Optus raises mobile plan prices, but adds more data

Optus has made sweeping changes to its Choice postpaid mobile plans, increasing the monthly cost but adding substantially more data.

The key changes include bumping up all plan prices by $6 per month, but offering up to double the high-speed data on most plans. Optus is also scrapping its current Double Data offer for plans paired with 5G devices, as well as removing included international data roaming.

If you’re currently on a month-to-month Optus Choice plan – either SIM-only, or with a smartphone on an Optus device payment – Optus has confirmed to Canstar Blue that it has no plans to move you to the new pricing structure, and will not amend your plan details without providing at least 30 days’ notice. For now, you can choose between sticking with your current plan at its existing price point, swapping to the new Optus Choice plans, or cancelling your Optus service altogether. However, be aware that if you decide to add a new device to your Optus service, you’ll be required to pair it with one of the updated plans.

Optus’ brand new Choice postpaid plans are listed in the below table. Click through to buy or switch to any Optus plan, or keep reading for more details on how each plan has changed.

The following table shows a selection of Optus postpaid plans from Canstar Blue’s database, in order of standard monthly cost, from the lowest to highest, and then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our mobile plan comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers.

Optus phone plans: what’s changed?

Here’s a summary of the changes Optus is introducing from today.

All four Choice plans will undergo a $6 per month price increase, but you will receive more data for your dollars. Optus’ Small, Large, and Extra Large plans now include double the full-speed data each month, while the Medium plan now features an extra 20GB.

You’ll also continue to receive unlimited standard national talk and text in Australia, as well as unlimited speed-capped data, restricted to speeds of 1.5Mbps — meaning there’s no excess data charges in Australia. Customers can still pool data across Optus plans on a single account, and Medium, Large and Extra Large plans still offer free Optus Sport + Fitness, and unlimited standard calls to eligible international numbers. The Small plan now includes access to Optus Sport + OS Fitness, while previously it was unavailable on the cheapest offering.

However, several inclusions have been removed, most notably a monthly global roaming allowance. While plans previously offered up to 4GB of data roaming each month in applicable countries (and 10GB on the Optus One plan), the telco has now scrapped this feature completely. Going forward, customers will need to purchase an Optus Roaming Pass add-on when using data outside Australia, or pay expensive per-use roaming charges.

Optus has also cancelled its Double Data offer for customers buying 5G smartphones, citing the prevalence of 5G-capable devices on the market. Customers will also no longer have the option to ‘trade up’ or upgrade to a newer phone after 12 months, which was previously offered for a $149 fee.

Finally, Optus is retiring its premium Optus One plan. The heavy-use plan was priced at $119 per month, and featured a hefty 500GB of full-speed data, alongside 10GB of overseas roaming. Going forward, Optus One will no longer be available to new Optus customers, although existing customers can choose to be grandfathered in and stick with their plan price and inclusions.

In good news, all plans will still include access to Optus’ 5G mobile network, provided you have a 5G-capable device. Optus has previously said it has no plans to charge customers extra to access 5G, although a surprise price rise could be looked at as a ‘5G fee’ by more cynical consumers.

Should I switch to an Optus mobile phone plan?

Whether you should stick with — or move to — an Optus Choice plan will depend on how you use your phone. If you’re a heavy data user, you may want to consider the gigabyte-packed Large or Extra Large plans, which remain competitive at $65 and $85 per month respectively.

However, low or average data users who are looking for a SIM-only plan may find better value shopping around. It’s now common to find 20GB of data at around the $20-$30 per month mark, so if you don’t need extras like international talk and text you may prefer to go with a smaller, cheaper provider.

If you’re looking for a plan with 5G access, you still have limited options — only Optus, Telstra, Vodafone, SpinTel and now Aussie Broadband currently offer 5G mobile coverage, with Aussie and SpinTel’s plans running on Optus’ 5G network. SpinTel’s 5G phone plans begin at $35 for 10GB of data, up to $55 for 80GB, but unlike Optus these plans will incur excess data charges if you exceed your monthly data allowance.

While Optus’ revamped Choice plans do generally give you more value in terms of high-speed data, this may not be enough for some users to justify paying $6 more each month, and $72 more annually. Ultimately, your best bet is to compare mobile plans before making a decision — we’ve highlighted some plans in the below tables to get you started.