Optus prepaid mobile plans compared

Optus offers prepaid plans for customers who need service over periods as short as five days all the way up to a year.

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Alex Kidman is a multi-award-winning consumer technology journalist and the Tech & Telco Editor at finder.com.au. He's been writing about consumer technology topics for more than two decades.

Info last updated 20 Feb 2019.

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Telstra prepaid plans audited for accuracy, page reformatted.

20 Feb 2019

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Pros/Cons

What services does Optus Prepaid offer?

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 longer expiries along with data rollover, these plans are available in the following increments:

• Prepaid Epic Value $10: Unlimited talk and text, 500MB of data, 21 day expiry.
• Prepaid Epic Value $15: Unlimited talk and text, 500MB of data, 28 day expiry.
• Prepaid Epic Value $30: Unlimited talk and text, 2GB 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, 365 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.

What extras does Optus Prepaid Mobile offer?

Prepaid plans are usually relatively bare bones, with the best extras reserved for Optus contract customers. Optus is relatively generous in this regard, with a variety of extras, predominantly for customers on the Epic Data plans. They currently include extra data exclusively for streaming popular streaming TV services Netflix, Stan and ABC iview. Recharging an Epic plan within the expiry period also allows you to roll over any unused data quota up to a maximum of 50GB.

The Optus Prepaid Long Expiry Plan has a similar rollover feature, but rather than data, you can rollover unused credit up to $500 if you recharge within your expiry period.

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.

• Scan and Go Recharge

  Optus provides a system for fast, voucherless recharges at any 7-Eleven store nationwide. This involves setting up a dedicated QR code for your particular number, and then asking for a Scan and Go recharge instore. You scan the code, and it automatically applies the recharge to your prepaid account. You can find out more about Optus Scan and Go Recharge here.

• 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.

How to contact Optus