Optus Mobile Review ALDI Mobile Review Amaysim Mobile Review Belong Mobile Review Circles.Life Review Vodafone Mobile Review Woolworths Mobile Review Felix Mobile Review Best iPhone Plans Best Family Mobile Plans Best Budget Smartphones Best Prepaid Plans Best SIM-Only Plans Best Plans For Kids And Teens Best Cheap Mobile Plans Telstra vs Optus Mobile Optus NBN Review Belong NBN Review Vodafone NBN Review Superloop NBN Review Aussie BB NBN Review iiNet NBN Review MyRepublic NBN Review TPG NBN Review Best NBN Satellite Plans Best NBN Alternatives Best NBN Providers Best Home Wireless Plans What is a Good NBN Speed? Test NBN Speed How to speed up your internet Optus vs Telstra Broadband ExpressVPN Review CyberGhost VPN Review NordVPN Review PureVPN Review Norton Secure VPN Review IPVanish VPN Review Windscribe VPN Review Hotspot Shield VPN Review Best cheap VPN services Best VPN for streaming Best VPNs for gaming What is a VPN? VPNs for ad-blocking When it comes to network coverage, Telstra is number one with 99.4 percent of the population serviced by at least 4GX. Optus and Vodafone are the two other big mobile networks in Australia, covering 98.5 percent of the population (with either 3G or 4G) and 96 percent, respectively. While Optus and Vodafone don’t contend on the same scale of network coverage as Telstra, they do offer a range of plan features that are appealing on the all-important value front. We’ve previously pitted Telstra against Optus, so here’s how Optus and Vodafone mobile networks fare when squared off against each other. For starters, you can see below how their most popular mobile phone plans compare against each other in terms of popularity. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the population as of March 2022 is estimated to be around 25,723,248. Using that number, that 98.5 coverage percentage for Optus works out to around 25,421,917, which covers a decent chunk more Aussies than Vodafone’s estimate of 24,776,690. The good news is that both Optus and Vodafone MVNOs have complete access to each telco’s respective 4G network where it’s available for those seeking a great deal. You can interact with the map below to compare Optus and Vodafone coverage in your area or anywhere in Australia. Vodafone says its 5G mobile network currently rolling out to 1,000 suburbs across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Perth, Gold Coast, Central Coast, Wollongong and the Sunshine Coast. According to Vodafone, one million customers currently have access to their 5G network with “thousands” joining each week. More broadly though, Optus has the edge when it comes to speed. According to OpenSignal’s latest Mobile Network Experience Report, Optus ranked second-place overall behind Telstra with average download speeds of 48.3mbps. By comparison, Vodafone lagged behind at 43.4mbps. The cheapest Optus SIM-only plan is the $49 Optus Choice Plan, which comes with 30GB of data and no excess data charges if you go over (there is a 1.5 Mbps speed cap, though). For postpaid phone plan comparisons between Optus and Vodafone, we’re using an iPhone 14 128GB handset with 24-month repayment terms and at least 10GB of data. As Vodafone has the cheapest postpaid plan (the $45 Small Plan), it’s already out in front of Optus’ $49 offering. Usually, both telcos are neck-and-neck when it comes to monthly device cost, which means Vodafone is generally the cheapest option overall. Still, both providers offer regular discounts, so keep an eye on the below plans as they may change. For comparison, here’s a look at the six most popular iPhone 14 128GB postpaid plans (with 24-month repayments) today. For the best value plan, Vodafone prepaid comes out on top at the time of writing, offering 50GB for just $12 for the first month (reverting to $40 afterwards). The 50GB only applies for the first activation and first two recharges before reverting to 30GB, which still should be enough for less frequent users. There’s also infinite data capped at 1.5 Mbps if you go over your included data and data banking of up to 200GB. Vodafone isn’t far behind, offering 45GB of data for just $5 less. And once again, you can save another $5 per recharge if you opt-in for automatic recharge.
