The Best Pre-Paid Mobile Offers in Australia [INSIDER-TIP]

One of the first things you want to do when you arrived in Australia, is to get an Australian phone number. It’s difficult to find the best option among all the providers. But don’t worry, we tell you what the best network provider is and where you can get the best deal (it’s not even a network provider!).

You get the best mobile phone deals at the major supermarket chains Woolworths and Coles. They teamed up with the network providers Telstra and Optus and provide the cheapest options with the best packages to their customers.

What is the best Network Provider in Australia?

Before we tell you more about the best mobile phone deals, you should know the best network providers of Australia. Some of the best-known mobile network providers in Australia are Telstra, Optus, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone.

Especially if you are travelling around Australia, your number one option is Telstra and your number two option is Optus.

Telstra

Telstra offers the best coverage in Australia. It is also the most popular network of Australians. If you plan to travel to remote areas, your best option is Telstra.

This is the current coverage of Telstra:

Optus

Optus is the second best option and the second most popular network. It is increasing the coverage around Australia, so you will be fine most of the time and in most towns.

This is the current coverage of Optus:

Other Networks

Other networks are Virgin Mobile and Vodafone. These networks are ok to use, as long as you are in big cities. Don’t expect much coverage once you are leaving large towns. We don’t recommend to use these services if you are planning to travel around Australia.

Woolworths Mobile

Woolworths Mobile teamed up with Telstra to provide their own pre-paid options. You can by a Woolworths SIM-card at any Woolworths supermarket for $2 (or online if you want to). You have to option to top-up your SIM-Card with $30 or $45. Unlimited texts and calls within Australia are always included.

International Calls

You even get $100 worth of credit to make international calls. Unlimited minutes of international calls are included to the following 10 countries (with the $45 option): China, India, USA, South Korea, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, United Kingdom and Indonesia.

If you want to call to other countries, prices vary. It’s great to call someone back home for a quick chat. But for longer calls, we recommend online services, such as Skype or WhatsApp. Here are a few prices for international calls:

• Germany: $1 on landline ($7.50 on mobile)
• France: $1 on landline ($5.00 on mobile)
• Denmark: $1 on landline ($7.50 on mobile)
• Sweden: $1 on landline ($7.50 on mobile)
• Italy: $1 on landline ($5.00 on mobile)

LEARN MORE: See the full list of international prices of Woolworths Mobile here.

How much data do you get with Woolworths?

Data is the most important thing for today’s traveller. The amount of data you get with the Woolworths mobile phone option is unbeatable:

• For the $30 recharge, you get 3GB of data (4GB for the first 3 recharges).
• For the $45 recharge, you get 8GB of data (10GB for the first 3 recharges).

Your credit expires after 30 days, however, you can rollover your unused data up to 15GB! That means, if you don’t use your data within the 30 days time period, you can roll it over up to a total of 15GB and use it at a later point.

If the data is not enough, you can always purchase a top up at any Woolworths, BIG W, Woolworth Caltex or BWS store.

Discounts

If you have a Woolworths Reward Card you get 10% off on every recharge you make. So $30 become %27 and $45 become $40.50 if you use the Reward Card when purchasing in-store or online.

Coles Mobile

Coles Mobile has a similar program together with Optus. A new pre-paid SIM-Card costs also $2, which you can buy at any Coles store or online. The best deals you get with Coles are recharges for $20 or $30. Also with Coles Mobile you get free national calls and SMS.

International Calls

With Coles you get 250 minutes to the following countries: China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, UK and USA. Here are some prices to other European countries.

Please keep in mind that it’s difficult to compare prices since, with Woolworths Mobile you get $100 credit for international calls, however prices are much higher.

• Germany: 10c on landline (20c on mobile)
• France: 10c on landline (20c on mobile)
• Denmark: 10c on landline (40c on mobile)
• Sweden: 10c on landline (20c on mobile)
• Italy: 10c on landline (20c on mobile)

LEARN MORE: Find all prices for international calls for Coles Mobile.

How much data do you get with Coles Mobile?

Prices for Coles Mobile are a bit lower, you, therefore, get also less mobile data to use.

• For the $20 recharge: 2GB of data
• For the $40 recharge: 7GB of data

You see that the price per GB is pretty much the same as with Woolworths Mobile. You have to decide for yourself how much data you need.

Discounts

You get a $2.50 discount on every recharge with flybus reward card by Coles. This is only applicable for in-store purchases and not for online recharges.

Aldi Mobile

Aldi Mobile joined the game of mobile offers as well. Aldi uses the Telstra network and offers a number of packages. Here we are listing the best value-for-money options. The price for an Aldi SIM-Card is $5, which comes with a $5 pay-as-you-go credit.

International Calls

If you are interested to use your mobile phone to call home, your best options with Aldi are the L, XL and XXL Value Packs, where you have 100 minutes (for L) or 200 minutes (for XL) and 300 minutes (for XXL) included to use to call numbers in 50 countries. Among them are:

• Germany
• Italy
• Denmark
• Sweden
• France
• USA
• UK
• Spain

LEARN MORE: Find all prices for international calls for Aldi Mobile.

How much data is included with Aldi?

If you need a lot of data, Aldi can be a good option for you. The best packs for Aldi Mobile is the XL for $35 and the XXL pack for $45. The XL pack provides the best value for money. If you go for the XXL pack, you might want to scroll up and check out the options of Woolworths, where you get more data.

Our favorite options with Aldi are:

• XL Value Pack ($35) – 6GB
• XXL Value Pack ($45) – 8GB

You can also roll over your data. That means, if you don’t use your data within the frame, you can use it at the later period, which is very convenient. Pay attention, that in order to benefit from the roll over, you must recharge your phone with the same pack (or higher) within 24 hours after expiration. However, data can not be rolled over for 2 or more periods. With Woolworths for example, it can roll over to up to a maximum of 15GB.

Woolworths vs. Coles vs. Aldi – which one is better?

The prices per GB are very similar and it depends on the data you are using. But since data is more important that minutes and SMS these days, we recommend going with the Woolworths option. Here is why:

1. Woolworths uses the Telstra network, which is better than Optus (used by Coles) especially in rural areas
2. You can rollover unused data up to 15 GB and use it in the next periods
3. Woolworths expires after 30 days and Coles after 28 days. It’s only 2 days, but still
4. For the first 3 recharges you get additional data
5. The prices for international calls are pretty much the same for both options

The XL pack of Aldi provides also a great value for money. If you are planning to make international calls from your phone, Aldi is also a good option, since you have minutes included and your costs are very clear.

Coles is our least favorite option unless you are using less data, than you might as well find your better deal there.

Learn more on the official sites of Woolworths, Coles and Aldi.

What do you think about these offers? Do you use one of them? Let us know in the comments! Follow us on Facebook for more tips.