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 a tenner. And as you up your budget in $10 increments, you can also expect to add on more 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 $10 and stretching up to a max cost of $40.

Best cheap mobile plan: $10 and below

This is the place for parents to shop for plans, and it’s a great pitstop for seniors looking to stay connected without massively impacting their budget. Despite the low costs, you can still find plans with unlimited text and talk.

You can pick up Belong’s Small 1GB Plan for $10 a month. This Postpaid plan operates on the Telstra network. It ditches the contract and, as the name suggests, gives you 1GB of data to work with. Despite the relatively low data cap, you can take advantage of data banking to roll over unused megabytes between months. Stack enough and you can gift it to other Belong users 1GB at a time.

This Belong plan edges out the other Postpaid alternatives because of the data bonuses, the lack of a contract, and because it operates on the Telstra network.

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.

If you fancy absolute bottom dollar in this category and also happen to be data averse, you’re in luck! Dodo has a $5 Mobile Plan that offers unlimited calls and text on the Optus network, albeit with zero data.

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. Unlimited calls and text are absolutely standard from this point onwards.

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 3GB of data on a 12-month contract that operates as an Optus network MVNO. 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 3GB to 6GB a month. Compared to similar plans, this is all about value for data.

For a Prepaid alternative around the same price point, look to Lebara Mobile’s $14.90 Extra Small Plan. This Prepaid plan operates on a 30-day recharge cycle, bundles 3GB of data, and has bonus data of 2GB per recharge until 04 February. That’s worth jumping on to roll over unused data (up to 200GB) for the life of your Prepaid time with Lebara. There’s even a 48-hour grace period to keep rolled over data after 30-day expiry, which equates to some great perks compared to other Prepaid plans at this price point.

On the upper end of the budget range, the $20 Prepaid plan with Boost Mobile guarantees you 5GB of data per 28-day recharge period. Boost is a Telstra network MVNO, and you can roll over unused data between recharges. Plus, this Boost plan offers unlimited standard text and talk to 20 selected countries, with 100 minutes of minutes and text to 35 additional selected destinations. For more data, you can up that to 10GB with OVO’s Small Mobile Plan (OVO uses the Optus network), which has a 30-day recharge period and some decent perks: Family Zone subscription and extra data via OVOPlay.

For those who favour Postpaid, the $20-per-month Mate good mates plan has you covered. It bundles 5GB of data on a no-contract plan with up to 50GB of data banking. If you don’t mind a contract, a 12-month commitment to Woolworths’ $20 SIM-Only plan comes with 5GB of data (if you activate your SIM before 1 Feb), 10GB of bonus data every three months as long as you make timely payments. The Family Zone subscription and exclusive Woolworths shopping discount through Woolworths Mobile are both great perks that edge out similarly priced competitors.

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. On the lower end of the budget, take a look at Vaya’s Unlimited M no-contract Postpaid plan. For $24 a month, you access 18GB of data on an Optus network MVNO plan. Refer a friend for $15 of credit. For a Telstra network alternative with data banking and international calls (albeit 15GB of data), have a gander at Mate’s better mates no-contract plan. The perks for these plans set them apart from the rest.

Prepaid fans can spend an extra buck for the ALDImobile L Value Pack $25 plan (a Telstra network MVNO plan), which has 18GB of data. It also has no-expiry data rollover up to 30GB, plus unlimited calls to 15 selected countries with 100 minutes to 35 additional selected destinations, which are value-adding perks that elevate its worthiness.

Towards the top of the budget range, $28 a month gives you access to a Circles.Life no-contract Prepaid 40GB Monthly Plan (a consistent winner in our monthly best SIM Only plans). Normally, it’s 20GB of data, but sign up with the code ‘40for28’ by 28 Feb to score 20GB of bonus data. That’s a lot of data for a reasonable price.

Budget for a couple more bucks and you can tap into a 28-day Prepaid alternative in amaysim’s $30 UNLIMITED Plan. This plan comes with 40GB of data (if you sign up before the end of Jan), plus there’s unlimited standard calls to 10 selected countries with unlimited standard text to 32 selected countries.

Best cheap mobile plan: $40 and below

Though still comparatively cheap to prices beyond $40, 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.

Spend $34.95 per 30-day recharge on OVO’s Large Mobile Plan yours. This Optus network MVNO plan bundles 35GB of data with 600 international minutes to selected countries alongside other neat perks, which help make it stand out. You also score a Family Zone cyber-safety subscription and can earn additional data by streaming entertainment on OVOPlay.

If you prefer Postpaid, tap into the Telstra network MVNO with MATE’s best mates no-contract plan. A $35 monthly fee translates to 30GB of data and some great perks like data banking (up to 100GB) and unlimited international calls to 15 selected countries.

At the top end of this budget bracket is where you’ll find the most data and perks. Belong’s Large 40GB Plan is a no-contract Telstra network MVNO that chucks in unlimited text and talk to 33 selected countries. But the data perks are what elevates this above the pack. Roll over unused data between months or gift 1GB blocks of unused data to other Belong friends and family.

Finally, fans of Prepaid should have a look at Woolworths’ Pre-paid Mobile $40 Recharge plan. It bundles an impressive 42GB of data with unlimited text and calls to 22 selected countries. Plus, there are too many perks to ignore. Recharge before your current 30 days expires and you can roll over data up to 200GB. Woolies also chucks in a 12-month subscription to Family Zone and 10% off your groceries on every second weekend of the month.