De’Longhi PrimaDonna Soul review: premium coffee without the fuss?

8.6

An automatic coffee machine can promise a barista experience at home, but the proof is in whether it gets both the coffee and the milk frothing right, and whether it can do that with as little maintenance as possible. That last part matters more than the spec sheet suggests. Plenty of capable machines end up gathering dust because the daily cleaning becomes a chore.

The De’Longhi PrimaDonna Soul (model ECAM610.75.MB) sets out to tick all three boxes. It sits at the top of De’Longhi’s fully automatic range at $1,589, above the Magnifica, Dinamica and Eletta, and it is aimed at households that want a wide selection of hot and cold drinks in a more advanced, luxury package. It grinds, tamps, brews and froths at a single touch, stores preferences for up to five people, and looks after a lot of its own cleaning. Here is how it held up in daily use.

De’Longhi PrimaDonna Soul specifications and price

Price (RRP)	$1,589
Model	ECAM610.75.MB (Metal Black)
Dimensions (W x D x H)	262 x 485 x 390 mm
Weight	13.7 kg
Display	4.3-inch full-touch TFT colour
Beverages	Up to 21, one-touch
User profiles	5
Water tank	2.2 litres
Bean hopper	500 g
Grounds container	14 pucks
Max cup / glass height	140 mm
Pump pressure	19 bar
Milk system	LatteCrema Hot and Cool carafes, self-cleaning
Connectivity	Wi-Fi (2.4GHz), De’Longhi Coffee Link app
Power	1450 W, 220 to 240 V
Online store	De’Longhi PrimaDonna Soul (ECAM610.75.MB)

Where the PrimaDonna Soul sits in De’Longhi’s range

De’Longhi’s automatic range steps up as you go. The Magnifica handles the basics, espresso and cappuccino. The Dinamica adds more milk drinks, and the Eletta brings in hot and cold options. The PrimaDonna Soul sits at the top.

There are sooo many drinks to choose from! Credit: Chris Walsh

The step up buys you Bean Adapt, the 4.3-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi and the Coffee Link app, five user profiles and the widest drinks menu. If you only make a coffee or two a day, a cheaper model in the range will do the job.

Design and build

The PrimaDonna Soul is a good-looking machine, finished in brushed metal and black with a large, full-colour touch display up front. Dedicated on-screen buttons filter the menu to just hot or just cold drinks, which makes finding what you want quicker than scrolling one long list.

The De’Longhi PrimaDonna with cold-milk frother and this writer’s ‘V’ mug. Credit: Chris Walsh

The twin coffee spouts sit on a sliding assembly that rises to take taller glasses, up to 140mm, and drops down for smaller cups. There are two milk carafes, one for hot milk and one for cold, and the carafe spout extends to reach into the cup. Because the coffee spout is a twin, you can pull two espressos side by side at once, or run both spouts into a single large cup to fill it faster.

It is not a small machine. At roughly 26cm wide, 48.5cm deep and 39cm tall, and just under 14kg, it takes a permanent spot on the benchtop rather than something you tuck away between uses. It looks good enough that I did not mind, but the depth is worth measuring for before you buy.

What’s in the box

Item	Detail
Coffee machine	PrimaDonna Soul ECAM610.75.MB in Metal Black
LatteCrema Hot carafe	Thermal milk carafe for hot milk drinks, with self-cleaning
LatteCrema Cool carafe	Second carafe for cold milk foam, unlocks six one-touch cold milk drinks
Water filter	Softener / limescale reducer (DLSC002)
Water hardness test strip	To set the machine’s descaling schedule
Descaler	EcoDecalk starter pack
Measuring scoop	For pre-ground coffee
Cleaning brush	For routine cleaning

Coffee taste and performance

Give it good beans and the results are worth it. My espressos poured with a rich aroma and a proper crema, and across weeks of use the coffee never turned bitter. Milk drinks came out with dense, creamy foam straight from the carafe, and it handles oat milk really well, which is what I care about most. Soy, almond and dairy all worked fine too.

For the best taste, freshly ground coffee beans please! Credit: Chris Walsh

The headline feature is Bean Adapt Technology. Rather than only adjusting the grind, it tunes the whole extraction to the beans you are using. In the Coffee Link app you set the roast level of your beans, and the machine sets the grind size, the dose it grinds, and the brewing temperature to match. A light, delicate roast and a dark, bold one each get settings suited to them. It is one of the few bean-to-cup machines that adapts brewing to the roast this way, and it is an easy way to refine the flavour without having to understand the mechanics yourself.

There’s a double-spout for fast espressos or you can make 2 at once. Credit: Chris Walsh

If you would rather not use beans for a particular cup, there is a separate chute for pre-ground coffee, so decaf or a different blend is easy to slot in without emptying the hopper.

So many drinks to choose from – hot or cold. Shown above are the start and finish stages of a long-black (water first) and flat white. My favorite was an oat-milk cappuccino. Credit: Chris Walsh

Drinks menu and family profiles

The machine is fully automatic from start to finish. It grinds, tamps, brews the espresso and froths the milk without any help. You can choose different froth densities to suit the drink, and there is a hot water outlet for tea and other uses. I use it to add hot water to my bone broth drinks without boiling the kettle.

Here is the full drinks list, with cold options marked. The cold milk drinks come from fitting the LatteCrema Cool carafe, while Over Ice works straight from the machine.

1. Espresso	14. Latte Macchiato
2. Doppio+	15. Caffelatte
3. Coffee	16. Hot Milk
4. Long	17. Hot Water
5. Long Black	18. Tea Function
6. Americano	19. Mug To Go
7. Coffee Pot	20. Over Ice (cold)
8. Cappuccino	21. Cappuccino (cold)
9. Cappuccino+	22. Latte Macchiato (cold)
10. Cappuccino Mix	23. Caffelatte (cold)
11. Cortado	24. Cappuccino Mix (cold)
12. Espresso Macchiato	25. Flat White (cold)
13. Flat White	26. Milk (cold)

There’s a ‘hot drink’ button on the bezel that filters your drinks by temp, and then you can filter it further using the ‘coffee’ or ‘milk’ selections. Credit: Chris Walsh

Up to five personas let each member of the household save their own preferences, including how strong they want the coffee and the cup size, stored per drink type. Everyone gets their coffee the way they like it from a single press, instead of re-customising every time.

Cold drinks require different settings, not just ice! Credit: Chris Walsh

Cold drinks

For warmer months, the PrimaDonna Soul is well set up. The Over Ice recipe brews a stronger, cold-optimised coffee that you pour straight over a glass of ice so it does not water down like a cooled shot would, which handles iced black coffee.

The Cold Milk dispenser (LatteCrema Cool) is designed to froth milk without using steam, otherwise, it would warm up your drink! Credit: Chris Walsh

For cold milk drinks you swap the hot carafe for the LatteCrema Cool carafe that came in the box. The reason it is a separate carafe, rather than one doing both jobs, comes down to how foam is made. Hot foam relies on steam and heat to stretch the milk, and that method does not work on cold milk. The Cool carafe uses a frothing system built to aerate milk into a dense, stable foam at fridge temperature without warming it. Fitting it adds six one-touch cold options with proper cold foam: cappuccino, latte macchiato, caffelatte, cappuccino mix, flat white and cold milk. Between the two carafes, iced lattes and iced coffees are a single press, which suits an Australian summer.

The Coffee Link app

The machine connects over Wi-Fi to the De’Longhi Coffee Link app, which is where a lot of the Soul’s flexibility lives. Beyond setting Bean Adapt roast levels, the app lets you create and customise recipes, manage the family profiles, adjust machine settings, check maintenance and cleaning status, and find how-to guidance for using the machine. It is a useful companion rather than a gimmick. Most of it can be done on the touchscreen too, but the app makes deeper customisation and profile management easier.

A selection of coffee-bean “brownies” will be waiting for you…Credit: Chris Walsh

Connecting to Wi-Fi was a little tricky, as the machine did not like my 5GHz Wi-Fi, but it worked on 2.4GHz instead. That matches De’Longhi’s own guidance, since the Coffee Link app only supports 2.4GHz networks. If you have a dual-band router, point the machine at the 2.4GHz band and connection is straightforward.

Cleaning, care and running costs

Cleaning is the part that usually puts me off these machines, and it is where the PrimaDonna Soul changed my mind. The milk system self-cleans after each use, rinsing the carafe and steam path automatically, and you can pop the carafe in the fridge until the next drink. It will still remind you now and then to take the milk unit apart and give it a proper soak, but the day-to-day effort is minimal.

The LatteCrema Hot dispenser has an adjustment dial for foam density, and you turn it to the far right to self-clean. Credit: Chris Walsh

The routine tasks are the familiar ones: refill the 2.2-litre water tank, empty and rinse the drip tray, and occasionally remove and rinse the internal brew unit under the tap before putting it back. The brew unit being removable is a real plus for hygiene and long-term upkeep.

You’ll need to refill the water dispenser quite often if you regularly run the cleaning cycle. Credit: Chris Walsh

The main scheduled job is descaling. De’Longhi recommends descaling roughly every two to three months, though the machine sets its own reminder based on the water hardness you program in. Hard-water areas will need it more often and soft-water areas less. Running the water filter reduces limescale and stretches the interval between descales.

Ongoing consumables are reasonable for a machine at this price:

• EcoDecalk Descaling Solution 500ml (DLSC500): $29.95, about five descaling cycles per bottle.
• Water Filter, Limescale Reducer (DLSC002): $29.95, replaced around every two months to keep limescale down and flavour consistent.
• Eco MultiClean Milk Solution 250ml: $15.95, for the periodic deep-clean of the milk system.
• Coffee Care Kit (Maintenance Essentials): $59.95, bundles the descaler, water filter and cleaner, and is the cheapest way to cover all three.

The De’Longhi PrimaDonna’s consumables include de-scaler and water filter. Credit: Chris Walsh

Who is it for?

The PrimaDonna Soul is at its best in a household or family that loves coffee and wants real variety, hot and cold, black and milk-based, each person’s way. If you mostly drink one style and want the smallest possible machine, a cheaper De’Longhi will do the job for less. But if variety, low-fuss maintenance and one-touch consistency for several people matter to you, this is the model that delivers them.

I got through a lot of caffeine and oat milk in the making of this review. Credit: Chris Walsh

After living with it, the PrimaDonna Soul delivers on what it promises. It makes excellent coffee, the milk foam is consistently good even with oat milk, and it keeps the cleaning light enough that I actually reached for it every day. It is stylish, completely automatic, and the family profiles make it easy to share. The water tank could be larger for a busy household and the footprint is deep, but the hot and cold options make it a versatile pick for Australian conditions. If you want cafe variety at home without the maintenance headache, it is well worth the premium.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the De’Longhi PrimaDonna Soul cost?

The PrimaDonna Soul (ECAM610.75.MB) has an RRP of $1,589 in Australia.

How many drinks can the PrimaDonna Soul make?

Up to 21, including espresso, long black, cappuccino, flat white, cortado, caffelatte and an Over Ice cold coffee, plus hot water and a tea function.

Does the PrimaDonna Soul make cold coffee?

Yes. The built-in Over Ice recipe brews a stronger, cold-optimised coffee to pour over ice without dilution, and the LatteCrema Cool carafe adds six one-touch cold milk drinks with proper cold foam, including cold cappuccino, latte macchiato and flat white.

How often do you need to descale the PrimaDonna Soul?

De’Longhi recommends descaling roughly every two to three months. The machine sets its own reminder based on your programmed water hardness, and using the DLSC002 water filter extends the interval.

Is the PrimaDonna Soul easy to clean?

Yes. The LatteCrema milk system self-cleans after each use and the brew unit is removable for rinsing, so day-to-day maintenance is light, with a periodic milk-system soak and scheduled descaling.

Where can I buy the PrimaDonna Soul?

You can find the De’Longhi PrimaDonna Soul (ECAM610.75.MB) at the De’Longhi Australia online store.

De'Longhi PrimaDonna Soul

GadgetGuy's take

The De'Longhi PrimaDonna Soul makes excellent one-touch coffee, hot or cold, for the whole household. A deep footprint and modest water tank are the main trade-offs for a premium fully automatic that keeps day-to-day fuss to a minimum.

Features

9

Performance

9

Design

8.5

Ease of Use

8.3

Value

8

Positives

Excellent, consistent coffee with rich crema, never bitter, and great with oat milk

Bean Adapt tunes grind, dose and temperature to your beans

Low-maintenance thanks to the self-cleaning milk system

Up to 21 drinks, hot and cold, with 5 saved family profiles

Stylish brushed metal-and-black design with a clear 4.3-inch touchscreen

Negatives

Large footprint, deep enough to claim a permanent benchtop spot

2.2-litre water tank can feel small for a heavy-use household

Premium price at $1,589

8.6

The post De’Longhi PrimaDonna Soul review: premium coffee without the fuss? appeared first on GadgetGuy.

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TCL flexes its gaming TV chops with new Mini LED monitors

TCL’s TVs tend to be pretty good for gaming, so it should come as little surprise that the brand now has a range of PC monitors for getting your game on. Four new TCL gaming monitors have just landed in Australia, each using some variation of Mini LED technology.

Ranging from $499 for the Full HD 25G54 Mini LED model to $1,599 for the flagship 4K 32R84 QD-Mini LED display, there’s a bit of versatility throughout the range. Most of the differences between each model come down to factors like resolution, brightness, and port availability. Basically, the more you pay, the sharper and brighter the monitor is, along with more ports.

Aside from the sharpest resolution of the bunch, the TCL 32R84 also sports the most premium specs. Its panel houses 1,400 dimming zones for light control, with the QD-Mini LED backlights producing up to 1,400 nits of peak brightness.

Specifically for gamers, the monitor supports up to 165Hz refresh rates, a 1ms response time, and supports both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync technologies to combat lag and screen tearing.

Built into the TCL 32R84 are two HDMI 2.1 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4 slot, and several USB ports. If your laptop supports USB-C charging and display connectivity, you can connect it directly to the monitor via one cable.

Of the four monitors, the smallest 25G54 is the only one that uses vanilla Mini LED versus QD-Mini LED tech. According to the specs, the difference isn’t huge — the monitor covers 93 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, compared to the 95 or 96 per cent of the other models — but it’s a difference nonetheless.

TCL’s mid-range options, like the 27G64 and 32G64 models, use a ‘QHD’ resolution (2560 x 1440). This puts them more within reach of mid-range PC gamers who target 1440p gaming.

TCL gaming monitor range price

Consistent with TCL’s TV strategy, its new gaming monitors are competitively priced for the features on offer. All but the flagship model cost less than $1,000, keeping prices within reach of most gamers.

Here’s how much each monitor costs in Australia:

• TCL 32R84 32-inch QD-Mini LED Monitor: $1,599
• TCL 32G64 32-inch QHD QD-Mini LED Monitor: $799
• TCL 27G64 27-inch QHD QD-Mini LED Monitor: $699
• TCL 25G54 25-inch FHD Mini LED Monitor: $499

At the lower end, it’s one of the more affordable Mini LED entry points, while gamers with bigger wallets can still seek out high-end features.

The post TCL flexes its gaming TV chops with new Mini LED monitors appeared first on GadgetGuy.

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Why a travel router is essential for your next trip

Having access to safe and reliable internet is now just another normal part of travelling. Whether it’s work or a holiday, you need that online connection to do everything from booking tickets to managing your budget, and more. And of course, you know public Wi-Fi can be incredibly dodgy, safety-wise. Which is where a travel router like TP-Link’s Roam 7 comes in.

A travel router is designed to connect your devices – that’s devices plural – to public Wi-Fi, whether that’s in a hotel, airport, local shopping centre, or somewhere even sketchier. The router cuts that risk way, way back, and it makes using your gear more convenient too.

TP-Link’s Roam 7 is a great example of a travel router, thanks to its multiple modes and robust set of security features. It’s one of the best ways to access the internet on the road.

Public Wi-Fi isn’t always safe

It’s always best to assume that public Wi-Fi is never safe, but even if some places ARE okay, there are just too many opportunities for malicious actors to mess with your network access.

You have no control over a public Wi-Fi network, and no way of seeing what else is connected. The data you send over that network isn’t private and could be intercepted. As for free internet in general? Well, you know what they say: if you’re not paying for it, you’re the product. An undefended device can end up spammed with ads, infected with adware, or worse.

That’s the security side of things, but the other frustration with public Wi-Fi is having to set up a new connection for each one of your devices. Phone, tablet, laptop, maybe a camera too – it’s a pain. And speaking of cameras or game consoles, these devices might struggle to connect at all, because they can’t access the custom login screens that some public and hotel Wi-Fi networks use.

Yes, you can use your phone as a hotspot, and bypass public Wi-Fi for a much more secure private data link via your mobile data provider or their overseas partner. But this almost always gets really expensive, really fast.

Anyway, you don’t need to give up on public Wi-Fi to stay safe and juggle multiple devices. This is where a travel router comes in.

How a travel router solves the problems of public Wi-Fi

A travel router like the TP-Link Roam 7 can massively boost the security of your connection, by sitting in between your device and the public Wi-Fi network. But it’s not just about security: a travel router lets you connect multiple devices, all through a device YOU own. Routers like the Roam 7 take connections from your phone, tablet, laptop, and of course the devices of anyone you’re travelling with.

Think of it as a gateway between public networks and your devices. It doesn’t have to be Wi-Fi only, either. Some hotels provide an Ethernet connection: plug that in to the router (if it has an Ethernet port, like the TP-Link Roam 7 does) and you’re away. In either case, the router keeps your devices from connecting to an unsecured network directly, and adds in the layer of security – and anonymity – public networks lack.

Travel routers like the Roam 7 are compact (13 x 9.3 x 3.8 cm); they just slip into a pocket of your luggage like any other device. So you can take them on any sort of travel.

A travel router for work, play and everyday

If you’re travelling for work, the router is going to come in handy at the airport and when using hotel Wi-Fi. Or anywhere you need to connect your laptop to data – and maybe your phone too if you’re trying to save on roaming costs.

When you’re on holiday, meanwhile, it’s the multi-device functionality that really makes a travel router worthwhile. TP-Link’s Roam 7, for example, can connect up to 90 devices at once. This makes it ideal for even a large family travelling together, everyone with their own phones, second screen, cameras, and maybe a games console or two.

Also, it’s worth mentioning, you don’t have to actually be travelling to get benefit from a travel router. Even down your local shopping centre or at your local library, a device like the Roam 7 can be a boon for both security and flexibility.

So just to recap, the main benefit of a travel router like the TP-Link Roam 7 is threefold:

Security: The router creates a private network, using the latest security protocols, and it sits between your device and the public internet.

Privacy: The router can support use of a VPN for an extra layer of privacy, and encrypt your online activity, making it virtually impossible for anyone else connected to the same public network to see your activity or intercept any of your personal information.

Flexibility: You connect the travel router to the public network one time. Then you can connect as many of your devices as you like to the travel router. No repetitive signing in or fiddling with Wi-Fi details and passwords.

How TP-Link Roam 7 solves travel Wi-Fi

Not all travel routers are created equal, of course, which is why the TP-Link Roam 7 keeps getting mentioned in this article. It’s a powerful Wi-Fi 7 router, but in a form factor that you can easily take anywhere.

Since it’s Wi-Fi 7, the Roam 7 can give you up to 3.6Gbps of combined speed, across 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands. Sure, your average public free network is nowhere near that fast, but that’s changing. Speeds at the Jannah Burj Al Sarab hotel in Abu Dhabi, for example, are up to 1.2Gbps Wi-Fi. Yeah, that’s an outlier, but it’s the shape of the future, and it’s coming faster than you think. So why not be ready?

The Roam 7 also prioritises versatility. Along with Wi-Fi, there are two Ethernet ports (including a high-speed 2.5G WAN port). This means you can use hotel Ethernet and a wired device at the same time, or two wired devices with the Roam 7 connected via Wi-Fi. There’s also a USB 3.0 port for sharing files from a hard drive or tethering mobile data from your phone/cellular modem. Plus, a USB-C power port lets you run it off a power bank.

When it comes to security, the Roam 7 is locked down tight, which gives you peace of mind on the road. It also supports VPNs including OpenVPN and WireGuard.

And the Roam 7 handles all your devices, no matter how overstuffed your gadget bag is. Okay, the limit is 90 simultaneous connections, but if you’re maxing that out? Just buy a second router for 90 more!

Make a travel router your suitcase staple

For work and play, a travel router is the smart way to access internet away from home. And not just for travel – any time you need to connect to a public network of some kind and can’t be guaranteed of a safe and secure connection otherwise.

The TP-Link Roam 7 brings enough security, customisation, and versatility, to turn any hotel room into an internet-connected home office, or even just an entertainment and chill hub, like your living room. Having safe and reliable internet away from home is a must. That’s why your travel router should be one of the first things you pack.

Learn more about the Roam 7 via TP-Link’s Australian website.

The post Why a travel router is essential for your next trip appeared first on GadgetGuy.

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Robots doing your laundry? The future is closer than you think

Robot appliances can do all sorts of things around the house, but they haven’t mastered doing our laundry. Not yet, at least. Ecovacs recently showed off a concept robot that picks up your dirty clothes, puts them in the washing machine, and sets it all going for you.

It was part of a recent tour of Ecovacs’ headquarters in China attended by Australian media, where the company showed a behind-the-scenes glimpse at its in-development robot technologies.

One of the demos showed “Ba Jie”, an upright robot that acts as a laundry butler of sorts. It wheels around rooms, using an extendable arm to pick up clothes strewn around the home, and then automatically starts the washing machine once it’s all loaded.

Ba Jie is still in a concept phase at the moment, but it’s a cool idea that could take care of one more household chore.

Valens Quinn travelled to China as a guest of Ecovacs.

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TP-Link’s sub-$1,000 robot vacuum can cut through hair tangles

Most of the time, it’s the high-end, all the bells and whistles varieties of robot vacuums that claim the spotlight. It’s cool to see what the latest robot technologies can do, but they’re not always within the budget of everyday households. Targeting that more affordable tier is TP-Link’s $899 Tapo RV50 Omni, a robot vacuum with several self-cleaning features.

It wasn’t that long ago that robot vacs with self-emptying and cleaning docks would fetch a price far above $1,000. Now, it’s more common to see sub-$1,000 robot appliances that don’t need constant manual emptying, but the Tapo RV50 Omni still seems to offer a lot for its relatively affordable price.

For one, its included base station empties the robot’s dustbin each time it docks. Built into the system is a cutting brush that detangles any hair or fur picked up along the way. Plus, the station also washes the robot’s mop pads and then dries them with 50°C air.

If your floors are this dirty, a robot vacuum might be the least of your worries. Image: Tapo.

“Most people love the idea of a robot vacuum until they have to clean it,” said Neville Wang, Managing Director, TP-Link Australia and New Zealand. “With the RV50 Omni we wanted something that genuinely looks after itself, from the tangle-free brush to a dock that washes and dries its own mops, so it keeps working in the background of a busy home.”

TP-Link lists up to 12,000Pa of suction power for the Tapo RV50 Omni, which won’t set any world records, but it’s on par with more affordable mid-range robot cleaners. It also has two spinning mop pads that rotate at 180RPM while applying up to 8N of downward pressure.

On paper, the RV50 Omni looks like a well-featured robot vacuum for the price. It’s out now in Australia via Tapo’s online store. Above all, it’s good to see more competition in Australia’s sub-$1,000 robot vacuum market.

The post TP-Link’s sub-$1,000 robot vacuum can cut through hair tangles appeared first on GadgetGuy.

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Cheapest SIM plans in Australia: Compare from $12 per month

Are you looking to save on your phone bill? We’ve rounded up the cheapest SIM plans from a range of different carriers to help you find the best price. If you’re unsure about whether a SIM-only mobile plan is what you need, our quick guide to SIM only mobile plans will get you up to speed.

Generally speaking, if you don’t want a new phone or a lock-in contract, a SIM plan is the way to go. It’s easy to get what you need without paying for excess features. Unlimited phone calls and text messages usually come standard, with data and international roaming the main points of difference. If you do want a phone, however, check out the current deals on phone plans, including discounted handsets.

We update this article monthly, so bookmark this page to keep up to date with the cheapest SIM plans. Prices update in real-time, meaning you get the latest deals available in Australia right now. You can also use a custom search to choose a plan that suits your exact needs.

All of the plans featured in this article include an expiry period of at least 28 days. You can purchase a SIM plan with a shorter recharge window, ideal for travellers who only need a bit of data while visiting Australia.

Want to save on your internet bill, too? Check out the cheapest NBN plans to save even more money. You can also compare the best Telstra SIM-only plans, Vodafone SIM-only plans, and Optus SIM-only plans.

Contents

• Cheapest SIM plans
• Cheapest 5G SIM plans
• Cheapest 365-day SIM plans
• What you need to know: eSIM, prepaid, postpaid
• Phone number portability
• Best network coverage

Cheapest SIM plans

Postpaid

SpinTel is currently the cheapest postpaid SIM plan, costing $12 per month for the first six months. The plan uses the Optus 5G network, including 25GB of data. Once the discounted period ends, SpinTel’s plan costs $23 per month.

Not far behind is a $12.50 per month offer from Pivotel, discounted for six months from its usual $25 price. Using Vodafone’s 4G network, the plan comes with 30GB of data each month. Another cheap option comes from Dodo, with its Small Mobile Plan priced at $14 per month for the first six months. 25GB of data comes included, along with a 5G Optus connection. After discounts, Dodo’s plan costs $25 per month ongoing.

If you’re keen on a postpaid SIM plan on the Telstra network, Tangerine currently sells the cheapest option. Its $30 monthly plan costs $20 per month for the first three months, with 60GB included each month for the first six months (30GB applies afterwards). Keep in mind that this Tangerine plan only uses parts of Telstra’s 5G and 4G networks, so check the coverage map before locking anything in.

Prepaid

Buckle up for a multi-part deal: Yomojo sells the current cheapest prepaid SIM plan, but it’s not a fixed price the entire time. It only costs $1 for the first month, followed by a $12.45 monthly price through to the sixth month. Afterwards, Yomojo’s plan costs $24.90 per month on regular pricing. It nets you an Optus 4G Plus connection and 29GB of monthly data.

Only slightly more expensive are prepaid SIM plans from iiNet and TPG, both using the Vodafone 4G network. For the first six months, each plan costs $12.50 per month, and then $25 each month after, with 25GB of data included. OnePass Mobile also costs $12.50 for the first six recharges; it uses a 28-day cycle rather than the monthly billing of the above plans.

On the Telstra network, the cheapest current prepaid SIM plan is $23 from Aldi Mobile on a 30-day renewal. Aldi uses Telstra’s wholesale 4G network while bundling 12GB of data.

Cheapest 5G SIM plans

5G coverage reaches more of Australia than ever, bringing with it faster download speeds. Phones compatible with 5G are also increasingly affordable, making it easier to access high-speed networks.

In some cases, 5G plans can cost more, but as you’ll see below, they can also be among the cheapest.

Postpaid

Most of the cheapest postpaid 5G SIM plans follow the same trend as above; SpinTel ($12 per month) and Dodo ($14 per month) are currently the clear standouts.

Outside of discounts, postpaid 5G plans start from $23 per month, so it’s a reasonably affordable tier.

Prepaid

On the prepaid side of the fence, OnePass Mobile currently sells the cheapest 5G prepaid SIM plans, starting at $12.50 per 28-day renewal and 22GB of data. Lyca Mobile, on the Vodafone 5G network, is similarly cheap, priced at $15 per 28 days for the first six recharges, including a large 50GB allocation. Afterwards, it costs $30 every 28 days.

Boost Mobile is the cheapest Telstra-based prepaid SIM plan with 5G access, priced at $28 per 28-day renewal. It includes a relatively small 8GB allocation, albeit with a 21GB introductory offer that applies to the first three recharges. Boost is also the only MVNO with access to the full Telstra network, reaching further than most other telcos.

For a bit more data on the Telstra network, Aldi Mobile and Ezee Mobile include 29GB per 30-day recharge for $29. Both rely on Telstra’s wholesale network, so check the coverage map to be sure if your area is covered.

Depending on your data needs, you can generally pick up a 5G prepaid plan for $25 per recharge.

Cheapest 365-day SIM plans

If you know what you need over a longer period and want to save money in the process, a 365-day SIM plan might do the trick. Simply pay once per year, and get a bank of data to use with unlimited calls and texts. It’s a cost-effective way of paying your phone bill for basic internet users who aren’t big downloaders.

At the time of writing, Kogan Mobile tops the list of cheapest 365-day SIM plans, charging $149 for a Vodafone 4G connection and 140GB of data. Post-discount, Kogan’s plan costs $179.90 per 365 days.

Looking at Optus connections, OnePass Mobile is the cheapest long-term option. At the moment, OnePass Mobile’s 280GB plan costs $169 for the first recharge, down from its regular $250 price. Even at full price, that’s still less than a dollar per gigabyte, if data is a priority.

Want a 365-day SIM plan on the Telstra network? Boost Mobile sells the cheapest option at $250, which includes 295GB with the first recharge. Subsequent recharges cost $300 and come with 195GB of data. That’s less data than the 215GB you get with Everyday Mobile’s $250 plan, albeit limited to Telstra’s 4G network.

What you need to know about SIM only plans

It’s fairly easy to change your SIM plan provider. Even more so with the rise of embedded SIM (eSIM) technology, letting you change plans almost instantly with a compatible device. Instead of requiring a physical card, eSIM stores network information directly in your phone.

Irrespective of which service provider you go with, the actual network used will be either Optus, Telstra or Vodafone. Many of the cheapest SIM plan providers are mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). This refers to carriers that use the network infrastructure of another company.

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Boost Mobile is a popular MVNO that has full access to Telstra’s network, reaching 99.5% of Australians. Not every MVNO includes a network’s full coverage, so it’s worth checking a company’s website to ensure your area is serviced.

In terms of how much data you should choose, data from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) found that Australians generally pay for more than what they need. On average, Aussies use 10.2GB of phone data per month, so it’s likely you could get away with a smaller allowance that costs less.

It also depends on how much you stream and download content using your phone. If you mainly use home or office Wi-Fi and don’t stream much, stick with a cheaper plan.

Postpaid versus prepaid

There are a couple of slightly different SIM plan options to choose from. Postpaid refers to plans that operate on a monthly billing cycle, where you pay at the end of each cycle. Postpaid SIM plans generally don’t involve a lock-in contract, so you can freely swap if your needs change or a better deal comes along. If you hit your data cap for a month, your telco might limit speeds until the next cycle or charge extra costs, so check the fine print beforehand.

Prepaid, on the other hand, sees you pay at the start of each cycle for a fixed number of days. Most prepaid SIM plans have a 28-day expiry cycle instead of a full month. Shorter expiries are also available if you need a SIM while travelling, making it a flexible option. The upside is that if you go over your data limit, you won’t incur extra costs. A lot of prepaid plans don’t automatically recharge by default but you can set up auto-recharge manually, with some telcos offering discounts or bonuses if you do so.

Phone number portability

The SIM changeover process takes about 10 minutes of your time or even less if you choose an eSIM. You will receive instructions to visit a website, provide your details, prove your identity (online) and then insert your new SIM.

Note you will have a choice to migrate your existing mobile number or choose a new one. About 15 minutes later, you should be up and running. However, the documentation will indicate it may take up to 24 hours and be affected by working hours.

Best network coverage

Network coverage is one of the most important factors to consider when buying any phone plan. Low prices and all the data in the world don’t mean much if you can’t get a signal. Fortunately, Australia’s mobile phone network coverage is more competitive than ever because of the TPG Telecom and Optus partnership.

Telstra still boasts the broadest network coverage, reaching 99.7% of the Australian population. Optus and Vodafone aren’t far behind, covering 98.5% and 98.4% respectively. Optus expects to rapidly expand its 5G network, so expect plenty of competition in the next couple of years.

Telco	Overall network coverage	5G network coverage
Telstra	99.7%	95%
Telstra wholesale	98.8%	75%
Optus	98.5%	80.5%
Vodafone	98.5%	Not advertised

More important than percentages is whether your location has coverage. Recent changes to the rules governing coverage maps mean that all Australian telcos now use the same standardised definitions, which is aimed at making comparisons easier and more like-for-like. Here’s where you can find each of the major telcos’ network maps:

• Telstra network map
• Optus network map
• Vodafone network map

The best way to find out if a plan suits you is to try one for a month. Lock-in contracts are largely a thing of the past, so it’s easier than ever to try one provider and swap if it doesn’t work out.

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