Vodafone has a set of prepaid plans designed to help you save money while getting access to all the data that you need. It offers excess data at no charge on some of its plans, which is rare for prepaid options.
Why consider Vodafone?
Excess data available for free at capped 1.5Mbps speed on some plans
International minutes are included on some plans
Cheap prepaid handsets are available to purchase at Vodafone stores
Compare Vodafone prepaid plans here
You can pick between a Prepaid Plus plan, which is a monthly prepaid plan for regular phone users, or a Pay and Go long-expiry plan if you rarely use your phone and don't really need much data. We'll break these plans down for you in more detail further down the page.
Vodafone offers two types of prepaid plans: Prepaid Plus and Pay and Go. Prepaid Plus plans are regular prepaid options where you pay for all your usage at the beginning of the month. With a Pay and Go plan, you purchase credit upfront that will last you a certain amount of time, and usage charges are subtracted from that total.
Prepaid Plus
Vodafone's Prepaid Plus prepaid plans are listed below. Keep in mind that these are the starter packs from Vodafone, which means you'll need to buy one of these plans to start off with, but they come with more recharge options which we'll cover next.
$30 Prepaid Plus: 15GB for $30 with a 28-day expiry.
$40 Prepaid Plus: 30GB for $40 with a 28-day expiry.
$50 Prepaid Plus: 45GB for $50 with a 28-day expiry.
$150 Prepaid Plus: 80GB for $150 with a 185-day expiry.
Vodafone also has a $1 starter pack which comes with no inclusions. You pay $1 for the SIM card to be delivered to you, and then choose a recharge amount to get calls and data added on.
As well as the above starter packs, Vodafone offers these extra recharge amounts too:
$10 Prepaid Plus: 4GB for $10 with a 7-day expiry.
$20 Prepaid Plus: 8GB for $20 with a 14-day expiry.
$60 Prepaid Plus: 60GB for $60 with a 28-day expiry.
$250 Prepaid Plus: 150GB for $250 with a 365 day expiry.
If you're a regular mobile user, you'll definitely want to go for one of Vodafone's Prepaid Plus plans. They have all the normal inclusions that you need, including calls, text and data, plus some international minutes if you need them.
The plans in the $30-$60 range come with "unlimited" data and let you keep browsing past your data cap, at a significantly reduced download speed of 1.5Mbps. This is very slow, and only useful for basic browsing and checking your emails.
Pay and Go
Vodafone's Pay and Go plans are all largely the same, differing only by starting credit amount and expiry period:
$30 Pay and Go. Credit has a 180-day expiry period.
$40 Pay and Go. Credit has a 365-day expiry period.
$50 Pay and Go. Credit has a 365-day expiry period.
All three plans have the same PAYG rates: 20c/min for calls, 20c/SMS sent and 4c/MB of data.
Pay and Go is only useful if you don't use data – basically, ever. The rates work out to be about $30 for 1GB of data, which is terrible (considering you get 45GB for that same price on Prepaid Plus). Avoid Pay and Go unless you very rarely use your phone and you expect that credit to last for six months to a year.
How do Vodafone's prepaid plans compare to its competition?
Let's see how Vodafone stacks up against Kogan Mobile (a smaller provider using Vodafone's network) and Telstra when it comes to extra features available on its prepaid plans.
Monthly prepaid plans
Provider
Plan
Price
Data
Data per dollar value
Expiry period
Extra features
Vodafone
$30 Prepaid Plus
$30
15GB
$2 per 1GB
28 days
"Unlimited" data, international minutes, data banking
Telstra
$30 Prepaid Complete
$30
8GB (+17GB for first 3 recharges)
$3.75 per 1GB ($1.20 per 1GB for first 3 recharges)
28 days
International minutes, data banking, 5G access, data-free sports/Apple Music streaming, Telstra Air
Kogan Mobile
Medium 30 days
$29.90
13GB
$2.30 per 1GB
30 days
Qantas point rewards
Compared to these other two providers, Vodafone's plan compares just fine. Kogan is slightly more appealing with its longer expiry period, but the data value is highly comparable and Vodafone even offers data banking.
Telstra is great value for the first 3 recharges, but falls off sharply after that. In terms of ongoing value, Vodafone wins out easily, even with Telstra's huge number of bonus features. It should be noted that these are all some of the lower value prepaid plans on the market, so if you're looking for more value, compare mobile plans to find out what's available.
365-day prepaid plans
Vodafone has long expiry recharges available, which we'll compare against Telstra and Kogan again to see how well the value holds.
Provider
Plan
Price
Data
Data per dollar value
Expiry period
Extra features
Vodafone
$250 Prepaid Plus
$250
150GB
$1.67 per 1GB
365 days
Data banking
Telstra
$300 Prepaid Complete
$300
150GB
$2.00 per 1GB
365 days
Data banking, international minutes, data-free sports/Apple Music streaming, Telstra Air, 5G access
Kogan Mobile
Medium 365 days
$205.60
158GB
$1.30 per 1GB
365 days
Qantas point rewards
Vodafone holds up well in the long expiry field, too, beating out Telstra easily in terms of value. However, Kogan provides more data for less money, making it a more attractive option than Vodafone.
In terms of features, Vodafone has nothing much to recommend it, since data banking is less useful year to year than month to month.
Keep in mind that if you're after Vodafone's 365-day prepaid plan, you'll need to first grab a starter pack as it's only available as a recharge.
How does Vodafone compare against smaller providers?
Compared to smaller MVNOs, Vodafone provides more features than most but doesn't always measure up price-wise. Since MVNOs don't have to pay for network maintenance and construction, their plans are often cheaper than what Vodafone offers.
For a quick snapshot of how Vodafone prepaid plans compare, we've summed up the pros and cons below:
Pros
Unused data rolls over towards next recharge period
$5 off your monthly plan costs when you sign-up to automatic recharges
Cons
Cheaper prepaid plans do exist from smaller MVNOs
Vodafone network is technically the smallest of the big three - you might not get coverage in some areas of Australia
28 day expiry period means extra recharges during the year
You can purchase a couple of select handsets from Vodafone, bundled in with your prepaid plan. Unfortunately, you can only get them in store at the moment, so head into your nearest branch if you're interested.
What are Vodafone's prepaid international roaming inclusions?
Vodafone's higher value prepaid plans already include some amount of international call credit, with 20 countries in Zone 1 and 70 countries in Zone 2.
When it comes to roaming, you won't have access to Vodafone's $5/day roaming offer, which lets you use your normal phone inclusions. Instead, you can purchase one of the following roaming add-ons:
$5 add-on. 1-day expiry. Provides 200MB of data, 25 call minutes and 30 SMS texts.
$15 add-on. 3-day expiry. Provides 750MB of data, 90 call minutes and 120 SMS texts.
$35 add-on. 7-day expiry. Provides 2GB of data, 200 call minutes and 300 SMS texts.
Without these add-ons, you'll be charged pay-as-you-go rates, which will generally work out to be much more expensive. We recommend picking up a local or travel SIM when overseas to avoid expensive roaming options.
Vodafone prepaid recharge options
Regardless of your recharge method, Vodafone accepts the following payment types:
Credit and debit cards, including Visa, Mastercard and American Express
PayPal
Visa Checkout
Here are the three ways that you can recharge your plan:
Online
Visit Vodafone's express recharge page. Then simply enter your mobile number and follow the instructions. You won't be charged for data if you're using your phone's Internet to do this.
Over the phone
You can call 1511 on a mobile with your Vodafone SIM, or instead call 1300 650 410 and enter your phone number and PIN. Follow the instructions to recharge.
Using the My Vodafone app
You can download the My Vodafone app from Google Play or Apple's App Store. The app allows you to see your usage, purchase add-ons and recharge.
How to check your Vodafone prepaid balance
Similar to the ways that you can recharge your plan, you can also check your Vodafone prepaid balance in three different ways:
Dial 1512 or text "BAL" to 1512 from a phone with the Vodafone SIM that you want to check
Log into your Vodafone account on the Vodafone website
Use the My Vodafone app
Can I pay for a Vodafone prepaid data add-on?
You can purchase small extra data packs to top up your prepaid account. They only last for a limited time and can be purchased:
Through the My Vodafone app
Via Vodafone's Express Recharge
By texting a keyword to 1511 to pay with a credit card, or 1264 to pay with your My Credit
Vodafone prepaid Internet options
If you're only looking for data and you don't need to make calls or send texts, you can pick up a Vodafone prepaid mobile broadband plan. Starter packs cost between $30 and $50 for up to 55GB of data. Expiry periods are 30 days long for starter packs, though recharge options vary in expiry from 7 days up to 365.
They can be bought either as a standalone plan if you already have a modem or device, but you can also grab a suitable tablet or modem on a 12, 24 or 36-month repayment plan with your mobile broadband.
The expiry period depends on which plan you purchase. Regular Prepaid Plus plans will last between 7 and 365 days, while Pay and Go plans last between 180 and 365 days before expiring.
Do Vodafone prepaid SIM cards expire?
Once you've purchased a Vodafone prepaid SIM, you have a full year to activate it before it expires. There's no rush whatsoever!
How do I change my Vodafone prepaid plan?
You can change your Vodafone prepaid plan once every billing cycle. You can change it through My Vodafone (the app or online) no matter what kind of prepaid plan you're already on.
You'll be charged an additional $8 transfer fee if you downgrade your plan to a lower tier, but upgrading to a higher tier is free.
Sam Baran is a writer for Finder, covering topics across the tech, telco and utilities sectors. They enjoy decrypting technical jargon and helping people compare complex products easily. When they aren't writing, you'll find Sam's head buried in a book or working on their latest short story. Sam has a Bachelor of Advanced Science from the University of Sydney.
For you to know the best plan that will suit your preference and budget you may contact Vodafone directly. Please be remained that you have come thru finder.com.au and we are a financial comparison and general information website.
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do you have a prepaid that allows me to ring PNG at a discounted rate?
Hello Gary,
Thanks for your question.
For you to know the best plan that will suit your preference and budget you may contact Vodafone directly. Please be remained that you have come thru finder.com.au and we are a financial comparison and general information website.
Regards,
Chester