Between studying, working, paying rent, and finding time to make your student days “the best time of your life”, you'd hope someone would give you a break and a bit of a discount.
Sadly, there aren't as many telcos offering cheaper plans for tertiary students as there once were. However, these days, telcos are choosing to discount plans across the board, so you don't even need a special ID to nab a bargain.
Even better, there are plenty of affordable SIM-only and prepaid plans from smaller providers, which can end up being cheaper than plans with student discounts, anyway.
Check out the best student deals we know about, as well as the best mobile deals available to everyone. We're sure you'll find a plan that works for your budget.
Optus student discounts
Optus has a single discounted plan for students.
The 'Optus Choice Plus Student Plan' is discounted to $39 per month (33% off) for the first 12 months, after which it returns to the ongoing price of $59 per month. The plan comes with 100GB.
You forfeit the discount if you change the plan or cancel within those 12 months.
Students need to validate their student email when signing up online, or provide a university/tertiary education ID card, student visa information, or university acceptance email if signing up in store. Some exclusions do apply, so make sure you read all the terms and conditions on the Optus Student Hub before you opt in.
At the discounted rate, Optus' student plan is clearly better than any of its regular SIM-only plans. After the first 12 months, it certainly isn't bad, but the math gets messier. The student plan is only $4 per month more than Optus' 50GB plan and has twice as much data. It also comes with unlimited international talk and text to 35 destinations, which could be useful for some students. But if you're not using all that data or taking advantage of international calls, it isn't worth spending more for features you don't use.
Here are Optus’ regular SIM-only plans:
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#1
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Optus
|
Optus
$60 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$39.00/mth
Min. cost $39
|
$39.00/mth
Min. cost $39
|
|
|
#2
|
Optus
|
Optus
$69 Optus Promo Plan
$69.00/mth
Min. cost $69
|
$69.00/mth
Min. cost $69
|
|
|
#3
|
Optus
|
Optus
$70 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$70.00/mth
Min. cost $70
|
$70.00/mth
Min. cost $70
|
|
|
#4
|
Optus
|
Optus
$90 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$90.00/mth
Min. cost $90
|
$90.00/mth
Min. cost $90
|
Vodafone student discounts
Vodafone is currently offering students a flat $14 per month off each of its three SIM-only plans, plus double data. This discount lasts for the first 12 months with Vodafone, after which students go back to paying the regular price. The double data offer lasts for as long as a student stays connected to the plan.
Students also get unlimited standard international calls to 37 destinations on Vodafone's "Small" student plan. Customers normally need to opt for a "Medium" plan or better to get unlimited international calls on Vodafone.
These deals are only available for new customers with a valid student email and run until January 22.
Here are regular Vodafone's SIM-only plans. The discount below is the same as Vodafone is offering to students, but the student plans have twice the data.
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#1
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Vodafone
|
Vodafone
$58 Small SIM Only Plan
$45.00/mth
Min. cost $45
Link not supplied
|
$45.00/mth
Min. cost $45
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#2
|
Vodafone
|
Vodafone
$68 Medium SIM Only Plan
$50.00/mth
Min. cost $50
Link not supplied
|
$50.00/mth
Min. cost $50
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#3
|
Vodafone
|
Vodafone
$78 Large SIM Only Plan
$55.00/mth
Min. cost $55
Link not supplied
|
$55.00/mth
Min. cost $55
|
Link not supplied
|
Telstra mobile plans
At the time of writing, Telstra doesn't have student discounts or student mobile plans (the same goes for its subsidiaries Belong and Boost Mobile). That said, Australia's largest telco does have some affordable prepaid plans available to anyone.
Here are some Telstra prepaid plans that students might want to check out:
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#1
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Telstra
|
Telstra
$44 Pre-Paid Mobile
$44.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
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$44.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#2
|
Telstra
|
Telstra
$54 Pre-Paid Mobile
$54.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$54.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#3
|
Telstra
|
Telstra
$64 Pre-Paid Mobile
$64.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$64.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
Belong student plans
As a sub-brand of Telstra, Belong is a telco that operates on the Telstra network. Its coverage footprint is slightly smaller than that of its parent company, but this only really matters in some rural and regional areas.
While Belong doesn't offer student discounts for its SIM-only plans, they might still be on the list for consideration.
Not only are they on the cheaper side of things (compared to the major telcos), Belong banks your unused data month-to-month and lets eligible subscribers share their saved-up data with each other. Given not everyone in your household is likely to use data at the same rate throughout a given month, data sharing can be a useful way of keeping overall costs down.
Here are Belong's SIM-only plans:
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Belong
|
Belong
25GB Mobile Plan
$34.00/mth
Min. cost $34
Link not supplied
|
$34.00/mth
Min. cost $34
|
Link not supplied
|
Boost Mobile student plans
Boost Mobile is Telstra's other sub-brand, and the only other provider to have access to the full Telstra network. This can make it a good option for students in remote areas.
While Boost doesn't have any student deals, it is more affordable than Telstra itself. Boost's 365-day long-expiry plans can be especially good value.
Here are Boost's plans:
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#1
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Boost Mobile
|
Boost Mobile
$28 Prepaid
$28.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
$28.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#2
|
Boost Mobile
|
Boost Mobile
$39 Prepaid
$39.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
$39.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#3
|
Boost Mobile
|
Boost Mobile
$49 Prepaid
$49.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
$49.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#4
|
Boost Mobile
|
Boost Mobile
$59 Prepaid
$59.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
$59.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#5
|
Boost Mobile
|
Boost Mobile
$74 Prepaid
$74.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
$74.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#6
|
Boost Mobile
|
Boost Mobile
$180 Prepaid
$160.00
Per 6 Month Renewal
|
$160.00
Per 6 Month Renewal
|
|
|
#7
|
Boost Mobile
|
Boost Mobile
$300 Prepaid
$300.00
Per 12 Month Renewal
|
$300.00
Per 12 Month Renewal
|
|
|
#8
|
Boost Mobile
|
Boost Mobile
$365 Prepaid
$365.00
Per 12 Month Renewal
|
$365.00
Per 12 Month Renewal
|
amaysim student plans
amaysim no longer offers student plans, but its plans are another decent option for students. amaysim is a sub-brand of Optus and so, runs on its network, but its plans come at a lower cost.
Like Belong, amaysim also offers unlimited data banking. Here are amaysim's prepaid mobile plans:
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#1
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amaysim
|
amaysim
UNLIMITED 15GB Plan
$30.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
$30.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#2
|
amaysim
|
amaysim
UNLIMITED 42GB Plan
$35.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
$35.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#3
|
amaysim
|
amaysim
UNLIMITED 80GB Plan
$40.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
$40.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#4
|
amaysim
|
amaysim
UNLIMITED 95GB Plan
$45.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
$45.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#5
|
amaysim
|
amaysim
UNLIMITED 120GB Plan
$50.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
$50.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
The (actual) best phone plans for students
Even though there are scant few student discounts to be found on mobile plans these days, there's much more money to be saved by looking at regular plans from smaller providers.
If you're happy to bring your own phone to a plan, there are hundreds of cheap SIM-only and prepaid plans on the market. They just aren't labelled 'student' plans because anyone can get them.
And because all small Australian mobile providers offer services on the Telstra, Optus or Vodafone networks, you can expect decent coverage from any plan you choose, depending on your area.
These are the cheapest SIM-only and prepaid plans from our database of 27 providers:
|
#1
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SpinTel
|
SpinTel
$23 Mobile Plan
$12.00/mth
Min. cost $12
|
$12.00/mth
Min. cost $12
|
|
|
#2
|
OnePass mobile
|
OnePass mobile
28 Day Plan - 22GB
$12.50
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$12.50
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#3
|
Moose Mobile
|
Moose Mobile
Moose 23 SIM Only
$14.00/mth
Min. cost $14
|
$14.00/mth
Min. cost $14
|
|
|
#4
|
Swoop
|
Swoop
30GB SIM Only 5G
$14.00/mth
Min. cost $14
|
$14.00/mth
Min. cost $14
|
|
|
#5
|
Lyca Mobile
|
Lyca Mobile
Unlimited Plan S
$15.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$15.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#6
|
OnePass mobile
|
OnePass mobile
28 Day Plan - 32GB
$15.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$15.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#7
|
iiNet
|
iiNet
30GB Small Plan
$15.00
Per 1 Month Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$15.00
Per 1 Month Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#8
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TPG
|
TPG
30GB Small Plan
$15.00
Per 1 Month Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$15.00
Per 1 Month Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#9
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Moose Mobile
|
Moose Mobile
Moose 30 SIM Only
$17.00/mth
Min. cost $17
|
$17.00/mth
Min. cost $17
|
|
|
#10
|
iiNet
|
iiNet
50GB Medium Plan
$17.50
Per 1 Month Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$17.50
Per 1 Month Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#1
|
Kogan Mobile
|
Kogan Mobile
Large Monthly Plan
$20.00
Per 30 Day Renewal
|
$20.00
Per 30 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#2
|
Lyca Mobile
|
Lyca Mobile
Unlimited Plan M
$20.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$20.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#3
|
OnePass mobile
|
OnePass mobile
28 Day Plan - 65GB
$20.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$20.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#4
|
Moose Mobile
|
Moose Mobile
Moose 40 SIM Only
$22.00/mth
Min. cost $22
|
$22.00/mth
Min. cost $22
|
|
|
#5
|
iiNet
|
iiNet
100GB Large Plan
$22.50
Per 1 Month Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$22.50
Per 1 Month Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#6
|
TPG
|
TPG
100GB Large Plan
$22.50
Per 1 Month Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$22.50
Per 1 Month Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#7
|
Swoop
|
Swoop
60GB SIM Only 5G
$23.00/mth
Min. cost $23
|
$23.00/mth
Min. cost $23
|
|
|
#8
|
Yomojo
|
Yomojo
Starter 29GB Plan
$24.90
Per 30 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$24.90
Per 30 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#9
|
Dodo
|
Dodo
Small Mobile Plan
$25.00/mth
Min. cost $25
|
$25.00/mth
Min. cost $25
|
|
|
#10
|
Lebara Mobile
|
Lebara Mobile
$25 SIM Plan
$25.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$25.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#1
|
Swoop
|
Swoop
120GB SIM Only 5G
$30.00/mth
Min. cost $30
|
$30.00/mth
Min. cost $30
|
|
|
#2
|
Lebara Mobile
|
Lebara Mobile
$30 SIM Plan
$30.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$30.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#3
|
Dodo
|
Dodo
Medium Mobile Plan
$30.00/mth
Min. cost $15
|
$30.00/mth
Min. cost $15
|
|
|
#4
|
Coles Mobile
|
Coles Mobile
Prepaid $30 for 28 Days
$30.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$30.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#5
|
Tangerine Telecom
|
Tangerine Telecom
30GB 5G Mobile SIM
$30.00/mth
Min. cost $15
|
$30.00/mth
Min. cost $15
|
|
|
#6
|
Everyday Mobile
|
Everyday Mobile
Pre-paid Mobile $30 Recharge
$30.00
Per 30 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$30.00
Per 30 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#7
|
felix mobile
|
felix mobile
felix 25GB Mobile Plan
$30.00
Per 1 Month Renewal
|
$30.00
Per 1 Month Renewal
|
|
|
#8
|
Aussie Broadband
|
Aussie Broadband
Saver 5G SIM Plan
$30.00/mth
Min. cost $30
Link not supplied
|
$30.00/mth
Min. cost $30
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#9
|
Superloop
|
Superloop
SuperSim Saver 5G Plan
$30.00
Per 30 Day Renewal
|
$30.00
Per 30 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#10
|
amaysim
|
amaysim
UNLIMITED 15GB Plan
$30.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
$30.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
|
#1
|
felix mobile
|
felix mobile
felix Unlimited Mobile Plan
$40.00
Per 1 Month Renewal
|
$40.00
Per 1 Month Renewal
|
|
|
#2
|
Moose Mobile
|
Moose Mobile
Moose 50 SIM Only
$40.00/mth
Min. cost $40
|
$40.00/mth
Min. cost $40
|
|
|
#3
|
Swoop
|
Swoop
250GB SIM Only 5G
$40.00/mth
Min. cost $40
|
$40.00/mth
Min. cost $40
|
|
|
#4
|
Lebara Mobile
|
Lebara Mobile
$40 SIM Plan
$40.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$40.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#5
|
Exetel
|
Exetel
Plus One eSIM Plan
$40.00
Per 30 Day Renewal
|
$40.00
Per 30 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#6
|
Optus
|
Optus
Optus Prepaid $40 SIM (AutoRecharge only)
$40.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
$40.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#7
|
Vodafone
|
Vodafone
$40 Prepaid Plus Recharge
$40.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
$40.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
Link not supplied
|
|
#8
|
Dodo
|
Dodo
Large Mobile Plan
$40.00/mth
Min. cost $20
|
$40.00/mth
Min. cost $20
|
|
|
#9
|
amaysim
|
amaysim
UNLIMITED 80GB Plan
$40.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
$40.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
|
|
|
#10
|
Superloop
|
Superloop
SuperSim Choice 5G Plan
$40.00
Per 30 Day Renewal
|
$40.00
Per 30 Day Renewal
|
If you didn't find what you were looking for on these discounted plans, check out our cheap SIM-only plans and cheap mobile plans comparison guides to discover other affordable options.
Alex Angove-Plumb
Digital Content Editor