Best Telstra mobile plans

Image credit: Telstra (Image credit: Telstra)

More telco deals

1. Best Optus mobile plans
2. Best Vodafone mobile plans

Telstra’s mobile plans are the most expensive on the market, but Telstra’s wide-reaching coverage can be worth the steeper price of entry for some people, particularly if you’re living in a regional or remote area of Australia.

However, Telstra’s cost alone makes it difficult to recommend, and to make matters worse, Telstra increased the cost of its mobile plans by as much as AU$6 a month in July 2023. Now, the most ‘affordable’ plan you can get from Telstra will cost you AU$62 a month, which is much higher than Optus and Vodafone’s cheapest offerings.

If you want to sign up or stay with Telstra because of its network coverage, we strongly suggest checking out our guide to cheap plans on the Telstra network. You’ll find a range of options from Telstra mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) such as Boost Mobile, Belong and Mate, all of which offer Telstra coverage at a cheaper price.

We’ll be taking a look at various phones on this page, and seeing how they stack up on the Telstra network. If you’d like, you can jump ahead to our plan recommendations below:

Noteworthy Telstra deals

Before we get stuck into our phone and plan recommendations, you should know about Telstra’s current phone deals:

Save AU$250 on the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE when you add a Telstra plan

Best Telstra mobile plans: our picks

Best SIM-only option

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Best overall phone + plan combos

Best overall iPhone + plan combo: our pick

Best overall Android + plan combo: our pick

Best cheap phone + plan combos

Best cheap iPhone + plan combo: our pick

Best cheap Android phone + plan combo: our pick

Google Pixel 7a (128GB) | 50GB data | 24 months | AU$93.20p/m

The Google Pixel 7a is an affordable phone at AU$749, but fair warning, Telstra’s got the most expensive plan (Optus is your cheapest option). If you need to go with Telstra, we recommend the Basic 50GB plan – it’ll cost you AU$93.20 each billing period if you pay it off over 24 months. Telstra’s plan is AU$13 more a month than you’d pay over at Optus, but you might be swayed by Telstra’s wider coverage.

Total cost over 24 months is AU$2,236.80

Best premium phone + plan combos

Best premium iPhone + plan combo: our pick

iPhone 14 Pro (128GB) | 50GB data | 24 months | AU$134.87p/m

For the best premium iPhone currently available, you’ll want to go with either the 14 Pro or 14 Pro Max, depending on your size preference. The Pro has the same 6.1-inch screen size as the regular iPhone 14, while the Pro Max stretches out to 6.7 inches. Whichever you go with, we think Telstra’s Basic plan on a 24-month contract is best, as it’ll get you 50GB of data from AU$134.87 a month.

Total cost over 24 months is AU$3,236.88

Best premium Android + plan combo: our pick

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (256GB) | 50GB data | 24 months | AU$143.20p/m

We’d argue the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best Android phone out there, and its new 200MP main camera is particularly noteworthy. If you must buy it from Telstra, pair it with the Basic 50GB plan, which will see you pay AU$143.20 a month on a 24-month contract. Optus and Vodafone both offer cheaper monthly plans, so consider signing up with either of them if you want to pay less each billing period.

Total cost over 24 months is AU$3,436.80

Looking for something cheaper, or have your own phone? Check out the best-value Australian SIM-only plans

Jasmine Gearie is an ecommerce editor at TechRadar Australia, with a primary focus on helping readers cut through the jargon to find the best mobile and internet plans for their needs. She crunches the numbers to maintain dedicated guides to the latest phones, NBN and broadband plans of all types, and covers the important telco industry news. She also hunts down tech deals on laptops, phones, gaming consoles and more, so readers know where to buy the products they want for the cheapest prices.

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