Tangerine mobile plans: the best-value options compared

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Tangerine Telecom was founded in 2014 by two brothers who, in their words, decided that they had had enough of “internet complexity”. Now, more than ten years on, Tangerine offers a wide range of NBN and mobile plans to customers all over Australia.

There are many perks to Tangerine’s mobile plans, with one of the biggest being that it allows data banking. On its most basic plan with 12GB of included data, customers can bank up to a total of 500GB of data. This means if you don’t use the entire 12GB each month, it will continue to rollover, giving you more and more each month. Across all of its other plans, customers can save up to a huge 1000GB. Tangerine customers can also send and receive data gifts (minimum of 1GB and gifts are capped at 50% of your standard monthly data allowance). If you run out of data, you can also purchase more for $12.50 per 3GB and any unused extra data will be rolled over (up to the capped amount).

Another perk is Tangerine’s International Roaming Travel Packs that can be purchased by customers as a one off and used to access mobile service outside of Australia (in over 60 eligible countries.) There are three different data pack options available, starting from $35 and they all offer different life spans and amounts of data so you can choose the option that best suits your needs.

Tangerine also allows customers to bundle an NBN plan on top of their mobile plan and save an ongoing 10% on the total cost. So, if you’re in the market for both a new mobile and NBN plan, or if you’ve already got an NBN plan with Tangerine, you could save 10% per month by bundling the services.

Tangerine mobile plans comparison

Tangerine Telecom offers six prepaid mobile plans, starting from $22 per month. All plans offer access to parts of Telstra’s 5G network, and internet speeds are capped at 150Mbps, except for the most basic, 12GB plan which has a speed cap of 100Mbps. Here are the details and general pricing information (without a deal) for Tangerine’s prepaid plans:

What is Tangerine's mobile coverage?

Tangerine Telecom runs on Telstra’s Wholesale Network. Telstra’s network is the most expansive network in the country, covering 99.7% of Australia’s population, so unless you are located very rurally, you shouldn’t have any problems with coverage on a Tangerine mobile plan. To find out if your area is covered by the Telstra network, you can check Tangerine Telecom’s coverage map.

Are Tangerine's mobile plans good value?

Tangerine’s mobile plans are generally pretty good value, especially the plans that include decent amounts of data, because you end up paying a very competitive rate when you look at the cost per GB. Of the six prepaid mobile plans offered by Tangerine, we have chosen a couple that we recommend and others that we suggest you steer clear of if you are looking for the best-value mobile plan.

Recommended plans:

50GB Mobile Plan | $19p/m (for the first 4 months, then $38p/m) | 1 month expiry | 50GB
This plan is already pretty decent value, costing $38 per month for 50GB. With the current discount, you can get this plan for only $19 per month for the first four months which means you’re only paying $0.38 per GB.

80GB Mobile Plan | $22p/m (for the first 4 months, then $45p/m) | 1 month expiry | 80GB
With this plan you can get 80GB for only $22 for the first four months ,which is equal to $0.27 per GB. After the first four months you will be paying $45 per month, which is still a decent $0.56 per GB.

Plans to avoid:

12GB Mobile Plan | $22 | 1 month expiry | 12GB
12GB per month isn’t a lot of data and for $22 per month, it’s not really worth it, especially since Tangerine’s 25GB mobile plan is only an extra $7 per month and you get more than double the data allowance.

What is Tangerine's best mobile plan?

Everyone has different needs when it comes to mobile plans – and that makes the word ‘best’ somewhat subjective. That said, some plans are definitely better value than others, so we’ve carefully assessed Tangerine Telecom’s range of plans and compared them to find the one that we believe best suits the majority of people’s needs.

So, for the ‘best’ overall plan for most people, we’ve selected Tangerine’s 32GB Mobile Plan. This plan uses parts of Telstra’s 5G network and it comes with a very decent 32GB per month which should be enough for most people. Usually costing $33 per month, the current introductory discount means that you only have to pay $16.50 per month for the first four months. During the first four months, each GB will only cost you the equivalent of $0.51 which is very good value, and after the introductory offer you will be paying just over $1 per GB, which is still a decent price. Tangerine also allows for data banking of up to 1000GB so you can store any leftover data and save it for later. It’s also worth noting that you can save an extra 10% on your Tangerine mobile plan when you bundle it with a Tangerine NBN plan so you may be able to save a few extra dollars a month.

Should I sign up with Tangerine?

Here’s a breakdown of who we think would benefit from a Tangerine mobile plan and who should probably look elsewhere.

Reasons to sign up

You want to be on Telstra’s 5G network for less: Tangerine runs on Telstra’s network and all but one of its plans provide access to 5G, so if you want an affordable plan on Telstra’s 5G network, a Tangerine mobile plan may be a good option. You might not get the blistering fast speeds that full access to a 5G network provides, but it should be clearer of congestion.

You want to be able to rollover unused data: Not all mobile providers allow customers to rollover unused data so if data rollover is something you’re looking for, look no further. Tangerine allows customers to rollover between 500GB and 1000GB (depending on which plan you’re on) which means you no longer have to worry about wasted data and you can build up your data bank and save it for a rainy day.

Reasons not to sign up

You want a postpaid plan and/or want a plan with a device: Unfortunately Tangerine does not offer any postpaid plans so if you would prefer a postpaid plan or you want to bundle a plan with a mobile phone, you will have to go with another provider.

Tangerine mobile plans FAQs

Where can I get support from Tangerine?

Customers can call 1800 211 112 during support hours or use the Live Chat option on the Tangerine website for 24 hour technical support.

How can I check Tangerine’s service coverage in my area?

You can check to see if your area is covered by Tangerine’s service on its coverage map.

What is Tangerine’s cancellation policy?

All of Tangerine’s mobile plans are prepaid therefore there is no lock-in contract so you are free to cancel anytime without any cancellation fees.

Does Tangerine support eSIM?

Yes, all of Tangerine’s mobile plans are eSIM ready.

Does Tangerine offer data rollover?

Yes, Tangerine is also one of the telcos that allows customers to bank leftover data. On its most basic plan, its 12GB plan, customers can save up to 500GB of data and on all of its other plans, customers can save up to 1000GB.

Want to compare similar mobile plans from other providers? We also have a guide on the best value plans from Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Amaysim.

Amelia Hetherington
Ecommerce Editor

Amelia is an Ecommerce Editor at Getprice who specialises in hunting down great bargains and useful discount codes across a wide variety of products and retailers, curating gift guides for all occasions, and doing the maths to calculate the top-value mobile and internet plans for a variety of needs. Her goal is to help make finding the best online discounts as easy as possible. She loves writing about major deals and sales events to help you get the most bang for you buck at sales time.