The best prepaid mobile plans in Australia (February 2024)

According to the ACCC’s Internet activity report, prepaid mobile services are downloading around 16GB of data on average per month. Given that figure is growing each year, we use a minimum of 30GB of data as our marker to comfortably cover everyday use for prepaid mobile users in Australia.

TPG comfortably beats that data minimum (and then some) with its 45GB Mobile Plan, which operates on an actual monthly recharge cycle. New customers pay $15 per month for the first six recharges before the plan reverts to its typical $30 monthly fee. Don’t expect much in the way of perks but TPG does offer eSIM prepaid plans these days.

For alternatives, consider the monthly prepaid plans below with at least 30GB of data that don’t cost more than $40 per recharge.

Cheap doesn’t mean the cheapest. If you want the latter, it’s about $5 for five days as far as our database prepaid plans are concerned, but that’s not practical for everyday use. For this category, we’ve set 10GB as the minimum for an okay amount of data and $25 as the max typical recharge cost. Only people with light data usage each month should consider these kinds of prepaid plans.

Catch Connect takes out the top spot this month with its 30 Day Plan – 10GB recharge. This prepaid plan typically costs $17 every 30 days and comes with 10GB of data on the Optus 4G network. If you want more data, consider the TPG 25GB Mobile Plan on the Vodafone 4G network or Exetel’s ExeSim Value 4G Plan (20GB) for a Telstra network alternative.

For more data or just more options, consider one of the popular prepaid plans below with at least 10GB of data.

If you like to stream video, download apps and, generally, be free to use mobile data while you’re out and about, this big-data category is for you. We use 60GB as the basis for selecting a monthly prepaid plan and like to keep costs under $55 per month for our category winners.

With that in mind, TPG is back to take out another top spot, this time with its 60GB Mobile Plan. As the name suggests, you get 60GB of monthly data, which is served on the Vodafone network. New sign-ups pay half price: $20 instead of the usual $40 recharge cost. This particular TPG prepaid plan also comes with a limited-time 5G network trial for eligible Vodafone 5G areas. For more data, consider Exetel’s ExeSim Ultra 5G Plan or Aldi Mobile’s $49 Mobile Plan, which come with 100GB and 120GB, respectively.

If you want more data or just more options, check out the popular prepaid plans below with at least 60GB of data.

Like the big-data category above, we’ve capped typical recharge costs to $55 for this category. As you might expect, the other eligibility requirement is the plan needs to be on either the Telstra 5G, Optus 5G or Vodafone 5G network. Given the extra speed potential of 5G, we look for at least 60GB of data, ideally, with beyond 100Mbps downloads.

This month’s category winner is the Amaysim Unlimited 120GB Plan. Sign up by the end of February for a half-price fee before it reverts to a $50 recharge every 28 days. That price nets you 120GB of Optus 5G data, albeit capped at max 150Mbps speed. If you’re in an area with Vodafone 5G, consider Lebara Mobile’s $49.90 Extra Large Plan (80GB) as a worthy alternative.

For popular 5G prepaid mobile plans, check out the alternatives below, all of which have 60GB of data and with recharge prices under $55 (at least initially).

Long-expiry prepaid mobile plans are a great choice for people who want the flexibility of storing data during quieter months and splurging during busier ones. Basically, longer-duration prepaid plans are worth considering if your phone is almost always connected to WiFi and not using mobile data. We look for long-expiry prepaid plans with at least 10GB per month and prefer plans that comfortably cover a full year.

This month, the Everyday (Woolworths) Mobile Prepaid $170 Long Expiry Recharge takes out the top spot. Not only does it have great dollar-to-data value, there are also some great perks. That $170 cost covers a full year and includes 125GB of data on the Telstra 4G network. Download speeds are capped at 100Mbps but there is 500GB of data rollover if you recharge every year, plus 10% off a monthly Woolies shop. For more data on the Vodafone 4G network, consider the Kogan Mobile Medium – 365 Day Flex Plan (158GB) instead.

For a look at other long-expiry prepaid plans, the list below includes popular picks with at least 120GB of data per recharge.

There are a few key things to consider when buying a prepaid plan. Some telcos may offer automatic recharging (they may be called “subscriptions”), sometimes with incentives to tick that auto-renewal box, like data rollover. While a convenient way to ensure you’re always connected, automatic recharges don’t provide the financial freedom of choosing when you pay.

Prepaid starter packs are a great starting point to nab a SIM card, sometimes at a great promotional price and with bonus data. But those initial prices for prepaid starter packs and potentially a string of initial recharges aren’t indicative of the typical price you’ll pay in the long term.

We strongly recommend evaluating long-term prepaid plans in terms of typical pricing and included data. Alternatively, revisit this page whenever you’re curious to see what’s out there for our recommendations on the best prepaid plans. Thankfully, switching telcos is a relatively straightforward process.

Note that just because a prepaid plan says it lasts for a particular duration, it won’t do you much good if you burn through all of the allocated data. While you may still have access to call and texts, you won’t be able to use any data-dependent apps (which is most of them) unless you’re connected to WiFi or until you recharge. If you find yourself short on data, consider a plan with more gigabytes for breathing space or a telco that offers data rollover or data banking.

While typical pricing and base data are the main factors, also consider the network on which your prepaid telco operates. Telstra, Optus and Vodafone are the three mobile network owners in Australia but there are dozens of telcos who operate across those networks. They’re called mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and they generally offer cheaper prepaid plans than the network owners.

Still, there’s not much point in snagging a bargain if the network isn’t available in your area. Use the interactive coverage map below for an idea of coverage in the areas you live and frequent. Finally, prepaid plans are typically cheaper than their SIM-only counterparts because they don’t have as many perks. That doesn’t mean prepaid plans are devoid of features; just keep an eye out for the ones that are practically relevant to your mobile needs instead of potentially paying extra for ‘nice to haves’.

In simplest terms, prepaid plans are paid ahead of use while postpaid (SIM-only) plans are paid at the end of a monthly billing cycle. Telstra is the only exception there: all of its plans are paid in advance of use. Prepaid plans are available in different recharge durations, but a month isn’t always a month in prepaid terms: it may be 28 days, 30 days or an actual month.

Generally speaking, SIM-only plans may have more data and tend to have more perks than prepaid plans. A lack of any contracts is nearly universal across prepaid and postpaid plans these days.

What’s not common is to find prepaid plans that are sold alongside mobile phones. You’ll want to own a mobile phone first or pay for a telco-offered prepaid handset to use a prepaid plan. While postpaid plans can be SIM-only—that is, bring your own (BYO) mobile—certain telcos like Telstra, Optus and Vodafone bundle SIM-only plans with a new handset, either bought outright or paid off over 24 or 36 months.

One of the bigger differences between prepaid and postpaid mobile plans is how data is handled. On a prepaid plan, if you use up all of your data, you basically have to buy another recharge to get back online. For postpaid plans, your data speeds may be capped until the next billing month, you may be automatically charged for surplus data or you may have the option to pay for data in blocks.

The only disclaimer to shifting prepaid telcos is if you’re using a mobile phone that’s locked to the network of your current telco. These days, that’s typically restricted to prepaid mobile phones—a dead giveaway is they have the telco logo whenever you restart the phone—but there are steps for unlocking Telstra, Optus and Vodafone handsets. There may be a fee to unlock a mobile phone that’s currently tied to a particular network.

At the time of writing, there were 17 Australian providers in our database that sell prepaid mobile plans.

Prepaid SIM cards are purchasable at major retailers, including Coles, Woolworths, Officeworks and Kmart. Certain telcos like Telstra, Optus and Vodafone sell SIM cards from their retail stores, too. But the most convenient way to nab a SIM card is to order directly from a telco, though you will have to wait for the SIM card to arrive before you can use it in your phone.

These days, there’s another way. If you have a recent eSIM-capable mobile phone, you can select eSIM instead of a physical SIM card during sign-up to get connected sooner. Here’s a list of the prepaid telcos in our comparison engine that offer eSIM:

• Telstra
• Optus
• Vodafone
• Everyday Mobile
• Kogan Mobile
• Amaysim
• Felix Mobile
• Lebara Mobile
• Superloop
• TPG

Generally, prepaid phone plans are built to be cheaper than postpaid (SIM-only) mobile plans. The cheapest prepaid plan in our database is $5 whereas the cheapest SIM-only is $10. In fairness, that $5 prepaid plan is for five days while the $10 SIM-only plan is for a full month. Expect to pay more for postpaid plans but you’ll also usually get more data and features for that investment.

Here’s a look at popular prepaid plans in our database that don’t cost more than $20 (at least not initially).

Want more prepaid options? The prepaid plans below are the most popular picks from our comparison engine today across Telstra, Optus and Vodafone networks.