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 (Optus 5G network), Moose Mobile (Optus 5G network), and Circles.Life (Optus 4G network) have the current cheapest postpaid SIM plans. As part of a nice introductory discount, each telco costs less than $15 per month for new customers. Depending on which one you choose, there’s up to 40GB of monthly data up for grabs.
It’s a bit of an Optus MVNO bonanza, with services connected to the telco’s network hogging the top places. Your cheapest option on the Telstra network starts at $22 per month via Numobile or Tangerine. Both come with 12GB of data and 4G connectivity.
Prepaid
iiNet and TPG make up for Vodafone’s absence among the postpaid plans, providing the cheapest prepaid SIM plans. For the first six months, both 4G plans cost $12.50 per month, including 25GB of data with every recharge. The MVNOs recently received a shot in the arm, reaching more parts of Australia following Vodafone’s network expansion.
TPG and iiNet buck the prepaid trend of 28-day recharge cycles, instead operating monthly, effectively giving you some extra days compared to other telcos.
As an option, the cheapest prepaid SIM plan on the Telstra network starts at $18 per 30 days with Exetel. That’s the flat rate, so there’s no need to worry about limited-time promotional pricing. Exetel’s base-level plan includes 7GB of data, suited to infrequent internet users.
Cheapest 5G SIM plans
As 5G rolls out to more parts of Australia, and compatible phones become cheaper, it’s easy to take advantage of higher download speeds. 5G SIM plans cost more, making them better suited to users who need the extra speed or perhaps don’t have reliable NBN connections.
Postpaid
Many of the overall cheapest postpaid SIM plans feature 5G connectivity, like Spintel, Moose Mobile, Southern Phone, and Swoop. Coincidentally, all of these telcos are MVNOs using the Optus network, starting at $14 per month as part of a six-month discount.
Tangerine is the cheapest 5G plan on the Telstra network, priced at $29 per month. Elsewhere, Vodafone currently has an introductory $10 monthly discount on its postpaid plans, including a 100GB plan for $39 a month.
Prepaid
In between the starter packs that appear at the top of the rankings, the iiNet or TPG plans are the cheapest 5G prepaid SIM plans. Both are half-price for the first six months, priced at $17.50 and include 50GB of data. Download speeds for both cap out at 150Mbps.
Another option is Felix Mobile, an MVNO using Vodafone’s 5G network. It’s half-price for the first three months, bringing the cost down to $12.50 per month, making it a fairly low-risk investment if you want to try a different provider. With 25GB of data and its regular $25 monthly pricing, Felix Mobile is one of the cheapest 5G prepaid SIM plans.
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.
Kogan (Vodafone 4G) has the current cheapest long-expiry plan, charging $139 for 200GB of data. Catch Connect (Optus 4G), unaffected by the online marketplace closure, is hot on the heels of Kogan, with its 200GB plan priced at $149, down from $200.
For more data, Lyca Mobile has slashed the price of its Large Long Expiry Plan by 50%, down from $360 to a tempting $180. It also comes with a whopping 600GB to use on Vodafone’s 5G network for the first recharge, which should be plenty for most users.
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 to 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.
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% | 89% |
| Telstra wholesale | 98.8% | 75% |
| Optus | 98.5% | 80.5% |
| Vodafone | 98.4% | Not advertised |
More important than percentages is whether your location has coverage. The best way to find out is to check each telco’s coverage 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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