Whether your needs are for a new handset and plan, a postpaid SIM-only plan or just a simple prepaid plan, Optus will probably have you covered. Its positioning combines a quality network service with razor-sharp pricing and it's also the network of choice for the majority of Australia's MVNO providers.
Optus mobile contract plans
Optus provides a wide range of mobile phone handsets on 24-month contract terms, including all the heavy hitters such as Apple's iPhone range and Samsung's Galaxy S and Galaxy Note phones. For those on a more constrained budget, there are simpler handsets available at lower contract prices, including some handsets bundled free with certain plan combinations.
Optus offers its mobile phone contract plans on either purchase or lease arrangements. Leasing a phone can lead to lower monthly repayments but you never truly own the phone, and for higher-tier plans the differences may be negligible. Your handset repayments will vary depending on the phone you choose, but they're all based off Optus' standard 24-month My Plan Plus contracts, which at a base level at the time of writing look like so:
My Plan Plus $45 : Unlimited calls and texts, 2GB of data, $45
My Plan Plus $65: Unlimited calls and texts, 10GB of data, $65
My Plan Plus $85: Unlimited calls and texts, 25GB of data, $85
My Plan Plus $105: Unlimited calls and texts, 100GB of data, $105
My Plan Plus $125: Unlimited calls and texts, 200GB of data, $125
Optus frequently runs special offers on its contract phone plans, with either pricing discounts across the life of the plan or bonus data, and sometimes both to entice you to sign up. Like many contract plan carriers, you can't sign up for just a SIM service, so for comparative purposes, here's Optus' current pricing for the Apple iPhone X 64GB:
If you're happy with your existing handset (or just prefer to buy your phones outright), it's perfectly possible to get a SIM-only postpaid contract with Optus.
Like most carriers, Optus offers SIM-only postpaid plans on either an annual basis or a rolling month-to-month term, with slightly higher data values if you do sign up for the full year.
For 12-month contracts, here's the typical pricing on Optus' SIM-only plans:
My Plan Plus 12M SIM-only $35: Unlimited calls and texts, 3GB of data, $35
My Plan Plus 12M SIM-only $35: Unlimited calls and texts, 30GB of data, $35
My Plan Plus 12M SIM-only $45: Unlimited calls and texts, 50GB of data, $45
My Plan Plus 12M SIM-only $55: Unlimited calls and texts, 80GB of data, $55
Optus frequently runs specials on its 12-month SIM-only plans, so it's well worth comparing current values. Here's the current run of Optus 12-month SIM-only plans:
If you're not sure that Optus will be the network for you, you can always opt for a month-to-month SIM-only plan, with pricing that typically looks like this:
My Plan Plus SIM-only $45: Unlimited calls and texts, 3GB of data, $45
My Plan Plus SIM-only $55: Unlimited calls and texts, 15GB of data, $55
My Plan Plus SIM-only $65: Unlimited calls and texts, 25GB of data, $65
My Plan Plus SIM-only $75: Unlimited calls and texts, 40GB of data, $75
There's quite the difference there between the 12-month and month-to-month plans to entice you to a longer term. Optus runs some specials on its month-to-month plans but it's nowhere near as common. Here's the full details on its current plan pricing for month-to-month SIM-only plans:
Optus offers a variety of prepaid SIM-only plans for you to use. With a prepaid plan, you pay upfront for usage over an expiry period. If you go over your usage, your access ceases but you cannot accrue any larger bills than the sum already paid without your own intervention, so they're a great choice for the budget conscious. The flipside of that is realising that many postpaid plans offer larger data quotas than their prepaid counterparts, although not always.
For data-lovers, Optus offers a range of Epic Data prepaid plans. These plans feature data rollover and all come with an extra 10GB of data on top of their regular cap specifically for use streaming video from Netflix, Stan and ABC iview. This extra data only covers streaming video from those three services and cannot be used for anything else.
Pricing and inclusions for these plans are as follows:
Prepaid Epic Data $10: Up to 100mins talk and unlimited texts, 5GB data, 5 day expiry
Prepaid Epic Data $20: Up to 200mins talk and unlimited texts, 12GB data, 10 day expiry
Prepaid Epic Data $30: Unlimited talk and text, 10GB data, 28 day expiry
Prepaid Epic Data $40: Unlimited talk and text, unlimited standard international calls, 20GB data, 28 day expiry
Prepaid Epic Data $50: Unlimited talk and text, unlimited standard international calls, 30GB data, 28 day expiry
Prepaid Epic Data $60: Unlimited talk and text, unlimited standard international calls, 40GB data, 28 day expiry
Prepaid Epic Data $70: Unlimited talk and text, unlimited standard international calls, 45GB data, 28 day expiry
Prepaid Epic Data $80: Unlimited talk and text, unlimited standard international calls, 50GB data, 28 day expiry
Prepaid Epic Data $100: Unlimited talk and text, unlimited standard international calls, 60GB data, 28 day expiry
If you prefer to stretch your prepaid credit for as long as possible, Optus' Epic Value plans might be more your style. Sporting 42-day expiries along with data rollover, these plans are available in the following increments:
Prepaid Epic Value $15: Unlimited talk and text, 500MB of data, 28 day expiry.
Prepaid Epic Value $30: Unlimited talk and text, 1GB of data, 42 day expiry.
Prepaid Epic Value $40: Unlimited talk and text, 10GB of data, 42 day expiry.
Prepaid Epic Value $50: Unlimited talk and text, 15GB of data, 42 day expiry.
Prepaid Epic Value $180: Unlimited talk and text, 60GB of data, 186 day expiry.
Optus also offers a simplified daily plan called My Prepaid Daily Plus. This relies on a prepaid recharge that is used in $2 blocks each time you use the service, with varying expiry dates depending on the amount recharged, or until you've used up your credit in $2 per day increments.
My Prepaid Daily Plus $10: Unlimited talk and text, 500MB data a day for $2/day, 30 day expiry.
My Prepaid Daily Plus $20: Unlimited talk and text, 500MB data a day for $2/day, 30 day expiry.
My Prepaid Daily Plus $30: Unlimited talk and text, 500MB data a day for $2/day, 186 day expiry.
My Prepaid Daily Plus $45: Unlimited talk and text, 500MB data a day for $2/day, 186 day expiry.
My Prepaid Daily Plus $60: Unlimited talk and text, 500MB data a day for $2/day, 186 day expiry.
My Prepaid Daily Plus $100: Unlimited talk and text, 500MB data a day for $2/day, 186 day expiry.
If what you're after is a simple long expiry plan, Optus' My Prepaid Long Expiry may suit. Like the Daily Plus plans, you pay a credit fee upfront for a longer expiry period, with higher credit tiers enjoying longer expiry times. It's then a question of your usage, with each call, text and data usage accrued against your credit.
My Prepaid Long Expiry $10: 25c/min standard calls, 25c/text, 7c/MB data, 45 day expiry.
My Prepaid Long Expiry $20: 25c/min standard calls, 25c/text, 7c/MB data, 90 day expiry.
My Prepaid Long Expiry $30: 25c/min standard calls, 25c/text, 7c/MB data, 186 day expiry.
My Prepaid Long Expiry $40: 25c/min standard calls, 25c/text, 7c/MB data, 186 day expiry.
My Prepaid Long Expiry $50: 25c/min standard calls, 25c/text, 7c/MB data, 186 day expiry.
My Prepaid Long Expiry $60: 25c/min standard calls, 25c/text, 7c/MB data, 365 day expiry.
My Prepaid Long Expiry $70: 25c/min standard calls, 25c/text, 7c/MB data, 365 day expiry.
My Prepaid Long Expiry $80: 25c/min standard calls, 25c/text, 7c/MB data, 365 day expiry.
My Prepaid Long Expiry $100: 25c/min standard calls, 25c/text, 7c/MB data, 365 day expiry.
Here's the full rundown of Optus' prepaid plans:Back to top
How does Optus compare?
Optus has been notably aggressive in the Australian telco space, and that translates to deals at most levels that are highly competitive, although as always it depends on what you're after.
In the mobile handset space Optus typically ranges all the big brand name handsets, as well as a few exclusive models. By way of comparison, here's what you'd pay for an iPhone XS from Optus and other major carriers offering Apple's high-powered handset:
In the SIM-only space, its 12-month contract terms offer some of the largest data quotas around. Here's how Optus compares against its competition if you're happy to sign up for a year on a postpaid SIM-only contract:
Optus is the largest provider of MVNO services in Australia by a very wide margin, with only a handful of virtual operators not on the Optus 4G network. That gives it plenty of competition in the prepaid space. Here's how Optus stacks up against prominent providers on its own network:
Optus' 4G network spans the vast majority of the Australian population, although (as is common with every other Australian mobile network) not quite the entire landmass. It's notably a heavy lifter in terms of pushing forwards data limits on plans, with many other carriers following Optus' lead when it comes time to up quotas.
However, data isn't the only reason to choose Optus as your carrier as it also offers a number of bonus deals for consumers who sign up to plans. Many of its plans offer "data-free" streaming for music services such as Spotify and iHeartRadio. This doesn't mean you score free subscriptions, but simply that any data you use while listening to selected services doesn't count against your existing data quota.
For selected mobile plans, you also get the same "data-free" streaming offer for Netflix, Stan, iView and Channel 7 programming in SD only. Again, that doesn't cover any subscription costs, but it does mean you can stream, say, Orange Is The New Black on the bus or train to work without chewing through your data quota.
Optus also operates its own entertainment services, bundled with many of its postpaid plans or available as a paid extra if you're on a lower tier. The jewel in its crown is the exclusive rights to English Premier League games and Cricket Australia fixtures for mobile streaming, so, if like many Australians you're keen on "proper" football or Cricket, Optus may be a great match for your needs.
If you've got multiple Optus accounts in your family, you can pool all your data quotas together at no additional cost, meaning that you can maximise your data's real value rather than letting it go to waste.
Optus also operates a satisfaction guarantee on postpaid plans with bundled handsets, so if you're unhappy for any reason in the first 30 days, you can return your undamaged handset and you can walk away simply paying that first month's charges.
Optus prepaid recharge options
Different Optus prepaid plans have different expiry periods, and it’s worth noting if there are bonuses such as data or credit rollover if you recharge within your expiry period. Here’s how you can recharge your Optus prepaid services:
Online through Optus: Optus provides the ability to purchase recharges through its web portal for customers. You can recharge your own mobile phone, or any number associated with an Optus prepaid mobile account. Optus accepts payments via Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB Card, PayPal, via Internet banking or from a pre-purchased voucher.
Via the MyOptus App: Optus provides a dedicated free to download app for iOS (download it here) or Android (download it here) mobile customers to recharge their mobile services on the go.
Via PayPal: You can use Optus’ prepaid payment portal to pay directly via PayPal if that’s your payment method of choice.
By phone: You can recharge your phone by dialling 555 from your prepaid handset. This is a free call.
Via a voucher: Recharge vouchers can be purchased for Optus prepaid services at many large retail outlets, as well as at any Optus store itself.
Via Autorecharge: Optus has a facility for you to store credit card details pertaining to your prepaid service so that it automatically recharges your prepaid balance at a set expiry period. As with any automatic recharge, it’s up to you to keep an eye on what it’s doing if you’re not using an Optus service any more, as it will continually bill unless you adjust it.
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