Spintel Mobile Review

Spintel runs exclusively on the Optus 4G network, but is it worth going with this MVNO or would you be better off opting for one of Optus’ own plans?

Spintel began with offering up plans running on Optus 3G and now on Optus 4G Plus. The telco has positioned itself in the market as a budget provider, serving up lower cost monthly plans without added benefits and no lock-in contract. Currently, Spintel offers 5 SIM-only plans in Australia for everyday mobile users and 5 business mobile plans. Read on to find out what you need to know about Spintel’s range of mobile plans.

Spintel Mobile Plans

Spintel offers some good value with its selection of Optus 4G plans, but the question is whether it’s worth saving some bucks with this MVNO or going with an Optus SIM plan that will cost you a bit more but might offer you better perks, customer service and extras overall. 

Check out Spintel’s range below so you can work out what’s the best plan for your needs.

The best Spintel plan

Where Spintel shines compared to the competition is its low prices on data, text and call inclusions that would be suitable for most everyday smartphone users. Overall, Spintel’s $15.95 mobile plan with 5GB of data and unlimited national calls and text is a great snag for those who don’t use their smartphones a lot for watching videos or uploading large files to social media but still want the flexibility of unlimited talk and SMS. 

If we compare this deal to Optus for example, its cheapest plan on offer starts from $39 per 28-day recharge, which is almost double in cost. If your number one concern is price and you have low data usage requirements, Spintel’s a good budget option. While Optus’ $39 Choice Plan comes with 10GB of data, as well as unlimited calls and text in Australia, it does provide unlimited international standard calls to 15 destinations. Unless you often make overseas calls, the large price difference doesn’t seem to justify picking the $39 Optus Choice Plan.

The cheapest Spintel plan

At the time of writing, the cheapest Spintel mobile plan available will cost you $9.95 per month, offering up 2GB of data and 100 minutes of calls. There aren’t any contract lock-ins so you don’t have to worry about keeping a monthly commitment and can cancel your plan at any time if you change your mind.

While Spintel claims to automatically cap data usage, you’ll still be charged $10 per GB once you exceed your data limit if you opt to not cap your data usage. There is a $100 maximum you could pay as your further data usage will be cut off when you reach 10 GB, which is a plus since not all providers will cap this at all. However, if the Spintel $9.95 mobile plan doesn’t provide enough GB for your data usage, you could end up paying a lower average monthly cost if you opted for Spintel’s $15.95 plan instead (which is why it’s the best Spintel plan for most people).

What about the $19.95 and $22.95 Spintel mobile plans?

The $15.95 mobile plan may be a good deal for the average phone user who regularly makes calls, texts and doesn’t use too much data. However, if you’re a bigger data user like myself, the $19.95 mobile plan that comes with 7GB or even the $22.95 option for 9GB are still relatively sweet steals.

If you’re prepared to pay a little extra for perks and extras, you could consider Optus’ $49 Choice Plan that comes with a whopping 60GB of data, unlimited national calls and text, as well as unlimited international standard calls to 35 destinations and an optional Optus Sport subscription and 6-month free Apple Music trial. For those who would make use of these additional inclusions, this Optus $49 plan might be worth paying a bit more for. 

Promo deals

As of December 2019, there’s a $10 SIM activation fee waiver available for a limited time across all of Spintel’s mobile plans. While this isn’t really much of a dealbreaker, knocking off an extra $10 isn’t anything to complain about. 

Who owns Spintel?

Spintel is a privately owned mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) using the Optus 4G Plus network. Spintel was established in 1996 as Spin Internet Services and made its name selling dial-up internet plans.

What network does Spintel use?

Spintel uses the entire Optus 4G network. If your mobile device isn’t 4G compatible, you’ll still get Optus 3G coverage. 

Here’s the coverage you can expect from Spintel Mobile:

Spintel coverage

Does Spintel offer international roaming?

While Spintel doesn’t offer included international roaming on any of its mobile plans, international calls and SMS are available for additional charges through Spintel’s network of partners in 170+ international destinations. It’s not recommended to activate international roaming while overseas though as roaming charges will be significantly heftier than local phone usage while you’re in Australia. 

If you’re a frequent traveller or just don’t want the hassle of switching to a local SIM card carrier while you’re overseas, you could consider some of Optus’ own SIM plans that have reasonable international roaming inclusions. For example, on the $59 Optus Choice Plan, you could get 2GB of roaming data in selected destinations, or 4GB of roaming data on the $79 Optus Choice Plan if you’re looking for a bit more data while abroad. 

Here are some of the most popular SIM-only Optus plans with international roaming inclusions.

Spintel contact and customer service

Most mobile plan providers get a bad rep for their customer service in general and Spintel isn’t one of those providers to turn that rep around. Currently, Spintel is sitting at a fairly measly 2.7/5 star rating on Product Review.

Spintel offers customer service via phone only. You can call them on 13 22 10 between 8am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on weekends and holidays. Alternatively, fill out their online enquiry form to request a customer service agent to give you a callback during opening hours at spintel.net.au/contact.