Cheap mobile plans in Australia

We run you through the cheapest mobile phone plans plans in our database of more than 30 mobile providers. But if you'd prefer to get it over with, these are currently the most popular in our database for $20 or under:

Alex Angove-Plumb
Mar 27, 2025
Icon Time To Read8 min read

Our relationships with telcos

We have commercial agreements with some providers in our database. When you click a 'Go to Site' button, we receive a small payment from that brand – this is how we can afford to keep comparing internet and mobile plans. But we still compare and highlight plans we receive no payments for because we believe this helps you find one that best suits your needs.

In this guide, we're looking at the cheapest mobile phone plans from among the more than 30 mobile providers we track. We'll cover plans in different sections based on intro deals, long-term pricing, eSIM plans, and cheap phone plans with more or even 'unlimited' data. All include unlimited talk or text and can be postpaid or 'monthly' prepaid plans (28-day, 30-day, or monthly recharges).

Even though it might sound like a 'gotcha', consider basing your choice on intro discounts, rather than long-term prices. Many providers offer new customers significant discounts for an initial period, sometimes as much as 50% off. With no lock-in contracts, you can swap providers before the discount ends and repeat the process, never once paying full price. But we know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, which is why we've included 24-month comparisons for longer-term pricing.

To address this month's elephant in the room, expect to see Yomojo a lot, thanks to a special deal the telco is currently running.

Cheapest intro pricing

No contracts means you can keep hopping between cheap mobile plan deals.

The cheapest mobile plan in our database right now is from Yomojo, thanks to an unusual deal. Customers who port in their number (which you'll do anyway if you're with another provider and want to keep your number), pay just $9.50 per month for the first six months, after which it increases to $19.50. New customers get the same deal, but only for three months – and you don't get nine months if you fall into both of these categories.

The big downside is the small 8GB data allowance. And while $9.50 per month is the cheapest mobile plan we've seen in quite a while, the post-deal price of $19.90 for just 8GB isn't great – so it might be worth popping a reminder in your calendar to swap to another deal before this one expires.

The basics:

  • Intro price: $9.50 per month for six or three months
  • Ongoing price: $19.90 per recharge, after deal ends
  • Total cost over first 24 months: $437.80
  • Data: 8GB
  • Mobile network: Optus 4G
  • International calls: None included
  • Roaming: PAYG roaming
pro
Pros
pro 50% off for first six or three months
pro Deal not limited to new customers
pro Save up to 15% the more plans you bundle
pro No lock-in contract
con
Cons
con Small data inclusion
con No included roaming or international calls
con Limited to 4G
con Price doubles after deal ends

If this plan doesn't suit your needs, there are several providers with cheap mobile plans for under $15. Here's a look at the cheapest phone plans in our database, ranked by introductory price for the first six months:

Cheapest long-term cost

Cheap mobile plans, ranked by total spend over the first 24 months.

Right now, the cheapest plan in our database over the first two years is from Yomojo, thanks to the same introductory deal that also makes it the cheapest for intro costs.

This plan is $15 per recharge with no introductory deal. Coupled with a 28-day recharge meaning 13 bills per year instead of 12, this plan still only costs $405 over the first 24 months after signing up. This is a smidge less than the $437.80 of Yomojo's current deal and after that it jumps up to around the $480 mark.

The basics:

  • Intro price: $9.50 per month for six or three months
  • Ongoing price: $19.90 per recharge, after deal ends
  • Total cost over first 24 months: $437.80
  • Data: 8GB
  • Mobile network: Optus 4G
  • International calls: None included
  • Roaming: PAYG roaming
pro
Pros
pro 50% off for first six or three months
pro Deal not limited to new customers
pro Save up to 15% the more plans you bundle
pro No lock-in contract
con
Cons
con Small data inclusion
con No included roaming or international calls
con Limited to 4G
con Price doubles after deal ends

If you this plan doesn't suit your needs, here's a broader look at the cheapest phone plans in our database, ranked by total spend over the first 24 months after signing up:

Icon Quote  Dark
Expert Advice: Go small or pay more
"The cheapest mobile plans are often found with smaller brands which, due to their low running costs, can offer better value than the Big Three. And there are no lock-in contracts, so feel free to sign up for an introductory offer then jump ship to another carrier before the regular price kicks in."
Dylan Crismale, Digital Content Editor
Digital Content Editor

Cheap mobile plans with eSIM

Fewer providers support eSIM, but you can still find cheap mobile plans.

Yomojo has the two cheapest eSIM plans in our database right now, when looking at intro pricing – unsurprising because this provider supports eSIM and currently has the cheapest plan in our entire database of over 30 providers.

Unusually, its intro discount isn't restricted to new customers. Port your number from another provider to Yomojo (this happens whenever you change providers and keep the same phone number) and get 50% off for the first six months. This leaves you with a monthly bill of just $9.50 for the first six months, albeit with a modest data allowance of 8GB. The post-discount price of $19.90 isn't the most competitive for 8GB, however, so you might consider switching to another cheap mobile plan when the deal period draws to a close.

The basics:

  • Intro price: $9.50 per month for six or three months
  • Ongoing price: $19.90 per recharge, after deal ends
  • Total cost over first 24 months: $437.80
  • Data: 8GB
  • Mobile network: Optus 4G
  • International calls: None included
  • Roaming: PAYG roaming
pro
Pros
pro 50% off for first six or three months
pro Deal not limited to new customers
pro Save up to 15% the more plans you bundle
pro No lock-in contract
con
Cons
con Small data inclusion
con No included roaming or international calls
con Limited to 4G
con Price doubles after deal ends

If this plan doesn't work for you, here's a look at a wider range of cheap eSIM plans in our database, ranked by introductory pricing of at least six months:

Icon Quote  Dark
Expert Advice: Never pay full price
"If you're not on a contract, changing providers a couple of times per year can ensure you always have the cheapest mobile plan for your needs. Most providers offer introductory discounts, which can be as much as 50% off. This can work out to hundreds in savings per year, depending on your plan. Given finding a new plan and signing up can take less than an hour, that's a pretty good return on your time."
Nathan Lawrence, Editor-at-large for Reviews.org AU
Editor-at-large

Cheap mobile plans with more data

Our database's cheapest plans with at least 30GB.

If you need a bit more data, Yomojo's current deal extends to its larger plans. The telco's Unlimited Voice & SMS + 40GB plan is the cheapest mobile plan in our database with at least 30GB of data.

Customers who port their number from another provider get six months at 50% off (three months if you need a new number), which means 40GB for just $14.95 during that period. After the deal ends, the ongoing price isn't bad, either – you can do a lot worse than $29.90 for this amount of data. But, given the plan has no contract or exit fees, you can just swap to another deal from a different provider when the time comes.

The basics:

  • Intro price: $9.50 per month for six or three months
  • Ongoing price: $19.50 per recharge, after deal ends
  • Total cost over first 24 months: $657.80
  • Data: 40GB
  • Mobile network: Optus 4G
  • International calls: None included
  • Roaming: PAYG roaming
pro
Pros
pro 40GB is more than most people need
pro 50% off for first six or three months
pro Deal not limited to new customers
pro Save up to 15% the more plans you bundle
pro No lock-in contract
con
Cons
con No included roaming or international calls
con Limited to 4G
con Price doubles after deal ends

We have plenty more cheap mobile plans with decent data in our database. Here's a look at the cheapest plans with at least 30GB, ranked by price over the first six months:

Cheap mobile plans with 'unlimited' data

'Unlimited' data always comes with a caveat.

In Australia, mobile plans with 'unlimited' data might not be what you assume. Also called 'infinite' or 'endless' data, most offer full internet speed until you hit your monthly limit, after which your connection is slowed to anywhere between 2Mbps and a crawling 256Kbps, depending on the provider. This has the benefit of avoiding unexpected overage fees if you go past your data allowance, but might not be what you're looking for in an unlimited data mobile plan.

The only option that comes close is the Unlimited Mobile Plan from felix mobile.

This plan does really give you unlimited data in terms of how much you can use – but it's all speed capped at 20Mbps. While 20Mbps is still fast enough to stream HD video and do just about any other phone-y things you have in mind, downloading large files is going to be a drag.

This plan currently offers 50% off for the first three months, after which the ongoing price is $40 per month.

  • Intro price: $20 per month for three months
  • Ongoing price: $40 per month, after deal ends
  • Total spend over first 24 months: $900
  • Data: Unlimited, all capped at 20Mbps
  • Mobile network: Vodafone 5G – capped at 20Mbps
  • International calls: Add for $5 per month
  • Roaming: None included
pro
Pros
pro Decent intro deal, if short-lived
pro Add unlimited international calls to 40 over countries for $5/mth
pro 5G connectivity (still useful for coverage, despite speed cap)
pro Felix is a certified carbon neutral service
con
Cons
con All connectivity limited 20Mbps
con No roaming inclusions

If you'd like to check out plans from mobile providers that offer 'endless' data – i.e. no overage fees – here's a look at the cheapest mobile plans in our database from each of them, ranked by intro price for the first six months:

Cheap mobile plans with phone repayments

Unfortunately, the cheapest mobile plans don't offer handsets with per-month phone repayments. If you want to pay a phone off month-to-month, you'll probably need to grab one with a mobile plan from Vodafone, Optus or Telstra on a 12, 24 or 36-month contract.

Cheap iPhone 16 plans

iPhones are among the most popular handsets in Australia for a reason. With great performance, excellent cameras and handy Apple integration, you can grab iPhone plans from any of the Big Three providers.

Cheap Galaxy S25 plans

Samsung Galaxy S series usually sit alongside iPhones when it comes to popularity and performance. If you're after a flagship Android, you can find Samsung's latest from all three major providers.

Pros and cons of cheap mobile plans

You usually get what you pay for, which is probably all you need.

The cheapest mobile plans are offered by network resellers, also called 'Mobile Virtual Network Operators' (MVNOs). MVNOs make up pretty much every mobile provider that isn't Optus, Vodafone or Telstra. These brands can afford to keep costs down because they have fewer overheads like large marketing budgets, network maintenance or brick-and-mortar storefronts.

They also don't include some of the added plan features you'll see from the Big Three, such as discounts on streaming services, included international calls, roaming, and uncapped 5G speeds. But despite this, mobile coverage is often the same, except for most Telstra resellers. Telstra MVNOs operate over the Telstra 'Wholesale' network, as opposed to the full Telstra network.

We'll dive into all of this and more below, so keep scrolling if you want to learn the ins and outs of cheap mobile plans in Australia.

pro
Pros
pro Some of the cheapest mobile plans around
pro Lots of options and deals to choose from
pro SIM-only and prepaid plans make it easy to change providers
pro Introductory offers are a good way to save even more
pro Data banking is common (though not universal)
con
Cons
con Many lack extra inclusions like international calls and roaming
con Might not include 5G
con Can include speed caps – usually 100Mbps or 150Mbps
con Telstra MVNOs have notably less 5G coverage than the full Telstra network

Which network offers the best coverage?

Of the three mobile networks, Telstra's has the widest coverage, followed by Optus and then Vodafone. But of course, it's not quite that simple.

Optus and Vodafone grant full network access to their MVNOs, though it's up to the MVNO to purchase 4G or 5G access.

But Telstra limits its resellers to the Telstra 'Wholesale' network. The Wholesale network still has the second-largest 4G footprint in Australia (just), but a much smaller 5G footprint. The only MVNO to operate over the full Telstra network is Boost Mobile.

Here's a quick look at mobile network coverage in Australia:

Network
4G population coverage
5G population coverage
Telstra99.6%89%
Telstra Wholesale98.8%75%
Optus98.5%80.5%
Vodafone98.4%No info

Aside from Telstra, Boost Mobile is the only provider that operates on the full Telstra network.

4G and 5G on cheap mobile plans

Almost all MVNOs offer 5G in some form, but usually only for their pricier options. When looking at the cheapest phone plans, you're more likely to get 4G access only, limited to 100Mbps (but, given this is the same download cap as an NBN 100 plan, it's really not so bad).

You'll also find most network resellers place speed caps on their 5G plans. The most common is 150Mbps, but some allow up to 250Mbps for their most-expensive options.

Given 4G can be faster than an NBN 50 plan – which is still the most popular type of home internet in Australia – try not to think of speed as a deal breaker here. The bigger concern is how it might affect your coverage.

Depending on your area, your telco might have cannibalised some of its 4G infrastructure to support 5G. As such, 4G would be more limited in that area, and could result in a spottier connection. This is very much location based and not always the norm, but it's worth noting, nonetheless.

Why you can trust Reviews.org

Expertise: Our editorial team has years of experience covering technology and the Australian telco market. We dig into the minutiae of phone plans, terms and conditions and simplify it for you.

Independence: We review phone plans on their merits, not based on whether or not we make money from them. You can always trust that if we recommend a plan, it's because it's great value for money, regardless of our commercial relationships with suppliers.

Data-driven: Our comparison engine looks at more than a hundred plans from 30 providers to size them up on features such as data, price and inclusions. The power of our comparison engine and the breadth of our database means you get more choices and more ways to compare.

icon-expertise

How we choose the best cheap mobile plans

When it comes to cheap phone plans, price is the most important variable. If you're a budget-conscious consumer looking at this page for guidance, we want our recommendations to best meet your needs. For that reason, we consider cheap plans to be anything less than $40/month, in terms of ongoing cost after any potential intro discount has ended.

Beyond price, the other big factors we consider are network coverage and monthly data per dollar. Given the overlap between Australia's major mobile networks, we typically privilege the latter when it comes to picking out the best cheap mobile plans. If you live in an area where you've got decent coverage from Optus, Vodafone and Telstra, we want to be able to point you towards the cheap mobile plan that offers the best bang for buck.

Finally, we also consider whether or not any decent deals are available for a given mobile plan and whether or not that provider includes any notable extras (like international calls) or suffers from any shortcomings. Our provider reviews and our sister site WhistleOut are valuable resources for us here.

Cheap mobile plan FAQs


Do cheap mobile plans have worse coverage?

Cheaper mobile plans are not directly penalised when it comes to coverage, but there can be some differences. For the most part, the cheapest plans from MVNOs are limited to 4G at 100Mbps, while more expensive plans have 5G (often limited to 150Mbps or 250Mbps).

But in terms of actual coverage, the only difference is for Telstra MVNOs. These providers operate over the Telstra 'Wholesale' network, which is almost identical to the full network for 4G, but has a much smaller 5G footprint.

Are there any cheap plans with unlimited everything?

If you want unlimited talk, text, and data for a cheap price, you've got one main option: Felix Mobile. Felix Mobile has a single plan with all of the above for $35 per month.

There is one catch, however. Speeds are capped to 20Mbps. 20Mbps is still fast enough for most online activities, including streaming video, but it may be a bit slow when you're downloading apps.

Are there cheap long-expiry plans?

Long-expiry mobile plans can work out to be cheaper in the long run compared to a month-to-month plan, but you'll need to pay a lot more upfront. The upshot is you can take care of your mobile bill in one single payment. The downside is you might burn through your data months ahead of schedule, if you're not careful.

What is Telstra's cheapest mobile phone plan?

Telstra's cheapest postpaid plan is the $65 Basic Upfront Mobile plan. This plan includes 50GB of monthly data, standard talk & text, unlimited SMS to international numbers, 30 minutes of international calls and 5G connectivity with uncapped download speeds

If you're looking for a cheap mobile plan by Telstra but prefer prepaid, you'll want to look for the 3GB SIM Starter Kit. This plan comes with 3GB of data, standard talk & text, 100 international texts and 7-day expiry.

What is the cheapest mobile network?

Although the shape of the market changes from week to week, the mobile network with the cheapest mobile plans is usually Vodafone. Providers on the Optus network aren't far off though. Telstra's network also has some pretty cheap plans, but often with less data than providers on the other two.

How much mobile data do you need?

As a rule, it's usually better and cheaper to have too much data than not enough. Knowledge is power when it comes to choosing the right mobile plan, so it may be worth using an app like My Data Manager to start tracking how much of your monthly data you use. Once you have a better idea of how much data you actually need, finding a plan that offers that amount at the lowest possible price becomes significantly easier.

How hard is it to change mobile providers?

Changing mobile providers is usually easy and quick. There are legal requirements in place to make the process as painless as possible. Not only do you get to keep your number, your new and old provider handle transferring it across and have a time limit on how long it can take. And you should have little-to-no time during which you have no active phone service at all.

If you're not on a contract, it's usually totally free to make the switch. Providers have a right to charge an $8 porting fee, though we're not aware of any that actually do.

What kind of customer support experience do you expect?

It's hard to gauge customer support, particularly with smaller brands. There are only a few publicly available surveys in Australia that measure this, and they can usually only gather data on big names because smaller brands have so few customers in comparison. But if you're curious, we'd recommend the bi-ennial Telco Satisfaction Survey from CHOICE as one source of data.

Your best option is often to look up online reviews to see if there are any trends you can spot – negative or positive experiences that follow a theme. This can sometimes be an indicator of whether a provider has systemic issues with customer service.

You can also check the annual report from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman to see if the number of complaints a provider received increased or decreased vs. the previous report.

Can I get a cheap SIM card in Australia?

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.

Stylised photograph of woman on laptop smiling and cheering
The best cheap NBN plans this month
Need a cheap NBN plan to go with your cheap mobile plan? These are our top picks. 
Alex Angove-Plumb
Written by
Alex Angove-Plumb is a technology journalist and editor with more than a decade's experience in tech media publishing. He first cut his teeth in 2010 at WhistleOut.com.au, covering telco news and reviewing mobile phones. After that, he moved on to run NBN Co's blog for a couple of years before settling in for a long stint at consumer advocacy publication: CHOICE. These days, Alex splits his time between Reviews.org and our friends over at WhistleOut, still covering telco news and reviewing devices, but also working behind the scenes on the nerdier aspects of SEO and page optimisation.

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