Planhacker: Every Australian iPhone 6 And 6 Plus Plan From Optus, Telstra, Virgin Mobile And Vodafone

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus can be pre-ordered now, and go on general sale from Friday 19 September. If you’re planning to buy on contract, we’ve rounded up every single one of the offers from Telstra, Vodafone, Virgin Mobile and Optus in an interactive spreadsheet and a series of tables so you can easily compare the total cost and features and choose the one that’s ideal for you.

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Given the high cost of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, many people will elect to buy on a contract. If you can afford to buy outright, you can take advantage of a cheaper prepaid deal and have more flexibility to switch phones or plans if you need to. We’ve done a separate in-depth analysis of whether that will save you money.

For reference, these are the outright prices from Apple:

Model Outright price
iPhone 6 16GB $869.00
iPhone 6 64GB $999.00
iPhone 6 128GB $1129.00
iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $999.00
iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $1129.00
iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $1249.00

[related title=”iPHONE 6″ tag=”iphone-6″ items=”4″]Below, we’ve outlined the consumer iPhone 6 plan deals currently on offer from the major Australian carriers (Optus, Telstra, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone), based on what they list on their sites. We’ll keep updating this post as additional plans are announced (we’ve added Optus’ iPhone 6 Plus deals and Vodafone’s sub-$60 deals since the original post went up). Demand is likely to be high for pre-orders and many models won’t ship on launch day. Then again, on a 24-month contract, what’s the rush?

For each carrier, we’ve highlighted the plan cost per month, the additional handset charge (if applicable) and the minimum total cost over the length of the contract. We’ve listed the amount of included data, what texts cost to Australian numbers if they’re not free, how much call credit is included and how many 2-minute calls to Australian numbers you can make on the plan. ((For unlimited, we’ve used the ∞ infinity symbol.)

We haven’t included any discounts you might receive for buying other services (such as landlines) from the same provider, or limited-time offers like bonus data in the table itself (but have mentioned them when relevant in the notes below). All the plans listed her are on 24-month contracts — some carriers will offer 12-month deals in store, but don’t list them online, and given the limited stock at launch, we suspect most will insist on 24 months even there.

After the discussion of each carrier, we’ve also included an interactive table listing all the plans so you can compare them more directly.

Optus

Provider Name Model Monthly Handset Term Min total Data (MB) Call credit Texts #2 min calls
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 16GB $100.00 $0.00 24 $2,400.00 5000
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 64GB $35.00 $30.00 24 $1,560.00 500 150
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 64GB $50.00 $25.00 24 $1,800.00 1000 300
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 64GB $60.00 $23.00 24 $1,992.00 2500
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 64GB $80.00 $6.00 24 $2,064.00 3000
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 64GB $100.00 $2.00 24 $2,448.00 5000
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 128GB $35.00 $35.00 24 $1,680.00 500 150
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 128GB $50.00 $30.00 24 $1,920.00 1000 300
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 128GB $60.00 $2.00 24 $1,488.00 2500
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 128GB $80.00 $11.00 24 $2,184.00 3000
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 128GB $100.00 $7.00 24 $2,568.00 5000
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $35.00 $30.00 24 $1,560.00 500 150
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $50.00 $25.00 24 $1,800.00 1000 300
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $60.00 $23.00 24 $1,992.00 2000
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $80.00 $6.00 24 $2,064.00 5000
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $100.00 $2.00 24 $2,448.00 8000
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $35.00 $35.00 24 $1,680.00 500 150
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $50.00 $30.00 24 $1,920.00 1000 300
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $60.00 $28.00 24 $2,112.00 2000
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $80.00 $11.00 24 $2,184.00 5000
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $100.00 $7.00 24 $2,568.00 8000
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $35.00 $40.00 24 $1,800.00 500 150
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $50.00 $35.00 24 $2,040.00 1000 300
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $60.00 $33.00 24 $2,232.00 2000
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $80.00 $15.00 24 $2,280.00 5000
Optus My Plan Plus iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $100.00 $11.00 24 $2,664.00 8000

Optus’ plan list originally only covered the 6; it belatedly released 6 Plus pricing, which we’ve added above, but isn’t offering pre-orders on that model. Optus quotes a total number of call minutes to Australian numbers rather than a dollar value for call credit. If you exceed data allowances, you’re charged a flat $10 for an additional GB of data. It offers trade-ins for old phones and up to $200 to help cover early exit charges if you switch from another network. It has temporarily upped the date allowances on its plans until 2 November; the $60 rises from 2000MB to 2500MB, the $80 from 3000MB to 5000MB, and the $1000 from 5000MB to 8000MB.

Telstra

Provider Name Model Monthly Handset Term Min total Data (MB) Call credit Texts #2 min calls
Telstra S iPhone 6 16GB $55.00 $22.00 24 $1,848.00 500 $550.00 231
Telstra M iPhone 6 16GB $70.00 $11.00 24 $1,944.00 1500 $700.00 294
Telstra L iPhone 6 16GB $95.00 $0.00 24 $2,280.00 2500 $950.00 399
Telstra XL iPhone 6 16GB $130.00 $0.00 24 $3,120.00 3000
Telstra S iPhone 6 64GB $55.00 $27.00 24 $1,968.00 500 $550.00 231
Telstra M iPhone 6 64GB $70.00 $16.00 24 $2,064.00 1500 $700.00 294
Telstra L iPhone 6 64GB $95.00 $0.00 24 $2,280.00 2500 $950.00 399
Telstra XL iPhone 6 64GB $130.00 $0.00 24 $3,120.00 3000
Telstra S iPhone 6 128GB $55.00 $32.00 24 $2,088.00 500 $550.00 231
Telstra M iPhone 6 128GB $70.00 $21.00 24 $2,184.00 1500 $700.00 294
Telstra L iPhone 6 128GB $95.00 $3.00 24 $2,352.00 2500 $950.00 399
Telstra XL iPhone 6 128GB $130.00 $2.00 24 $3,168.00 3000
Telstra S iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $55.00 $17.00 24 $1,728.00 500 $550.00 231
Telstra M iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $70.00 $16.00 24 $2,064.00 1500 $700.00 294
Telstra L iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $95.00 $0.00 24 $2,280.00 2500 $950.00 399
Telstra XL iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $130.00 $0.00 24 $3,120.00 3000
Telstra S iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $55.00 $32.00 24 $2,088.00 500 $550.00 231
Telstra M iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $70.00 $21.00 24 $2,184.00 1500 $700.00 294
Telstra L iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $95.00 $3.00 24 $2,352.00 2500 $950.00 399
Telstra XL iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $130.00 $2.00 24 $3,168.00 3000
Telstra S iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $55.00 $36.00 24 $2,184.00 500 $550.00 231
Telstra M iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $70.00 $25.00 24 $2,280.00 1500 $700.00 294
Telstra L iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $95.00 $8.00 24 $2,472.00 2500 $950.00 399
Telstra XL iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $130.00 $5.00 24 $3,240.00 3000

Telstra’s not afraid of big charges: its plans are already the most expensive in the market, and it’s matching those with the most expensive handset fees overall. On the S plan, you can choose either an additional 500MB of data or $500 in extra call credit; on the M and L plans, that choice is $1000 of call credits or 1000MB of data; on the XL, which has unlimited calls, it’s simply 1000MB of data. Excess data is charged at $0.03 per MB. Telstra offers up to $200 to help cover early exit charges if you switch from another network.

Virgin Mobile

Provider Name Model Monthly Handset Term Min total Data (MB) Call credit Texts #2 min calls
Virgin Mobile $30 Plan iPhone 6 16GB $30.00 $25.00 24 $1,320.00 300 $300.00 $0.28 127
Virgin Mobile $60 Plan iPhone 6 16GB $60.00 $14.00 24 $1,776.00 3000 $700.00 296
Virgin Mobile $80 Plan iPhone 6 16GB $80.00 $0.00 24 $1,920.00 5000
Virgin Mobile $30 Plan iPhone 6 64GB $30.00 $30.00 24 $1,440.00 300 $300.00 $0.28 127
Virgin Mobile $60 Plan iPhone 6 64GB $60.00 $19.00 24 $1,896.00 3000 $700.00 296
Virgin Mobile $80 Plan iPhone 6 64GB $80.00 $3.00 24 $1,992.00 5000
Virgin Mobile $30 Plan iPhone 6 128GB $30.00 $37.00 24 $1,608.00 300 $300.00 $0.28 127
Virgin Mobile $60 Plan iPhone 6 128GB $60.00 $23.00 24 $1,992.00 3000 $700.00 296
Virgin Mobile $80 Plan iPhone 6 128GB $80.00 $7.00 24 $2,088.00 5000
Virgin Mobile $30 Plan iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $30.00 $30.00 24 $1,440.00 300 $300.00 $0.28 127
Virgin Mobile $60 Plan iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $60.00 $19.00 24 $1,896.00 3000 $700.00 296
Virgin Mobile $80 Plan iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $80.00 $3.00 24 $1,992.00 5000
Virgin Mobile $30 Plan iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $30.00 $37.00 24 $1,608.00 300 $300.00 $0.28 127
Virgin Mobile $60 Plan iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $60.00 $23.00 24 $1,992.00 3000 $700.00 296
Virgin Mobile $80 Plan iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $80.00 $7.00 24 $2,088.00 5000
Virgin Mobile $30 Plan iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $30.00 $40.00 24 $1,680.00 300 $300.00 $0.28 127
Virgin Mobile $60 Plan iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $60.00 $27.00 24 $2,088.00 3000 $700.00 296
Virgin Mobile $80 Plan iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $80.00 $11.00 24 $2,184.00 5000

Virgin is owned by Optus and uses its network. It’s only offering the basic 6 for pre-order, and only on a selection of its plans, but pricing for the 6 Plus has been announced. Virgin charges excess data at $0.052 per MB. It is currently offering a bonus 2GB of data on all contract plans (that offer stops on 12 October).

Vodafone

Provider Name Model Monthly Handset Term Min total Data (MB) Call credit Texts #2 min calls
Vodafone $30 Plan iPhone 6 16GB $30.00 $30.00 24 $1,440.00 300 $300.00 $0.30 127
Vodafone $40 Plan iPhone 6 16GB $40.00 $21.00 24 $1,464.00 500 $400.00 169
Vodafone $50 Plan iPhone 6 16GB $50.00 $17.00 24 $1,608.00 1000 $500.00 211
Vodafone $60 Plan iPhone 6 16GB $60.00 $9.00 24 $1,656.00 1500 $700.00 296
Vodafone $70 Red iPhone 6 16GB $70.00 $4.00 24 $1,776.00 3000
Vodafone $80 Red iPhone 6 16GB $80.00 $0.00 24 $1,920.00 4000
Vodafone $100 Red iPhone 6 16GB $100.00 $0.00 24 $2,400.00 6000
Vodafone $30 Plan iPhone 6 64GB $30.00 $35.00 24 $1,560.00 300 $300.00 $0.30 127
Vodafone $40 Plan iPhone 6 64GB $40.00 $26.00 24 $1,584.00 500 $400.00 169
Vodafone $50 Plan iPhone 6 64GB $50.00 $22.00 24 $1,728.00 1000 $500.00 211
Vodafone $60 Plan iPhone 6 64GB $60.00 $14.00 24 $1,776.00 1500 $700.00 296
Vodafone $70 Red iPhone 6 64GB $70.00 $9.00 24 $1,896.00 3000
Vodafone $80 Red iPhone 6 64GB $80.00 $2.00 24 $1,968.00 4000
Vodafone $100 Red iPhone 6 64GB $100.00 $0.00 24 $2,400.00 6000
Vodafone $30 Plan iPhone 6 128GB $30.00 $41.00 24 $1,704.00 300 $300.00 $0.30 127
Vodafone $40 Plan iPhone 6 128GB $40.00 $32.00 24 $1,728.00 500 $400.00 169
Vodafone $50 Plan iPhone 6 128GB $50.00 $28.00 24 $1,872.00 1000 $500.00 211
Vodafone $60 Plan iPhone 6 128GB $60.00 $20.00 24 $1,920.00 1500 $700.00 296
Vodafone $70 Red iPhone 6 128GB $70.00 $14.00 24 $2,016.00 3000
Vodafone $80 Red iPhone 6 128GB $80.00 $8.00 24 $2,112.00 4000
Vodafone $100 Red iPhone 6 128GB $100.00 $0.00 24 $2,400.00 6000
Vodafone $70 Red iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $70.00 $9.00 24 $1,896.00 3000
Vodafone $80 Red iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $80.00 $2.00 24 $1,968.00 4000
Vodafone $100 Red iPhone 6 Plus 16GB $100.00 $0.00 24 $2,400.00 6000
Vodafone $70 Red iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $70.00 $14.00 24 $2,016.00 3000
Vodafone $80 Red iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $80.00 $8.00 24 $2,112.00 4000
Vodafone $100 Red iPhone 6 Plus 64GB $100.00 $0.00 24 $2,400.00 6000
Vodafone $70 Red iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $70.00 $19.00 24 $2,136.00 3000
Vodafone $80 Red iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $80.00 $12.00 24 $2,208.00 4000
Vodafone $100 Red iPhone 6 Plus 128GB $100.00 $3.00 24 $2,472.00 6000

Vodafone is only selling the iPhone 6 via presale, and only on its Red plans, but it will be available on its cheaper plans, albeit with higher handset charges. Only the 128GB model will ship on launch day, and in limited quantities; there will be a wait of 2-3 weeks on the smaller capacity models. You can opt to swap free texting for unlimited free calls to other Vodafone users on the non-Red plans. The 6 Plus will go on sale on 19 September in Vodafone stores but can’t be pre-ordered. Vodafone has temporarily upped the data allowance on the $80 Red plan to 5000MB and on the $100 plan to 8000MB, which matches Optus; that offer ends on 4 November.

Tables & Comparisons

Here’s the full table with all the iPhone 6/6 Plus plans so far. You can click on a column heading to sort or filter for specific download allowances, prices or companies. Click in the bottom-right corner for a maximised view.

As always, your choice of plan is likely to be heavily influenced by network availability where you live and work. However, given the amount of network-building activity all three carriers have done recently, you shouldn’t make assumptions on which networks work based on experiences from years ago. If you’re thinking of switching networks, find a friend or family member using that network and test how their phone works.

Conversely, if you’re planning to stay with the same carrier, ask them if they can sweeten the deal; it never hurts to ask. Again, though, given the initial short supply, it might not get you too far.

At launch, Telstra appears to have the widest range of handsets, and has been the only carrier to offer 6 Plus pre-orders. Supplies of the 6 Plus are clearly limited; even Telstra quotes a two to four week delay before delivery, and Optus didn’t announce its pricing until three days after pre-orders began.

The cheapest contract on offer here for an iPhone 6 (inevitably the 16GB) is Virgin’s $30 a month deal. The total cost there is $1440, but it offers a miserly 300MB of data. That goes up to a healthier 2300MB you switch networks and sign before 12 October — but note Optus customers aren’t eligible for that deal.

The costliest deal is Telstra’s XL plan with a 128GB iPhone Plus, which mounts up to $3240 over the lifespan of the contract. While that includes unlimited calls and texts, it only offers 3000MB of data — not a lot more than Virgin’s cheapest plan with bonus data. Telstra appears to have a monopoly on the 6 Plus at the moment, but that’s still a very big difference. If you want the Plus, waiting around for stock seems a sensible move (and even if you go with Telstra, you’ll be waiting a while).

Spotted another plan we’ve missed, or an error? (We try hard to avoid these, but mistakes happen.) Share your thoughts, corrections and preferred plans in the comments.

Lifehacker’s Planhacker column rounds up the best communication deals.


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