If you’re after a mobile plan that is budget friendly and costs under $20 per month, we’re here to help.
While there’s a decent range of providers offering plans at this price point, your choices are more limited and you won’t be able to get a month-to-month plan directly from one of the big three providers – Telstra, Optus or Vodafone. However, there are still cheap plans that let you use the Telstra 5G network, so even at $20 you won’t necessarily be sacrificing coverage.
The main limitation with plans under $20 per month is the amount of data you get. While some providers offer introductory deals where you’ll receive extra data for the first few months or recharges, outside of this, the most on offer is 25GB per month… and there’s a slight technicality to this too, as it depends on an introductory discount.
The 'average' mobile plan under $20
To help provide some context on what represents a good deal under $20, we crunched the numbers to figure out what an average under-$20 plan looks like when it comes to cost and data allowance.
- Average price: $15.42
- Average monthly data: 18.05
- Average cost per GB: $1.09
To select the best-value plans under $20, we compared options in the $15-$20 range from over a dozen major Australian providers, and earmarking any that sat in a sweet spot in terms of price, data allowance, network coverage and additional features like data banking. We included plans with introductory discounts (or other bonuses in this process (even if that meant a later price increase to above $20), but only on the strict condition that the average monthly price for the first year remained under $20 (or $240 in total).
From our personal perspective, a year is the minimum amount of time we'd want to put between switching phone providers. At this point you'll also have had plenty of time to decide if the ongoing extra cost is worth paying... or if it's time to find a better new deal from another telco instead.
On to the picks!
Best mobile plan under $20 overall
Best big-data mobile plan under $20
Best 5G mobile plan under $20
Best mobile plan under $20 on the Telstra network
Other noteworthy plans under $20
In addition to the Spintel plan mentioned above, there are two other plans in this price point that we think are worth mentioning.
- iiNet 25GB Mobile Plan: This plan is currently only $12.50 per month for the first six months and then $25 per month thereafter. While it’s more expensive than the Spintel plan for the first year ($225) it’s cheaper for the first six months with the current introductory discount so you will save an extra few dollars if you’re willing to look for a cheaper plan and switch after the first six months. This plan also comes with 25GB of data per month and it runs on the Vodafone 4G network.
- TPG 25GB Small Plan: TPG owns iiNet so it's no surprise that TPG's 25GB plan is the same price and comes with the same amount of data as the iiNet plan above, costing a total of $225 over the first year for 25GB per month. It also runs on the Vodafone 4G mobile network.
How to find the best plans under $20
If you are looking for a plan under $20 per month, there are some tips and tricks you can use ensure you find the best plan for your needs.
1. Know your data needs. The key first step to finding an appropriate mobile plan is figuring out how much data you need. Dig into your phone’s settings or your current provider’s usage-monitoring tools to figure out how much you use on average per month, then use that figure to find a plan that provides at least that amount.
2. Do you need 5G? At this price point, only a few plans offer 5G, and with the smaller amount of data on offer, having the absolute top speeds available probably isn’t necessary. Most cheaper 4G plans still offer at least 100Mbps downloads – or faster than many Australian’s home broadband connections.
3. Be wary of introductory discounts. Deals that offer an initial (e.g. for the first 6 months) discount or extra data can be tempting, but you should always carefully check the costs after these discounts end. Many current “under $20” plan deals see their costs double after a discount period ends – meaning you can end up paying up to $40 a month in the long term.
4. Data rollover can be a lifesaver. If you find your usage fluctuates from month to month, choosing a plan that allows you to rollover unused data to use at a later date is a great feature to have. A lot of providers allow you to ‘bank’ your data on prepaid plans if you recharge before the plan expires, so you can save up your data for when you need it.
5. Plan renewal periods can be deceptive. A lot of prepaid plans operate on a 28 days renewal cycle, but unless there’s a very good deal, we’d generally opt for a 30-day or monthly plan instead. The reason for this is simple: a 28 day plan can actually end up costing you more because they need to be recharged 13 times per year instead of 12.
Compare more plans under $20
If you’re willing to spend a bit more, we also have guides for best mobile plans under $30 per month. and best mobile plans under $50 per month.
FAQs
Do any mobile plans under $20 include 5G?
Yes, a number of providers (such as Moose Mobile on Optus and Boost on Telstra) offer plans that cost under $20 per month and include 5G network access.
Is mobile coverage worse with cheaper providers?
Generally speaking, no – and when it is, it’s largely in very remote areas. There are only three cellular network providers in Australia (Telstra, Optus and Vodafone) which means that every telco, small or large, is essentially just reselling access to one of these three networks. While the ‘wholesale’ networks that smaller carriers are given access to can offer slightly less coverage than the ‘full’ Telstra, Optus or Vodafone network, in most instances that won’t be noticeable. For example, the population coverage for Telstra’s full vs wholesale network is 99.6% vs 98.8%, with most of the difference stemming from remote rural areas.
