The best Prepaid plans available (September 2022)

It’s great to see telcos competing in the Prepaid space because it means you can pair a handset—iPhone 13 (hold off, though, because iPhone 14 is out this month!), Google Pixel 6 or whatever other available phone you fancy—with a great value plan. Buying a Prepaid plan means you’re in control of how much you spend each month. There’s no contract, and the bill comes upfront, so you don’t have to worry about potential bill shock at the end of the month.

TPG has refreshed its Prepaid plans recently, which has led to some big category shake-ups. For starters, two TPG monthly Prepaid plans take out the top spots for best value and best big-data Prepaid plans. Meanwhile, you can get plenty of data for just $15 a month with our best budget winner. As is the trend, we’ve also vetted every returning category winner for the most recent plan details.

Scroll on for the full breakdown of all our winners.

The competition in this category gets tighter each month, but while Prepaid mobile plans that cost more tend to offer more data, we cap costs at $50 and stick to Prepaid monthly plans (28 days, 30 days or an actual month). Typically, this category goes to a 28-day or 30-day Prepaid plan, but TPG has shaken things up after some recent plan refreshes.

The best thing about TPG Prepaid plans is they offer actual monthly recharges. That’s the case for the TPG 45GB Mobile plan, which has great first-year value. Typically priced at $30 a month, new sign-ups pay a $15 monthly fee for the first six months. This TPG Prepaid plan also includes a limited-time 5G network trial (just get in by 26 October 2022).

For comparison, check out the daily updating list below for popular Prepaid mobile plans with at least 40GB of data.

We keep this category maxed out at $20 a month, which used to be typically won by an incumbent Woolworths Mobile plan. Catch Connect had better value last month, but that promo pricing is over. Now it’s time for Woolworths big supermarket competitor to return this month and reclaim the top spot.

The Coles Mobile Prepaid $20 for 30 Days plan comes with 15GB of Optus 4G Plus data per recharge. While light on other perks, this Coles Mobile plan does include unlimited standard calls to 15 selected countries.

Below is a daily updating list of popular Prepaid mobile plans that don’t cost more than $20 per recharge.

The big battle for the top spot in this category has been between Gomo and Woolworths Mobile in recent times. While Optus snuck in to nab the top spot not so long ago, this category is back to Woolworths Mobile again this month with the better-value Pre-paid Mobile $40 Recharge.

Prepaid plans don’t tend to be as perky as their SIM Only counterparts, which is why we love seeing the many inclusions of this Woolworths Mobile winner on top of the $40-per-30-day price. For starters, this plan’s 52GB of data is served on the widespread Telstra wholesale network. This Woolworths Mobile plan also comes with unlimited talk and text to 22 selected countries, 500GB of data rollover (up from 300GB), plus you can gift data to eligible Woolworths Mobile customers. Our favourite perk, though, is 10% off a Woolies grocery shop once a month.

For comparison, below is a daily updating list of popular Prepaid plans with at least 30GB of data.

While we keep the winners of this category capped at $50 per recharge, we sometimes lean towards Prepaid plans with a stack of data. In the past, we’ve pushed that self-imposed spend limit for plans that offer up to 100GB of data. This month, though, we’re deferring to better first-year value.

It helps that TPG has recently refreshed its plans, too. The TPG 60GB Mobile Plan costs $20 per month initially for 60GB of data. From month seven, this TPG Prepaid plan reverts to its typical $40 monthly pricing. Get in before 26 October 22 with a compatible 5G handset, and you can take advantage of a 5G network trial. That’s the only real perk, though. For a perkier alternative, consider the Gomo $35 Mobile Plan.

For comparison, below is a daily updating list of popular Prepaid plans with at least 30GB of data.

Typically, the Kogan Mobile Extra Large – 365 Day Flex Plan wins this category because it has excellent dollar-to-data value. And if you want stacks of data to play with, that Kogan Mobile plan has the most for Prepaid plans in our comparison engine (486GB). Still, it’s expensive at $529.90 per year (up from $300 for 500GB).

Because of that price, our winner this month is the Boost Mobile $300 Prepaid plan. That $300 12-month fee includes 240GB of base data and 40GB of bonus data for the first year (just get in by 26 September 2022), with great speeds thanks to the Telstra 5G network. That works out to just over 23GB a month, which is enough for most Prepaid users. This Boost Mobile plan also comes with unlimited calls to 20 selected dialling destinations, plus 3,600 minutes to a further 30 selected countries (basically, 300 minutes per month).

For comparison, below is a daily updating list of popular long-expiry Prepaid mobile plans.

Paying $15 or less for a Prepaid plan tends to mean you don’t get a lot of data. But that isn’t the case with the Catch Connect 30 Day Plan – 18GB. For $15 per 30-day recharge, you get 18GB of data, which is a solid ongoing Prepaid price for the Optus 4G network.

Admittedly, paying around $15 for a plan does mean you shouldn’t really expect any perks, and you’ll have to pay $5 a month extra if you want 100 minutes to 32 selected dialling destinations. If you do fancy a cheap Prepaid plan with some perks, consider the Gomo $15 Mobile Plan, which comes with 8GB of data, 200GB of data rollover and WiFi calling.

For comparison, check out the list of popular Prepaid plans below that come with at least 1GB of data and don’t cost more than $15 per recharge.

Prepaid mobile plans may not be as perk-packed as SIM Only alternatives, but there are still a handful of telcos that offer unlimited international calls. The cheapest is the Coles Prepaid $20 for 30 Days plan, which offers unlimited international calls to 15 countries.

This month, we still fancy the Lebara $49.90 Extra Large Plan. The Lebara winner comes with unlimited talk and text to 60 selected countries, plus 300 minutes to 16 selected dialling destinations, and 50 minutes to a further 10 countries. International inclusions aside, this winning Lebara plan also comes with 80GB of data to use every 30 days. Sign up and activate by 31 October 2022 to score 20GB of bonus data, which can be used every 30 days or stored in a 200GB data bank.

Below is a daily updating list of some of the most popular Prepaid plans from the telcos in our database that offer unlimited calls on plans with at least 10GB of data (Gomo, Coles Mobile, Lebara, Aldi Mobile, Exetel, Amaysim, Lycamobile, Boost Mobile, Woolworths Mobile and Optus).

Not so long ago, Prepaid users on the Telstra network had shuffled away from Boost Mobile, but the Boost $30 Prepaid plan is back yet again to reclaim its undisputed popularity at the start of this month. That $30 recharge price happens every 28 days for 20GB of data, though you also score 20GB of bonus data on the first three recharges (just get in by 26 September 2022). You can roll over data from one recharge to the next (though not in perpetuity), plus this Boost Prepaid plan comes with great international call inclusions.

Typically, Optus Prepaid takes out the most popular spot at the start of the month. This month, though, Amaysim has edged out a win with its $30 Unlimited Plan. This Prepaid plan comes with 30GB of data for $30 per 28-day recharge. Sign up by 30 September 2022, though, and you get a bonus 25GB of data on the first recharge plus a $9 first-recharge cost.

The TPG 12GB Mobile Plan is one we consider each month for our best budget category, and it’s once again the most popular pick on the Vodafone network at the start of the month. We like that it has an actual monthly renewal cycle (instead of 28 or 30 days) and comes with 12GB of data for $20 a month. Currently, new customers get $10 monthly pricing for the first six months.

When choosing a Prepaid plan, it’s important to note the differences between plans (recharges), subscriptions and starter packs. Prepaid plans are the best indicator of ongoing value, especially when compared to starter packs. Subscriptions, on the other hand, are a convenient auto-recharging option that can offer SIM Only-like value.

Pick a plan duration that works for you. If you need data in a pinch, you can opt for plans with fewer than 28 days. Most Prepaid plans in our comparison engine, though, hang around that monthly point: either 28 days, 30 days or an actual month. Monthly plans are the easiest way to determine ongoing costs, and you’ll want to factor in an extra recharge per year for an ongoing 28-day Prepaid plan.

Cost and data are the main indicators of value, but also keep an eye out for the network. The Telstra network is the largest, followed closely by the Telstra wholesale network and then Optus, with Vodafone not far behind. Quality coverage should result in a better Prepaid experience, from call reliability to download and upload speeds. Note that the areas where you use your phone for work and play may have better mobile reception from one of the smaller networks. Finally, it’s worth factoring in any perks, such as international calls, but perks like this aren’t essential if you don’t intend on using them.

At the start of each month, we compare all relevant Prepaid recharges and subscriptions to pick new winners or confirm the continued reign of incumbent victors. Most of our categories involve monthly plans, which offer either 28 days, 30 days or a full month. When determining first-year value in our comparisons, we count 30-day recharges 12 times and 28-day plans 13 times.

We compare ongoing recharge pricing with included data, making sure to treat short-lived bonus data as a perk rather than an indicator of long-term value (though data rollover can potentially change this). To stop costs from blowing out, we cap the spend of our best value ($50), best cheap ($20), best big-data ($50) and best cheapest ($15) category contenders at specific max prices to find a balance between cost and data.

For the long-expiry category, we evaluate all of the plans in our comparison engine that have durations of 180 days up to a year. With this category and others, we also consider the network that the plan is offered on in the context of its pricing. Finally, for the international-calls category, we choose the plan that offers the greatest number of countries albeit with a reasonable price.

Below are the answers to some of the more pressing Prepaid plan questions.

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