After raising the price of its prepaid plans back in March, Optus’ postpaid plans have now been given a price hike too, although data inclusions increasing at the same time as a form of consolation.
The new entry price for an Optus postpaid plan is AU$55 p/m for 50GB data – that’s the Small Choice Plus plan, which was previously priced at AU$52 p/m for 50GB data. As a side note, one member of the TechRadar AU team is currently on the Small Choice Plan and has been told they’ll receive 70GB of data when the price increases take effect. We’ve not seen the same change on Optus’ website at the time of writing, but we’ll update this piece if that changes.
The Medium Choice Plus plan has also gone up to AU$65 p/m for 200GB data (previously AU$62 for 180GB) and the Large Choice Plus plan has risen to AU$85 p/m for 400GB (previously AU$82 for 360GB).
The Promo plan, which includes 360GB data for AU$69 p/m (for 12 months, then AU$79 p/m), has not been changed.
New customers will pay these prices going forward. As for current customers, these price increases will take effect on June 4, 2025.
Inclusions have not been changed – customers can still receive 10% off eligible SubHub subscriptions and will continue to save AU$15 p/m on Optus Sport, along with unlimited international talk and text to 35 countries.
With prices increased by AU$3 per month across the affected plans, Optus remains the middle telco between Telstra and Vodafone when it comes to affordability. Telstra’s plans start at AU$65 p/m for 50GB, while Vodafone plans start at AU$39 p/m (for 12 months, then AU$49) for 100GB (normally 50GB and available until withdrawn).
Should you switch providers?
Optus’ mobile plans include generous data allocations across the board, and among the plans that the telco offers, the unchanged Promo plan remains an attractive option for its cost-to-data ratio.
That being said, prices have gone up across the other postpaid plans, and with a cost of living crisis gripping Australian households, those high costs might put people off the teal telco.
On top of this, while Optus has increased data limits with this price increase, it’s worth keeping in mind that, according to the ACCC, Australians use 17.4GB of data per month on average with a postpaid plan (and 9GB with prepaid). While Optus is offering a healthy chunk of data with each of these plans, it may be out of step with your usage habits.
So in the interest of saving money, we’ve selected three alternatives on the Optus network that you should consider. We’ve also got a more complete list of the best phone plans in Australia if you want to venture away from the Optus network.
If you’re in the market for a new smartphone, check out our guide to the best cheap phones in Australia.
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zac.kelly@futurenet.com (Zachariah Kelly)
