Best-Value Mobile Plans – Average Usage

GOLD WINNER SPINTEL It pays to get the data match correct in the first place, rather than playing catch-up

None of us likes to think of ourselves as average, but when it comes to deciding which phone plan is right for you averages can carry a lot of clout. That’s because different apps use varying amounts of data.

According to the phone plan comparison site WhistleOut, browsing the web on your phone will use an average of about 60MB of data an hour. Checking out what’s happening on Facebook will set you back around 80MB an hour, and if you’re a gamer be prepared to guzzle your way through up to 90MB in a day with some of the more data-heavy games. (Quick reminder: there are 1000 megabytes in a gigabyte.)

These data consumption averages matter because they can help you match a phone plan to your usage needs.

And it pays to get the match right. It typically works out a lot cheaper to pay for the right amount of data in the first place rather than constantly forking out for data top-ups.

SpinTel takes out this award for the second year in a row. You’ll enjoy a bottomless cup of local calls and messaging, with a special offer of a one-off saving of $10 on the SIM activation fee for new users. No international calls are included in the plan but there are handy options to manage data. Choose to have data capped once you reach the 5GB limit, and from there you can purchase additional data blocks for $12 per 1GB. Or opt for non-capped data – once you reach your data limit, extra data is automatically added at $10 per 1GB until you hit 10GB over the limit (at which point your data is blocked and you need to talk to SpinTel).

Runner-up Jeenee Mobile also took out second place in this award in 2018.

Its Pennywise plan packs in a stack of freebies for local calls and messaging, though international calls are not included. Excess data charges of $13 per 1GB apply when you exceed the 5GB allowance – up to a maximum of five top-ups per month, after which you’ll be charged at a rate of 2 cents per MB.

Jeenee Mobile provides SMS usage alerts when you reach about 50%, 70%, 85% and 100% of your data allowance.