Best cheap 365-day prepaid mobile plans for March 2026
We compared 51 long-expiry prepaid plans from 16 mobile providers across Australia and curated 6 top picks based on price, data, and expert analysis. Not every plan will suit your needs, so be sure to weigh your options before picking the one that's right for you.
Our top picks were reviewed by senior utilities editor Mariam Gabaji.
We compared 6–12 month long-expiry prepaid plans, depending on the category.For each plan, we considered the Finder Score alongside factors such as Finder Award wins and extra features like eSIM support and app availability.Network coverage, price and data allowance carry the most weight to ensure the plans are genuinely affordable — which is the main reason people choose long-expiry options in the first place.
Is a long-expiry prepaid plan worth it?
Long-expiry prepaid plans last between 90 and 365 days.
They’re well-suited for people who don’t mind paying upfront, know which network coverage works best for them and are fairly certain of how much data they need.
Here’s a quick pros and cons list if you’re still unsure:
Pros
Total yearly costs usually work out cheaper compared to a month-to-month plan.
You can set and forget about your mobile bills for up to a year.
Most plans let you use your data flexibly throughout the year - you can use less one month and more the next, and it'll balance out.
Cons
You need to pay the full amount upfront.
There's no option for a refund in case you're not happy with your service.
You'll need to recharge early if you aren't careful about your data use.
How do I find the best long-expiry prepaid plan?
Apart from the cost of the plan itself and your willingness to pay it upfront, you should consider some other key points before committing to a long-term plan:
Network
Figure out which network offers the best reception in your area before committing long-term. Telstra offers the widest coverage, and you're less likely to deal with reception issues than if you were to go with Optus or Vodafone. Plans on the Telstra network tend to cost a little more.
Consider expiry periods
Think about how long you're willing to commit to, whether that's for 90, 180 or 365 days. The longer you commit to it, the fewer times in the year you'll need to worry about recharging. Just keep in mind that if you choose to leave before your expiry period ends, you'll lose the money you paid upfront.
Data
Choose a data limit that matches your needs. Look at past bills or your account to see how much data you're currently using each month. When in doubt, add a some extra gigs on to how much data you think you'll use. You don't want to get stuck with not enough data after committing to a plan long term. Also keep in mind that some plans allocate monthly data limits. Reading the fine print before signing up!
"I used to be lazy and just top up my phone each month. I then realised that the monthly cost for a 365 day plan worked out to be far cheaper and I wouldn't exceed the data limit. The savings was $16 per month less than what I was paying, which meant I was able to reduce my phone bill by $192 a year."
Around 15 mobile providers in our database offer long-expiry prepaid plans.
Some popular ones include Everyday Mobile (Woolies), Coles Mobile, OnePass Mobile (formerly Catch Connect), amaysim, ALDI Mobile, Kogan Mobile, Boost Mobile, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.
Here’s a full list of mobile providers with long-expiry plans:
ALDI Mobile
amaysim
Boost
OnePass Mobile (formerly Catch Connect)
Coles Mobile
Everyday Mobile (Woolies)
Kogan
Konec
Lebara
Lyca Mobile
Optus
Telechoice
Telsim
Telstra
Vodafone
Compare all long-expiry plans to find the best pick for you
Want options beyond our curated selection of top picks? You'll find mobile plans with expiry periods between 90 and 365 days in the comparison table below.
There are a handful of providers that offer either unlimited international minutes to selected countries or an allocation of how many minutes you can use on your plan to any country. Make sure to compare features between providers and their plans before signing up if this is an important feature to you.
Yes, they're both the same. Some providers will refer to these as 12-month plans while others will call them 365-day prepaid plans.
Keep in mind that some providers do offer 12-month contracted SIM only plans. These are different as you pay for your mobile bill monthly (rather than all upfront like a 365-day prepaid plan) and exit fees usually apply.
Some providers do offer data banking as a feature on their 365-day plans. This can be unlimited or up to a certain limit. You'll just need to make sure to recharge your plan before it expires in order for the data to be rolled over.
If your 365-day prepaid mobile plan doesn't come with any data banking feature, you'll lose your unused data at the end of the expiry period.
Unfortunately you can't on a 365-day prepaid plan. Unlimited data mobile plans are generally uncommon anyway and only felix offers a month-to-month truly unlimited data plan though the caveat is 40Mbps download speed caps throughout.
No, there isn't. All SIM cards with data will eventually expire. The longest period to keep your plan running would be a 365-day prepaid mobile plan where you'll only need to recharge once a year.
Why compare mobile phone plans with Finder?
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Cause we all hate caps. Our goal is to bring you all the good stuff, and surface any hidden fees. So you can get back to the fun stuff, like gaming.
Tried and tested. We give these plans a run for their money and listen to the feedback of the millions of Aussies who have used our plans comparison.
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 and 2025 IT Journalism Award for Best Telecommunications Journalist.
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I intend to buy a prepaid mobile plan for 365 days. My present plan will end on 25/04/2019. Can I buy now and activate the SIM card nearer to the end date of my present plan?
Finder
MaiApril 10, 2019Finder
Hi John,
Thank you for reaching out to Finder.
There are SIM providers that may allow you to buy a SIM now and then activate on a later time. You may need to check this with the specific SIM provider whom you are considering to buy a prepaid SIM so you can be advised accordingly. This is normally applicable if you are to get a new mobile number. If you intend to port your number, you need to let the incoming provider know that you are planning to move your number and check their porting time frame so you can consider and check your options.
Hope this helps.
Kind Regards,
Mai
MattApril 12, 2017
Hello, great article, but it seems as though none of the pre-paid plans listed allow calls to be received when roaming internationally? What prepaid long expiry plans allow you to receive calls internationally?
Finder
HaroldApril 13, 2017Finder
Hi Matt,
Thank you for your inquiry.
Our company finder.com.au is a financial comparison website and general information service designed to help consumers to make a better decision. Please note we do not represent any company we feature on our pages.
On this article, you may need to contact the providers to inquiry if they have an offer to receive a call from overseas.
Cheers,
Harold
AldimobileNovember 15, 2016
Can these SIM cards be used in a Telstra mobile phone?
Finder
JasonNovember 15, 2016Finder
Hi Aldimobile,
Thank you for your enquiry.
You can use any of the SIM cards featured on this page if you have an unlocked mobile phone, however, you can only use a Telstra SIM card on a Telstra locked phone. You can get in touch with Telstra for assistance in unlocking your Telstra locked phone.
Pay as you go mobile plans are a great way to save money if you don't use your phone very often.
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I intend to buy a prepaid mobile plan for 365 days. My present plan will end on 25/04/2019. Can I buy now and activate the SIM card nearer to the end date of my present plan?
Hi John,
Thank you for reaching out to Finder.
There are SIM providers that may allow you to buy a SIM now and then activate on a later time. You may need to check this with the specific SIM provider whom you are considering to buy a prepaid SIM so you can be advised accordingly. This is normally applicable if you are to get a new mobile number. If you intend to port your number, you need to let the incoming provider know that you are planning to move your number and check their porting time frame so you can consider and check your options.
Hope this helps.
Kind Regards,
Mai
Hello, great article, but it seems as though none of the pre-paid plans listed allow calls to be received when roaming internationally? What prepaid long expiry plans allow you to receive calls internationally?
Hi Matt,
Thank you for your inquiry.
Our company finder.com.au is a financial comparison website and general information service designed to help consumers to make a better decision. Please note we do not represent any company we feature on our pages.
On this article, you may need to contact the providers to inquiry if they have an offer to receive a call from overseas.
Cheers,
Harold
Can these SIM cards be used in a Telstra mobile phone?
Hi Aldimobile,
Thank you for your enquiry.
You can use any of the SIM cards featured on this page if you have an unlocked mobile phone, however, you can only use a Telstra SIM card on a Telstra locked phone. You can get in touch with Telstra for assistance in unlocking your Telstra locked phone.
Cheers,
Jason