Who are Yatango and should I choose them for a SIM only deal

We recommend Yatango for unlimited voice and SMS plans in Australia if you have a 4G phone.

Yatango is an Australian company with an entirely new model for providing mobile phone services. They are a 4G enabled SIM only provider with a difference. Their unique approach centres around a community based model.

Essentially the users, aka you, design their own phone plans, sign up more customers and run the customer service department. This genius business model helps Yatango to keep their costs down by getting you to do some of the work. The idea being that in return you get low call rates to enjoy. However there are a few watch outs and in our view their rates and plans are the not the best in the market.

A quick Yatango video review

Yatango are best for 4G plans with unlimited voice and SMS

Yatango use the Optus 4G network, so coverage is great.

We recommend Yatango for unlimited voice and SMS plans in Australia if you have a 4G phone. No other Australian phone company offers the same level of value on unlimited plans, on the Optus 4G network. Importantly, despite the fact that it’s the same network, Optus themselves on’t even offer pricing this good for their unlimited plans when you put them head to head. Specifically, Yatango’s unlimited voice and SMS in Australia plans start at $27.90 per month. We recommend you add some data to that.

• $27.90 = Unlimited voice and SMS in Australia
• $35.90 = Unlimited voice and SMS in Australia + 1GB of 4G data.
• $43.90 = Unlimited voice and SMS in Australia + 3GB of 4G data.

They’re also good for unusual requirements you can’t get elsewhere

We recommend having a play with Yatango’s plan creator. Starting at just $10 per month, you can tie together a plan which meets any conceivable combination of elements.

Here’s what we mean about Yatango in a bit more detail.

The things you need to know about Yatango.

• Low cost SIM Only provider : Yatango are a low cost Australian SIM only provider. Like most SIM only plans, there is no commitment required – you can leave whatever month you’re in. That gives you total freedom to come and go as you see fit.
• They’re new and innovative : They’re relatively new in market – which is reflected in how innovatively they approach their plans.
• Super flexible : Yatango let you can change up or down your plan at any time. If you’re using more voice or data over time, just bunp up the plan inclusions for a few dollars more.
• You can design your own plan : Use Yatango’s website to design a plan specifically to your needs. Add voice or SMS inclusions and make sure you have all the data you need. No one else provides such flexibility in plan configuration.
• They use the Optus 4G network : They use the lightning fast Optus 4G network.
• You’ll make friends : They offer a community based model where you can earn credit for inviting your friends to join Yatango and for answering customer service queries correctly.
• They recommend the best plan : After that, every month you’re with them, they will send you a recommendation on the best plan for you – so you don’t waste a penny.

How do they compare against other SIM only providers? 

If you’ve got a 4G phone ( like an iPhone 5, iPhone 5S or any iPhone 6 – or a Galaxy phone like a Samsung Galaxy S4 or S5 ) AND you want unlimited talk and text plus 4G data, no one can touch Yatango. Simply put, Yatango have the best unlimited pricing for plans with 4G data in Australia.

If you have a 3G phone, however, we recommend Amaysim for you.

Last updated on February 11th, 2021

How do Yatango keep their rates low? 

The fundamental difference between Yatango and the major phone companies you know is that Yatango do not have their own mobile phone network. That means they bulk buy network access from Optus and resell it to their customer base. They use the entire Optus 4G network.

Yatango have a handful of staff in Australia and therefore have very low self-service fees. Yatango primarily lets users help themselves. According to company founder and CEO Andy Taylor, there is no call centre either. Yatango use user references and have an internal support team. All customer service provided is through forums, chat and email.

How does Yatango’s website work? 

You build your plan using Yatango’s billing and contract system. Their web interface lets you choose the number of calls, amount of data and the number of SMSs you need on user-friendly sliders.

The totally web based interaction removes unnecessary operating costs and allows you to customize Yatango’s contracts exactly to your liking.

Every aspect of the service can be established online – including, for example, things like international roaming which, with other phone companies, you would need to call the call centre to arrange.

What’s good about Yatango?

• No contracts : A big issue consumers have when it comes to choosing a mobile provider is the contract that comes with it. Increasingly, smart consumers are moving away from contractual commitments of the ‘tier 1’ telcos – like Optus, Telstra etc. Instead they are buying their phones outright, getting a SIM Only plan and saving themselves a fortune.
• Yatango’s plans are totally configurable. Yatangos’ main differentiator is that they let you build your own plan tailored to your specific needs. No other providers have minute or payment plans that can be customized from a monthly payment to a weekly payment. And, again, you can move between them without charges.
• It’s easy to change month to month. Getting penalized for wanting to make either subtle or major changes to your mobile plan is a real pain for most people. Whether it’s due to financial issues or simply wanting a plan with less minutes because you just don’t talk on the phone that much, moving around is a hassle for most. Yatango make it easy. If your usage varies a lot, month to month, Yatango might be right for you.
• You can keep your current phone number if you move to Yatango: Move to Yatango and you’ll have the option to keep your current number and change or adjust your plan at any time without fees or penalties.
• Yatango uses the Optus 4G network. Yatango runs on the reliable and fast Optus 3G/4G network, which covers 98.5% of the Australian population
  
• Invite your friends & you’ll both be rewarded! For every friend or family member you invite that joins Yatango, you’ll both earn $20 reward credit to use on your service! Yatango doesn’t limit the amount of reward credit you can earn, so you’re free to invite as many people as you want.
• You can earn your credits towards you phone bill – by helping other customers in their support forum. With Yatango, you are offered the option to earn free credit by helping other customers through the online customer support forum they have. Every question you answer gets you 50 cents worth of credit applied to your account.
• Bonus minutes! You’ll get bonus minutes when purchasing a Yatango Voice Pack. These bonus minutes apply to calling your friends on the Yatango network. The free Yatango to Yatango customer minutes are provided at the same level of pack you purchased. For example, buying a 400 minute Voice Pack will give you 400 bonus minutes to call other Yatango mobiles for free.
• No hassle ‘recharge’: You can set your service up to auto renew if you’d like it to. Removing that on-going recharge is as easy as removing your SIM if you don’t want to continue. Staying with Yatango will also include a $20 security deposit, but that’s refundable after 30 days.
• Customer service without the hassle of waiting. Yatango’s customer service is entirely online. For most questions you have or problems you’re likely to be facing, the forum has an answer. And, if you need to, you can get help through their live chat facility. All the benefits of a quick answer without having to queue in an IVR.

What are the watch outs with Yatango?

• Make sure you pick the sweet spots with Yatango. They’re best if you have  4G phone and want either unlimited voice and SMS or have some very unusual requirements that you can only satisfy with their plan configuration tool.

• Beware termination fees: One thing we noticed in our use of the Yatango facility which irked us was their termination policy. Once your service is terminated, you won’t be able to use their service again. And your phone number is cancelled unless, of course, it’s already tethered to a different carrier.

• They don’t have call centre agents. Another aspect of Yatango that might be off-putting for the more ‘chat oriented person’ is the customer service. There’s no formal method of getting help as their support is through community-based forums. Some more ‘classically trained’ (older) customers may prefer to speak with a representative in person. People like people and when you call a customer service team, you get the security of a human interaction. Forums aren’t right for everyone.

Summing up – it all depends on your usage

If you like communicating via the Internet using Facebook, What’s app, Twitter etc rather than good old fashioned talk and text then designing a Yatango plan with a huge bucket of data might be right for you. However, if you like a few phones calls and some texts every day as well then you should stick with another provider as their rates will be better value.

• For ‘heavy usage’ (you want unlimited talk, text and data) with a 4G phone, choose Yatango’s unlimited plan range.
• For ‘unusual usage’ (such as tonnes of data and minimal talk and text) choose Yatango and design your own ‘unique’ plan.

If you need another network, for example you’re after an unlimited plan with Telstra coverage, or you live in a city and you’re happy with Vodafone, you might like to check our SIM Only Comparison page and compare all the plans ( including every one mentioned on this page. )

7 FAQs (and answers) about Yatango

Last updated on February 11th, 2021