Cheapest Prepaid Mobile Deals: What’s On Offer for $50 and Under?

If you’re on the hunt for a cheap new mobile deal priced at no more than $50, going prepaid could well be the way forward. For many consumers, it may simply be a case of seeking greater control over spending. Prepaid plans can pave the way for proactive budgeting and help to reign in additional costs. And with everything paid for upfront, this means no surprise charges at the end of your billing cycle.

When getting started, you’ll need to consider what you want from a plan, be it an abundance of data, and/or a plethora of minutes and texts. From there, you can begin matching mobile provider offerings to your requirements.

This will not only provide a point of comparison between providers and plans, but also help to determine what type of budget you should be looking at.

Below we’ll take a look at why data is all-important and run through some of the key features you should keep in mind when shopping around for a prepaid plan. In addition to this, we’ll take a look at a range of prepaid plans priced at $50 and under.

Mobile deals: It’s all about the data

These days data is the key selling point of mobile plans. Bundled allowances of minutes and texts are all well and good (in fact, many plans come with both unlimited minutes and texts), but when it comes down to it, you’ll primarily be paying for the data allocation.

For this reason, you should pay particular attention to both the amount and type of data on offer when weighing up prepaid plans.

There are broadly three types of data offered by providers:

• Standard – data for use within a billing period, with any unused data expiring at the end of the period
• Rollover – unused data rolls over from one billing period to the next, potentially for up to a year before expiry (also referred to as carryover data). Some providers may place a cap on the amount of data that can be rolled over
• Endless – once a full-speed data allocation has been used, endless data then applies (usually throttled at a reduced speed of 1.2Mbps)

In addition, providers may also offer other types of customised data packages, such as data that can only be used across select apps or websites.

For example, social data is common, where you get extra (or even unlimited) data to use across apps such as Facebook and Instagram. If this constitutes most of your data usage, you might find you don’t need to pay for a plan with much data at all.

Ultimately, you’ll need to weigh up how much data you’ll likely be using from one month to the next and the type of data best suited to your usage patterns. This will be a key factor in providing a window into costs and then framing your budget.

As we’ll look at in the following section, there are a range of other prepaid features also worthwhile keeping in mind.

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Prepaid plan features

As with any mobile plan, beyond the data, minutes and text allowances, it is important to consider the full scope of features on offer when assessing prepaid deals. It may well be that a certain feature is what separates one plan from the other and provides you additional value.

It’s also worthwhile keeping in mind that going prepaid means you can cancel your plan at any time, and it may be a good choice if you’re simply looking for a short-term option.

Prepaid plan features to weigh up include:

• Billing cycles – you may be inclined to think about billing in terms of monthly cycles. However plans are not necessarily structured this way. For instance, some of the plans featured below run for a 28-day period. Billing cycles vary from provider to provider
• Auto-renew – sees plans automatically renew at the end of a billing period, meaning you’ll be automatically charged from one billing period to the next. Usually you can disable this feature if required
• Hotspot – is a convenient feature that allows you to share your mobile internet connection with other devices. If you plan on hotspotting, you should confirm that it is included with a plan, or if any additional charge applies
• Add-ons – many providers offer various add-ons (such as data packages) with their plans. These can come in handy if you exhaust your allowance and need a quick top-up during a billing period
• Intro offers and bonus deals – an intro offer (such as extra data) can certainly help sweeten the deal when signing up. Providers may also offer other types of bonus deals for customers who remain on a plan over the longer term
• Minutes/texts – it’s important to confirm that numbers you plan on calling and texting are covered by a plan’s allowance. Many providers cover calls and texts to standard NZ and OZ numbers. However, some offer calls and texts even further afield. If you have any questions, get in touch with the provider prior to signing up

If you’re after super-fast mobile speeds, also keep in mind that many providers are now offering 5G coverage in select areas. It will be worthwhile checking out a provider’s network coverage map before signing up.

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Prepaid plans priced at $50 and under

The following is a selection of prepaid plans priced at $50 and under on offer from different providers. Depending on your budget, there are a range of options available, packaged with standard, rollover and endless data allocations.

Skinny

Skinny offers a range of four-weekly prepaid plans priced at under $50, variously packaged with rollover minutes and data, and unlimited minutes and endless data. Rollover minutes and data can be kept and used for 12 months from the date of original purchase.

Skinny’s four-weekly plans automatically renew every 28 days.

$9 Plan

Features – 250MB data, 100 minutes and unlimited texts (NZ and OZ).

$17 Plan

Features – 1.5GB rollover data, 200 rollover minutes and unlimited texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – unlimited minutes to other Skinny mobiles.

$27 Plan

Features – 3GB rollover data, 300 rollover minutes and unlimited texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – unlimited minutes to other Skinny mobiles.

$40 Plan

Features – 5GB data (then endless data at reduced speeds), unlimited minutes and texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – hotspotting.

$50 Plan

Features – 15GB data (then endless data at reduced speeds), unlimited minutes and texts (NZ and OZ)

Extras – hotspotting

2degrees

2degrees’ monthly prepaid plans priced at under $50 are offered with a variety of carryover data and minutes allocations. When it comes to unused allocations, customers have 12 months to use any carried over data and minutes.

2degrees’ monthly prepaid plans automatically renew on the same day of each month (for instance, if you purchased your plan on April 5, it will then renew on May 5 and so on).

$10 Plan

Features – 250MB carryover data, 100 carryover minutes and unlimited texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – unlimited calls to 2degrees mobiles, free voicemail, hotspotting and a free hour of data every day.

$19 Plan

Features – 1.5GB carryover data, 200 carryover minutes and unlimited texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – unlimited calls to 2degrees mobiles, hotspotting, free voicemail and a free hour of data every day.

$30 Plan

Features – 3GB carryover data, 300 carryover minutes and unlimited texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – unlimited calls to 2degrees mobiles, hotspotting, free voicemail and a free hour of data every day.

 

Warehouse Mobile

Warehouse Mobile offers a number of prepaid plans priced at under $50, with its Combo deals coming with a range of carryover data allocations. Unused carryover data can be carried over for up to 365 days (minutes do not carry over).

Warehouse Mobile’s prepaid Combos are valid for 28 days from the date of purchase.

$9 Plan

Features – 300MB carryover data, 100 minutes (NZ, OZ and 13 other locations) and unlimited texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – free NZ calling and texting between Warehouse Mobile customers, free voicemail.

$15 Plan

Features – 1.25GB carryover data, 200 minutes (NZ, OZ and 13 other locations) and unlimited texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – free NZ calling and texting between Warehouse Mobile customers, free voicemail.

$25 Plan

Features – 3GB carryover data, unlimited minutes (NZ, OZ and 13 other locations) and unlimited texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – free voicemail.

$35 Plan

Features – 6GB carryover data, unlimited minutes (NZ, OZ and 13 other locations) and unlimited texts (NZ and OZ)

Extras – free voicemail

$45 Plan

Features – 15GB carryover data, unlimited minutes (NZ, OZ and 13 other locations) and unlimited texts (NZ and Oz)

Extras – Free voicemail

Spark

Spark’s prepaid Value Packs priced at $50 and under come with a variety of rollover data and minutes inclusions. Across these plans, rollover data is capped at 3.5GB and rollover minutes at 500 minutes, with both expiring 365 days after purchase.

Spark’s prepaid Value Packs automatically renew every 28 days.

$20 Plan

Features – 1.25GB rollover data, 200 rollover minutes and unlimited texts (NZ).

Extras – hotspotting, half-price Spotify Premium (optional), Data Stack (receive 100 MB of data every 28 days when staying on an eligible prepaid Value Pack).

$30 Plan

Features – 2GB rollover data and 2GB Socialiser data (for use with the Facebook, Messenger, Twitter and Spotify apps), 300 rollover minutes and unlimited texts (NZ).

Extras – hotspotting, half-price Spotify Premium (optional), Data Stack (receive 100MB of data every 28 days when staying on an eligible prepaid Value Pack).

$50 Plan

Features – 4GB rollover data and 2GB Socialiser data (for use with the Facebook, Messenger, Twitter and Spotify apps), 500 rollover minutes and unlimited texts (NZ).

Extras – hotspotting, half-price Spotify Premium (optional), Data Stack (receive 100MB of data every 28 days when staying on an eligible prepaid Value Pack).

 

One

One offers a number of prepaid plans priced at under $50, with its MyFlex plans packaged with a range of carryover data and minutes allowances. Customers can carry over unused data of up to 3.5GB and unused minutes of up to 500 minutes, with both lasting for up to 360 days.

Vodafone’s prepaid plans auto-renew every 28 days.

$15 Plan

Features – 1GB carryover data, 100 carryover minutes and unlimited texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – hotspotting, DataUp provides customers an extra 10% bonus of their MyFlex data allowance each time their plan renews on time, up to a 100% data bonus.

$20 Plan

Features – 1.5GB carryover data, 200 carryover minutes and unlimited texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – hotspotting, DataUp provides customers an extra 10% bonus of their MyFlex data allowance each time their plan renews on time, up to a 100% data bonus.

$30 Plan

Features – 3GB carryover data, 300 carryover minutes and unlimited texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – hotspotting, DataUp provides customers an extra 10% bonus of their MyFlex data allowance each time their plan renews on time, up to a 100% data bonus.

$40 Plan

Features – 8GB carryover data, 100 carryover minutes and 100 texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – hotspotting, DataUp provides customers an extra 10% bonus of their MyFlex data allowance each time their plan renews on time, up to a 100% data bonus.

Kogan Mobile

Kogan Mobile’s selection of prepaid plans includes a number of options priced at under $50. Its plans come with a range of data inclusions (data does not roll over) along with unlimited minutes and texts.

Kogan Mobile’s plans auto-renew every 30 days.

$15 Plan

Features – 1.5GB data, unlimited minutes and texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – hotspotting.

$25 Plan

Features – 4GB data, unlimited minutes and texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – hotspotting.

$35 Plan

Features – 15GB data, unlimited minutes and texts (NZ and OZ).

Extras – hotspotting.

MyRepublic

MyRepublic offers two pre-paid unlimited data plan priced under $50. Both plans come with unlimited calls and SMS texts within NZ and OZ.

$25 MyRepublic Starter

Features – unlimited data up to 2Mbps, unlimited calls and texts (NZ and OZ)

Extras – hotspotting (up to 10GB), Wi-Fi calling

$45 MyRepublic Plus

Features – unlimited data up to 40Mbps, unlimited calls and texts (NZ and OZ)

Extras – hotspotting (up to 20GB), Wi-Fi calling

 

 

Mighty Mobile

Mighty Mobile offers two pre-paid unlimited data plans priced at $50 and under. Both plans come with unlimited texts and calls within NZ and OZ.

$40 Fast Plan

Features – unlimited data up to 10Mbps, unlimited calls and texts (NZ and OZ)

Extras – hotspotting

$50 Faster Plan

Features – Unlimited data up to 50Mbps, unlimited calls and texts (NZ and OZ)

Extras – hotspotting

*Further information on pricing can be found at individual provider websites. This should be used as a starter guide and not considered an actual quote.

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About the author of this page

This report was written by Canstar Content Producer, Caitlin Bingham. Caitlin is an experienced writer whose passion for creativity led her to study communication and journalism. She began her career freelancing as a content writer, before joining the Canstar team.

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