There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to mobile phone plans, and the situation becomes more challenging if you are looking for super-affordable options. It’s no secret that Australian telcos are some of the most expensive in the world and the primary reason is their top-notch network coverage and amazing extras.
But what if you’re on a tight budget? Well, there’s no need to freak out as the country is packed with certain options that offer rock-bottom prices to facilitate budget-savvy consumers. As telcos continue to spar over who can offer the best deal, they are only getting cheaper which means that you can easily reap all the rewards and shiny perks for a more affordable price.
No matter whatever features you are looking for, it’s possible to bag yourself a deal. The best approach to finding the cheapest mobile phone plans Australia is, to be honest about your needs and have a realistic budget to match your requirements. For instance, you shouldn’t expect Netflix or Spotify subscription on plans less costing less than $10 a month. It means that you need to get ready to compromise some of the luxuries if you are opting for low-cost plans.
In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at the best-value mobile plans in Australia, so you can make an appropriate choice. Let’s get right in.
Cheap phone plans Australia:
| Carriers | Data | Talk/Text | Cost |
| Amaysim | 2GB | Unlimited | $12/month |
| Tangerine | 10GB | Unlimited | $19.90/month |
| Lebara | 8GB | Unlimited | $14.90/month |
| Circles.life | 5GB | Unlimited | $10/month |
| Moose Mobile | 1GB | 300 mins | $8.80/month |
Cheapest mobile phone plans Australia
Here’s a comprehensive guide covering the 5 cheapest phone plans Australia. Scroll down the page to the bottom and pick the option that caters to your needs and budget appropriately.
1. Amaysim– 2GB plans, Unlimited calls, $12/month,
Do you want to stay connected without breaking the bank? Check out Amaysim’s super-affordable plan, which is available at $12/28 days. It’s no secret that Amaysim prepaid plans are a great way to control monthly spending with extreme value and unlimited data banking. Since you have to purchase this mobile plan upfront, it further helps you avoid end-of-month bill shock.
Pros:
- Unlimited talk and text
- Unlimited data banking
- Excellent network coverage
- Budget-friendly deal
- No lock-in contracts
- Great value for money
- Support wifi-calling
- Support eSIM
Cons:
- Ideal for personal use only
- Average customer satisfaction
You’ll be glad to know that Amaysim is awarded “Best prepaid Provider 2021 by Finder Awards”. They have the cheapest prepaid mobile plans for everyone, whether you’re looking for a no-frills plan that just lets you make and receive calls and text messages, or want to get a bit more out of your phone with features like data and voice minutes.
The best thing about this plan is that it offers unlimited talk and text features to all standard numbers in the country. So there’s no need to worry about being tied down to one network, as you can keep in touch with friends and family wherever they are. You can send standard SMS and MMS to landlines and mobiles.
| 2GB | Unlimited talk & text | Unlimited data banking | $12/month | View Plan> |
It operates on the Optus 4G Plus network; hence, you can rest assured of its network coverage and performance. This Amaysim plan offers 2GB of data; however, you can add additional value for $10/ 1GB, if you run out of the allowance.
Furthermore, the plan comes with an unlimited data banking feature, which means that every time you renew the plan, any unused data from the last plan will be added to your bank.
Fortunately, there’s no limit on how much data you can add to your data bank and it comes with no expiry period. You can use data banking as long as stay with your plan. The plan renews every 28 days, so you will never run out of the active mobile phone plan when opting for Amaysim.
Since there are no contracts or frills, you are free to cancel or upgrade your Amaysim prepaid mobile plan at any point in time without offering explanations or reasons.
But before you get tempted and grab the offer, keep in mind that the plan excludes some of the premium services, international, and third-party content. Moreover, it is designed for personal use only and not a broadband replacement.
So, if you are convinced with the plan and looking forward to it, then wait no more and pick a SIM at any of their 12,000 retail stores. Users can easily sign up for the plan, pop online to activate the same and get started.
2. Tangerine – 10GB data, Unlimited Calls 19.90/month
Are you searching for the cheapest phone plans Australia? Look no further than Tangerine! They offer a massive range of options to fit any budget. Whether you’re looking for prepaid plans or postpaid plans, Tangerine will get you covered.
Pros:
- Excellent value for money
- Unlimited talk and text in Aus
- Incredible customer support
- 14-Day satisfaction guarantee
- No contract
Cons:
- No additional perks or extras
It is one of Australia’s fastest-growing telco providers, supported by Vocus Infrastructure. They unlock special benefits for CommBank customers, giving them the ability to manage their internet and phone plans. You’ll be amazed to know that Tangerine is the 8th fastest-growing company in Australia and 39th fastest-growing in the Asia-Pacific region.
While it offers a good range of prepaid mobile plans to the users, the cheapest one is available for $19.90/ month for 10GB data. This feature-packed plan is an ideal pick for budget-savvy customers who want to enjoy additional perks while being easy on their pocket.
| 10GB | Unlimited talk & text | $19.90/month | View Plan> |
This Tangerine mobile plan is a SIM-Only option that offers 10GB of data allowance to the consumers. Furthermore, it features unlimited standard calls, SMS, and MMS across all standard numbers in Australia, so you can stay in touch with your near and dear ones without spending much. That’s unarguably the decent price for unlimited calling and texting, and you can’t expect anything less than that.
Like most other telcos, Tangerine also follows a No-Contract policy, which means that you can back off at any time with no reasons and no penalties. It operates on the far-reaching, speedy Telstra wholesale network. While it isn’t present everywhere as Telstra’s main network, it still reaches an impressive 98.8% of the Australian population.
However, it’s no wonder that cheap services come with certain compromises and Tangerine is no exception. To keep its prices low, this telco obviously has to make some sacrifices for good.
They have cut corners by trimming additional perks and features. Unlike other fancy competitors, Tangerine doesn’t offer subscriptions, TV bundles, data banking, or other such things. So, if you don’t care about this stuff and are not interested to get all the goodies, you’ll probably have no complaints with Tangerine.
Speaking of Tangerine customer service, we bet you’ll never get disappointed with the same. Although this telco doesn’t offer shiny perks, it never compromised its customer service and support. Hence, you can rest assured as your query will be dealt with and fixed in the least possible time.
You can get in touch with them either by call or through the online chat option available on the website. Customers can also send DMs to their social media handles to get a response to their complaints and queries.
What other thing you cannot afford to miss about Tangerine is its 14-day Satisfaction Guarantee. It means that if you are not satisfied with a Tangerine plan during the first 14 days of connection, the company will refund your plan fee without asking any questions.
So, why wait? Get the cheapest SIM card Australia by Tangerine and enjoy pocket-friendly deals like never before.
3. Lebara Australia – Extra Small 8GB 30-day $14.90/month
Still, searching for cheap phone plans Australia? Turn to Lebara Australia and save a few bucks on your monthly phone bills. With a range of plans to choose from, Lebara offers something for everyone. Additionally, it comes with exclusive deals and discounts, so that customers can save big on their next phone plan.
One such cheapest plan you cannot afford to miss is Lebara’s Extra Small, which is available at $14.90/ month. It comes with a whopping 8GB of data allowance for first 3 months, then 4GB/month, way more than expected at this price point. This 30-day plan offers unlimited nationwide talk and text so that you can stay in touch without spending a fortune.
| 8GB | Unlimited talk & text | 300 int`l mins | $14.90/month | View Plan> |
Additionally, the plan features a data banking feature of up to 200GB, which means that the data value from the previous month will be added for further usage. Since there’s no lock-in contract, so you can easily terminate the services whenever you want to.
That’s not it!! What exactly makes this deal worth investing in is its international call inclusions. The plan offers up to 300 minutes of standard international talk to several countries around the world (The international calling countries include China, Canada, Singapore, USA, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Thailand.). This value represented by Lebara Mobile’s international call allowances is incredibly good.
However, make sure to check which countries are covered and assured that your desired destination is on the list to get the best out of this cheapest plan.
Lebara uses the Vodafone network; thus, you can enjoy great coverage and excellent data speed. However, keep in mind that Vodafone’s 4G coverage is on par with most other providers but its 5G is still rolling out and is available at a few locations only.
While Lebara doesn’t go for appealing, shiny perks in the same way as its competitors, it rather offers international minutes as standard on almost all deals to please the customers. Best of all, Lebara Australia never runs credit checks, so you can grab the cheapest SIM card Australia without having to worry about your credit history.
While it’s broadly in line when it comes to SIM-Only deals, the lack of a phone contract plan is a big miss though. However, with 5G and Hotspot Tethering, Lebara Australia can at least compete with the biggest names in the market. The hotspot tethering facility available on all standard plans lets you share your data allowance with others, without having to pay any additional charges.
So, all and all, if you are looking forward to the value-for-money plan with unlimited nationwide talk and text and the ability to call overseas, the Lebara is an ideal choice for you.
4. Circles.life – 5GB Unlimited Calls $10/month
Are you still searching for cheap phone plans Australia? Consider trying Circle.Life and get the best value mobile plan in the market. This MVNO offers a good range of budget-friendly plans, so you can pick the one that fits your requirements and budget appropriately.
Pros:
- No contract
- Great value pricing
- Unlimited nationwide talk and text
- Decent data allowance
- Affordable add-on
- 30 days renewal period
Cons:
- No data-free video streaming
- Light on features
- No Entertainment bonus
- No international call inclusions
However, we can’t get enough of its 5GB plan, which is available for $10 per month. It simply implies that you will have to pay $0.002/ 1MB, which is not at all a bad deal.
Furthermore, the plan comes with unlimited talk and text to the standard numbers in Australia, which ensures that you can at least stay in touch with your dear ones if you are running tight on your budget.
| 5GB | Unlimited talk & text | $10/month | View Plan> |
Yet another thing that makes this plan worth giving a try is its 5GB of data allowance. Since this MVNO is powered by the powerful Optus 4G Plus network, you can enjoy excellent data speed while browsing and streaming your favorite content without any trouble. Moreover, if you run out of your data allowance, then worry not and get an additional data boost at $10/ 3GB.
The next best thing offered with this plan is VOlTE/ VoWIFI, which means that you can easily stay connected even when you are in an underground world with bad reception, but with excellent Wi-Fi. This feature also proves beneficial when you are traveling outside with no international roaming plan.
In addition to all this, this telco provider ensures free 5 hours of SIM delivery; however, this facility is available in selected metro areas and is 100% free of charge.
The list of features is not over yet, as this plan also comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, which means that you can try them out for a month and if you the plan doesn’t live up to your expectations, they’ll give the complete refund without asking any questions.
Like most other telco providers, Circles also follows the No Contract policy; hence, you are not bounded to continue with them and are free to terminate or upgrade your plan whenever you want to.
Speaking of its network coverage, Circles is powered by Optus 4G Plus, which covers 98.5% of Australians. It offers super-fast data speeds, both inside major metro locations or in more regional areas. While Optus also offers 5G coverage to the customers, this service is currently available to a small percentage of Users.
However, you should keep in mind that if you like a SIM-only plan with additional perks, Circle.Life isn’t the telco for you. Rather, it mainly focuses on providing plenty of monthly data at a competitive price.
Additionally, the place where Circle.Life has ditched the users is the international call add-on, which means that you are stuck with pricey pay-as-you-go plans if you are looking forward to calling overseas. While international roaming is available, it’s also pay-as-you-go, which means that it isn’t affordable as compared to its competitors.
As far as add-ons are concerned, it offers only one add-on plan, in which you have to pay $10 for 3GB. The add-on can be purchased as many times as necessary in a billing period.
5. Moose Mobile – 1GB, 300 mins calls, $8.8/month
It’s time to wrap up the list of the cheapest mobile phone plans with yet another affordable option – Moose Mobile. You will be glad to know that it is the only telco ever to be awarded the Most Satisfied Customers and Outstanding Value in the same year.
Pros:
- Excellent value
- High customer satisfaction
- Solid network coverage
- Unlimited texts
- Easy payments and transparency
- No minimum term or lock-in contracts
- Flexible payment options
Cons:
- No data banking
- No international call inclusions
- Limited perks
It offers the freedom of keeping your existing number and comes with no lock-in contracts to facilitate the customers. Powered by Full Optus Network, it is widely applauded for its excellent coverage and blazing-fast data speeds.
| 1GB | 300 mins calls | $8.8/month | View Plan> |
While this MVNO offers plenty of super-affordable plans, one option you cannot afford to miss is its $8.80 SIM, which offers 1GB of data allowance for $8.80 per month.
Unlike other MVNOs mentioned on the list, this offers only 300 minutes of standard national calls, which means that you have to be mindful when calling your family and friends. However, users can enjoy the unlimited standard national text. Moreover, this plan comes with an easy transfer process and no downtime, which in turn is a great advantage for the customers.
So, if you are searching for a sim-only plan, turn to Moose Mobile as it offers a range of budget-friendly options with anywhere between 1GB and 70GB of data available and with plans starting at under $10 per month.
This telco provider offers fantastic dollar-fo-data value; hence, strongly recommended to budget-savvy consumers. On the downside, their value-for-money plans are heavily lacking in popular extras like data banking and international call inclusions, which might be disappointed for the customers.
You’ll rarely get the shiny perks and advantages as compared to its competitors. It means that their plans don’t usually include data sharing, endless data, 5G access, and even roaming. For those hoping to carry this cheapest SIM Card Australia overseas, let me tell you that this is going to cost you $200 just to activate roaming.
Speaking of support and satisfaction, Moose plans aren’t typically known for customer service repertoire. But, as a matter of surprise, this telco has a rating of 4.7 stars out of 5 in terms of customer satisfaction metrics. It means that you can expect to enjoy decent support from their customer support team and rest assured that your queries will be dealt with on time.
With a focus on offering no-frills and more flexibility, Moose’s mobile plans are worth giving a try. For those searching for a data-packed plan on a budget, you would be hard-pressed to find better value.
If you need an unlimited data plans Australia, please check our Best Unlimited Data Phone Plans Australia.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are plenty of cheapest mobile phone plans in Australia, including Circles.Life ($10 and below), iiNet ($20 and below), Tangerine, Lebara Mobile, and Amaysim. All telcos offer good value-for-money plans so you can save a few bucks on your monthly phone bills.
While the internet is packed with tons of cheapest mobile phone plans in Australia, there are a few that offers unlimited talk and text and data banking to the users, like Amaysim and Tangerine.
Some of the telco providers who provide the cheapest mobile sim-only plans in Australia are Moose Mobile, Woolworth Mobile, Lebara Australia, Kogan Mobile, Circles.Life, and more. Customers can select any of them, based on their needs and budget.
Summary
So, that’s all about the cheapest phone plans Australia. We hope our research will help you make an appropriate choice. Since the market is loaded with tons of telco providers, finding the cheapest and budget-friendly deal isn’t a challenge anymore. All the telcos strive for customer loyalty; hence, try their best to offer super-affordable deals and offers. If you are not very strict on the budget, you may consider the best phone plans Australia to find the best affordable mobile plans.
However, picking the one that lives up to the hype might be time-consuming; therefore, our experts have compared plenty of deals and plans and created the list mentioned above to save your time and effort. All these plans are the bang for your buck; hence select any of them depending on your needs and stay connected without breaking the bank.
Pros:
Cons: