Australia’s best mobile phone plan providers

We asked you what you consider when choosing a mobile provider, how worried you are about being able to contact 000 when you need to and, perhaps most importantly, how satisfied you are with your mobile phone provider. So which mobile network in Australia has the most satisfied customers?

Best SIM-only phone plan provider: Amaysim

As a SIM-only phone plan provider, Amaysim scores highest for overall satisfaction and in several other categories. 

Boost mobile, and the major three – Telstra, Vodafone and Optus – are the only providers that score below average for SIM-only plans, taking the bottom places for overall satisfaction.

Best SIM + handset phone plan provider: Telstra

Telstra scores highest for overall satisfaction as a SIM + handset phone plan provider. While the scores are reasonably close, overall satisfaction was significantly higher for Telstra’s SIM+ handset customers than for those with Optus. Telstra rates better on network reliability, internet connectivity/coverage, network coverage and internet speed than both Vodafone and Optus. However, Vodafone scores best for value for money.

There were fewer responses about SIM + handset plans than SIM-only plans (27% versus 71%), reflecting that SIM-only plans are much more popular and there are fewer players in this section of the market.

Are users concerned about access to emergency services?

Given that network outages have recently affected hundreds of Australians and blocked access to emergency calls with dire consequences, it isn’t surprising to see that 49% of mobile users are concerned about not being able to make emergency calls when needed. Gen Z (55%) and Gen Y (57%) are more likely to worry about this than Baby Boomers (41%) and pre-Boomers (35%). 

People whose provider is Optus are significantly more likely to worry about this than customers of other providers, however, this survey was conducted in February 2026, before Telstra’s big outage in July 2026. In the wake of these network outages, the big carriers have started a campaign to ensure people know what to do if they’re having trouble connecting to emergency services. 

What do you consider when choosing a provider?

When it comes to selecting a SIM and phone provider, the most important factors respondents listed were: value for money (59%), network coverage (47%) and reliability (45%).)

Gen Z are the least likely to consider network reliability and coverage important, but they are the most likely to consider internet speed important (along with Gen Y). While the Boomers (Baby Boomers 22%, pre-Boomers 36%) are more likely to consider customer service/technical support important than the younger generations (all 13%).

Which providers are people choosing?

For SIM-only plans, Telstra and Optus are losing some of their market share, but still have about 40% market share between them, despite having some of the lowest rates of overall customer satisfaction.

For SIM + handset plans, Amaysim has entered the market with a similar share of customers as iiNet, while Telstra and Optus have an even bigger share of the market than they do for SIM- only plans but this has been declining since 2019.

And what type of plans?

SIM-only plans are growing in popularity – 71% of respondents have one, up from 69%  in 2021 and 2023 But SIM + mobile handset plans remain steady at  27% of responses. 

SIM + handset plans are more popular among Gen Z and Gen Y (34% and 38%, respectively) than the older generations (Gen X 24%; Baby Boomers; 19%; pre-Boomers 18%). And while most people are using physical SIMs (75%), 12% use an eSIM and 9% said they use both. It’s Gen Z and Gen Y who are most likely to be using an eSIM.

No-contract plans continue to grow in popularity. Overall, 72% of our participants report not being on a contract, but on pre-paid (29%), post-paid (28%), or pay-as-you-go plans (14%). The number of people locked into a contract is now 28%, down from 30% in 2023 and 2021 and 57% in 2019. 

About the survey

Australians aged 18 years and over told us about their experience with their mobile service provider in an online survey. Of those who completed the survey, 1998 respondents said they have a mobile phone. Quotas were placed for state, gender and age to ensure we received a nationally representative sample of Australian adults who are solely or jointly responsible for decisions relating to their telecommunication providers. The data has also been weighted to make sure it’s nationally representative.

The survey was in field 2–26 February 2026 and took approximately 10 minutes to complete. CHOICE designed the survey and fieldwork, and survey execution was managed by Dynata (formerly Research Now SSI, who conducted the fieldwork for our 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023 telco satisfaction surveys). Dynata is an ISO 20252 / ISO 26362 accredited panel provider and complies with all applicable industry standards published by ESOMAR, the MRS and the AMSRS.

Why we've partnered with WhistleOut

We've partnered with search engine WhistleOut to help you find and buy the right plan for you.  While we make money if you buy through WhistleOut, this doesn't influence our rankings. 100% of the money we make goes straight back into our nonprofit mission.

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Denis Gallagher

Denis Gallagher is a Senior project officer for Digital home products and also works on test projects for the laundry and fridge labs. He produces tests for gadgets, phones, cameras and home entertainment gear as well as TVs, washing machines, dishwashers and fridges. Previously at CHOICE, Denis worked as a Content producer for digital products. Prior to CHOICE, Denis worked as an Assistant editor on Golf Australia magazine and Editor for Multimedia and Videocamera magazine. Denis has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales and a Diploma of Journalism from Macleay College.

Denis Gallagher is a Senior project officer for Digital home products and also works on test projects for the laundry and fridge labs. He produces tests for gadgets, phones, cameras and home entertainment gear as well as TVs, washing machines, dishwashers and fridges. Previously at CHOICE, Denis worked as a Content producer for digital products. Prior to CHOICE, Denis worked as an Assistant editor on Golf Australia magazine and Editor for Multimedia and Videocamera magazine. Denis has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales and a Diploma of Journalism from Macleay College.