SIM-Only Mobile Phone Plans & BYO Phone Plans

SIM-only mobile phone plans (also known as BYO or bring your own phone plans) are a great way to keep connected on your phone, without needing to buy an entirely new handset. These days, almost all telco providers in Australia offer SIM-only mobile phone plans with no lock-in contracts, many with generous data inclusions and additional features such as international calling, unlimited text, and data rollover. If you have a phone you already like, and want a flexible mobile plan to suit your needs, keep reading below to compare SIM-only mobile plans in Australia.

What is a SIM-Only Mobile Phone Plan?

If you already have a phone you love, or would prefer to buy one outright and not worry about paying it back, a SIM-only phone plan is the plan for you. Instead of getting a new handset, you’ll have a SIM card delivered to your home, which can be inserted into any unlocked phone and easily activated online.

SIM-only mobile phone plans come with many different features and inclusions, so it’s important when comparing mobile plans to consider your phone habits.

1. Prepaid or postpaid: These days, most prepaid and postpaid mobile phone plans are pretty similar, but if you want to be sure you’re not going to get hit with excess usage charges, a prepaid mobile phone plan might be a better choice.
2. Data allowance: Knowing how much data you use monthly is important. You don’t want to worry about running out before the end of the month, but you also don’t want to be paying for more data than you need.
3. Calls & text: Most plans these days have unlimited standard AU calls and text, but if you do a lot of international calling, there are a lot of plans with unlimited international calls to certain countries.

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Prepaid SIM-Only Mobile Phone Plans

Prepaid mobile phone plans are plans that you pay in advance for the service, which means you don’t need to worry about paying for excess data usage. You pay a certain amount every expiry period, and will need to recharge one that billing period expires or you use up all your data.

Prepaid plans (not to be confused with pay-as-you-go) can have different expiry periods. The typical plans usually have either a 7 or 10 day expiry period, a monthly expiry period of 28 to 35 days, or a long-expiry period which can be anywhere from 90 days to 365 days.

Below you can find some of the best prepaid mobile plans. 

Month-to-Month Postpaid SIM-Only Mobile Phone Plans

Unlike prepaid mobile phone plans, where you pay for the service upfront, postpaid (or month-to-month) phone plans are paid at the end of your billing period, based on your usage. Here are some postpaid month-to-month SIM-only plans below.

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Want a New Phone? Discover where to find the latest iPhone in Australia, or find more budget-friendly devices from some of the biggest manufacturers.

Cheap SIM-Only Plans in Australia

SIM-only mobile phone plans can be expensive, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find a cheap mobile plan to fit your budget. With plans under $30, you can generally get between 8GB and 25GB of data per month, usually with unlimited standard national calls and text.

If you’re not someone who uses their phone often, particularly data, you might want to consider a SIM-only plan under $20. These mobile plans generally only come with 1GB of data but usually include unlimited standard national calls and text, but if you’re not a big mobile data user, why pay more for something you don’t use frequently?

SIM-Only Mobile Phone Plans with Unlimited Data

Good news for those of us who use our phones for everything - Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone now offer unlimited data on their postpaid mobile phone plans. The basic idea of these unlimited data plans is that you buy your plan like normal, with a full-speed data allowance. If that data runs out, you can continue to use your phone at a reduced download speed.

By Savannah Walker

Energy & Telecom SEO Specialist

Savannah is our website & content expert for the Australian energy and telecom market.