Best prepaid mobile plans in Australia

Each month, we pick the best prepaid mobile plans from our database of 28 providers. These plans are assessed based on affordability and inclusions across a full-year period to factor in incidental charges, as well as the different plan lengths available. For each category, we expect unlimited national talk and text as standard. 

The cheapest prepaid mobile plans in this comparison are for light use and need at least 5GB monthly. Medium-use prepaid plans require at least 15GB, while heavy-use prepaid plans need at least 30GB. From there, affordability, deals and other inclusions are weighed up to give you our picks for the best mobile plans.

Best prepaid mobile plans for medium use

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Of our three categories, medium-use prepaid plans are the most popular with WhistleOut visitors, so we'll start here. Our picks for best mobile plans for medium use must have at least 15GB of data, unlimited talk and text, and an expiry period between 28-days and one month.

What's the deal with this prepaid plan?

• 25GB of data
• Monthly expiry
• 50% off for the first six recharges, then $25 ongoing
• $525 total over the first 24 months
• Includes 100 standard minutes and 100 SMS to 31 selected countries
• Vodafone 4G network

This month, TPG is our choice for the best mobile plan for medium use. This plan is a steal in the short term, offering new customers 25GB for just $12.50 per recharge. After six months, the ongoing price of $25 per recharge is still pretty good. But given there's no contract, you can easily switch to another cheap prepaid plan to keep the savings going.

If this plan doesn't suit your needs, here's how it compares to some alternatives. These popular prepaid plans all come with at least 15GB:

Best prepaid mobile plans for light use

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Our picks for best prepaid mobile plans for light use must have at least 5GB of data, unlimited talk and text, and an expiry period between 28-days and one month.

What's the deal with this prepaid plan?

• $10 for first 28 days, then $20 ongoing
• 28-day expiry
• 15GB per recharge
• $530 total over the first 24 months
• Add 100 International minutes to 32 selected countries for $5 per recharge
• Optus 4G network

This month, Catch has won our pick as the best prepaid plan for light use. It comes with more than enough data for regular use at a super cheap price. With its current promo, new customers get $10 off for first 28 days – that's 15GB for $10, but it's only valid until 8 April. Given there's no contract, you can easily switch to another cheap prepaid plan once the intro discount ends.

If this plan doesn't tickle your fancy, here's how it compares to some other popular prepaid phone plans in our database that come with at least 5GB:

Best prepaid mobile plans for heavy use

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Our picks for best mobile plans for heavy use must have at least 25GB of data, unlimited talk and text, and an expiry period between 28-days and one month.

What's the deal with this prepaid plan?

• 50GB of data
• Monthly expiry
• 50% off for the first three months, then $30 ongoing
• $675 total over the first 24 months
• Vodafone 5G network

This month, felix takes the crown as the best mobile plan for heavy use. With the current promo, new customers get 50GB for just $15 per month. After three months, the plan goes up to $30 per month, which is still among the cheapest prepaid plans in this bracket.

With this plan, you also get unlimited data banking and 5G connectivity, limited to 150Mbps.

If this plan doesn't suit your needs, there are plenty more to choose from. See how it compares to these popular prepaid plans with at least 30GB:

All prepaid mobile plans

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Couldn't find the right prepaid phone plan for you? We have more prepaid mobile plans in our database, suited to various budgets. 

We've separated these plans by the monthly price for at least the first six months, and ranked them by which has the most data within a certain price range.

• $20 and under
• $30 and under
• $40 and under
• No limit

Prepaid mobile plans from the Big Three

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Prepaid plans from Optus, Vodafone or Telstra have their benefits, but it's not all upside. While they generally come with some telco-specific perks, these plans tend to cost more than those from 'Mobile Virtual Network Operators' (MVNOs) – cheaper mobile providers that resell access to the major networks. 

On top of the often higher price, the monthly recharge options of the Big Three are all 28 days, meaning their prepaid plans have 13 recharges per year, instead of 12.

Optus prepaid plans

If Telstra is a bit too pricey, but you still want the security and service of a top-tier provider, Optus' Flex Plus standard-length (28 days) plans are worth a look.

All standard-expiry Optus Flex Plus prepaid plans include:

• Coverage reaching 98.5% of Australians (stats are different for 5G coverage)
• Rollover data up to 200GB if you recharge before your expiry period ends
• A minimum 400 minutes of international calls to selected countries, depending on the plan

• Short expiry
• 28-day recharge
• Long expiry

Vodafone prepaid plans

Vodafone's prepaid mobile plans are flexible and contract-free, with $5 off every recharge when you use Automatic Recharges.

Depending on which Vodafone mobile plan you choose, you'll get:

• Coverage for 96% of the Australian population on 4G (Vodafone doesn't publish clear 5G coverage stats)
• A minimum of 20GB of data (on $30 recharges and up)
• 'Unlimited' data on recharge plans between $30 and $60, capped to speeds of 1.5Mbps once you pass your limit
• A minimum of 500 standard minutes of international calling to Zone 1 countries included on recharge plans between $30 and $60
• A minimum of 100 standard international SMS on recharge plans between $40 and $60
• 5G network access

• 28-day recharge
• Long expiry

Telstra prepaid plans

While Telstra doesn't have the cheapest mobile plans, it touts a host of bonuses and inclusions worth considering. For example, Telstra has the best prepaid mobile plans when it comes to coverage, though Boost Mobile boasts the same network footprint (and is also owned by Telstra).

All Telstra's standard term prepaid plans come with:

• Coverage for 99.7% of the Australian population (stats are different for 5G coverage)
• Rollover data up to 200GB
• At least 300 minutes of international call credit to Zone 1 countries on recharges $30 and above
• 100 international texts to any country
• Access to the super-fast Telstra 5G network (where available)
• Access to the Telstra Plus perks and rewards program

• 28-day recharge
• Long expiry

Cheap prepaid plan providers

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If your search for the best prepaid plans revolves around your budget, you should consider Mobile Virtual Network Operators. These are providers that purchase access to the Optus, Vodafone or Telstra networks and then re-sell it for cheap, often in the form of mobile plans. They can afford to do this because, as smaller operations, they have fewer overheads (such as advertising) and often don't bother including bells and whistles like international calls, roaming, or added perks.

The biggest drawback might be connectivity, but it's not dire. While these providers still have broad coverage, some mobile plans are limited to 4G. And any 5G plans often have a speed limit. That said, they're usually capable of 100Mbps or more, depending on coverage in your area. That's roughly equivalent to an NBN 100 plan, which is easily enough for general phone usage.

Vodafone and Optus open up their networks to all MVNOs (though not all MVNO plans choose to offer 5G connectivity). Telstra limits its MVNOs to the Telstra "Wholesale" network, which has a smaller footprint, particularly for 5G. The exception is Boost Mobile, which can access the full Telstra network.

Below are the most popular prepaid mobile plans for the MVNOs in our database on each mobile network.

Vodafone prepaid MVNOs

Vodafone gives full network access to its MVNOs, which means 4G covering 96% of the population. The telco hasn't been open about its 5G coverage area, but it does at least place no restrictions its network resellers.

Some plans on the Vodafone network are very cheap, especially when you consider introductory discounts. But as with other MVNOs, some plans are limited to 4G, and some 5G plans have speed limits.

These are some of the most popular prepaid mobile plans in our database from Vodafone MVNOs:

Telstra prepaid MVNOs

MVNOs that offer mobile plans on the Telstra network don't have full access. Instead, they use the Telstra Wholesale network, which has a smaller coverage area. The one exception is Boost Mobile – the only MVNO that operates over the full Telstra network.

For 4G coverage, the Wholesale network is still slightly larger than the full Optus or Vodafone networks, covering 98.8% of the population (vs. 99.6% on the full Telstra network). 5G is a different story – coverage is just 75%, compared to the 89% of the full Telstra network and 80.5% of Optus 5G. But, while Telstra Wholesale coverage is more limited, it should still provide a strong Telstra backbone in areas that do have it.

These are some of the most popular prepaid mobile plans in our database from Telstra MVNOs:

Optus prepaid MVNOs

Optus network resellers have full access to the Optus network, which covers 98.5% of the population with 4G and 80.5% with 5G. This is actually wider 5G coverage than almost all Telstra MVNOs, with the lone exception of Boost Mobile.

But this doesn't mean all plans on the Optus network have unfettered 5G access. Some plans are limited to 4G, while others have 5G access but place upper speed limits (which are still more than adequate). But the best prepaid plans aren't necessarily the ones with the fastest connection – most people don't actually need faster speeds than 4G, so consider what you'd prefer to spend your money on, as well as 4G vs. 5G coverage in your area.

These are some of the most popular prepaid phone plans in our database from Optus MVNOs:

Different types of prepaid mobile plans

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Expiry periods for prepaid mobile plans

The majority of "monthly" mobile plans are sold on a 28-day or 30-day recharge, but some are genuinely on a per-month basis, meaning you renew the same number of days into each month. Of the three options, 28-day recharges are the least preferable because you end up paying 13 times per year, instead of 12.

There are also long-expiry prepaid plans. The most popular of these generally have a 360 or 365-day expiry, but can come with other lengths such as 60, 90, and 180 days.

While paying for a year's data in advance does mean spending more in one go, many telcos reward you with more data than you'd get on a month-to-month basis. You also typically get your data upfront in one lump sum. For example, you might have 200GB to use over the course of a year, rather than 15GB per month. This could be helpful if you find yourself using more data in some months than others – though you'd get a similar benefit from plans with data banking.

But long-expiry prepaid does mean you're essentially locked to your provider for the length of your plan, unless you want to forfeit what you've already paid for.

Auto-recharge prepaid mobile plans

Auto-recharge is offered by most providers for their prepaid plans. This can be scheduled to occur at the end of each expiry period or when you run out of data. At the scheduled time, your bank account will automatically be debited the plan's cost.

This is particularly useful for plans with data banking or rollover data, as many of these providers will wipe the data you've saved up if you let your plan expire without recharging.

Pay As You Go (PAYG) prepaid plans

On a PAYG mobile plan, you load a dollar amount that gets charged for every call, text or megabyte (MB) of data you use. This is charged at a given price, like tolls on the motorway. Once the dollar amount reaches $0, nothing more can be done until more money is added.

This is the best way of having complete control over how much data you use, but it's much more expensive than a traditional prepaid plan. With unlimited talk and text prepaid plans at such an affordable price point, the PAYG model is for niche cases only.

Why choose prepaid mobile plans?

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Generally, prepaid mobile plans offer affordability and flexibility. Here are the core benefits of choosing a prepaid mobile plan:

Greater billing control: Each month you recharge your account with the freedom to choose how much data you want and how much you want to spend. You can also sign up to different recharge lengths, such as 365-day or 7-day recharges – whatever suits your needs at the time.

It's also an easy way to control your mobile spending. There are no excess usage fees – the perfect solution for anyone who's ever been caught out by a huge phone bill and wants to make sure it never happens again.

No lock-in contracts: The flexibility around no lock-in contracts make prepaid plans popular phone plans for tourists in Australia.

Reduces the risk of excess data usage: If you're looking for mobile phone plans to suit kids, prepaid is the way to go. In addition to no excess data usage fees, as mentioned above, there's no risk of them racking up excess data charges because you'll simply lose access when you run out. If you happen to need more data, simply wait until your expiry date rolls over or you can purchase add-on data. This would be a good example of a time to review your usage and see if you need to possibly upgrade your plan tier or shop around for a better deal.
Kids also won't lose the right to make calls or sent texts even if they run out of data, which is handy for emergency situations.

Overall, all these features make prepaid mobile phone plans perfect for anyone on a variable budget or with variable phone usage.

Prepaid plans: inclusions and exclusions

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Rollover data: Banking unused data so that it can be used in a future mobile plan period. If you were to purchase a monthly plan with 10GB but only use 6GB, next month you would have 14GB to use. But if you miss a recharge or change mobile plans, you might lose all your banked data.

Unlimited data: Some mobile plans boast 'unlimited data'. You still get a data allowance, but instead of losing internet access or having to pay overage fees, your internet simply gets slowed for the rest of the current billing period. This is useful if you're not great at keeping within your data budget, but it's unfortunately not too common on prepaid plans.

International calls and texts: Though rarely unlimited, some providers include international talk and text to select destinations in their prepaid plans.

Data-free streaming: Though now rare with prepaid plans, this was previously offered where providers had relationships with a set group of streaming services. When using these streaming services, the data used would not be counted toward your monthly data limits. This made some cheap prepaid plans a fantastic deal because you could go with a low-data plan, assuming the streaming services in question matched your regular usage. Sadly, it's not very common nowadays.

Discounted streaming: Sometimes offered with prepaid plans. This is where providers have discounts when adding a streaming service to your existing phone plan.

Prepaid mobile plan FAQs

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What are prepaid mobile plans?

The mobile market is split into two broad categories: prepaid plans and postpaid plans. The core difference between prepaid and postpaid plans is hinted at in the names. These are paid for in advance of their use, while postpaid plans are paid for at the end of a set period, usually a month.

Prepaid plans are not always the same as SIM-only plans, though it's easy to confuse the two. SIM-only plans are any plans, prepaid or postpaid, that lack a phone as part of the plan. So, while a prepaid plan is always a SIM-only plan, the same isn't true in reverse.

How do I choose the best prepaid mobile plan for me?

These days, nearly all prepaid mobile plans come with unlimited talk and text as standard, which means the main decisions you'll be left with centre around data, expiry length and extras.

Data: The cheapest plans can come with as little as 2GB of data. The more pricey ones can come with above 50GB.

Expiry length: Some prepaid plans expire after as little as 10 days, but we don't recommend a plan with such a short expiry for most people. The standard is a 'monthly' expiry period of 28 to 30 days. However, some plans come with 90 days, 180 days or even 365 days before expiry. These plans can offer better data-for-dollar value, as long as you're prepared to pay more money upfront.

Extras: Some prepaid plans come with bonus extras like data-free music streaming or multi-plan discounts. If you're trying to choose between a few different plans that meet your needs, it can pay to keep an eye out for these nice-to-have features.

How does WhistleOut choose the best prepaid mobile plans?

Each month, our data experts pick the best prepaid mobile plans from our database of 28 mobile providers. They assess plans on affordability and inclusions across a full-year period to factor in any incidental charges, as well as the different plan lengths available. 

Plans are separated into three categories:

• Light use (5GB or more)
• Medium use (15GB or more)
• Heavy use (30GB or more)

For each category, we expect unlimited national talk and text as standard. 

How much do prepaid mobile plans cost?

The cheapest prepaid plans can cost as little as $9 per month, but more expensive options can be over $60 per month. At WhistleOut, we're constantly on the lookout for the most-affordable and cheapest deals, so you can pick the best prepaid mobile plan for your needs.

How do I switch to a prepaid mobile plan?

1. Make sure you're not under contract. Prepaid plans are a type of SIM-only plan, so you will need a phone that's not locked to a payment plan from another provider.
2. Choose your plan. Do some research and find out what you need in a plan and how much you're willing to spend.
3. Purchase the SIM card. This can be done online or in-store, but may not be necessary if you're staying with the same telco.
4. Port your number. All telcos are required to transfer your phone number if you're changing providers and want to keep the same number. Most mobile providers provide step-by-step instructions and customer support to do.

Is it cheaper to have a prepaid plan and buy a phone, or sign up to a contract?

You can save money by buying a phone outright and signing up to a cheap mobile plan, be it postpaid or prepaid. 

When you grab a phone on a repayment contract through a telco (i.e. Optus, Telstra or Vodafone), you don't save any money on the phone – you just spread its cost out over the life of your contract. But you still have to sign up to a mobile plan through that provider, and Australia's Big Three telcos are hardly the cheapest around.

As such, you spend less in the long term by paying upfront for the phone and spending less per month on your mobile plan. Prepaid mobile plans are among some of the cheapest, but not always.

Obviously, you need the cash on hand to be able to afford to buy a phone outright, but you're the best judge of whether that works for your budget.

Are prepaid phone plans good for family use?

Prepaid plans can save you money when purchasing mobile plans for kids or seniors who might exceed their allotted data budget for the month, or who mightn't need much data to begin with. But you might also consider family mobile plans with data-sharing options.