Vodafone Prepaid
Plan Review & Comparison
- Vodafone's network has come a long way
- Huge variety of prepaid data options
- Consider alternatives with more data for less $
- Better alternatives are available on better networks
Common Questions About Vodafone Prepaid
How can I get going with Vodafone Prepaid ?
There are 2 main methods of finding and activating a Vodafone prepaid plan.
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- You can start by purchasing a prepaid SIM card on it’s own. They generally come in a starter pack. SIMs on their own usually cost onlya couple of dollars. You can also buy a SIM which is pre-loaded with credit.
- Or you can pick up a ‘prepaid Phone’ from Vodafone’s online store, which will usually come with a prepaid SIM.
In either case, when you have the SIM and the phone:
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- Insert the SIM in to your phone.
- Go online, to Vodafone’s website.
- Pick a plan and activate your service.
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You can then use it for the period of it’s ‘Prepaid Expiry’ (a technical term in telecommunications which means how long the plan will work for before you need to pay more.
Can I keep my phone number if I want to move to Vodafone prepaid ?
Of course you can. Vodafone allows its users to keep their old phone numbers when they switch to a new SIM card.
Find out more here.
Do you need a prepaid phone to use a Vodafone prepaid phone plan?
In truth, there is no such thing as a ‘prepaid phone’. There are just cheaper phones that people using prepaid plans are more inclined to use.
So, while you will need a phone to use the Vodafone prepaid service, a specifically ‘prepaid phone’ is not required.
Is data charged in 1 KB or 1 MB Chunks on Vodafone prepaid ?
All Vodafone prepaid plans now charge you for data downloads and uploads in 1 kB increments.
A few years ago, the opposite was true. Data was charged in 1 MB increments. Some say that customers got through their data allocation much more qucikly, when data is charged in 1 MB increments, suggesting that per MB charging might as much as double individuals’ usage characteristics.
Per kB charging is now common among all of the tier 1 phone companies, following the customer outcry ( through social media ) that the change to MB charging brought about.
Does my mobile data ‘rollover’ with Vodafone ?
No. Data does not rollover from one month to the next with Vodafone’s prepaid plans.
Both Optus and Telstra now offer this feature (data rollover) on (selected elements of) their plans.
We don’t see the presence of ‘rollover’ as a key feature you’re missing out on if you take a Vodafone prepaid plan. It’s far preferable to find yourself a plan which suits your requirements in terms of the voice and data allocation you need, rather than buy yourself a plan that includes more data than you require and ‘roll it over.’
What’s the Vodafone network like these days ?
For 4G, Vodafone’s recent network expanstion provided impressive statistics. Vodafone now cover 96%
of the population. Remember, Optus covers 98.5% of the Australian population
with their 4G network. Vodafone’s network now covers as much of Australia and offers equivalent speed’s to Telstra’s.
- More about Vodafone’s network :
Vodafone’s network has improved greatly. In this article, we provide independent analysis which compares Vodafone alongside Telstra and Optus with surprising results : Vodafone’s 4G network is now as big and as fast as Telstra’s. Don’t beieve us ? See the article. - General coverage information :
The most critical information when you’re buying a SIM relates to the coverage on the network you’re considering. This article provides national statistics and the latest insights in to who has what coverage where. - Vodafone’s Network Guarantee :
Still not sure ? Read about Vodafone’s network guarantee.
What's good
- Much improved Vodafone network - now 4G too
- New deal will allow Vodafone share Telstra's network to boost coverage
- Get more data by buying and recharging online
- Better prepaid deals are often available
What's bad
- No data rollover from Vodafone
- Better prepaid deals from smaller phone companies
- Amaysim & Moose cheaper on Optus 4G network
- Consider Boost & Belong on the Telstra Mobile Network
Vodafone Prepaid Plans
Vodafone is one of the world’s largest phone company brands. The telco recently tussled with the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) over whether they should be allowed to merge with TPG. The battle lasted over a year and half and ended when a federal court okay’d the $15bn merger.
Vodafone used to be an Australian favorite, the default option when people were choosing a prepaid phone plan over a degade ago. The telco eventually fell from grace and has been searching for ways to gain Australian’s trust once again. Some now ask serious questions about the quality of their network.
Vodafone has had some success, especially with the merger with TPG. The new entity is now TPG Telecom, which Vodafone is now a subsidiary to. This makes for a larger, more competitive telco.
TPG Telecom also recently signed a deal with Telstra, allowing them to share their mobile networks. This is great news for TPG Telecom (Vodafone) given Telstra’s leading coverage in regional Australia. When implemented, Vodafone will see a noticeable boost in coverage, leap-frogging over Optus which has held the second position for a long time.
Vodafone has other things working in its favour. The telco uses their global size to lead the market in roaming service sales. They don’t shy away from active price marketing, either. They run constant deals on data inclusions – which what market research tells us causes people to finally considering a change in their provider.
Overall, however, the simple fact is that it’s possible to buy better value prepaid plans, from other phone companies. Many of these alternatives offer similar network coverage at lower costs. That means we don’t recommend Vodafone prepaid plans.
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What are the main features of Vodafone's Prepaid Plans?
Vodafone’s Prepaid Range has been greatly simplified.
- They have 2 types of plan : ‘Combo’ and ‘PAG’ (Pay and Go – very similar to the PAYG plan type)
- By default, their plans are provided with a 35 day expiry, but there’s one 28 day expiry plan as well.
- Their Combo Plus plans now come with a data bank.
Let’s take a closer look at those features, here.
- Combo vs PAYG:
Combo plans are Vodafone’s standard prepaid plan. As usual with prepaid, you pay before you use the plan and are granted unlimited calls and SMS in Australia plus a monthly mobile data allocation. Vodafone’s PAG (‘Pay and Go’) plan type is similar to the Pay As You Go plans offered by Amaysim, Aldi etc. We have a page dedicated to Australia’s best PAYG plans. Pay as you go plans allow you to pay in advance and pay per minute/ SMS from your balance with each call type. PAYG plans are most useful for those who hardly use their phones. - They have a 35 day expiry which means you have to recharge fewer times in the year:
By default, Vodafone’s plans come with a 35-day validity, but one plan has a 28 day expiry. The main benefit of this 35 day ‘expiry period‘ is that you will not be required to recharge as often. Optus and Telstra have a recharge validity of 28 days. Most smaller phone companies have a recharge validity of 30 days. Here’s the difference the new extended recharge period makes to the number of recharges you will have to perform every year and the effect on your wallet or purse. - Vodafone prepaid plans now come with data bank :
Vodafone prepaid customers now get a data bank to save up to 200GB of their unused data. If you finish your data in one billing cycle, but you had unused data left in the previous billing cycle, that unused data will kick so that the customer doesn’t have to buy extra data. - Vodafone prepaid plans now have 5G access :
All Vodafone prepaid plans now offer customers full 5G access across all plan tiers. This is impressive when compared to telcos like Telstra which have capped 5G speeds on lower-tier plans.
Other Vodafone prepaid plan features – a quick summary:
- Large minimum spend for unnecessarily large data allocations:
Vodafone’s cheapest monthly (35 day) Prepaid plans start at $30 per month. $30 per month is a lot to spend on a phone plan, these days, especially when you compare it to some of the alternatives we offer on this page. To justify the cost, Vodafone often offers ‘over the top’ sign up deals – for example, this month’s offer is 35GB per month. These may be attention grabbing rates – but the reality is that only a very small proportion of the population uses this much data in a month. - No clever data management facilities like data roll-over or data vault:
You’ll get data rollover from and on some Optus prepaid plans. However, we think that data roll-over is a crock – It doesn’t help users understand or deal with their growing mobile data needs. Belong Mobile and Telstra now offer ‘data vault’ on some of their plans. In our view, theirs is the fairest treatment of mobile data available at the moment. With data vault, whatever data you’re given is yours, forever. - Recharge Options:
You will get any number of recharge options: You can recharge with a daily amount, weekly allowance, 28-day allowance and 35-day plan. - International Minutes Included:
Vodafone make the most of their global scale by offering substantial (500 minutes and above) international calls in their prepaid range. - Standard Add Ons:
You can add more data mid-month if you run out. - Other relevant considerations:
The Vodafone Network Guarantee has changed its name but is still relevant. Obviously, you risk less with prepaid than a postpaid plan, which is where this is focused. Their app is fantastic, and everyone should download it. You still have to activate roaming before you leave Australia. You can roam for free in NZ which is now a standard feature on Vodafone plans. - Bundled discounts for those buying more than one plan.
Many plans can now be bought in ‘packs of 5 or 10.’ Buying in this way can save you up to 25% – which is a substantial proportion of your annual bill. This is a discount not to be sniffed at.
Comparing Vodafone’s Prepaid Vs. Telstra and Optus’ Prepaid
- Competitors’ prepaid expiry period has been extended:
Telstra have adapted their prepaid range in response to Vodafone’s 35 day expiry period. Telstra’s expiry periods now increase with spend. Their $40 monthly Prepaid Max Plan now has a 35 day expiry. Optus offer almost as many expiry period options as they do plans. - Optus and Telstra provide included entertainment:
Both Telstra and Optus have gone down the path of adding entertainment options like data free music streaming (both Telstra prepaid and Optus prepaid offer this particular entertainment option) and data free AFL / NRL / Netball for Telstra. Vodafone simply can’t match their competitors for this sort of entertainment value add. To the average shopper, these services are worth more than the price saving they’ll get from Vodafone with the move to 35 days. If you have a Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio or Google Play Music account, for example, our calculations show you could save between 1GB and 3GB of data per month. - Optus also offers data roll-over, but Vodafone’s now has data bank :
Data rollover is a key inclusion Optus implemented last year. But Vodafone prepaid Combo plans now come with a data bank of up to 200GB. The data bank lasts forever, as long as you keep recharging on time, while roll over data can only be rolled over once. - Telstra offer wider 5G coverage :
Vodafone has come a long way on its 5G quest, as the telco announced its 5G network now covers 85% of the population across 10 major cities in Australia. While this is impressive, it is only limited to 10 major cities, which leaves much of the country with limited or no 5G access. Telstra, on the other hand, offers a 5G network that covers over 80% of the entire Australian population, and is on track to hit 85% by mid-2023.
Vodafone Prepaid Network Coverage compared
Realising the enormous network perception problems they had, Vodafone have invested heavily in the towers and masts which transmit your calls since 2010. Their 3G network now covers 0.5
of Australia. That’s a total of 23 million
people. Their 4G netowrk coverage statistics are even more impressive. Vodafone’s network covers 96%
. Remember, Optus’ 4G network covers 98.5% of the Australian population
And if you live in rural Australia, Vodafone has now reached a deal with Telstra to share mobile networks. This deal will eventually result in Vodafone having great coverage in the bush, and an overall coverage boost from around 96 per cent to 98.8 per cent of the population. This will put Vodafone ahead of Optus as far as coverage is concerned.
You can find more about Vodafone coverage here. Or you can find out more on our coverage page !
The Real Competition for Vodafone prepaid are MVNOs.
Remember, there are dozens of smaller phone companies in Australia. Only one of them offer similar entertainment facilities in their plans that Telstra and Optus have.
Since Vodafone’s new plans don’t include entertainment, in many ways, it is these numerous, smaller networks to which we should be comparing. The smaller phone companies don’t offer entertainment either. And when you do that, the Vodafone plans do not come out at all well.
In Summary – Vodafone's Prepaid Plan range badly misses the mark
Reviewing these Vodafone prepaid plans holistically, we think will under-perform for Vodafone. It’s a shame, Vodafone has nailed their network improvements at a time when Telstra is really struggling and, with a strong prepaid suite focused on addressing the additional value smaller phone companies are offering, they could have done well. Vodafone has also taken a visible market lead in their international roaming options over the last 2 years. Now they want to do something different that’s seen as innovative, fair and which stands out in the market.
Vodafone is looking at this from their internal point of view. The prepaid range is reasonably simple viewed in isolation. From a customer’s perspective, however, it’s not. There are already hundreds of plans to compare out there. The prepaid market is more fragmented and has more providers than any other. It’s a shame. It’s still a brand I love. I hope they get back to being the challenger brand Australians want them to be.
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This Month’s Hot Offers
