In its first appearance in our prepaid ratings, Felix has won Canstar Blue’s 2024 customer satisfaction ratings for prepaid SIM-only providers, scoring five stars across most categories including overall satisfaction and value for money.
Our ratings compare prepaid providers on customer satisfaction and a range of other purchase factors. It’s like asking thousands of Aussies what they think of their prepaid phone service and provider!
Canstar Blue surveyed 3,039 Australians with a current prepaid service for their feedback on prepaid providers they’ve used. Respondents had to have an active prepaid mobile phone account in their name and pay the bills on that account.
Survey respondents are asked to rate their satisfaction with their prepaid provider from zero to 10, with zero meaning extremely dissatisfied and 10 meaning extremely satisfied. Prepaid mobile provider satisfaction was rated on the following criteria:
The winning brand is the brand that receives the highest Overall satisfaction rating after scores from the Overall satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged. Overall satisfaction is asked as a specific question and represents an individual measure, not a combined total of all criteria.
To qualify in the ratings results, providers must have received a minimum of 30 responses to be included. Therefore, not all prepaid providers are compared in this survey. Providers rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customers ratings.
The following table shows a selection of sponsored SIM Only plans on Canstar Blue’s database with links to referral partners.
 |
1 Month Contract (1 month min. cost $17.50) SIM Only Prepaid
|
50GB Data/month |
$17.50 Cost/month |
Go to site |
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1 Month Contract (1 month min. cost $17.50) SIM Only Prepaid
|
50GB Data/month |
$17.50 Cost/month |
Go to site |
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1 Month Contract (1 month min. cost $20) SIM Only Prepaid
|
UnlimitedGB Data/month |
$20.00 Cost/month |
Go to site |
In an impressive result for its first appearance in our prepaid provider ratings, Felix took out top spot, scoring five stars for overall satisfaction, value for money, customer service, sign up and activation and billing. It scored four stars for ease of recharge and three stars for network coverage.
Felix, which is part of the TPG Telecom group, offers a simple range of prepaid phone plans on a monthly subscription basis. The most expensive plan includes unlimited data by default, however it’s at a capped speed of 20Mbps. Plans use the Vodafone 4G and 5G mobile networks and for every month you stay connected, Felix will plan one tree as part of its initiative with non-profit organisation, One Tree Planted.
ALDI Mobile came in second place, scoring four stars for overall satisfaction, along with sign up and activation, and billing. It scored five stars for value for money, network coverage and was the only telco to score five stars for ease of recharge, while it scored three stars for customer service.
ALDI Mobile keeps its prepaid plans straightforward with a simple selection of 30-day prepaid plans on the Telstra wholesale network, all with unlimited data rollover and data inclusions that increase with price. There’s also a range of family plans available with data sharing, with two, four and six service packages available.
Last year’s winner, Amaysim, dropped down to third place, however it scored four stars across all categories, including overall satisfaction, value for money, network coverage and customer service.
Amaysim offers a range of prepaid plans, including seven-day and long-term plans. Its core 28-day plans are available at a range of price points with data inclusions going up with price. Amaysim uses the Optus mobile network for its coverage and also offers 5G network access on select plans.
Catch Connect made an impressive jump up from last spot in 2023 up to fourth place in our 2024 prepaid ratings. It scored five stars for both value for money and sign up and activation, while it scored four stars in the remaining categories including overall satisfaction.
Catch Connect offers a simple range of prepaid phone plans across 30-day, 90-day and 365-day expiry periods. You’ll get access to the Optus 4G mobile network, while you can add on extras to your plan, such as overseas calls and international roaming, for an additional cost.
Everyday Mobile took out fifth spot, scoring four stars for overall satisfaction, value for money, network coverage and ease of recharge, while it scored three stars for customer service, sign up and activation, and billing.
Everyday Mobile (formerly Woolworths Mobile) offers a range of 30-day expiry and long-expiry prepaid plans, with access of up to 500GB of data banking, discounts on a monthly grocery shop and the option to gift and receive data.
Boost Mobile dropped down from third in 2023 to sixth spot in our 2024 ratings, scoring three stars for overall satisfaction, customer service, sign up and activation, and billing. However, it scored five stars for network coverage and scored four stars for both value for money and ease of recharge.
Boost Mobile is the only MVNO with access to the full Telstra mobile network, including 5G coverage, although speed caps are on most plans. There’s a selection of 28-day expiry plans that include data rollover, as well as short-term and long-term plans.
Kogan came in seventh place, scoring three stars in most categories, including overall satisfaction and customer service, while it scored four stars for value for money and ease of recharge.
Known for its online marketplace, Kogan’s mobile phone offshoot offers a simple range of prepaid phone plans using the Vodafone mobile network. There’s a simple suite of three prepaid monthly plans, along with a range of prepaid plans with a 365-day expiry period.
Vodafone was in eighth place, scoring three stars in most categories, including overall satisfaction, except for network coverage and ease of recharge, where it scored four stars.
One of Australia’s biggest telcos — and part of the TPG Telecom group — Vodafone offers a full suite of phone plans, including postpaid, plans bundled with a handset and prepaid plans. It has a selection of plans with 28-day expiry periods, along with a couple of 185-day expiry and 365-day expiry plans.
iiNet dropped a couple of spots from the 2023 ratings down to ninth place in 2024, scoring three stars for overall satisfaction and sign up and activation. However, it scored four stars in all remaining categories including value for money and customer service.
iiNet, part of the TPG Telecom group, might be better known for its internet plans, but it also offers a simple selection of monthly prepaid phone plans on the Vodafone mobile network. Its data inclusions go up with price, and it does occasionally offer discounts or bonus data.
Rounding out our top 10 was Telstra, scoring three stars in most categories, including overall satisfaction. However it scored five stars for network coverage and four stars for ease of recharge.
Telstra offers a selection of prepaid plans across seven-day, 28-day, six-month and 12-month expiry periods. Plans include up to 200GB of continuous data rollover along with 4G and 5G network access, although 5G speeds are capped at 150Mbps.
Rounding out our ratings was TPG, Coles Mobile and Optus respectively, with each provider scoring three stars for overall satisfaction, however TPG was the only provider to score three stars in all categories.
However, the prepaid providers in our ratings aren’t the only telcos offering prepaid phone plans. Other prepaid providers that may be worth considering include:
Below are selected published prepaid plans with a minimum of 10GB of data on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost, from the lowest to highest and then by data allowance, largest to smallest. This selection of plans includes links to referral partners.
There are plenty of providers offering prepaid phone plans in addition to the big three telcos. However, prepaid can be complicated to navigate because of the number of plans and providers available and the several considerations you should make before signing up.
Prepaid plans run on an expiry period, rather than a billing period, as you pre-pay for your plan’s inclusions. Some plans have a short expiry period, such as seven days, others run monthly or every 28 or 30 days, while others have an expiry of as much as six or 12 months. Short-term plans are usually best for filling the gap between plans or for overseas visitors, monthly or 28/30 day expiry periods might be best if you’re looking for a month-to-month service similar to postpaid plans, while long-term plans are great for setting and forgetting or if your usage fluctuates month to month. Keep in mind, though, that long-term plans have a much higher upfront cost and require you to keep on top of your data usage.
Finding a plan with the right data inclusions might be your first point of call. But with prepaid plans, data inclusions can be tied to the expiry period; so that plan with 200GB of data might look great, but you may have to stretch that data over 12 months. When you’re looking at data inclusions, keep an eye on the expiry period and the plan’s cost to ensure you’re getting the right data allowance for your needs.
Cost is another important factor when choosing a prepaid plan but can also be tied into the expiry period length. Some of the cheapest prepaid plans might be on a short expiry period, so when you consider how frequently you would need to recharge the plan if you used it as a month-to-month plan, that cost could blow out. Likewise, with long-term plans, you’ll need to pay a larger amount upfront, so these plans might only suit certain types of users.
When you’re choosing your prepaid plan, it’s also important to ensure your plan will have good mobile network coverage. It’s best to check the network coverage map of any provider’s website before signing up, to ensure you’ll have coverage where you live and in places you frequent.
Of the Australians surveyed by Canstar Blue for our 2024 ratings:
Emma Bradstock has been an authority on consumer phone, internet, technology and streaming markets in Australia for over five years, with a dedication to providing Aussies with all the information they need to make better purchasing decisions. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Media from Macquarie University and has a decade of professional writing experience in print and digital media.
Meet the Editorial Team
Samantha Howse is Canstar Blue’s Consumer Research Specialist, coordinating the consumer research program behind our customer satisfaction awards across Canstar and Canstar Blue in Australia and New Zealand. Sam has earned a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Griffith University and, with seven years in market research and 2 years in marketing, she is experienced in survey design, implementation and analysis, coupled with an understanding of marketing principles and best practice.
Meet the Research TeamCanstar Blue surveyed over 12,000 Australian adults across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from customers within the survey group who currently have an active prepaid mobile phone in their name and pay the bills – in this case, 3,039 people.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criteria.
Here are past winners of Canstar Blue’s Most Satisfied Customers – Prepaid Phone Plans ratings:
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