Prepaid plans are a great way to manage your budget – no bill shock, regular payments, low commitment.
Optus prepaid plans, especially, are hugely varied, offering something for everyone. Whether you want to top up daily, monthly or yearly, you'll find a plan that suits you with the 'Yes' network.
Optus prepaid plans
Optus has six different prepaid plans. Three have a 28-day renewal, two are long-expiry, and the last is a seven-day short expiry plan.
Optus prepaid plans all come with some kind of inclusion for international calls and/or texts, but just how much depends on the plan. All plans also let you roll over up to 200GB of unused data, as long as you maintain an active recharge or auto recharge.
The 28-day plans are probably what most people are looking for. These plans come with bonus data for the first three recharges after signing up as a new customer, after which the data inclusions drop fairly significantly. This is fairly common in the prepaid market, but there are also plenty of providers that don't use this tactic.
Less common is the lack of a 5G speed cap on Optus' 28-day plans. Most providers cap speeds between 100Mbps and 250Mbps, plan depending. And if you sign up to auto-recharge, you get access to Unlimited Data Weekends.
Here's a look at Optus' 28-day plans:
The long-expiry plans range from 186 days to 365 days. They have a 5G speed cap of 250Mbps, and you get a little bit of bonus data if you sign up to auto-recharge.
These plans have bonus data for the first recharge, after which there's a steep drop in allowance. As with the 28-day plans, this is a common but not universal feature of long-expiry prepaid plans.
Short-expiry plans aren't particularly popular, as their data-to-dollar value is pretty bad. And Optus' seven-day SIM is no different.
But if you're keen on a week-long recharge, this plan has a 5G speed cap of 250Mbps and comes with 50 standard international SMS. You also get 5GB of bonus data with auto-recharge, which actually doubles your allowance.
These plans can be useful SIM cards for tourists in Australia who only need a short period of coverage.
All these options also come with the option to add on extras like Optus' international roaming and Travel Credits.
Optus prepaid coverage
Whether you choose an Optus mobile plan that's postpaid or prepaid, you'll get the same coverage. The Optus network covers 99.1% of the population with 4G and 94.5% with 5G, with a total footprint of 1.2 million square kilometres. Thanks to a network sharing agreement, this is almost identical to the Vodafone network.
It's harder to compare Optus to Telstra. The latter has recently stopped reporting on population coverage and no longer publishes data that distinguishes between its 4G and 5G networks. The 4G footprint of the full Telstra network is definitely larger, at a huge 2.14 million square kilometres. And the Telstra Wholesale network covers 1.4 million with 4G. But as for 5G, there's little to go on.
| Network | 4G coverage | 5G coverage | Network Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telstra network* | N/A | N/A | 2.14 mil square km |
| Telstra Wholesale network | N/A | N/A | 1.4 mil square km |
| Optus network | 99.1% | 94.5% | 1.2 million square km |
| Vodafone network | 99% | 94.5% | 1.2 million square km |
Numbers shown are a percentage of the Australian population.
*Telstra no longer provides population-based coverage figures. Boost Mobile is the only Telstra MVNO with access to the full Telstra network.
Optus prepaid alternatives
If you're keen on the Optus network, but not necessarily wedded to Optus itself, you may want to consider looking to Optus MVNOs as an alternate source for cheap prepaid plans.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) are small providers that buy capacity on the Optus network and resell it for cheap. Most MVNOs offer no-frills services at a lower rate than the Big Three telcos, which is achievable by saving on overheads.
Optus MVNOs use the entire Optus network, so going for a smaller provider will get you a similar experience but potentially at a much lower cost. The only differences you might see are to do with 4G and speed.
Many MVNOs limit their cheapest plans to 4G and enforce speed caps on their 5G plans. But these caps are usually 100Mbps, 150Mbps, or 250Mbps, depending on the plan. Those speeds are all fast enough to run many medium-sized households, so don't let it deter you.
Below are the cheapest plans from each Optus provider in our database, with Optus included for comparison:
|
OnePass mobile
28 Day Plan - 22GB
$12.50
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
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Yomojo
Starter 29GB Plan
$24.90
Per 30 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
|
Coles Mobile
Prepaid $25 for 28 Days
$25.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
|
amaysim
UNLIMITED 15GB Plan
$30.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
|
SpinTel
Editor's Pick
$23 Mobile Plan
$12.00/mth
Min. cost $12
|
|
Dodo
Small Mobile Plan
$25.00/mth
Min. cost $25
|
|
Aussie Broadband
Saver 5G SIM Plan
$30.00/mth
Min. cost $30
Link not supplied
|
|
Coles Mobile
$35 Mobile Plan
$35.00/mth
Min. cost $12
Link not supplied
|
|
Optus
$60 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$39.00/mth
Min. cost $39
|
|
SpinTel
Editor's Pick
$23 Mobile Plan
$12.00/mth
Min. cost $12
|
|
OnePass mobile
28 Day Plan - 22GB
$12.50
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
|
Yomojo
Starter 29GB Plan
$24.90
Per 30 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
|
Dodo
Small Mobile Plan
$25.00/mth
Min. cost $25
|
|
Coles Mobile
Prepaid $25 for 28 Days
$25.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
|
Aussie Broadband
Saver 5G SIM Plan
$30.00/mth
Min. cost $30
Link not supplied
|
|
amaysim
UNLIMITED 15GB Plan
$30.00
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
|
|
Optus
$60 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$39.00/mth
Min. cost $39
|
Optus prepaid phones
Optus has a small range of budget phones you can buy outright, along with your prepaid plan. At time of writing, the Samsung Galaxy A16 4G ($279) is probably the best known one. The other three are all Optus-branded, including the X-Total 2 ($149), X Pro 5G ($169), and X Tap 3 ($149).
Buying a phone like this won't get you much of a discount on your handset (if any), but you will get a free $39 SIM. Given these are low-cost phones, that actually works out to a respectable percentage of the total cost.
But if you buy a prepaid phone through Optus, it will be locked to the network. If you want to unlock your phone from Optus, you'll be able to do so for free if you've recharged your service to an accumulated minimum of $80.
Otherwise, to unlock your phone, you'll pay an $80 unlocking fee if you've had your phone and an active prepaid service for less than six months or a $25 fee if you've had it for more than six months.
FAQs
Which Optus prepaid plan is best?
Optus' best prepaid plan differs depending on what you're looking for. For a short expiry, its seven-day plan will be your best option. For the greatest value, a 365-day long-expiry plan is the ideal choice.
What is Optus' Unlimited Data Day?
Optus' Unlimited Data Day means month-to-month SIM-only plan customers and prepaid Flex mobile customers can purchase a $5 add-on to get unlimited data for a day. Customers can add as many $5 add-ons as they want in the month, provided they're within an active recharge expiry period.
Can I get international roaming with Optus prepaid?
Optus' prepaid mobile plans don't come with any roaming inclusions by default, but travellers can enable their plan in eligible (Zone 1) countries through an add-on to their plan. There are four prepaid roaming add-ons available, which vary in price, data allowance, international call limits and expiry terms. The cheapest of these comes with just 1GB of data and expires after 24 hours. Meanwhile, the most expensive is priced at $75 and comes with 15GB of data to use over a six-month period.
How do I recharge with Optus?
There are three main ways to recharge your Optus prepaid service: Online – Optus accepts credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal via its website. You're also able to set up an AutoRecharge via the Optus website or app, which can be configured to automatically recharge after a certain number of days or when your balance is low. Call 555 – Optus prepaid customers can call "555" for free from their prepaid phone and select option '2' to recharge. You'll need a credit card to do so; Optus accepts American Express, MasterCard or Visa. An Optus store – Brick-and-mortar Optus stores will sell you a voucher that you can use to recharge your plan.
Christie Graham
Digital Content Editor
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