Optus kills excess data charges on postpaid plans

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 11 December 2020

Optus has quietly axed excess data charges on its postpaid mobile, tablet, and mobile broadband plans, effectively bringing it in line with Telstra and Vodafone.

If a customer goes over their data cap on a postpaid plan, they'll be capped to speeds of 1.5Mbps instead of being charged $10 per gigabyte. This ostensibly makes Optus' plans "unlimited", although the telco instead says the plans come with endless data.

Telstra has the same 1.5Mbps speed cap on its postpaid plans, while Vodafone has the same speed cap on its prepaid plans. Vodafone postpaid plans have faster speed caps, increasing with your monthly bill. These start at 2Mbps on Vodafone's cheapest option, and max out at 25Mbps for big spenders.

All new and recontracting customers who sign up to an eligible postpaid plan from today will automatically go onto a plan with no excess data fees. Existing postpaid customers on an eligible plan will be able to enable endless data via the My Optus app.

Here are Optus' SIM-only mobile plans:

#1	Optus	Optus $60 Optus Choice Plus Plan 100GB data Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device Deal: $39/mth and 100GB/mth for first 12 months, then 60GB/mth and $60/mth or as notified. New services. Ends 12.11.26. Terms apply. $39.00/mth Min. cost $39 Go to Site	$39.00/mth Min. cost $39	Go to Site
#2	Optus	Optus $69 Optus Promo Plan 360GB data Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device Deal: Get up to $10/mth SubHub credit to use on your favourite subscriptions for 12 months. T&Cs apply. $69.00/mth Min. cost $69 Go to Site	$69.00/mth Min. cost $69	Go to Site
#3	Optus	Optus $70 Optus Choice Plus Plan 240GB data Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device $70.00/mth Min. cost $70 Go to Site	$70.00/mth Min. cost $70	Go to Site
#4	Optus	Optus $90 Optus Choice Plus Plan 480GB data Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device SubHub: Receive up to $20/mth SubHub credit when you have an active SubHub account with subs greater than $0. T&Cs apply $90.00/mth Min. cost $90 Go to Site	$90.00/mth Min. cost $90	Go to Site

And here's a selection of devices available from Optus:

Apple

iPhone 18 Pro 256GB

6.3 inch display
Rear Cameras: 48MP, 48MP, 48MP
Front Camera: 18MP

Choose

8 Plans from $97.30/mth

Choose

8 Plans from $97.30/mth

Min. cost $2,137.80

Samsung

Galaxy S26 Ultra 256GB

6.9 inch display
Rear Cameras: 200MP, 10MP, 50MP, 50MP
Front Camera: 12MP

Choose

8 Plans from $83.40/mth

Choose

8 Plans from $83.40/mth

Min. cost $2,237.88

Google

Pixel 11 Pro XL 256GB

6.8 inch display
Rear Cameras: 50MP, 48MP, 48MP
Front Camera: 42MP

Choose

8 Plans from $97.30/mth

Choose

8 Plans from $97.30/mth

Min. cost $2,137.80

Nothing

Phone 3a 128GB

6.77 inch display
Android Android 15, up to 3 major Android upgrades, Nothing OS 3.1
5G Capable

Choose

8 Plans from $50.06/mth

Choose

8 Plans from $50.06/mth

Min. cost $437.16

Motorola

Moto G57 5G

6.7 inch display
Rear Cameras: 50MP, 8MP
Front Camera: 8MP

Choose

8 Plans from $40/mth

Choose

8 Plans from $40/mth

Min. cost $337.80

OPPO

Find X5 Lite

6.43 inch display
Rear Cameras: 64MP, 8MP, 2MP
Front Camera: 32MP

Choose

8 Plans from $58.40/mth

Choose

8 Plans from $58.40/mth

Min. cost $837.48

ZTE

Nubia Focus 5G

6.6 inch display
Rear Cameras: 108MP, 2MP
Front Camera: 5MP

Choose

8 Plans from $40/mth

Choose

8 Plans from $40/mth

Min. cost $287.40

Optus customers who go over their data allowance but don't want to deal with slow speeds can still purchase extra data through My Optus app. Pricing for extra data is as follows:

2GB: $5
10GB: $10
30GB: $20

In every case, these are much better options than the $10 per gigabyte of excess data that was very much the industry standard. Alternatively, customers can use the My Optus app to go back to the automatic $10 for gigabyte. We'd definitely advise against that, however.

For those after truly unlimited data with no limits, Optus still has its Unlimited Data Day add-on. This gives customers a 24 hours of unlimited data at full network speeds for $5.

Telstra and Vodafone both axed excess data charges in 2018.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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