cheap Postpaid phone plan, we usually use the Samsung Galaxy A51 128GB handset, but they were out of stock at the time of writing – likely to make room for the newer A52 – so we’re using the even cheaper Samsung Galaxy A12 this month for even lower prices.

Woolworths Mobile $25 Mobile Phone Plan at a glance:

• $36.41 per month
• $25 for plan; $11.41 for Samsung Galaxy A12
• 18GB data
• 200GB 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 Samsung Galaxy A12 handset. This no-contract plan will cost you $36.41 a 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 (up to 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 A12 Postpaid plan, the Southern Phone Small Mobile Plan costs $25.99 a month but it only includes 2.5GB of data.

Here’s how this Woolworths Mobile plan stacks up next to other telcos offering a Samsung Galaxy A12 handset on 24-month repayment terms.

Moose 12.80 SIM Only Promo

Best cheap mobile phone plan: SIM Only

Moose 12.80 SIM Only Promo at a glance:

• $12.80 per month (first year)
• $15.80 per month (after first year)
• 6GB data
• Optus network
• Month-to-month plan

If you set a calendar reminder to check this page in six months, you can stick with our previous winner, which has recently been improved: the iiNet Mobile 16GB Plan, which costs $12.50 for the first six months before reverting to $25 a month. Too much effort? Go with our returning winner in the Moose 12.80 SIM Only Promo plan, which is slightly more expensive at $12.80 a month, but that promo pricing lasts for a full year before going back up to a still reasonable $15.80 per month ($153.60 first-year cost), plus it has a noticeably cheaper first-year fee.

Being a cheap plan, there’s not a lot in the way of bells and whistles, but you do get 6GB of data, which is a decent amount for everyday use. If you do want more data, there’s always that iiNet Mobile 16GB Plan to jump back to.

For comparison, here’s a look at the most popular SIM plans in Australia with 5GB or more that cost no more than $25 a month.

Spintel $14.95 Mobile Plan

Best cheapest mobile phone plan: SIM Only

Spintel $14.95 Mobile Plan at a glance:

• $9.95 per month (first six months)
• $14.95 per month (next six months)
• 4GB data
• Optus network
• Month-to-month plan

As with the category just above, iiNet took out the top spot for cheapest SIM Only phone plan in January, albeit with its cheaper Mobile 6GB Plan, which is now the Mobile 8GB Plan. To capture the full value of that plan, though, you really want to tap out after six months so you’re only paying $10 a month and not the $19.99 regular monthly fee for 8GB of data.

This month’s winner keeps things cheaper in terms of first-year value. The Spintel $14.95 Mobile Plan costs $9.95 for the first six months before reverting to that plan-name cost ($149.40 first-year cost). Despite the low price, you still get 4GB of data to play with.

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.

Felix $35 Subscription

Best mobile phone plan: Big data

Felix $35 Subscription at a glance:

• $35 per month
• Endless data
• 20Mbps speed cap
• Vodafone network
• Month-to-month plan

Full disclosure: the solitary plan offered by Felix Mobile is technically Prepaid because you pay upfront, but because it’s a subscription service – similar to Telstra’s newfangled Upfront plans – we’re treating it and its similarly structured Gomo competitor as SIM Only. Disclaimers aside, the Felix $35 Subscription is a very straightforward SIM Only plan.

You pay $35 a month and you get endless data. The main disclaimer there is that data speeds are capped at 20Mbps, but that’s very useable, more so in light of the 5Mbps cap Felix Mobile initially launched with. Outside of that, Felix notes that tethering should only be used on a single device but, apart from that, you’re free to use as much data as you like in a month.

You can see other popular big-data plans below with at least 30GB of data.

Belong 20GB Mobile Plan

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 beginning of the month, the Belong 20GB Mobile Plan had eked out a win over last month’s winner, the Boost $30 Prepaid Plan. That 20GB a month with Belong costs $25 a month for a first-year cost of $300. For comparison, that’s $5 less a month for a SIM Only plan that has the same usual amount of data as Boost’s $30 Prepaid plan (if you don’t count the double data on the first three recharges). You can also share unused Belong data with other Belong customers or roll over unused megabytes.

The top spot for most popular Telstra network plans may change throughout the month based on demand, but this pick is accurate as of 9 April 2021.

Optus Prepaid Epic Data – $30 Recharge

Most popular Optus network mobile 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 easily the most popular pick 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 roll over 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 9 April 2021.

iiNet Mobile 8GB 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.

While writing this update, the TPG Medium Plan and iiNet Mobile 8GB Plan had just switched spots, with the iiNet plan edging out a win over the popular TPG pick. This is understandable because the iiNet plan costs $10 for the first six months before reverting to a $19.99 monthly fee for 8GB of data. Conversely, the TPG Medium Plan is reduced to $12.50 for the first three months before going back to its $24.99 typical fee, but you get more data (16GB).

The top spot for most popular Vodafone network plans may change throughout the month based on demand, but this pick is accurate as of 9 April 2021.