There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and a new iPhone range release towards the end of the year. And there's quite a steep upfront cost if you want to buy a shiny new iPhone outright. Alternatively, you can pay off the cost of a new Apple smartphone over a 12-month, 24-month or 36-month period.
In this guide, we've focused on 36-month handset repayment terms when making our picks, to keep the overall monthly costs more manageable. However, we have included a 24-month plan pick for our top phone - the iPhone 16 Pro.
Regardless of which handset repayment terms you prefer, buying a new iPhone also means picking a mobile plan from one of the big three telcos: Vodafone, Optus or Telstra. Keep scrolling for this month's pick of the best iPhone plans.
Best iPhone 16 Pro plan
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Vodafone
$49 Small Plan
$88.97/mth
Min. cost $1,837.92
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What we love: If you are looking to get your hands on the brand new iPhone 16 Pro on a mobile plan, this deal from Vodafone is one of the best you can get right now. You'll currently get 50GB of data every month, as well as unlimited local talk and text. With its current promotion, you get $10 off plan fees plus double data monthly when you remain on an eligible SIM plan. If you go over your allowance, you'll get unlimited data at slower speeds of 2Mbps.
If you fancy some alternatives, see how this plan compares to other popular choices from our database:
iPhone 16 Pro 128GB Plans
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#1
|
Vodafone
$49 Small Plan
$88.97/mth
Min. cost $1,837.92
|
|
#2
|
Vodafone
$59 Medium Plan
$98.97/mth
Min. cost $1,847.92
|
|
#3
|
Optus
$55 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$104.96/mth
Min. cost $1,853.56
|
|
#4
|
Vodafone
$69 Large Plan
$108.97/mth
Min. cost $1,857.92
|
|
#5
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Optus
$65 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$114.96/mth
Min. cost $1,863.56
|
|
#6
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Optus
$79 Optus Promo Plan
$118.96/mth
Min. cost $1,867.56
|
|
Vodafone
$49 Small Plan
$113.95/mth
Min. cost $1,837.80
|
What we love: If you decide to go with the 24-month device payment option instead, the Vodafone $49 Small Plan is an excellent choice! You will also get the same offers and perks as the 36-month device payment.
Or if this plan doesn't float your boat, here's how it compares to more popular options from our database:
iPhone 16 Pro 128GB Plans
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#1
|
Vodafone
$49 Small Plan
$113.95/mth
Min. cost $1,837.80
|
|
#2
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Vodafone
$59 Medium Plan
$123.95/mth
Min. cost $1,847.80
|
|
#3
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Optus
$55 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$129.94/mth
Min. cost $1,853.56
|
|
#4
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Vodafone
$69 Large Plan
$133.95/mth
Min. cost $1,857.80
|
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#5
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Optus
$65 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$139.94/mth
Min. cost $1,863.56
|
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#6
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Telstra
$65 Basic Upfront Mobile Plan
$139.95/mth
Min. cost $1,863.80
Link not supplied
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Best iPhone 16 plan
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Vodafone
$49 Small Plan
$77.86/mth
Min. cost $1,437.96
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What we love: If you've got your eyes on the new iPhone 16 on a mobile plan, this deal from Vodafone is one of the best you can get right now. You'll currently get 50GB of data every month, as well as unlimited local talk and text. With its current promotion, you get $10 off plan fees plus double data monthly when you remain on an eligible SIM plan. If you go over your allowance, you'll get unlimited data at slower speeds of 2Mbps. Just be aware you forfeit this discount if you leave early or change your plan.
Or if you still want to keep your options open, here's how this plan compares to other popular plans from our database:
iPhone 16 128GB Plans
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#1
|
Vodafone
$49 Small Plan
$77.86/mth
Min. cost $1,437.96
|
|
#2
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Vodafone
$59 Medium Plan
$87.86/mth
Min. cost $1,447.96
|
|
#3
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Optus
$55 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$93.86/mth
Min. cost $1,453.96
|
|
#4
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Vodafone
$69 Large Plan
$97.86/mth
Min. cost $1,457.96
|
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#5
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Optus
$65 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$103.86/mth
Min. cost $1,463.96
|
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#6
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Optus
$79 Optus Promo Plan
$107.86/mth
Min. cost $1,467.96
|
Best iPhone 15 plan
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Vodafone
$49 Small Plan
$73.69/mth
Min. cost $1,287.84
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What we love: If you've got your eyes on the new iPhone 15, you might still be interested in Vodafone's $49 Small Plan with no lock-in contract. With this model, you will receive a very generous 50GB of data for $49. With its current promotion, you get to save $10 off plan fees plus double data monthly when you remain on an eligible SIM plan.
Or if you still want to keep your options open, here's how this plan compares to other popular plans from our database:
iPhone 15 128GB Plans
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#1
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Vodafone
$49 Small Plan
$73.69/mth
Min. cost $1,287.84
|
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#2
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Vodafone
$59 Medium Plan
$83.69/mth
Min. cost $1,297.84
|
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#3
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Optus
$55 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$89.68/mth
Min. cost $1,303.48
|
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#4
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Vodafone
$69 Large Plan
$93.69/mth
Min. cost $1,307.84
|
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#5
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Optus
$65 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$99.68/mth
Min. cost $1,313.48
|
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#6
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Telstra
$65 Basic Upfront Mobile Plan
$99.69/mth
Min. cost $1,313.84
Link not supplied
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Best iPhone 14 plan
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Vodafone
$49 Small Plan
$68.13/mth
Min. cost $1,087.68
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What we love: If you are thinking of getting the iPhone 14, Vodafone's $49 Small Plan is a good choice with no lock-in contract.
Or if you still want to keep your options open, here's how this plan compares to other popular plans from our database:
iPhone 14 128GB Plans
|
#1
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Vodafone
$49 Small Plan
$68.13/mth
Min. cost $1,087.68
|
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#2
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Vodafone
$59 Medium Plan
$78.13/mth
Min. cost $1,097.68
|
|
#3
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Optus
$55 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$84.12/mth
Min. cost $1,103.32
|
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#4
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Optus
$65 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$94.12/mth
Min. cost $1,113.32
|
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#5
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Telstra
$65 Basic Upfront Mobile Plan
$94.13/mth
Min. cost $1,113.68
Link not supplied
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#6
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Telstra
$75 Essential Upfront Mobile Plan
$104.13/mth
Min. cost $1,123.68
Link not supplied
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Best iPhone SE plan
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Optus
$55 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$77.18/mth
Min. cost $853.48
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What we love: This Optus plan gets you an iPhone SE at a very reasonable price. We'd recommend going for the 128GB iPhone SE instead of the 64GB model because you're only paying a little bit more to get twice the storage.
Check out how this plan compares to some popular alternatives:
iPhone SE 3rd Gen 128GB Plans
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#1
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Optus
$55 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$77.18/mth
Min. cost $853.48
|
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#2
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Telstra
$65 Basic Upfront Mobile Plan
$83.86/mth
Min. cost $743.96
Link not supplied
|
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#3
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Optus
$65 Optus Choice Plus Plan
$87.18/mth
Min. cost $863.48
|
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#4
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Telstra
$75 Essential Upfront Mobile Plan
$93.86/mth
Min. cost $753.96
Link not supplied
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How we choose the best iPhone plans each month
If you already own an iPhone, the great news is you can pair it with the plans featured on this page, albeit instead of a postpaid mobile plan that includes the cost of a handset, you’re looking at a SIM-only variant. The focus of our winners and runners-up, though, is for those people seeking to bundle monthly iPhone handset repayments with an appropriate plan that will help them get the most out of their new Apple smartphone.
We tend to make our picks based on a few iPhone options to meet different performance and budget needs. In terms of the plans, these are appraised by our team of experts each month to see which ones have the best dollar-to-data value. These plans are evaluated as part of the thousands of mobile and internet plans in our database, which have hundreds of updates each month.
For our best iPhone picks, the first key consideration is the monthly cost, which changes based on our categories. Our 36-month plan recommendations have cheaper monthly pricing albeit with longer payment terms. Alternatively, the 24-month alternatives are costlier per month but have the handset paid off sooner and reflect the more traditional duration for postpaid plans. Because there’s not much point in recommending a dirt-cheap plan if it doesn’t come with any data, you’ll notice our plan picks offer plenty of gigabytes per month.
Speaking of data, more recent iPhone handsets are 5G-capable, which means they can reach download speeds up to ten times faster than 4G speeds. Because of this, our main plan recommendations are for plans that include 5G network support on the respective network. After all, if you’re forking out for a new phone, you might as well tap into some of the latest speed perks, too.
In terms of 5G in Australia, Telstra has the widest-reaching network with Optus in second place. Vodafone’s 5G network is the smallest and is mostly concentrated in metro areas. The good news is that whichever of the big three telcos you go with, you shouldn’t expect to pay extra in excess data charges, with all three opting to cap speeds rather than add fees.
Outside of the combined monthly cost of the plan and handset, as well as monthly data, our winners and runners-up tend to be separated by the included additional features. These may include basics like reduced monthly pricing (via plan bundling, credit or limited-time discounts) or bonus data if you sign up by a particular deadline. International inclusions are also a great feature, which may either be a set number of included minutes up to unlimited talk and text with a range of selected countries.
Other perks are less obvious, like unmetered content to help preserve a monthly data quota through to included bolt-on services, which range from limited-duration trials to included for the life of the plan. Because the big three telcos are close competitors, they also may offer price matching on handset repayments or trade-in credit for eligible smartphones to help keep monthly costs down.
For information on phone plans with other popular phones, read our Editor's picks for the best mobile phone plans for this month.
Our Editor's Picks awards are selected by our team of data experts. We may earn a commission if you click on one of the products listed, but a service provider isn't required to have a commercial relationship with us to be eligible for consideration. See here for more information about how we work.
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