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If you’re looking to get an affordable mobile phone plan which allows you to stay on track with your phone usage, a prepaid mobile plan might be the best option for you. These allow you to use what you paid for and no more, ensuring that you don’t exceed your plan’s limits and avoid experiencing the financial shock of a bill which you can’t afford. Find out how to compare your prepaid mobile plan options and what to look for to get the best plan for your situation here.
A prepaid mobile plan is a type of mobile phone plan which you pay for upfront. As such, prepaid mobile plans that you will only use the features and limits you have paid for. Once your plan’s limits are reached, your services such as data or international roaming will end; this ensures that you will avoid any fees for excess usage. At this stage, you will need to recharge your current plan or switch to a new one. A prepaid mobile plan requires upfront payment and will provide you with the flexibility of having no contract. If you’re looking to be in control of your phone usage and spending, or are on a budget, a prepaid mobile plan may the best fit for you.
There are three options to choose from with prepaid plans: monthly plans, long-expiry plans or pay-as-you-go plans. Each serves a different purpose and has different benefits.
| Type of prepaid plan | Prepaid plan explained… |
|---|---|
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Monthly plan |
Monthly prepaid plans are the most common option. They come in 28 or 30-day periods. During this period, you will have your plan’s set limits – this may include limits on data or international roaming. After these limits are reached or your plan has expired, you will have to recharge to renew your prepaid mobile plan’s services. |
|
Long-expiry plan |
Long-expiry plans come in 90, 180 or 365-day prepaid plans. These plans give you greater limits to last longer durations and are usually far cheaper than monthly plans. However, it can often be difficult to budget your plan’s limits month to month as you’re given a lump sum of data at your plan’s commencing date. This makes it hard to ensure you don’t run out of data or other features well before the plan’s expiration. If you’re good at controlling your mobile phone usage, this could be the best and the cheapest prepaid option for you. |
|
Pay-as-you-go plan |
Pay-as-you-go plans are less common nowadays but involve an upfront payment towards credit for your plan. You may pay for $15 worth of credit, as well as any calls or messages made, and any data used will be charged to your plan’s credit. Once your plan’s credit has run out, you will need to recharge your credit to keep using your phone’s services. The rates charged for calls, messages and data used will vary so check with your provider. This plan best suits those who are very rare users of their mobile phones. If you’re a regular mobile phone user, the value offered by pay-as-you-go plans is very poor and you should choose another option. |
Prepaid plans are designed to be more basic than post-paid plans and will usually offer less features or lower limits than post-paid plans. The features of your prepaid mobile plan depend largely on the type and price of the plan you opt for.
Your prepaid mobile plan’s features can include:
Features specific to prepaid mobile plans include:
| What to compare | Why you should compare it |
|---|---|
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Cost of prepaid mobile plan |
When considering your prepaid mobile plan options, compare a wide range of plans at different prices to get a feel for what suits you. The more expensive plans will include more extensive features with higher usage limits, while cheaper plans will provide more basic mobile phone features with lower usage limits. |
|
Data limits |
It’s important you compare the data limits of prepaid mobile plans as what’s included will vary significantly. If you rarely use data, you can compare your options with prepaid plans which offer minimal data. On the contrary, if you rely heavily on data, you can find and compare plans which offer high data limits or even unlimited data. Always ensure that your data needs are met by your prepaid mobile plan, as running out of data before the end of your plan could leave you at a significant disadvantage. |
|
Type of prepaid plan |
Consider the most suitable type of prepaid plan to your needs and budget. A monthly expiry plan is the most common option and will provide you with monthly limits on features like data. This could better suit a regular phone user and it’s easy to manage your usage. Long-expiry plans will reduce the number of payments you have to make on your plan. You will get all your features and greater limits but they have to be budgeted as they need to last a longer duration. If you don’t use your phone often, a long-expiry plan such as a 365-day prepaid plan can prove cheap and may suit you. Pay-as-you-go plans are the least common option, but can serve you well if you’re a very irregular phone user who is after a cheap prepaid option. |
|
Data rollover |
Data rollover is a feature which can prove very beneficial to your data needs. While it’s a feature which isn’t offered by all plans, you should try to find and compare plans which include data rollover, especially if you’re a high-data user. |
|
Added extras |
While extra features are less common under prepaid plans, there are inclusions which can provide your plan with better value. These can include data-free music or video streaming which is included under certain prepaid plans. In addition, many prepaid plans will offer bonus data or promotions where you can get a half-priced prepaid plan as a new customer. |
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Your choice of a budget provider or one of the larger premium mobile plan providers will contribute to the cost of your plan. Budget providers will offer you cheaper plans that can still bring value to their users, while larger premium providers usually have more expensive plans but can have better coverage and customer service to support your mobile phone needs.
Some prepaid plans may have a data limit as small as 1GB while others could provide unlimited data. This will be one of the main contributors to the cost of your prepaid mobile plan. The less data you require, the cheaper your plan will be.
International roaming is another feature which will increase the cost of your prepaid plan. Under the most expensive prepaid plans, international roaming allowances will provide the highest usage limits. If you want to reduce the cost of your prepaid plan, consider choosing a plan without an international roaming package.
Major providers will often offer features such as data-free music and video streaming under prepaid mobile plans. These features are usually provided under the more expensive options, but you may be able to find cheaper providers who offer these features also.
Most prepaid mobile plans will expire after 28 or 30 days. If you choose a 28-day expiry, you will pay for 13 monthly plans across a year. Alternatively, choosing a 30-day expiry will result in the payment of 12 monthly plans. In addition, there are recharge periods of 90 to 365 days available. These options are less common but could reduce the cost of your prepaid plan across the year if you’re willing to budget your phone usage.
As opposed to a post-paid plan, a prepaid plan offers flexibility with an array of options from monthly prepaid plans to 365-day prepaid plans which all offer different payment cycles.
Prepaid plans have no lock-in contracts. This allows you to change between plans at your convenience. If you find you’re not happy with your current plan or provider, you can quickly move on to find a better fit for you without any cancellation fees.
Once your phone credit or data has expired, you will be required to recharge to continue using your phone’s services. This will prevent you from using more than your limits and facing the added charges at the end of the month.
Phone plans only come with an accompanying post-paid plan for the sim card. The only way to get a phone and a pre-paid plan together is to buy your phone outright.
Once your limits for data or other features are reached, your service is ended until your next recharge. This can be problematic in many situations, such as if you’re low on money and don’t have funds to recharge at that moment in time.
Pre-paid mobile plans often offer less features than post-paid plans. This could be lower data limits, no international roaming and less added extras.
Data isn’t always a necessity and people will often pay more than they need to for a prepaid plan with data they won’t use. Make sure you figure out how much data you truly need to find the right prepaid plan for you and to save money.
Long-expiry prepaid plans are usually the cheapest option across a year. You can get long expiry plans which last 90 days through to 365 days. 28 or 30-day plans are most common but will often cost significantly more over the course of a year.
Providers will regularly offer discounts or promotions on prepaid mobile plans. You will find you can get bonus data regularly with certain providers or monthly discounts on your first three or six monthly recharges. In addition, make sure you regularly shop around to find better prepaid mobile deals. Cheap data is becoming the norm and you will find bargain prepaid mobile plans with ever-increasing data limits.
Disclaimer:
Savvy is partnered with Econnex Comparison (CIMET Sales Pty Ltd, ABN 72 620 395 726) to provide readers with a variety of mobile phone plans to compare. We do not compare all retailers in the market, or all plans offered by all retailers. Savvy earns a commission from Econnex each time a customer buys a mobile phone plan via our website. We don’t arrange for products to be purchased directly, as all purchases are conducted via Econnex.
Any advice presented above is general in nature and doesn’t consider your personal or business objectives, needs or finances. It’s always important to consider whether advice is suitable for you before purchasing a mobile phone plan. For further information on the variety of mobile phone plans compared by Econnex, or how their business works, you can visit their website.
Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd (ABN 78 660 493 194) trades as Savvy and operates as an Authorised Credit Representative 541339 of Australian Credit Licence 414426 (AFAS Group Pty Ltd, ABN 12 134 138 686). We are one of Australia’s leading financial comparison sites and have been helping Australians make savvy decisions when it comes to their money for over a decade.
We’re partnered with lenders, insurers and other financial institutions who compensate us for business initiated through our website. We earn a commission each time a customer chooses or buys a product advertised on our site, which you can find out more about here, as well as in our credit guide for asset finance. It’s also crucial to read the terms and conditions, Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or credit guide of our partners before signing up for your chosen product. However, the compensation we receive doesn’t impact the content written and published on our website, as our writing team exercises full editorial independence.
For more information about us and how we conduct our business, you can read our privacy policy and terms of use.
© Copyright 2024 Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd T/as Savvy. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 2024 Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd T/as Savvy. All Rights Reserved.
Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd (ABN 78 660 493 194) trades as Savvy and operates as an Authorised Credit Representative 541339 of Australian Credit Licence 414426 (AFAS Group Pty Ltd, ABN 12 134 138 686). We are one of Australia’s leading financial comparison sites and have been helping Australians make savvy decisions when it comes to their money for over a decade.
We’re partnered with lenders, insurers and other financial institutions who compensate us for business initiated through our website. We earn a commission each time a customer chooses or buys a product advertised on our site, which you can find out more about here, as well as in our credit guide for asset finance. It’s also crucial to read the terms and conditions, Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or credit guide of our partners before signing up for your chosen product. However, the compensation we receive doesn’t impact the content written and published on our website, as our writing team exercises full editorial independence.
For more information about us and how we conduct our business, you can read our privacy policy and terms of use.