Best Prepaid Plans November 2019: It’s amaysim all the way-sim

What are the best prepaid plans available this month?

Prepaid mobile is the way to go for those keen to avoid scrolling to a nasty postpaid bill total at the end of the month. With prepaid, paying ahead means you get greater control over what you pay. Though certainly appealing to students and seniors, all ages in between should consider the value that’s found in prepaid mobile options.

For November, amaysim swings in with double dominance, taking the pole position for everyday use and high-data users. The telco’s UNLIMITED 10GB Prepaid plan is great value for everyday users, while its Unlimited 30GB Prepaid plan bundles plenty of data for those who need it.

Best prepaid phone plan for everyday use November 2019

Certain providers tend to have the included data in the names of their prepaid plans to reflect the understanding that data is one of the most important factors for users. For everyday use, though, it’s more a mix of the right price and an adequate amount of data, ideally with some bells and whistles to incentivise you to fork over hard-earned cash.

For amaysim, its UNLIMITED 10GB Prepaid plan tells you almost everything you need to know in the plan name: unlimited national calls and texts, with 10GB of data per 28-day recharge. The only thing missing is the cost, but the price is right at $20 per recharge, as long as you sign up before the end of the month. This puts the first-year cost at $260, and every recharge you choose to stay on after that, too, for those who sign up before 30 November.

Alternatively, OVO Mobile’s Small Mobile Plan offers 10GB of data at $19.95 per 30-day recharge, with the added perks of Family Zone protection and OVOPlay entertainment.

Best prepaid plan on the Telstra network November 2019

Instead of a monthly three-peat of the two-way split of September and October, ALDImobile nudges out Boost and sits as the sole third-party victor of this category. What it lacks in the larger data count of the 20GB that’s part of Boost’s $30 Prepaid plan, ALDImobile makes up for in the bundled value of its L Value Pack $25 prepaid option.

For starters, you’re recharging every 30 days instead of 28, with a cheaper monthly cost for a respectable amount of data (18GB), which also includes data rollover to preserve precious data from lighter-use months.

Plus, it’s built with international callers and texters in mind. This translates to unlimited calls and text to 15 countries. Unlimited SMS to an additional 35 countries. Plus, 100 minutes of additional calls for 35 other countries.

Cheapest prepaid mobile plan November 2019

If you want the cheapest prepaid mobile plan (that’s unlikely to be beaten), you can pay $1 per month to TPG (after a $20 setup fee) for 50MB of data and PAYG calls/texts on the aptly named T4G PAYG Plan. For some value with that cheapness, you’re looking at paying $9.95 (per 30 days) on OVO Mobile’s Mini Mobile Plan, which includes 2GB of data, unlimited standard national SMS and MMS, as well as 500 minutes of standard national calls.

Best prepaid phone plan for high usage November 2019

This is the third month in a row that amaysim has taken out the high-usage category for prepaid users. Once again, we can’t ignore the straightforward value of amaysim’s UNLIMITED 60GB PREPAID offering that bundles 60GB of data for $40 per 28-day cycle. That’s a yearly cost of $520, taking into account 13 recharges.

This monthly victor for high usage operates on the Optus 4G Plus network and you can (and should) top up with an extra 1GB of data for $10 if you’re at risk of going over. For those looking to stay in touch with friends and family overseas, amaysim’s prepaid winner bundles unlimited calls to landline and mobile numbers in 10 countries, with 32 countries included for SMS and MMS and an additional 300 standard minutes to 22 more countries.

For another Optus network alternative, OVO’s Medium Mobile Plan is five cents cheaper per 30-day recharge. It loses out on the international extras, but if that’s not an issue, it’s worth considering for Family Zone protection and unmetered OVOPlay entertainment streaming.

Best PAYG plan

Maybe you don’t need any data inclusions and would prefer to only pay for what you use or maybe you simply need to park a mobile phone number while you travel abroad, you might be looking for an old-school Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) plan.

These types of plans aren’t typically associated with great value. In place of inclusions, like a set data or call amount, they offer rates for calls, texts and data that are deducted from the amount you recharge with. For example, if you have a PAYG plan that charges 12c per minute and you recharge with $15, you will have 125 minutes to use (assuming you don’t use any text or data, which each come with their own charges).

The absolute lowest amount of money you can pay per month is $1 with TPG’s PAYG plan. It will cost you $30 upfront to set up the SIM but after that, you will have 50MB of data per month to use and will be charged 9.9c per minute (plus a 10c flagfall fee) for calls and 9.9c per message. That’s incredibly low usage but if you’re after a PAYG plan, that’s probably what you’re after.

How do I change prepaid plans?

Switching prepaid plans and providers is nowhere as stressful as switching postpaid plans. The process will be different for every provider but, typically, all that’s required to switch prepaid “plans” is to select a different recharge type next top-up. Other providers will ask you to switch rate plans via an automated service over the phone, and some let you do it all from their app.

Switching providers is almost as simple, but not quite. If you want to switch providers and keep the same number, make sure you approach your new provider with the mobile number you would like to switch, the associated account number (if available), and your personal details for security purposes (e.g. name, date of birth, driver’s license number).

Where you might run into trouble is using one provider’s prepaid handset with another’s prepaid SIM. Unlike contract phone plans, prepaid phones tend to be network locked. Unlocking your prepaid handset will come with a small fee, which may vary depending on the make and model of your phone and the date of purchase.

What is the difference between prepaid and postpaid plans?

Postpaid plans are usually associated with contract terms and included handsets (though there are some decent month-to-month SIM plans available these days) whereas prepaid plans are low-commitment plans that give you more control over your spending.

With prepaid plans, you pay for the calls, text and data you think you will need before using them. Postpaid plans, on the other hand, calculate your usage at the end of your billing month and bill you for the calls, text and data used over that period (typically with excess fees if you go over your plan’s inclusions).

Both offer their own peace of mind; prepaid plans simply restrict your network access when you’ve burned through your data, whereas excess usage on a postpaid plan will result in additional charges on your bill at the end of the month. But prepaid plans come with the risk of getting cut off without notice, which can be dangerous if you forget to recharge, whereas postpaid plans will only cut you off if you fail to pay the last month’s bill after it’s due.

Which prepaid plans allow tethering?

You would be stretched to find a prepaid provider and plan that doesn’t allow for tethering these days. We reviewed every Australian prepaid provider and couldn’t find a single provider that didn’t offer tethering on its prepaid plans. The Optus website states that prepaid tethering is available on “most plans” but we checked with the customer service team who confirmed it was available on every prepaid plan.

So, here are the prepaid providers that allow tethering:

• ALDI Mobile
• Amaysim
• Boost Mobile
• Coles
• Dodo
• Hello Mobile
• Hive Mobile
• Jeenee Mobile
• Kogan Mobile
• Lebara Mobile
• Lycamobile
• Optus
• OVO
• TeleChoice
• Telstra
• TPG
• Vodafone
• Woolworths

What is the best prepaid plan for international calls?

We’ve already mentioned amaysim’s stunning value on its prepaid options above but one added bonus you get on these plans is international call and text inclusions. On the highest recharge option, amaysim offers 300 standard international minutes to 22 countries every month (and unlimited standard international calls to another 10 countries).ALDI Mobile also offers unlimited calls to 15 countries and an extra 400 minutes to 35 more countries. Both outstanding, all-rounder prepaid plans but if international calls are your number one priority, look no further than Lebara

Lebara already offers top data-per-dollar value on its XXL Plan but it also offers unlimited calls to 56 selected countries and an additional $10 for calls to every other zone.

More prepaid plans

Take a look at the most popular prepaid plans in Australia according to WhistleOut’s comparison engine.