Month-to-Month Plans – Telstra v Optus v Vodafone (September 2017)
In this post, we’ve compared the month-to-month plans of Australia’s three largest carriers – Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. Also known as SIM Only, No Contract or Casual plans, these options have both month to month and contract options but you will need to bring your own phone before jumping on board.
Telstra
- Data Share: $5 per month to share data on an extra SIM (up to 5 extra SIMs)
- Extra Data: $10 per GB, charged in 1GB blocks
- Unlimited AFL, NRL & Netball Live Passes – Data Free
- Apple Music Data Free plus 6 month free subscription
- Free Wi-Fi Data with Telstra Air
- 200GB Cloud Storage with OneDrive
| Plan | Credit | Cost per minute call | Texts | Data | Other | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telstra Casual S | $300 (300 mins) | $1 | Unlimited | 500MB | $35/month | |
| Telstra Casual M | $1000 (1000 mins) | $1 | Unlimited | 5GB | $50/month | |
| Telstra Casual L | Unlimited | - | Unlimited | 10GB | Unlimited international calls to 10 countries | $70/month |
| Telstra Sim Only S - 12 month contract | $300 (300 mins) | $1 | Unlimited | 500MB | $35/month | |
| Telstra Sim Only Mx - 12 month contract | $1000 (1000 mins) | $1 | Unlimited | 5GB | $40/month | |
| Telstra Sim Only M - 12 month contract | $1000 (1000 mins) | $1 | Unlimited | 8GB | $50/month | |
| Telstra Sim Only L - 12 month contract | Unlimited | - | Unlimited | 15GB | Unlimited international calls to 10 countries | $70/month |
Optus
- Family Sharing: Data across multiple services shared across one bill at no extra charge
- Extra Data: $10 per GB, charged in 1GB blocks
- Free Music Streaming: Google Play music, iHeartRadio, Pandora and Spotify
| Plan | National minutes | Texts | International minutes | Data | Other | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optus Sim Only $30 - 12 month contract | Unlimited | Unlimited national + international | None | 1.5GB+500MB purchased online | Free Music Streaming | $30/month |
| Optus Sim Only $40 - 12 month contract | Unlimited | Unlimited national + international | 300 minutes | 12GB data (ends 14/05/2017) | Free Music Streaming | $40/month |
| Optus Sim Only $55 - 12 month contract | Unlimited | Unlimited national + international | 400 minutes | 15GB data | Free Music Streaming | $55/month |
| Optus Sim Only $70 - 12 month contract | Unlimited | Unlimited national + international | 500 minutes | 25GB data | Free Music Streaming | $70/month |
| Optus Sim Only $35 - Month to Month | Unlimited | Unlimited national + international | None | 1.5GB data | Free Music Streaming | $35/month |
| Optus Sim Only $50 - Month to Month | Unlimited | Unlimited national + international | 300 minutes | 6GB data | Free Music Streaming | $50/month |
| Optus Sim Only $60 - Month to Month | Unlimited | Unlimited national + international | 500 minutes | 9GB data | Free Music Streaming | $60/month |
Vodafone
- $5 Roaming: Use data, call and text inclusions in over 50 other countries for $5/day
- Choice between Red Data and Red Global plans: Choose extra data or international calls
- Shared Plans: Share any Red Plan and combine the data allowance and receive 500MB bonus per plan shared
- Extra Data: $10 per GB, charged in 1GB blocks
| Plan | Included value | Calls per minute | Texts | International Minutes | Data | Other | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $35 Sim Only Red | Unlimited | - | Unlimited national + international | None | 1.5GB | $35/month | |
| $50 Sim Only Red | Unlimited | - | Unlimited national + international | Red Data: None Red Global: 300 mins to selected countries, 1000 to Super 1000 countries | Red Data: 8GB Red Global: 6GB | $50/month | |
| $60 Sim Only Red | Unlimited | - | Unlimited national + international | Red Data: None Red Global: 300 mins to selected countries, 1000 to Super 1000 countries | Red Data: 11GB Red Global: 9GB | $60/month | |
| $30 Sim Only Red - 12 months contract | Unlimited | - | Unlimited national + international | None | 2GB | $30/month | |
| $40 Sim Only Red - 12 months contract | Unlimited | - | Unlimited national + international | Red Data: None Red Global: 300 mins to selected countries | Red Data: 8GB Red Global: 6GB | $40/month | |
| $50 Sim Only Red - 12 months contract | Unlimited | - | Unlimited national + international | Red Data: None Red Global: 300 mins to selected countries, 1000 to Super 1000 countries | Red Data: 12GB Red Global: 10GB | $50/month | |
| $60 Sim Only Red - 12 months contract | Unlimited | - | Unlimited national + international | Red Data: None Red Global: 300 mins to selected countries, 1000 to Super 1000 countries | Red Data: 17GB Red Global: 15GB | $60/month |
Analysis
Which option should you choose? This depends on how you use your phone – but in general:
- Choose Telstra if you’re after strong network coverage
- Choose Optus if you’re after the best value for money – Optus offers unlimited calls and texts on all options, and significantly better data allowances compared to the other providers.
- Choose Vodafone if you need international calls or plan to travel internationally to take advantage of their $5 Roaming Offer
Without taking individual needs into account, we’d say Optus appears to offer the best on-contract phone offer in Australia, with the most competitive pricing.
Who offers the best value month-to-month mobile service Australia? We’d love to hear your thoughts, as well as any feedback or discussion related to the article – comment using the text box below.
Check out more of our phone plan analysis here:
- Best $10 Mobile Plan
- Best $15 Mobile Plan
- Best $20 Mobile Plan
- Best $30 Mobile Plan
- Best $40 Mobile Plan
- Best $50 Mobile Plan
- Best Value Pay as You Go (PAYG) Mobile Plans
- Month-to-Month Plans – Telstra v Optus v Vodafone
- Prepaid Mobile Cap Plans: Telstra v Optus v Vodafone
- Contract Phone Plans: Telstra v Optus v Vodafone
Are there any monthly plans in the $30 range that carry over to the next month any unused portion of previous month. Sim only and retaining same number as now.