Cheap mobile plans in Australia

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.

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.

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:

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

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:

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

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:

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

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:

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

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:

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.

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.