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We've analysed the most important features of Telstra, Optus and Vodafone's prepaid plans to help make your mind for you.
The three providers offer a surprisingly small number of regular prepaid plans between them. Fortunately, they fall at roughly the same price points, so we've grouped them accordingly to make comparison of their data allowances quick and easy.
| Provider | $30 | $40 | $50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telstra [Prepaid Complete] | 8GB (+17GB on first 3 recharges) | 18GB (+17GB on first 3 recharges) | N/A |
| Vodafone [Combo Plus] | 10GB (+15GB with automatic recharge) | 20GB (+25GB with automatic recharge) | 30GB (+25GB with automatic recharge) |
| Optus [Epic Data] | 10GB (+25GB on first 3 recharges) | 20GB (+25GB on first 3 recharges) | 30GB (+25GB on first 3 recharges) |
Winner for data allowances: VodafoneWhen you sign up to a plan with one of the three big telecommunications companies, you'll get access to a number of other features or extras that are automatically included or can be tacked on. Here's what each offers with their prepaid plans.
Winner for extra features: TelstraComparing coverage between the big three providers can be done, but keep in mind that unless you're in a remote rural or regional area, the actual service variation you're likely to run into is minimal.
Telstra's network reaches the furthest, servicing 99.5% of Australians right across the country. However, if you're accessing its network through an MVNO, be aware that you'll probably only be able to access its wholesale network, which covers only 98.8% of the population. The other providers offer their full network to MVNOs.
You can check out an overview of Telstra's coverage map below, with 3G areas shown in dark blue, 4G in green and 5G areas in purple.
Telstra also has the most established 5G network of the three, already offering some 5G trials to customers with compatible devices in serviced metro areas. For a closer look at whether you are located within Telstra's service area, check out its coverage map here.
Vodafone's network services 22 million Australians with its 4G network. It's the last of the three to roll out its 5G network.
Unfortunately Vodafone's coverage map doesn't have a full country view of its coverage areas, so to see if you're within their network, enter your address into its map for full details. The above areas in pink are Vodafone's 4G spots, with green showing their 3G areas.
With the second-largest network of the three, Optus covers around 98.5% of the Australian population with 3G and 4G. In recent years, it's focussed on bringing its network to underserviced regional areas that would typically have been the domain of Telstra. You can see in Optus' coverage map below that while they do service a larger portion of the country than Vodafone, Telstra is still covering a greater area, especially in less populated areas of Australia. Only Optus' 3G and 4G areas are shown in the map below.
Optus has begun its 5G network rollout, which is available to some customers in the metro areas it covers. For more information on Optus' mobile network coverage, take a look at their coverage map.
Winner for coverage: TelstraLong expiry plans are designed for people who don't use their mobile phones very often. Most work on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model, where you load up a SIM with long expiry credit. Then, charges are deducted from this credit for each minute of calls, texts sent and unit of data consumed.
Telstra has two types of long expiry plans. One of them is the "Long Life Plus" prepaid SIM that operates on PAYG with 6 months of expiry where you choose between $20, $40 or $150 of credit. The other two are regular prepaid plans:
Since call rates matter, here's what Telstra charges for usage on long expiry:
Vodafone offers "Pay and Go" long expiry SIMs with two expiry periods that work on a PAYG model. You can get $30 of credit that lasts 180 days, or you can get a full 365 days expiry with $40 or $50 of starting credit.
Here are Vodafone's talk and text rates:
Optus has three plans that qualify as long expiry. One is its prepaid "Epic Value" plan where you get 60GB of data for $180 that lasts 365 days, plus unlimited talk and text.
Beyond that it has two models of long expiry. The first is "Daily Plus", where you buy a certain amount of credit and then deduct $2 for every day you use the service (up to 500MB per day of data). You can buy $30 of Daily Plus credit with a 186-day expiry.
The second is the more common PAYG system. Purchase $30, $40 or $50 of credit and enjoy a 186-day expiry period.
Here are Optus' PAYG rates:
Winner for long expiry plans: VodafoneWant to take your data and make calls overseas? All three big carriers have international roaming options available. Just be aware that in many situations, you'll be better off avoiding roaming and going with an alternative, such as purchasing a local SIM at your destination.
With Telstra, roaming operates on a system called the "International Day Pass". For this, you'll pay $10 per day in an eligible country ($5 in New Zealand). In return, you receive unlimited calls and SMS, plus 500MB of data daily. Telstra has a long list of eligible countries for travellers.
Vodafone plans have a "$5 roaming" feature. Rather than burning through roaming credit, you can get access to your regular data and call inclusions in eligible countries for $5 a day.
There are 84 eligible countries, and you can keep $5 a day roaming running for a maximum of 90 days per year.
Optus handles data roaming on prepaid plans using an add on. You can purchase $20 of data roaming, which gives you:
Optus also offers something called "Travel Credit" which can also be used for international talk, text and roaming, but which is lower value for roaming specifically.
Winner for prepaid data roaming: Optus
In almost every category, Vodafone has the best value prepaid plans, from data allowances to long expiry plans and more. That being said, Telstra comes out on top if price isn't a major factor for you - giving you unparalleled coverage and a whole load of extra features, which you won't get with Vodafone.
Keep in mind that the best provider for you will depend entirely upon your individual circumstances, and the previous judgment is simply a general evaluation of the value each provider offers.
To narrow down plans from a specific provider, just click on the "filter results" button and choose between Telstra, Optus or Vodafone.
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