Quick summary : iPhone + SIM Only plan is often the best deal
A huge proportion of iPhones are sold outside of the contract terms offered by the major phone companies in Australia these days. An increasing proportion of better informed phone buyers are opting to get hold of the latest Apple gadgets outright.If you are prepared to shop around, and you know where to look, it is very often a smart decision to buy the phone yourself and add a SIM Only plan to it.Whether you’ve been given an iPhone (lucky you!), you’ve bought it yourself, outright or picked it up second hand, here are the best ways to get yourself a great deal on the SIM you put inside it.
Top Plans Available
Shopping around with MVNOs will get you the best results
MVNOs is a bit of a unique industry term. It’s an acronym and it stands for Mobile Virtual Network Operators. MVNOs are, without doubt, the best way to get great value from the bigger phone companies. MVNOs give you access to the best networks in Australia without the hefty bills that companies like Optus and Telstra charge. MVNOs, like Vaya and Amaysim, are simply phone companies who do not own their own networks. They often offer SIM Only plans. Check out the rates we describe below and you’ll see why we think they make sense for the majority of people with an iPhone 5s or an iPhone 5c.The best SIM Only Price plans for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C
We’ve broken the plan recommendations in to user types, based on usage.For average users: We recommend Vaya Mobile’s $18 plan.
Vaya’s $18 plan entitles you to : An unlimited number of SMSs to Australian numbers, around 10 standard 2 minute calls per day and 1.5 GB of 4G data. Consider your own usage. If you’re like most people, you’ll use substantially less than these amounts.- Vaya has been recognized by Money Magazine for having the best value plans in the market for, “Average users.”
- Vaya runs on Optus network so coverage is great, especially for those in metro areas.
- Finally, Vaya is a month to month plan so if and when you see a better offer elsewhere, you can change over quickly. There is no commitment beyond the month you are in. And that kind of freedom is always a plus.
Addicted to your iPhone ? We recommend Amaysim’s $44.90 unlimited plan.
With Amaysim’s Unlimited plan, you’ll get unlimited SMS and calls in Australia and a satisfyingly large 5GB of data. Note – the data with the Amaysim plan is 3G, not 4G. Both the I-Phone 5S and 5C are 4G devices so if the fastest data speeds are important to you, we recommend Vodafone’s $50 Red SIM Only Plan. It too has unlimited calls to Australian numbers and 3GB bank of data for use in Australia. The 3GB of data included in this Vodafone Red plan, however, is 4G. This is the reason why it costs $10 a month more than the Amaysim plan.How can you be sure these plans are the best value available ?
We have compared the value included in these plans with the best prepaid and postpaid plans from the major Australian phone companies and MVNOs. Since both Vaya and Amaysim use the Optus network, coverage is great. Since neither Vaya or Amaysim have a network to keep building and improving, they do not have to charge those network build costs on to their customers, they can keep their costs down. This is the central benefit of shopping around and choosing an MVNOs.Here are some more details on the calculations:
We’ve assumed a buy price of around $900 AUD for the phone throughout these calculations. $900 is less than you’d pay if you bought the phone outright in Australia. However, many people these days purchase their iPhones overseas through Kogan or Mobiciti purely because it’s cheaper to do so. We have also made the decision to not include any low end recommendations, because if you were a low end user, you would likely not be buying one of the newest phones, they would simply be out of your budget.Here is how we worked out our usage assumptions for most average users:
Average Data usage is 1 GB : A variety of industry sources suggest that figures for average data usage on latest 4G iPhones is around 1GB of data per month. But like all statistics on usage, average data utilization changes according to the your specific user history. 1GB is an aggregate and we recommend that you check your billing history to verify the max data usage. Average Number of Calls : 3-5 standard 2 minute calls per day : Estimates about the numbers of calls that people make varies considerably. 3 to 5 calls per day is the most common assumptions. Across the different phone companies, an average of 2 minute calls are usually charged between $2.20 and $2.40 per call. That is a requirement for around $400 worth of included value in the caps being comparing. Margin of error : 50% : Most people are not very good at gauging their call history or internet usage. As a result, we’ve chosen the Vaya plan at $18 because it has around a 50% margin of ‘fat’ on top f average usage before you’ll get to the limit of the cap.What would the competition charge for the same inclusions ?
- Telstra’s SIM only plans : Telstra are, as we know, expensive. Their SIM Only plans don’t even start until $45. They also require a 12 month minimum contractual commitment. $45 gets you $550 talk and text and 500 MB all for use in Australia. As such, Vaya, at $18 and with more voice and data is a much better alternative.
- Optus SIM only plans : Cannot be recommended against Vaya. To get to even close to equivalent inclusions with Optus, you’ll have to take the $40 plan, which is more than twice as much as Vaya charges. And critically, Vaya uses the 4G Optus network anyway !
- Vodafone’s SIM Only Plans : Vodafone’s $45 plan gives you $700 included value and 1.5GB of data. That’s two and a half times the cost of Vaya for comparable inclusions.