SIM Corner took out top spot in Canstar Blue’s customer satisfaction ratings with an impressive five-star result across almost all categories, including overall satisfaction, and three stars for its app or website.
Our travel phone plan provider ratings are based on customer satisfaction across multiple purchase factors. It’s like asking more than 1,000 Aussies what they think of their travel phone service!
Canstar Blue surveyed 1,194 Australians for their feedback on travel phone plan providers they’ve been used. Respondents had to have used a SIM card or roaming pack for overseas travel in the past three years, not including SIM cards for use in Australia or purchased overseas.
Survey respondents are asked to rate their satisfaction with their travel phone plan provider from zero to 10, with zero meaning extremely dissatisfied and 10 meaning extremely satisfied. Travel mobile plan provider satisfaction is rated on the following criteria:
The winning brand is the brand that receives the highest Overall satisfaction rating after scores from the Overall satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged Overall satisfaction is asked as a specific question and represents an individual measure, not a combined total of all criteria.
To qualify in the ratings results, providers must have received a minimum of 30 responses to be included. Therefore, not all travel phone plan providers are in this survey. Providers rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customers ratings.
SIM Corner took out top spot with a near-perfect result, scoring five stars for overall satisfaction, value for money, sign up and activation, customer service, network coverage and ease of recharge. It scored its only three-star result for the app or website category.
SIM Corner is an Australian-owned and operated provider offering a range of prepaid travel SIM packs. Most plans require the purchase of a physical SIM card that’s shipped to you, however eSIM packs are also available. Travel packs include destinations in Europe, the US, Asia, the UK, South America, New Zealand and more, with different inclusions and expiry dates available.
In second place was GoSim with four stars for overall satisfaction, along with value for money, app or website and ease of recharge. It scored three stars for sign-up and activation, customer service and network coverage.
GoSim offers a range of physical international SIM cards, including Europe, Asia and USA-specific packs, plus standard international SIM card and data-only SIM packs. You can also top up your plan if you need more data, call and SMS inclusions.
Telstra took third place with four stars for overall satisfaction, sign-up and activation, customer service, network coverage and app or website. It scored five stars for ease of recharge and three stars for value for money.
Telstra offers its travel plans in the form of international roaming add-ons for existing Telstra customers. This means you’re able to keep your Telstra SIM in your phone (and still have access to your Australian phone number) and add on a Day Pass. Inclusions, prices and eligible destinations vary between the plans.
Taking out fourth spot was Vodafone, with four stars for overall satisfaction, value for money, sign-up and activation, and app or website. It scored five stars for ease of recharge and three stars for customer service and network coverage.
Vodafone’s $5-per-day roaming has been a stand out offer for several years now. Rather than offering a roaming SIM or add-on packs, Vodafone customers on eligible plans can pay $5 per day of roaming to access their phone plan’s inclusions while overseas. While access to some inclusions (such as unlimited capped-speed data) are excluded, it offers a convenient way to access your phone plan when travelling.
Woolworths Mobile was in fifth place with four stars for overall satisfaction, value for money and ease of recharge. It scored three stars for sign-up and activation, customer service and network coverage, and was the only provider to score five stars for the app or website category.
Like Telstra and Vodafone, Woolworths Mobile offers international roaming as an add-on to an existing phone plan. There are several roaming add-ons to choose from, with varying prices, inclusions and expiry periods, however it’s only available to use in select countries.
Australia Post took out sixth place with three stars for overall satisfaction, value for money, sign-up and activation, customer service and network coverage. It scored five stars for ease of recharge and four stars for app or website.
Although Australia Post offers a selection of SIM-only phone plans, it has one, separate international roaming plan. The simple roaming plan can be used in more than 90 countries and inclusions topped up as required.
Rounding out our ratings was Optus with three stars for overall satisfaction. It scored three stars in most other categories, but five stars for ease of recharge and four stars for app or website.
Optus offers a $5-per-day roaming add-on to eligible customers. Unlike Vodafone’s offering that allows access to existing domestic inclusions, Optus’ version comes with its own set of inclusions, which can be used in more than 100 destinations.
Whether you’re looking for an international roaming add-on, or you want a separate SIM with a specific travel plan, there are plenty of providers offering a range of travel phone plans. While not all providers (or telcos offering international roaming on plans) are covered in our ratings, it doesn’t mean you can’t find a good-value travel plan to suit your needs. Some other travel phone plan providers include:
To give you an idea of the plans available with international roaming features, the table below lists a selection of postpaid plans from Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of advertised cost, lowest cost first, then by data allowance. Use our comparison tool to see a wide range of plans from other providers. This table includes products with links to referral partners.
To give you an idea of the plans available with international roaming features, the table below lists a selection of prepaid plans from Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of advertised cost, lowest cost first, then by data allowance. Use our comparison tool to see a wide range of plans from other providers. This table includes products with links to referral partners.
Having access to our mobile phones and phone service overseas is an essential for many of us, for keeping in touch with friends and family back home, sharing our journey on social media, using maps and browsing great places to visit.
Of those we surveyed, 39% used their travel SIM more for data than calls and texts and 38% chose a travel SIM because roaming on their regular plan was too expensive. Although 39% said that they’d recommend their travel SIM to friends and family or other travellers, there are a few things to consider when choosing a travel phone plan.
First up, you’ll need to decide what type of travel plan you’ll need — for light data users or if you’re with a telco that offers a good international roaming plan, you might prefer to just switch roaming on.
However, if roaming is too expensive, there are plenty of travel plans available so you don’t need to stress about finding a SIM card when you reach your destination. Some of these might include calls, texts and data allowance, while some might be data-only. If you choose a data-only plan, you may need to set up a messaging app that uses mobile data, such as Messenger or WhatsApp, so you can still make calls and send messages.
Some plans might also be available with an eSIM. The advantage to using eSIM is that there’s no need to switch out your Australian SIM for a physical SIM card so you’ll be able to get text messages to your Aussie number while travelling — very important for receiving verification codes from your bank and other services. You can also set up your eSIM before you hop on your flight. Keep in mind that eSIM is not available with every phone, so you’ll need to check if your mobile phone offers eSIM compatibility. Some phones might have dual-SIM capability so you’ll be able to have your Aussie SIM and a physical travel SIM in your phone at the same time.
The most popular travel destinations in Europe, Asia, Oceania and North and South America are covered by many travel phone plans, but it’s important to check the destinations a plan has included before signing up. Likewise, if you’re travelling to multiple destinations, you may prefer to find a travel phone plan that will cover all of those destinations on the one plan.
Once you’ve narrowed down your search, you’ll need to consider how long the travel plan is active. Some plans might have limited expiry periods, so you might need to recharge your plan when still travelling. If that’s the case, make sure you know how to recharge, have any required app installed and your payment details already connected to the account (if possible).
Also consider what inclusions you need, such as how much data you’ll likely use each day, and how much the plan will cost. Travel phone plans are often expensive and data inclusions can be small so it’s a good idea to make use of secure WiFi networks when available. It’s also a good idea to download all your favourite movies, shows, music, podcasts and audiobooks before you travel so you’re not draining your data by streaming.
Emma Bradstock has been an authority on consumer phone, internet, technology and streaming markets in Australia for the last 4 years, with a dedication to providing Aussies with all the information they need to make better purchasing decisions. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Media from Macquarie University and has a decade of professional writing experience in print and digital media.
Meet the Editorial Team
Samantha Howse is Canstar Blue’s Consumer Research Specialist, coordinating the consumer research program behind our customer satisfaction awards across Canstar and Canstar Blue in Australia and New Zealand. Sam has earned a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Griffith University and, with seven years in market research and 2 years in marketing, she is experienced in survey design, implementation and analysis, coupled with an understanding of marketing principles and best practice.
Meet the Research TeamCanstar Blue surveyed 12,200 Australian adults across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from customers within the survey group who have used a SIM Card or roaming pack for overseas travel in the last 2 years (not including for use in Australia or SIM cards purchased overseas)– in this case, 1,194 people.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criteria.
Here are past winners of Canstar Blue’s Most Satisfied Customers – Travel phone plan ratings:
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