Optus has changed its mobile pricing for new customers, making its two most affordable postpaid plans more expensive and lowering the price of its largest plan. For the two plans that saw a price increase, the telco has also raised the monthly data allowance, which could benefit heavier users
The cheapest Optus postpaid mobile plan is now $52 per month and includes 50GB of data. The previous pricing was $49 per month for 30GB.
The next plan is $62 per month with a huge 180GB – previous pricing was $59 with 100GB. And the final change saw Optus’ 360GB plan fall in price from $82 to $89 per month.
These price changes won’t impact existing customers. At this time, they’re only for customers signing up to a new plan or recontracting.
Here’s an overview at the recent changes to Optus postpaid plans:
| Previous pricing and data | New pricing and data |
| $49 per month with 30GB | $52 per month with 50GB |
| $59 per month with 100GB | $62 per month with 180GB |
| $69 per month with 220GB | No change |
| $89 per month with 360GB | $82 per month with 360GB |
At $3 per month, the two price increases aren’t huge, especially when compared to the extra data. But given the average postpaid Australian mobile user in 2022-2023 went through about 16GB per month, according to a report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). 50GB could be more than many customers need.
Optus’ prepaid plans remain unchanged and have a cheaper starting point. But if you want to grab a new phone on a 12, 24 or 36-month contract, you have to go with the postpaid options. That said, Optus isn’t alone here. Vodafone and Telstra are the only other large telcos that regularly sell new phones on a plan, and their postpaid plans also don’t start cheap.
Here are Optus’ new postpaid plans:
We can compare them to similar plans from other providers on the Optus network, ranked by total cost over the first 24 months (to help offset the introductory discounts offered by many providers).
Here’s a look at postpaid plans on the Optus network with at least 50GB of data:
The two best-value plans here are from Circles.Life and SpinTel. Circle’s plan comes out ever so slightly cheaper than SpinTel’s over the first 24 months (by $36) and is initially $4 cheaper per month, thanks to an introductory 12-month deal that also increases its data from 30GB to 50GB. But after 12 months, SpinTel’s plan is cheaper per month and offers more data.
These Optus network plans have at least 150GB of data:
Once again, Circles.Life has a good contender here. At $45 per month for the first 12 months, then $50 thereafter, even its post-discount compares favourably. On top of that, its 200GB data limit isn’t too shabby, either.
And here are mobile plans with at least 360GB of data (note: the Optus 500GB plan is a special offer and might not be available after August 4):
There aren’t too many plans on the market with this much data, so we’ve expanded our comparison to include the Vodafone and Telstra networks, too.
Vodafone’s plans come out cheapest, both in initial monthly costs and over the first 24 months. Its 360GB plan in particular is more than $400 cheaper over this period than Optus’ two plans with equal or higher data.
With regards to Optus network providers, Circles.Life is once again looking pretty good – about $200 cheaper over the first 24 months when compared to the Optus 500GB plan deal, and even more so versus new Optus’ 360GB plan pricing. But it’s also more than $200 more than Vodafone’s 360GB plan over the initial two years, so it’s up to you to decide between price and network coverage.
If you’re after a new phone on a 12, 24 or 36-month contract, then Optus, Vodafone and Telstra are generally your only options.
Here’s how their cheapest postpaid mobile plans compare, keeping in mind these prices don’t include payments for the phone you end up choosing:
Vodafone’s cheapest postpaid plan is only slightly cheaper than Optus’ (in fact, it’s the same price as Optus’ old plans), but it has double the data at 100GB. This is in stark contrast with Telstra’s cheapest plan, which is $72 per month for a whopping 180GB of data, though there is a $10 per month discount for the first six months with code ONLINEONLY.
Alex Angove-Plumb is a journalist at WhistleOut, Australia’s phone and internet comparison website.
Image: Fox