Compare postpaid mobile plans

What is a postpaid plan?

Postpaid mobile plans are those that you pay for at the end of the month, and where you may have excess charges to pay if you go over your limits. That's the general definition, but here are some extra details:

• Postpaid plans bill you at the end of the month. That's opposed to prepaid, where you pay upfront.
• Actually, sometimes they bill upfront. But they're still postpaid for the next 2 reasons.
• Postpaid plans won't cut you off when you hit your limits. They'll just charge you extra.
• Excess charges appear on your next bill. They can be really high. We call this 'bill shock'.

Most postpaid plans come with unlimited calls and texts, no lock-in contract, and anything from 0GB to 500GB of monthly data. You can also get a phone with your plan.

Types of postpaid plans

SIM-only plans

These come as just a SIM card. You'll need to use your current phone or buy a new phone outright. These plans mostly don't lock you in, though some providers still have 6 or 12 month contracts.

Postpaid plans with a phone

These come as a SIM card with a phone handset - mostly new, sometime refurbished. These plans come with a contract that sees you pay back the phone on top of your plan over a couple of years. The phones are normally fancy flagships, so are pretty expensive.

SIM-only vs phone plans

Your choice of a SIM-only plan vs a phone plan will mostly come down to whether you want a new phone without paying upfront. But there are other differences to consider:

• Phone plans...come with a phone: If you want a new phone but can't pay upfront, a phone contract might suit you better.
• The phone are expensive: Long term, you're generally better buying phones upfront. Also, phone plans tend to bundle flagship phones costing over $1,000. A BYO phone can be as cheap or hand-me-down as you like.
• Only 3 providers offer plans with a phone: New phones on a plan are only sold by Vodafone, Optus and Telstra. Smaller telcos like Dodo, More or Tangerine have cheaper data plans, but only SIM-only.
• Lock-in contracts: Phone contracts tend to last for 24 or 36 months. Most SIM-only plans have no lock-in contracts. That lets you switch plans, phones or providers whenever.

To learn more about the differences, check our prepaid vs postpaid mobile plans page.

"I don't like being locked into a contract, and that is why I chose a postpaid SIM deal with Optus. Another factor that helped me decide whether a postpaid plan is right for me is that I rarely change phones. It was a no brainer."

Raj Lal

Publisher

Prepaid vs postpaid mobile plans

If you're not getting a postpaid plan with a phone contract, then you might want to consider a SIM-only prepaid plan too. SIM-only postpaid plans used to have a few great selling points, but you can get them all with prepaid plans now:

• Postpaid used to guarantee you never ran out of data or calls. Prepaid plans offer that now, with unlimited data available and unlimited calls as standard.
• Postpaid used to be the only set-and-forget option. A prepaid plan on auto-recharge is arguably even more set-and-forget, with no risk of excess charges.
• Postpaid used to offer international calls and global roaming. Prepaid plans have this now too. Sometimes included, but more often as a low-price top-up pack.
• Postpaid used to be better value. Prepaid plans are super competitive, with more providers offering plans. For example, you can get unlimited data from Felix for $40. Bonkers.

Postpaid plans are still the only way to get a phone included at no upfront cost. But SIM-only postpaid plans are fast being replaced by prepaid services, for good reason.

Postpaid plans with a phone contract

If you've got your heart set on a flagship phone but don't have the cash to pay for one upfront, a phone contract is an option to consider. You'll probably pay more overall as you can't change to a better value provider during your contract, but it might be worth the trade-off.

To find a great postpaid plan with a handset, first pick which handset type you're most interested in - Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel.

Compare iPhone plans

Compare Samsung plans

Compare Google Pixel plans

How much are excess charges on postpaid plans?

Postpaid mobile plans will slug you for any extra usage over your limits. This cvould be for calls and texts, data, global roaming or international calls

• • Excess charges for calls and texts:

Most postpaid plans have unlimited calls and texts, but some pay-as-you-go plans will charge you for texts and calls. Typical costs can be around $0.37 per minute or $0.17 per SMS.

• • Excess data charges:

Data use over your limit can cost as much as 60GB per gigabyte! That's a recipe for bill shock. Lots of plans will rollover your data each month, but that only helps so much.

• • Excess charges for global roaming:

International roaming data is easy to use without realising it. If you don't get a roaming pack, this could ccost you A LOT. Telstra charges $3 per megabyte - so if your phone were to do a 1GB background update while you were overseas, it would cost ardoun $3,000!

If you need a postpaid plan, there are ways to avoid excess charges - for example, you can get an unlimited data plan and turn off mobile data on your phone when you're overseas. But if you don't need a phone contract, these bonkers excess charges are another great reason to consider a prepaid plan instead.

How much data do I need?

Getting the right data limit is really important on a postpaid plan. Going over your data cap is the most likely way that you'll get hit with excess charges. So if you get enough data, you should avoid that outcome.

The best way to check how much data you need is to check your current usage on your provider's app or website. If you don't have access to that, check our data usage calculator. The average Aussie uses between 7.5GB and 15.9GB of mobile data per month, if that helps.

Frequently asked questions

• What's the best postpaid mobile plan in Australia?

  While there is no singular best plan, our experts have rounded up their top picks in our guide for the best mobile plans.

  Always remember to compare your options and choose the best mobile plan for your needs.

• What's the cheapest postpaid plan?

  The cheapest postpaid plan in our database comes from e.Tel and costs $1 a month with no data and no call or text inclusions.

  Most mobile plans that offer 0GB are classified as prepaid pay as you go mobile plans, and come with a set amount of calls and texts.

  The next cheapest plan comes from Moose for $8.80 a month with 1GB. You'll get 300 national minutes included and unlimited texts within Australia.

• Can I keep my phone number on a postpaid plan?

  Yup, you can switch providers or get a new phone plans and keep your phone number. There'll be an option to port your number when signing up to a new plan.

  Some providers have "data packs" you can purchase if you think you're going to run out of data for the month.

  Otherwise, providers will automatically charge you for extra data once you break your limit. These automatic add-ons are very poor value, usually around 1GB for $10.

  We recommend taking time to compare your options so you choose a plan that works for you, and have less chances of getting charged for going over your monthly data limit.

• How do bill payments for postpaid mobile plans work?

  There are 2 main ways that postpaid mobile bills are handled:

  • Manual. A bill will be sent to you at the end of each month that includes your plan fee and any other charges. You can usually pay by a variety of methods.
  • Automatic. Your bill will be automatically paid by direct debit or credit/debit card at the start or end of each month. Additional fees may be charged mid-month, or added to your end-of-month bill

To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Tim Bennett as part of our fact-checking process.

Written by

Mariam Gabaji

Utilities Editor & Tech Expert

Mariam Gabaji is a journalist with 13 years of experience, specialising in consumer topics like mobile services and energy costs. Her work appears in the ABC, Yahoo Finance, 9News, The Guardian, SBS, 7News, A Current Affair and Money Magazine. Mariam holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and was a finalist for the 2024 IT Journalism Award for Best Telecommunications Journalist. See full bio

Mariam's expertise

Mariam has written 316 Finder guides across topics including:

• Energy
• Mobile
• Broadband
• Consumer tech