5G used to cost extra, but these days you can find it for cheap with mobile plans that cost as little as $12. You’ll still need a 5G-capable handset and you’ll still need to be somewhere with good coverage, but the provider and plan part of the puzzle is cheaper to solve than ever.
Cheap 5G mobile plans
If all you want is the short version, here’s a quick shortlist of cheap 5G mobile plans in Australia that cost less than $20 per month, ordered by price.
Look a little closer here, and you might notice that most of the plans in the above widget are prepaid. If you want cheap 5G, the prepaid side of things is where you’ll find it and the best bet for data-heavy users here is the Amaysim Unlimited 80GB plan.
This plan comes with 80GB of data each month, unlimited standard international calls to 42 selected countries, data banking and coverage on the Optus 5G network with speeds capped at 100Mbps. It usually costs $40 per recharge but is currently discounted down to $18 for the first recharge if you sign up before the end of August.
More of a 5G fence-sitter? Then the Amaysim 7-day Unlimited 10GB plan is probably the cheapest way to try 5G available at the moment.
You’ve only got a week to use it, but this prepaid plan includes 10GB of data, unlimited standard international calls to 42 selected countries and data banking. Like the other Amaysim plan above, it’s powered by the Optus 5G network and boasts the same coverage as Optus’ own plans.
The catches here are that your speeds will be capped at 100 Mbps on both 4G and 5G and the cost of recharging each week will add up quickly. Still, if you want to try 5G for as little as possible, this is probably the best way to do it. If you like what it offers, then consider either of the plans above or the one below.
When it comes to cheap 5G options, the Vodafone $30 Prepaid Starter pack is hard to top.
Currently discounted down to $15 until the end of July, this plan usually comes with 20GB of data and 28-day expiry. However, if you sign up during the end of this current promotion you’ll get double that data allowance. You can also save an extra $5 monthly if you turn on automatic recharge.
Fret not if you’re not particularly drawn to any of the above plans. So long as you’re willing to stretch your budget a little further, there are plenty of other 5G providers to choose from. Check out the widget below for a shortlist of the cheapest options starting at around $30 per month.
Fergus Halliday is a journalist at WhistleOut, Australia’s phone and internet comparison website.