Best Mobile Phone Plans & Deals for Students
Students want cheap data, no lock-in contract, and often cheap calls home overseas. Here's how the current budget SIM-only options actually stack up on each.
Student budgets and student needs skew the same way. Cheap, flexible, no long-term commitment, and for a lot of international students, genuinely useful international calling rates. None of that requires an expensive plan. It mostly just requires picking the right one on purpose.
No lock-in is non-negotiable
If your address or enrolment length might change within the next year, whether that's moving share houses, a semester exchange, or finishing a course, a contract plan is the wrong shape for your situation regardless of price. Every plan mentioned below is prepaid or no-lock-in postpaid, so you're never stuck paying out a contract to switch or cancel.
Cheap data that doesn't waste your money
A few currently verified budget options worth starting from:
Kogan Mobile is prepaid from $23 for 25GB monthly, with eSIM support and data rollover, on the TPG and Vodafone network. Consistently one of the cheapest ways to get meaningful data with no contract.
Amaysim is $30 for 15GB or $35 for 42GB on a 28-day cycle, running on the Optus network. A solid middle ground if Kogan's coverage doesn't suit where you live or study.
Tangerine starts around $30 a month for 60GB after an introductory discount period, on Telstra's wholesale network. Worth it if you want Telstra-grade coverage without Telstra's price tag.
If calling home matters more than data
This is where a lot of general student-advice guides miss the point. If you're regularly calling family overseas, the right plan isn't the cheapest domestic SIM-only deal, it's a provider actually built for international calling.
Lycamobile prepaid plans from $15 per 28 days include unlimited talk and text across Australia plus unlimited international calls and texts to 35 countries, with extra minutes to 6 more nations on top. If your family is in one of the covered countries, this beats bolting an international add-on onto a mainstream plan.
Lebara is similarly built around international calling, with plans from $25 a month including unlimited calls and texts to 35-plus destinations, rising to 50 destinations on the higher tiers.
Check each provider's current country list before committing, since coverage and calling minutes vary by destination and change over time.
What to sort out before you sign up
eSIM if your phone supports it. Several of the providers above (Kogan Mobile, Lebara) offer eSIM, which means no waiting for a physical SIM to arrive if you're setting up as soon as you land. Check our guide on iPhone SIM sizes and eSIM if you're not sure which your device takes.
Porting your number if you're switching, not starting fresh. If you already have an Australian number and just want a cheaper plan, porting your number takes it with you, so there's no need to reprint it on every form you've already filled out.
The honest verdict
Match the plan to what you actually need: cheap general-purpose data from Kogan Mobile, Amaysim or Tangerine if that's the whole job, or an international-calling-first provider like Lycamobile or Lebara if staying in touch with family overseas is the real priority. Either way, no-lock-in prepaid keeps you free to change your mind as your situation changes, which for most students it eventually will. Compare every current plan by price on the mobile plans hub.
Providers mentioned
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do I need a contract as an international student in Australia?
- No. Every provider in this guide runs no-lock-in, month-to-month or prepaid plans, so you can cancel or switch any time, which matters if your enrolment length or address is likely to change.
- What's the cheapest way to call family overseas as a student?
- A provider built around international calling specifically, rather than a mainstream domestic plan with an international add-on bolted on. Lycamobile and Lebara are both built for exactly this and typically beat the international rates on general-purpose SIM-only plans.
- Can I get a plan before I have an Australian address or credit history?
- Prepaid sidesteps this entirely. No credit check, no address requirement beyond what's needed to receive a physical SIM, or none at all if you go eSIM. It's the simplest path for anyone newly arrived.