The best cheap phone plans in Australia

The best thing about the advent of more telcos is the inevitable race to rock-bottom prices as they vie for consume bucks and ongoing loyalty. These days, you can score a decent plan for under $20. And you only need to make a small increase to your budget to add big data and shiny perks.

In this guide, we take a closer look at the best-value SIM-Only plans (Prepaid and Postpaid), kicking off with those under $15 and stretching up to a max cost of $40.

Best cheap mobile plan: $10 and below

At this price point, plans generally come with around 1GB of data, which is not bad for only $10! Plans usually also come with unlimited talk and text. Here’s our pick.

Prepaid helps avoid monthly bill shock, which is where the Woolworths Mobile $10 Prepaid Recharge swings in with unlimited calls and text, plus 1GB of data. This plan also operates on the Telstra network, with a 30-day recharge period. Recharge before those 30 days expire to roll over unused data up to 200GB.

This Woolworths Prepaid plan takes out the top spot in the sub-$10 category because it offers the longest period before recharging (30 days), at least 1GB of data, and has the advantage of back-ending into the Telstra mobile network. But if it doesn’t sound like your thing, here are some more popular options.

Best cheap mobile plan: $20 and below

For those looking for a bit more versatility in a SIM Only plan, there are more options (and more data) to be found in this next 10-buck bracket. And of course, plans also come with unlimited calls and texts. Here’s our pick.

On the bottom end of that budget range you’ll find the Moose Mobile 14 SIM Only – 12M plan. A $14-per-month investment nets you 5GB of data on a 12-month contract that operates on the Optus mobile network. You can opt for a no-contract variant for $14.80 per month, and Moose has a new-connections promo right now that ups the 2.5GB allowance to 6GB a month. Compared to similar plans, this is all about value for data.

If you want to check out your options, here are some more popular plans at this price point.

Best cheap mobile plan: $30 and below

At this price bracket, this is where you start to tap into a healthy dose of data and some great extras. Here’s our pick.

New-telco-on-the-block Circles.Life wins hands-down at the $30 price point. For just $28 per month, you can score yourself 100GB of data thanks to a promo running now. The plan will cost you $28 for your first six months, and $38 from then on. But the plan is no-contract, so if you don’t feel like paying extra when the promo runs out, you can just cancel.

Remember to use the promo code ‘DATAMANIA’ when you check out. And if you prefer to see plans at this price-point that won’t up their fees after six months, check these out.

Best cheap mobile plan: $40 and below

This is the price bracket where you can sniff out a stack of data and shinier bells and whistles. You’ll want to get close to the middle of the price bracket to find your first best deals. Here’s our pick.

Moose Mobile wins our pick for the second time in this round-up, with a staggering 50GB for $36 per month. The plan doesn’t come with much in the way of extras, but with that many gigs at such a low price, who’s complaining? One perk you will get is $400 credit for international calls. Moose Mobile offers service on the Optus mobile network.

Because we’ve already favoured Moose once in our round-up, here’s a runner-up pick if you’re looking for an alternative. This plan from Southern Phone comes with the same 50GB of data, for one whole dollar extra – $37 per month. Southern Phone also offers service on the Optus mobile network.

If those plans don’t float your boat, here are some more options.