Best mobile phone plans for teenagers

Best mobile plans for teenagers for October 2020

• Best mobile plan for teens: Vodafone $30 Prepaid
• Best cheap mobile plan for teens: TPG $15 Prepaid
• Best high data mobile plan for teens: Optus Prepaid Epic Data 35GB

Best overall mobile plan for teenagers:

Vodafone Combo Plus Starter Pack 40GB

SIM-only - Prepaid

Vodafone's prepaid plan is a fantastic deal thanks to its bonus data being offered for the life of your plan, as long as you sign up for automatic recharges. Other prepaid plans only offer you bonus data for the first couple of recharges, so Vodafone's is definitely more valuable in the long run!

This plan is only $12 for the first purchase, then $30/month after. Offer ends on October 26.

• 40GB per 28 days
• Unlimited calls & texts
  Vodafone network
• ^$12 per 28 days

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Next best mobile plan for teens:

TPG 4G Super Value Extra Large 30GB

SIM-only - Prepaid

You might know TPG as an Internet provider, but did you know they also offer mobile plans? If you want more data for a month, TPG's 30GB plan is our next best pick under $30.

Be aware that it's only $20/month for the first 6 months, so if you're not willing to pay the full price after, you'll need to switch prepaid plans.

• 30GB per month
• Unlimited calls & texts
  Vodafone network
• ^$20 per month

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Best cheap mobile plan for teenagers:

TPG 4G Super Value Large 25GB

SIM-only - Prepaid

Low budget but in need of data? TPG's 25GB plan is perfect for teens who want data at a lower price point.

Take note that it's only $15/month for the first 6 months, so if you're not willing to pay the full price after, you'll need to switch to other prepaid plans.

• 25GB per month
• Unlimited calls & texts
  Vodafone network
• ^$15 per month

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Runner up for best cheap plan:

Moose $14.80 SIM-Only Plan

SIM-only - Postpaid

This plan from Moose usually comes with just 2.5GB to use each month, but with its current offer you get 6GB of data each month for your first 24 months! That bumps up the value of this plan significantly.

It's a limited time offer only for new customers so if you're interested, sign up while it's still available.

• 6GB per month
• Unlimited calls & texts
  Optus network
• ^$14.8 per month

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Best high data mobile plan:

Optus Prepaid Epic Data 35GB

SIM-only - Prepaid

Optus's Prepaid Epic Data plan is a classic choice if you're looking for a solid plan. It's been a long-running Finder user favourite, consistently being one of our most clicked mobile plan offers.

You'll get 35GB of data for your first three recharges, then 10GB/month after.

• 35GB per 28 days
• Unlimited calls & texts
  Optus network
• ^$30 per 28 days

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Next best high data plan:

amaysim 30GB for $30

SIM-only - Prepaid

amaysim's plan isn't just a good value prepaid plan, but it also comes with included international calls and texts to 28 countries. That means you can call these countries for free without having to worry about paying for extra charges.

The list of countries includes China, Indonesia, New Zealand, the UK, the US and Japan.

• 40GB per 28 days
• Unlimited calls & texts
  Telstra network
• ^$30 per 28 days

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How to choose the best mobile plan for your teenager

Here are a few things to consider when trying to pick the best plan for you teen:

• Call limits. Teens may not spend as much time talking on the phone as they did in the past, but limited minutes could still be a problem. Many plans come with unlimited domestic talk, but if yours doesn't, make sure it offers enough.
• Data. This is one of the hardest choices to make when it comes to plans, and also the biggest factor in determining cost. Consider sitting down with your teen and discussing what a reasonable amount of data might be.
• Expiry periods. Postpaid plans are usually charged monthly, but if you go for a prepaid plan, you might find that you have to recharge more often than that. Factor how often you'll recharge into the total cost.
• Excess charges. Some postpaid plans have excess charges if you go over your monthly data or call limit. Since the contract will be in your name if your teen is under the age of 18, you'll be liable for these excess costs.

Family plans

Data pooling on bundled plans can be great for families. Just make sure everyone's getting their share of the data and one person isn't hogging all of it!

Optus

Optus allows you to purchase several postpaid mobile plans together and enable data pooling with them. This combines their associated data limits into one, accessible to everyone with a pooled plan, and also places them all onto a single bill.

Vodafone

With Vodafone, you can bundle together several postpaid plans onto one bill and activate data pooling between them. Not only will everyone who is bundled in have the ability to use this data, but you can also control who has access to the pool and how much they can use to stop someone going way overboard.

Should I get a prepaid or postpaid plan for my teen?

Prepaid plans require you to pay ahead of time for a certain amount of monthly usage and your services are usually cut off when you go over this limit. Postpaid plans will usually let you go past the limit but will charge you for the excess at the end of your payment period.

We recommend a prepaid plan with unlimited talk and text for your teenager. This means that they'll always be able to contact you, but you'll both have to agree to purchasing extra data if they use it all up.

On the other hand, the major benefit of a postpaid plan is that you generally get more value for money overall.

If your teenager is under the age of 18, you'll have to put your name on their phone plan because they legally can't. However, this doesn't mean that you have to be the one who pays for it.

How much data is enough?

This depends on a couple of things: how much your teenager wants to use the Internet on their phone, and how much you're willing to pay for. It's probably a good idea to sit down with your teenager and hammer out a compromise based on what both of you want.

To help you out, here's how much data common mobile activities consume:

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