The annual phone plan price rise seems to be inevitable for many of us, with Telstra, Optus and Vodafone increasing their mobile plan prices in 2024.
Telstra is the latest telco to announce that its phone plan prices will increase. Despite scrapping its annual CPI-linked price changes on July 1, Australia’s largest telco has announced price increases to most of its prepaid and postpaid phone plans in the coming months.
Telstra’s postpaid customers will see most plan prices increase from August 27, 2024, which will cost up to $48 more per year if you’re on Telstra’s Premium postpaid plan. Prepaid customers will see their prices increases from October 22, 2024.
Vodafone kicked things off in January, increasing postpaid plan prices for new customers by $4 per month across its suite of three plans (albeit with data increases). These price rises were rolled over to existing customers on March 27, with customers now paying an additional $48 each year for their plan.
Optus has already raised prices for new customers, however existing customers will see prices increase from August 5, 2024. Keep in mind that smaller providers may also raise mobile plan prices each year, but these plans are still often cheaper than what the big three offers.
So, if you’re a Telstra or Vodafone customer and just found out your plan will be increasing, or you’re with Optus and facing another seemingly inevitable price hike, now might be the time to switch phone plans. You can use our free phone plan comparison tool to compare a wide range of prepaid and postpaid phone plans to find a better deal.
Otherwise, we’ve done the leg work for you and share some of the cheapest phone plans on our database to suit a range of budgets and data needs.
Postpaid offers you might like
The following table shows a selection of sponsored SIM Only plans on Canstar Blue’s database with links to referral partners.
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1 Month Contract (1 month min. cost $16.50) SIM Only Postpaid
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40GB Data/month |
$16.50 Cost/month |
Go to Site |
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1 Month Contract (1 month min. cost $14) SIM Only Postpaid
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60GB Data/month |
$14.00 Cost/month |
Go to Site |
Cheap phone plans under $20
If you’re looking for a plan with only a small amount of data, there are plenty of options available for $20 or less per month. With prepaid plans, keep in mind that some of the cheaper plans may be on a short-term expiry period, so you’ll want to compare plans over a monthly expiry period or 28-day or 30-day expiry period.
Prepaid Plans Under $20
Here is a selection of prepaid plans from Canstar Blue’s database for $20 or less, listed in order of standard cost, lowest to highest, then by standard data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our mobile phone comparison tool to see a wider range of prepaid plans from other providers. This table includes products with links to referral partners.
Postpaid Plans Under $20
Here is a selection of postpaid plans from Canstar Blue’s database for $20 or less, listed in order of standard cost, lowest to highest, then by standard data allowance, largest to smallest. Compare postpaid mobile plans from a wider range of providers using our comparison tool. This table includes products with links to referral partners.
Cheap phone plans under $40
For anyone looking for more data, there are plenty of phone plans offering 10GB and up for $40 or less. Vodafone and Optus start their postpaid plan prices at $49 per month, so anything under that $40 mark can offer some great value for money.
Prepaid Plans Under $40
Here is a selection of prepaid plans from Canstar Blue’s database for $40 or less, listed in order of standard cost, lowest to highest, then by standard data allowance, largest to smallest. If you want to see a wider range of plans from other providers our phone plan comparison tool can help. This table includes products with links to referral partners.
Postpaid Plans Under $40
Here is a selection of postpaid plans from Canstar Blue’s database for $40 or less, listed in order of standard cost, lowest to highest, then by standard data allowance, largest to smallest. If you want to see a wider range of plans from other providers our phone plan comparison tool can help. This table includes products with links to referral partners.
Will I get the same mobile coverage by switching to a cheaper plan?
Telstra, Optus and Vodafone all own the mobile networks they operate services on. The smaller providers, known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) use one of these three mobile networks to deliver services to customers.
Telstra tends to limit its wholesale network for MVNOs, with the exception of Boost Mobile which has full access to the Telstra mobile network. However, Telstra MVNO coverage is still available to 98.8% of the population (compared to 99.6% covered by Telstra and 99.4% covered by Boost Mobile). Generally Optus and Vodafone are a bit more generous to their MVNOs and these networks still cover large parts of the country.
If you’re unsure about network coverage, you can always check the coverage map on the website of your telco of choice. This can give you an idea of what coverage is like at your home and any other areas you frequently visit, such as work or school.
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