Here are the best cheap mobile plans in Australia

The best thing about the advent of more telcos is the inevitable race to rock-bottom prices as they vie for consumer bucks and ongoing loyalty. These days, you can score a cheap SIM-Only 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 cheapest SIM-Only plans (Prepaid and Postpaid) available, kicking off with those under $10 and stretching up to a max cost of $40.

If you’re looking to compare mobile plans, do yourself a favour and head over to our regularly updated guide to the best mobile plans in Australia. 

Best cheap phone plan: $10 and below

At this price point, plans generally come with around 1GB of data, which is not bad for only $10! But this month there’s a good promo running from the Optus-powered Moose Mobile that’ll get you a substantial amount of data for under $10 per month – well, for the first 12 months. Afterwards, it’ll revert to $15.80, and you can choose to stay on board or jump ship for a better deal.

Not quite what you’re after? Here are the most popular mobile plans for $10 and under today.

Best cheap mobile plan: $20 and below

This price bracket is a tricky one, as most of the popular picks are technically only $20 or under for a promo period. Still, iiNet Mobile’s 55GB Mobile Plan deal is just too good to pass up. If you get in quick, you can score this gigantic data bank for just $20 per month for the first six months. Outside of the limited-time promo, it’ll set you back $39.99 per month, which is still a pretty good deal.

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

Best cheap phone plan: $30 and below

This is the price bracket where you can sniff out a stack of data and shinier bells and whistles. Circles.Life comes out on top with their gargantuan 100GB plan, which is currently on sale for $30 for the first 12 months using the promo code 100GBOFFER. Afterwards, the price reverts to $38 per month, which is not too far outside this price bracket.

Not sold on Circles.Life’s offering? Take a look at the table below for more popular data-heavy plans at $30 per month or less.

Best cheap mobile plan: $40 and below

Even without its regular promo pricing of $30 per month for the first 12 months with the promo code 100GBOFFER, there’s simply no beating the dollar-for-data value offered by Circles.Life’s 100GB plan. That’s far more data than most Australians would ever need, so it’s safe to say it will satisfy even the heaviest of data users. Even when it’s not on sale, $38 is a total steal for this much data.

Want to see what else is out there? Take a look at the most popular plans below $40 per month for comparison.

Best cheap plan with ‘unlimited’ data

If a hundred gigs still won’t suffice, there is one more option. While there are no truly ‘unlimited’ data plans in Australia, there are a decent handful that offer ‘endless’ or ‘infinite’ data, which means you can use as much data as you please, but it will be speed-capped.

The best option for most people is Felix Mobile‘s $35 subscription plan, which offers ‘endless’ data that’s capped at 20Mbps. At that speed, you can do most things comfortably, from streaming HD video, updating apps, online shopping, scrolling through social media and video chatting with friends and family. Really, the only thing you’ll struggle with is downloading large files, which may take a while.

Outside of Felix, only the big three offer capped-speed ‘endless’ data. You’ll get a certain amount of data to use at full 4G or 5G speeds (depending on your plan), but if you go over, you’ll be capped at a measly 1.5Mbps (Telstra and Optus) or between 2 and 25Mbps on Vodafone. Here are their most popular plans.

Cheap mobile plans on the Telstra network

If you have coverage requirements that don’t match up with your budget, there are plenty of MVNOs on the Telstra wholesale network that will connect you to the largest mobile network in Australia for a fraction of the cost. Here’s an updated list of the cheapest mobile plans on the Telstra network.

Cheap mobile plans on the Optus network

If Optus works best in your area, and you’re not interested in switching to Telstra or Vodafone, there’s a bunch of smaller providers that offer access to the Optus 4G network for lower monthly price (though Optus plans can be quite cheap).

Cheap mobile plans on the Vodafone network

Unlike Telstra and Optus, Vodafone doesn’t have any postpaid MVNOs. It does, however, have a healthy mix of budget prepaid providers that use its network. If you’re in a place with ample Vodafone coverage, and you’re only interested in cutting back your monthly bills, check out the most popular plans on Vodafone’s network.

The cheapest mobile phone plans in Australia

In our top picks above, we’ve tried to highlight the best mobile deals that offer reasonable data and call inclusions. However, if you’re simply after the cheapest SIM-Only deals and cheapest prepaid mobile plans in Australia, take a look at the table below for some truly dirt-cheap options.

Cheap SIM cards

Fewer and fewer providers in Australia actually charge you for the SIM card itself. At most, you can expect to pay $1 to $10 for a prepaid SIM card but that typically includes a small amount of calls, text and data as well.

On the other hand, no provider in Australia charges an upfront cost for a postpaid SIM card. You simply sign up to a month-to-month plan and the SIM card will be delivered to your door in a matter of days. After that, you’ll recieve your first bill one month after you’ve signed up but you won’t pay anything for the SIM card itself.