At the end of last year, Vodafone launched a rather interesting new telco - felix mobile. Owned and operated by the newly merged TPG-Vodafone entity and powered by the Vodafone network, felix is a unique addition to the Australian mobile landscape.
At first felix offered just a single plan with unlimited data (albeit with a catch). Unlimited data sure is a treat, but there's more to a plan than just data, so how does felix stack up to its parent provider?
In this guide:
- felix mobile vs. Vodafone: Data inclusions
- felix mobile vs. Vodafone: Coverage
- felix mobile vs. Vodafone: Phones
- felix mobile vs. Vodafone: Contracts
- felix mobile vs. Vodafone: International calls
- felix mobile vs. Vodafone: International roaming
- felix mobile vs. Vodafone: Freebies and perks
felix mobile vs. Vodafone: Data inclusions
felix mobile
felix offers a $40 per month subscription that comes with unlimited talk and text, as well as unlimited mobile data. Mobile data speeds are however capped at 20Mbps down and 20Mbps up. That's just a little bit slower than an NBN 25 plan. It's other plans are also unlimited but speeds are slowed to 1.5Mbps once you use up your monthly data allowance.
20Mbps is fast enough to peruse social media, stream in HD, listen to music - all the tasks you'd regularly use your phone for. It should also be fast enough to download apps on the go and tether to your phone in a pinch, but it wouldn't really be fast enough to replace a home internet connection for most.
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#1
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felix mobile
felix 25GB Mobile Plan
$30.00
Per 1 Month Renewal
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#2
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felix mobile
felix 50GB Mobile Plan
$35.00
Per 1 Month Renewal
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#3
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felix mobile
felix Unlimited Mobile Plan
$40.00
Per 1 Month Renewal
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#4
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felix mobile
felix Unlimited+ Mobile Plan
$50.00
Per 1 Month Renewal
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Vodafone
Vodafone has a much wider range of plans than felix, spanning prepaid, SIM-only, and phone-with-a-plan categories. Vodafone plans start at $30 per 28-day recharge with 15GB (although you can get a $5 per month discount if you opt-in to automatic recharge) while on the other hand you can get a 150GB plan for $100 per month that can then be paired with any phone. There's a huge range of options.
All Vodafone mobile plans also feature unlimited mobile data for when you exceed your data allowance, but the speed cap varies. On prepaid plans, you'll be restricted to speeds of 1.5Mbps. On postpaid, it depends on how much you're spending. Lite plans are capped to 2Mbps, Super plans to 10Mbps, and Ultra plans to 25Mbps.
Here are Vodafone's SIM-only plans. All of these can be paired with a mobile handset (with additional monthly repayments):
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#1
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Vodafone
$58 Small SIM Only Plan
$45.00/mth
Min. cost $45
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#2
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Vodafone
$68 Medium SIM Only Plan
$50.00/mth
Min. cost $50
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#3
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Vodafone
$78 Large SIM Only Plan
$55.00/mth
Min. cost $55
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felix mobile vs. Vodafone: Coverage
felix mobile is powered by the Vodafone network, as such, has identical coverage to Vodafone. You can explore Vodafone coverage using the interactive map below. Just be aware that felix customers cannot currently get access to the Vodafone 5G network.
felix mobile vs. Vodafone: Phones
felix mobile
At this stage, felix doesn't sell any devices. felix's plans are SIM-only.
Vodafone
Vodafone has a large range of phones you can buy on a plan, including all the latest devices from Apple, Samsung, and Google. Every phone in the Vodafone postpaid range is available on a 12, 24, or 36-month repayment term.
A 12-month term means your monthly bill will be higher, but you'll own your phone faster, while a 36-month term makes it cheaper but you're committing to a longer repayment.
Here's a quick look at some of the phones available on a Vodafone plan:
iPhone 18 Pro 256GB
- 6.3 inch display
- Rear Cameras: 48MP, 48MP, 48MP
- Front Camera: 18MP
Galaxy S26 Ultra 256GB
- 6.9 inch display
- Rear Cameras: 200MP, 10MP, 50MP, 50MP
- Front Camera: 12MP
Pixel 11 Pro XL 256GB
- 6.8 inch display
- Rear Cameras: 50MP, 48MP, 48MP
- Front Camera: 42MP
Moto edge 50 Fusion 5G
- 6.7 inch display
- Rear Cameras: 50MP, 13MP
- Front Camera: 32MP
Find N6 5G
- 8.12 inch display
- Rear Cameras: 200MP, 50MP, 50MP
- Front Camera: 20MP
felix mobile vs. Vodafone: Contracts
felix mobile
felix's plans are contract-free. You can leave whenever, without penalty.
Vodafone
Vodafone plans are all contract-free. This means you can size up or down your inclusions once per month, or if you want to leave early, you can do so by paying out the remainder of your device repayments.
felix mobile vs. Vodafone: International calls
felix mobile
felix's plans do not include international calls out of the box, but you can add them for $5 per month. This will get you unlimited international talk and text to over 40 destinations.
Included countries: Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Canary Islands, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA, Vatican, Vietnam
Vodafone
Most Vodafone plans include some international minutes, with the one exception being Vodafone's entry-level SIM-only plan.
Vodafone breaks up its international calling destinations into Zone 1 and Zone 2. You'll always get a larger number of Zone 1 minutes than Zone 2 minutes, and be aware that some cheaper Vodafone plans may not include any Zone 2 minutes. Keep this in mind if you're buying a phone plan based on wanting to call a Zone 1 country.
Zone 1 included countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, PNG, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Canary Islands, Switzerland, Turkey, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA, Vietnam, Vanuatu
Zone 2 included countries: Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brunei, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Faroe Islands, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Northern Mariana Islands, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Reunion, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam
felix mobile vs. Vodafone: International roaming
felix mobile
If you want to roam with felix, you'll need to nab a roaming pass for $20. This gets you 100 standard minutes, 100 SMS, and 4GB of data (also capped at speeds of 20Mbps) that you can use in over 40 destinations.
Roaming packs can be stacked, so if you buy two at once, you'll get double the inclusions. You can also top at any time, and retain any leftover data, minutes, or texts from your previous recharge.
felix roaming packs have a 365-day expiry.
Included countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, PNG, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Canary Islands, Switzerland, Turkey, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA, Vietnam, Vanuatu
Vodafone
All Vodafone SIM-only plans include $5 per day roaming. This means you can use all your local inclusions (other than unlimited data after you exceed your primary allowance) as if you were at home for an additional $5 per day. If you exceed your data allowance, you'll pay $5 per each further gigabyte you use.
$5 per day roaming is available in 80 countries, and you can use it for a maximum of 90 days in a calendar year.
Included countries: Aland Islands, Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia (includes Bali), Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, Turkey, UK (England), America (USA), Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Vietnam, Virgin Islands, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales.
felix mobile vs. Vodafone: Free stuff and extras
felix mobile
felix is a no thrills proposition when it comes to extras, but it pitches itself as a carbon netural telco. felix powered by 100% renewable electricity, achieved by investing in renewable energy projects across the country. Similarly carbon emissions are neutralised by supporting certified Carbon Offset schemes both in Australia and internationally.
In addition, felix has pledged to plant one tree per subscriber per month.
Vodafone
Vodafone plans tend to be a little basic in terms of extras and freebies, but you can score a discount by bundling multiple services on the same account. You'll get a 5% discount for each postpaid service on your bill after the first, up to a maximum discount of 20% if you have five plans. Postpaid mobile, SIM-only, tablet, mobile broadband, and NBN plans are all eligible as part of this promo.
Alex Choros
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