Lebara Mobile Phone Plans Review
As one of the leading mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) in Australia, Lebara has a history stretching back to 2001. The telco was first founded in Norway and now operates across the world. Since Lebara first set up shop in Australia in 2009, it opted to run mobile services on the Vodafone network, and in 2016, was bought by Vodafone Hutchison Australia . It then became part of the TPG Telecom group when Vodafone and TPG merged in 2020, which also includes iiNet and Felix. .
Lebara still stays true to its main ethos about keeping customers connected to their friends and family overseas with varying international call inclusions on all its SIM-only prepaid plans. If you’re looking for a prepaid plan with international call inclusions, or you’re just in the market for a new phone plan, Lebara might offer the value for money you’ve been looking for.
Lebara mobile plans at a glance
Lebara offers a range of its SIM-only prepaid plans (with the exception of one pay-as-you-go plan) as either 30-day plans or long-term plans, which run over 360 days. All prepaid plans include unlimited standard national calls and SMS, ranging amounts of international call and text rates to select countries and varying data allowances. Lebara also offers a range of data-only plans for those looking for a mobile broadband plan to use with a tablet, dongle or other portable device.
What does Lebara offer?
Where Lebara really stands out from the telco crowd is in its generous unlimited international call inclusions. Even the cheapest 30-day plan has some good international call value, further cementing Lebara as one of the few telcos that focuses on keeping people connected around the world. There is also an unlimited international call pack that you can buy as an add on to your plan, but these calls are restricted to certain countries.
Pros:
- International call inclusions come standard with all SIM-only plans at varying rates
- Auto-recharge is available, which includes a 10% discount on 30-day plans and above
- Data banking up to 200GB included on all 30-day and long-expiry plans with data sharing available for others with a Lebara plans
Cons:
- If you use up your data allowance, you’ll need to recharge or purchase a data add-on pack to continue use
- Other telcos may offer bigger data inclusions at a similar or cheaper price point
- No entertainment or extras bonuses offered
Lebara mobile network and coverage
Lebara operates as an MVNO on the third largest network in Australia, the Vodafone 4G and 5G networks. Vodafone currently covers around 98.4% of Australians and the telco is continually building and improving services, especially to regional Australia. For more information and to see if you’ll have access to the Vodafone network in your area, visit the Lebrara website.
Features and bonuses
All of Lebara’s prepaid plans, both the 30-day and long-term plans, include unlimited standard national calls and SMS, while the long-term plans also include unlimited MMS.
- International calls: All of the 30-day and long-term plans include international call value, with the 30-day Extra Small plan being the only one that has a cap on minutes. The other plans include unlimited calls to select countries, with the different price points reflecting which countries you will have unlimited access to. If you have friends and family in New Zealand, China, South Korea, Canada, the UK or USA, you’ll have the most choice with these countries, among others, being included in the unlimited call value of most plans. Most plans also include an amount of call credit that can be used to call any country. The Lebara website has a handy tool that lets you search by country for call rates and available minutes on each plan.
- Add-on data: If you run out of your data before your plan expires, there are three data packs you can choose as an add-on.
- Auto-recharge: Auto recharge is available via your Lebara account, and Lebara is known to add on bonus data from time to time for auto-recharge customers. Customers can also save 10% off select plans when choosing auto-recharge.
- Data banking: Lebara allows data banking of up to 200GB of data, so if you don’t use your full data allowance, you’ll have up to 48 hours to recharge your plan (with either a 30 or 360-day plan), then your unused data will roll over into your data bank. Data banking does not include additional data purchased separately as data packs.
- International roaming: You can add on an international roaming pack which is available for 50+ destinations including Canada, China, Fiji, France, Germany, India, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, the UK and USA.
Lebara 30-Day Plans
If you’re looking for a 30-day prepaid plan, you’ll have five options to choose from. All of Lebara’s 30-day prepaid plans include unlimited standard national calls and SMS, data inclusions and some international call inclusion. You’ll also have access to data banking and even data gifting.
The Extra-Small plan is good for those who aren’t big data users and still offers a decent international call amount but to only five select countries. The Small and Medium plans come with more data and include more countries to use your international credit for. The Large and Extra-Large plans include bigger data inclusions and more international call minutes to a larger range of countries.
All of these plans also include international credit for talk and text to countries not included in your international call inclusions, with the Extra Small plan only offering a small amount of international credit, and other plans offering up to 200 Zone One minutes and 50 Zone Two minutes in an international call wallet (different plans offer different amounts). Check the Lebara website for international call and SMS rates.
Lebara Long-Term Plans
If you’re happy to sign up for a longer-term plan, there are four 360-day options to choose from. The long-term plan options include the Extra Small, Small, Medium, or the Large 360-day plan.
All of these plans include unlimited standard national calls and SMS, data banking, data gifting, varying amounts of data allowance and international credit for calls and SMS to countries not included in your allowance.
Lebara contact details/customer support
Need some help with your Lebara plan or service? The telco offers several contact and support options, including:
- General customer support: 1300 126 122 or 126 122 from a Lebara mobile (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm and Sat-Sun 9am-6pm AEST time)
- Live chat via the Lebara website
- The Lebara Australia Facebook page
How does Lebara compare?
Lebara isn’t the only telco offering Vodafone network coverage at lower prices. The following providers also use parts of the Vodafone network:
The following table shows a selection of published plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of lowest standard monthly cost to highest, then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our comparison tool to see all plans available on Canstar Blue’s database. This table includes products with links to referral partners.
Here is a selection of postpaid plans from Canstar Blue’s database with a minimum of 10GB of data, listed in order of standard cost, lowest to highest, then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Try out our comparison tool for mobile phone plans to see a range of offers from other providers. This table includes products with links to referral partners.
The following table shows a selection of SIM-only postpaid plans with a minimum of 60GB data on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of their standard monthly cost, from the lowest to highest and then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Try out our comparison tool for mobile phone plans to see a range of offers from other providers. This is a selection of products with links to a referral partner.
Is Lebara a good deal?
Lebara has certainly made a name for itself for offering good prepaid phone deals for travellers and expats with its generous international call inclusions. While that might be the telco’s main focus, there is still good value for money when it comes to call, text and data inclusions — especially with unlimited calls and SMS on the majority of the plans.
While other providers might have plans offering big chunks of data for less money, Lebara has some fairly generous inclusions especially if you’re after big chunks of data. The included international call value might also be what pushes some customers into the higher plans, as these plans have the largest number of countries included in unlimited international call value.
Lebara does offer good value for money if you’re looking into prepaid mobile phone plans, however its international call and SMS value is where the telco really stands out from the rest. If you have friends and family overseas, or are travelling in Australia, you might find Lebara provides the best value for money. Even if you’re after general call and data inclusions, Lebara is still worth your consideration when comparing mobile phone plans.
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About the author of this page
This page was written and is regularly updated by Canstar Blue’s Senior Telco Specialist, Emma Bradstock. An expert in all things phone, internet, gaming and streaming, Emma helps to make complicated subjects easier for readers to understand, as well as covering the latest news and reviews across the telco industry. She’s passionate about helping consumers make better-informed telco choices and highlighting the next best deals.