There was a time when we thought of prepaid plans as the domain of children and drug dealers, but thanks to a bevy of tiny telcos offering great prepaid rates, the market for these no commitment SIMs is heating up. Here are our picks for prepaid plans with the longest expiry, 10GB of data and under $30 per month.
Prepaid plans and monthly SIM Only plans look so alike nowadays, that it’s barely worth trying to categorise them separately. Some of the telcos don’t even bother. Amaysim is an example, offering a single range of plans and it’s up to you whether you prepay or whether you receive a bill at the end of the month.
There are two important differences to keep in mind, though. Firstly, if you’re using a prepaid plan and you reach your data limit for the month, the service cuts out until you recharge. With postpaid plans, when you reach your data limit, most providers will add $10 to your bill for the month and add 1GB to your data pool. There are pros and cons with both, but many will know the pain of an auto data top-up hitting your account the day before the end of your monthly billing cycle.
Secondly, some prepaid plans have 28 days expiry, and while this might sound a lot like a month, it’s obviously a few days short. Over a full year, those extra days add up to a whole extra month you need to pay for. Depending on the plan you pick, this might negate any monthly savings you might have expected.
Prepaid plans with 10GB or more
See, what did I tell you? Prepaid plans look just like regular phone plans, but for the commitment-phobic. Some of these plans even come with extra perks beyond the big data inclusions, too. Aldi Mobile, Woolworths, Lebara, and TPG all include international calls. Virgin and Aldi both offer data rollover, and OVO has a unique app where customers can watch unmetered streams of a number of sports, including V8 Supercars.
Prepaid plans for under $30
If you’re only a budget, there are still plenty of good options for about $30 per recharge. You might miss out on some of the extras you get if you pay a bit more, though, Woolworths and Amaysim are still generous if you want to call overseas.
Prepaid with long-expiry
So, we’re back to kids and drug dealers territory. Though there won’t be too many interested in plans like this for ourselves, we all know someone who just needs a phone to start connected.
The Amaysim and Aldi plans are the best by far, with full 365 day credit expiry, 12c per minute calls and 12c SMS. Optus isn’t too shabby either, with 186 day expiry, 20c calls and 20c SMS.
Joe Hanlon is Publisher at WhistleOut, Australia’s phone and internet comparison website. He’s been writing about phones and plans for far too long.
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