Planhacker: Every Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Contract Plan [Updated]

Samsung’s latest phablet, the Galaxy Note 4, won’t go on sale until 5 November, but you can pre-order it now. We’ve rounded up every contract plan it’s offered on so you can choose the best option for you.

Samsung recently delayed the launch of the Note 4 down under by a week (it was originally due 29 October), but carriers have already begun offering the device for pre-order on contract. This isn’t necessarily the best way to buy a phone: making an outright purchase and then using prepaid often works out cheaper. However, if you don’t want to pay the $949 official price, then a contract may be the way to go.

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.

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.

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 Monthly Handset Term Min total Data (MB) Call credit Texts #2 min calls
Optus My Plan Plus $35.00 $27.00 24 $1,488.00 500 Unlimited 150
Optus My Plan Plus $50.00 $20.00 24 $1,680.00 1000 Unlimited 300
Optus My Plan Plus $60.00 $17.00 24 $1,848.00 2500 Unlimited Unlimited
Optus My Plan Plus $80.00 $0.00 24 $1,920.00 3000 Unlimited Unlimited
Optus My Plan Plus $100.00 $0.00 24 $2,400.00 5000 Unlimited Unlimited

Optus is only offering $0 repayments on the $80 plan until 4 November. Until 2 November, it has temporarily upped the date allowances on its plans; the $60 rises from 2000MB to 2500MB, the $80 from 3000MB to 5000MB, and the $1000 from 5000MB to 8000MB.

Telstra

Provider Name Monthly Handset Term Min total Data (MB) Call credit Texts #2 min calls
Telstra S $55.00 $22.00 24 $1,848.00 500 $550.00 Unlimited 231
Telstra M $70.00 $12.00 24 $1,968.00 1500 $700.00 Unlimited 294
Telstra L $95.00 $0.00 24 $2,280.00 2500 $950.00 Unlimited 399
Telstra XL $130.00 $0.00 24 $3,120.00 3000 Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited

Telstra was the last to offer Note 4 pre-orders, with its plans only going on sale on 27 October. It is the only carrier offering the Bronze Gold model, if that matters to you.

Vodafone

Provider Name Monthly Handset Term Min total Data (MB) Call credit Texts #2 min calls
Vodafone $30 Plan $30.00 $30.00 24 $1,440.00 300 $300.00 $0.30 127
Vodafone $40 Plan $40.00 $26.00 24 $1,584.00 500 $400.00 Unlimited 169
Vodafone $50 Plan $50.00 $22.00 24 $1,728.00 1000 $500.00 Unlimited 211
Vodafone $60 Plan $60.00 $18.00 24 $1,872.00 1500 $700.00 Unlimited 296
Vodafone $70 Red $70.00 $10.00 24 $1,920.00 3000 Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Vodafone $80 Red $80.00 $6.00 24 $2,064.00 4000 Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Vodafone $100 Red $100.00 $4.00 24 $2,496.00 6000 Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited

Until 4 November, Vodafone has temporarily upped the data allowance on the $80 Red plan to 5000MB and on the $100 plan to 8000MB (matching the offer from Optus at those price points).

Tables & Comparisons

Here’s the full table with all the Galaxy Note 4 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.

Buying on contract with cheap plans is a waste of money — the Vodafone $30 plan and $40 plans, the Optus $35 plan and the Telstra S plan are bad value, since the handset charges are so high. The difference in cost between those and the next plans is very slight. As ever, Telstra’s plans are considerably more expensive relative to the amount of data you receive.

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.

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