Best Australian phone plans with international roaming

If you’re an Aussie planning to head overseas, it’s a smart move to get a phone plan with international roaming. When you travel, having a working phone with internet access is just as essential as your passport. Staying connected also makes it easier to find your way around and keep in touch with friends and family back home.

Of course, nothing spoils a getaway faster than excessive international roaming charges, making it incredibly important to make sure your phone plan has you covered while you're venturing outside of Australia.

Picking up a local SIM card when you arrive is an option, but it can come with a few hassles. Not every country makes the process simple, and some carriers might ask for a local address. Plus, you’ll end up with a different phone number.

The easiest route is to keep your Australian number, so there’s no need to swap SIMs or sign up for an international eSIM. Just keep in mind your provider’s daily roaming charges and data limits while you’re abroad.

To get you up to speed, we've put together this guide to what each of Australia's three major telcos (Telstra, Optus and Vodafone) offer in terms of international roaming (including how much they cost per day, and what kind of daily data allowance you can expect.

While they may not match the competitiveness of the big three, we’ll also cover what Australia’s smaller telcos have to offer when it comes to international roaming.

Okay, enough talk — here are the best Australian phone plans with international roaming.

The best plans for international roaming

Winner: Vodafone

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Vodafone might not top the charts for coverage here in Australia, but its international footprint is miles wider than the competition. It runs its own networks in 21 countries and partners with carriers in another 47, which makes roaming surprisingly straightforward. For AU$5 a day in 100‑plus destinations, you can use your regular Aussie plan with no special roaming data caps — your monthly allowance just carries over.

The catch: that $5 Roaming deal only applies for 90 days each calendar year, so frequent travellers need to keep an eye on the clock. And if you blow past your usual monthly data limit, Vodafone tacks on AU$5 per extra gigabyte.

If you know you’ll be chewing through data overseas, Vodafone’s Large SIM Only Plan is worth a look. It includes 400GB a month and runs at AU$55 per month for the first year, which makes roaming a lot less stressful.

International roaming on other carriers

Telstra

While Telstra is undoubtedly a top dog within Australia, its value offering is far less appealing once you venture beyond our shores. That said, it now offers twice the daily data than it previously did.

Upon arrival in an eligible country with data roaming switched on, Telstra’s International Day Pass kicks in automatically the moment you use your phone.

In Zone 1 destinations — New Zealand, Fiji, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu — the pass costs AU$5 per day and includes 2GB of data.

Most other countries fall under Zone 2, where the pass is AU$10 per day and comes with 2GB of data plus unlimited standard calls and texts. If you use more than the daily data allowance, Telstra adds another 2GB for AU$10 in Zone 2, or AU$5 in Zone 1, with each top‑up lasting 31 days.

Telstra’s roaming coverage is broad, offering full data roaming in 80+ countries, along with limited roaming — calls and texts only — in four extra destinations for customers on Upfront plans.

Optus

Optus is far more generous than Telstra when it comes to international roaming, with Australia's second biggest telco offering 2.5x the daily data allowance at half the price. Customers on postpaid Optus plans will get unlimited talk and text and 5GB of data for only AU$5 per day, which is quite a good deal. All you have to do is activate the Optus International Roaming Add-on in the My Optus app.

Additionally, Optus customers also have the option of paying for a week upfront, with a 7-day pass getting you 35GB of data with unlimited talk and text for AU$35. Of course, there isn't really any benefit to doing this outside of convenience, with the price working out the same either way.

Impressively, Optus' roaming add-on works in over 100 'Zone 1' destinations, which is significantly more than what Telstra is offering. Of course, if you do find yourself in one of the remaining 'Zone 2' destinations, you'll have to pay the standard international rates, which'll certainly cost you. Here are the top three Optus plans which include international data roaming.

Given the seamless nature of Vodafone's international roaming experience, in that you get access to the same amount of data you'd normally have within Australia in over 100 countries, and its low AU$5 daily cost, Vodafone is the clear winner.

That said, Optus' international roaming add-on is not to be sneezed at, offering decent value for money and far more overseas data than Telstra.

For those who aren't planning to travel overseas anytime soon, here are the best SIM only plans in Australia.

MVNOs with international roaming

It's important to note that international roaming isn't limited to the three major Australian telcos — some mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) such as Boost, Felix and Amaysim offer international roaming as an add-on with a set expiry period.

Some MVNOs offer pay-as-you-go plans, but we're sticking with paid add-ons, so you know exactly what you're getting. These add-ons might not be as budget-friendly as Vodafone, Optus or Telstra, but here’s a quick look at what some of Australia’s smaller telcos have on offer in terms of international roaming packages.

More from Tom's Guide

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