The only thing that’s better than paying less on your monthly bill is paying nothing at all. There’s no shortage of providers looking to lure in new customers by cutting down on the cost of trying out a new mobile plan, but only a few dare to cut out the cost of signing up entirely by offering it for free, at least for a trial period.
If you’re not tied down to your current provider by a contract or handset fees and fancy the idea of trying before you buy in with a new telco, you’ve got a few options to choose from.
Mobile plans with a free trial period
The first of these is Aussie Broadband. In a bid to entice those on the fence to give try out its new SIM-only mobile plans, Aussie is throwing in the first month at no cost if you use the discount code TRYITFREE when you sign up. This offer expires on the 31st of March and can be used with any of the Aussie Broadband 4G and 5G mobile plans below.
Looking to take that free trial mobile plan for as much as it could possibly be worth? The mobile plan you’re looking for is likely to be Aussie Broadband’s Future Now 5G SIM plan. This postpaid plan comes with a whopping 200GB of data, none of which you’ll be paying for until your second month with the provider. It also comes with unlimited domestic calls and texts and $500 of international call credits.
Stick around and you’ll be paying $70 per month from the second month onwards. Fortunately, this one is a no-contract plan so you can always shop around once you’re past that promo period.
If your appetite for free data is more modest or you don’t fancy the size of that second monthly bill hitting your bank account, then the Aussie Broadband Max Value 4G SIM plan might be the safer bet. This one only comes with 40GB of data and $50 of international, but you still get unlimited local calls, texts and wireless connectivity via Optus’ 5G and 4G networks.
For those into the idea of getting your first month of mobile coverage for free on the Vodafone network instead, Felix Mobile is the best and only choice. So long as you throw in the code FELIX on signup using the widget below, you’ll get those first 30 days at no cost.
Should you sign up for the Felix Mobile $35 subscription plan and decide to stick around, you won’t pay a cent for your first month with the provider, but you will be charged $35 per month for each one after that.
If you do need to phone home, international calls are also available as an optional add-on. An extra $5 per month gets you unlimited calls and texts to 40 selected destinations.
In addition to letting you try the provider out before you commit any cash to the cause, the other unique selling point for Felix is that it offers one of Australia’s only unlimited data plans. With speeds capped at 20Mpbs, you won’t be able to hotspot your household internet anytime soon but it should be fast enough for more everyday mobile connectivity needs.
Fergus Halliday is a journalist at WhistleOut, Australia’s phone and internet comparison website.