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If you have to make lots of international calls, you need a plan that will minimise those costs. Here’s how to pick the perfect plan.

Matt Sayer
Matt Sayer

For most people, the cost of a single call in Australia is rapidly approaching zero. That's because so many telcos now offer unlimited standard national calls and texts as part of their plans. Sadly, the same simply isn’t true for anyone wanting to call international destinations. Alongside data usage, calling overseas numbers from within Australia is the single easiest way to rack up large phone bills if you’re not careful.

As with any other plan type, there’s not really a one-size-fits-all approach you can take to picking a plan with the "best" international calling provisions because everyone’s needs are different. Also, it’s likely that you’ll have other considerations in mind for your plan. Here are the factors you should consider when picking the right plan for you.

Pick of the plans: Which plans are best?

Your needs for international calling will rest largely on the countries you need to call and the frequency with which you need to make those calls, but exhaustively listing every possible combination of countries would neither be feasible nor terribly enlightening. However, we’ve identified a few key usage types that should help identify the most suitable plans for specific situations.

Heavy usage international calling

Rationale: You’re not flush with cash, but you need to have a service that supports international calling, preferably with some inclusions specifically geared towards those types of calls.

What to consider while choosing your plan

  • Are my calling destinations covered?

    This is naturally a key question in deciding the value of any plan, but it goes beyond a simple listing check to see if rates are provided for calling in. Outside of some conflict zones it’s possible to call just about anywhere on the planet. What you need to check are both specific rates and whether they’re part of any kind of special bundle deal due to popularity.

  • Are minutes enough, or do I need unlimited calls?

    Some plans offer a small suite of calling minutes (or sometimes calling dollars) for international destinations, which could suffice if you only need to call every once in a while. However, if you need to call frequently, a plan with unlimited calls might suit you better, but again this will depend on where you need to call. A number of destinations, including (generally) the UK, US, Japan, Canada and much of South East Asia, often feature as countries with either very low-cost calling or unlimited calls with some plan combinations.

  • Postpaid or prepaid?

    For international callers, you do have the luxury of opting for a prepaid plan to keep your overall bills low, because as with any prepaid plan you can only spend as much as you’ve recharged for. However, if you are a frequent caller, or someone who absolutely needs a consistent connection, a postpaid plan may be safer as you won't get blocked from access because you've run out of credit.

  • What else do I need?

    Very few plans sell themselves purely on their international calling credit, which means that for most users, you’ve got to weigh up other inclusions as well. Do you need a lot of data, or a little? Are calls within Australia important to you? What about entertainment options, or the bundling of a smartphone handset to go with a contract plan?

If you want to control your costs, then Lebara’s Small Plan, which gives you unlimited standard calls to 10 selected countries, may be a good fit. Lycamobile is the other well-known player in the international calling space, and its Unlimited S plan includes unlimited calls to Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The unlimited 1.5GB plan through amaysim offers unlimited international calling minutes to China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United Kingdom and the US as well as unlimited texts to Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, the US and Vietnam. As long as these suit your needs it’s an excellent choice at its price point.

Alternatively, if what you need is a flexible prepaid deal that includes options for international calling, consider Vodafone’s prepaid Talk Combo plans.

While we can’t cover every calling country, here’s a sample of call costs across these plans:

Destination Lebara Small Lycamobile Unlimited S (Includes 30 minutes to select countries) Vodafone $40 Talk Combo (Includes 1090 minutes to select countries) amaysim Unlimited 5GB
UK Unlimited Unlimited 8c/min Unlimited
USA Unlimited Unlimited 3c/min Unlimited
Japan 5c/min 16c/min 15c/min Unlimited
China Unlimited Unlimited 2c/min Unlimited
India 2c/min Unlimited 3c/min Unlimited
South Africa 20c/min 15c/min 15c/min 20c/min

Plans for heavy usage international callers

Rationale: You call overseas every single day, whether it’s for business or personal purposes, but you need a plan that won’t break the bank. Unlimited calls are preferable for this type of use, although it’s worth remembering that most plans have acceptable use policies that won’t quite allow you to keep the line open 24/7.

man_train_phone_shutterstock_450

Again, covering every country and call type in a single table would be impractical and near impossible to read, but here’s a sample comparison of rates across these two plans.

Destination Lebara Unlimited Lycamobile Unlimited L
UK Unlimited Unlimited
USA Unlimited Unlimited
Japan Unlimited Unlimited
China Unlimited Unlimited
India Unlimited Unlimited
South Africa 20c/min 3c/min (landline) / 15c/min (landline)

Providers offering international calls

phone_passport_shutterstock_450

Telstra

Click to view each plan’s international calling info

ALDImobile

Lebara

Belong

Boost

OVO

TPG

Moose

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4 Responses

  1. Default Gravatar
    HalynaSeptember 28, 2018

    I am looking for sim card or prepaid plan only offering international calls to Ukraine.

    Reply
    • Avatarfinder Customer Care
      NikkiSeptember 28, 2018Staff

      Hi Halyna,

      Thanks for your message and for contacting finder.

      The information above shows the list of providers who will allow you to make international calls to Ukraine.

      To check their prepaid plans, simply click the MORE INFO on the right side of their page or you can also visit their respective websites.
      Be sure to choose the prepaid plan that fits your needs and budget.

      Hope this helps! Feel free to message us should you have further questions.

      Cheers!

      Nikki

      Reply
  2. Default Gravatar
    RonilSeptember 19, 2017

    I am looking for a prepaid plan or sim only plan with sufficient data (average 4GB) and free calls within Australia on any network and any number plus calls to Fiji

    Reply
    • Default Gravatar
      DanielleSeptember 19, 2017

      Hi Ronil,

      Thank you for contacting finder. We are a comparison website and general information service, we’re more than happy to offer general advice.

      You may refer to this page for options that may suit your needs. You may adjust the filters, then review and compare the offers available on the table. Once you have selected one, you may proceed by clicking the green “Go to Site” button.

      I hope this helps.

      Cheers,
      Danielle

      Reply
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