Prepaid vs postpaid: what’s the difference?

Quick answer

Our prepaid sim-only mobile plans are free from lock-in contracts and cater to a wide range of mobile users, making it simple for customers to pick a mobile phone plan that suits both their wallet and usage habits.

The difference between prepaid and postpaid is determined by when you pay for them. With our sim-only plans being prepaid, it means you'll always pay for your 28-day plan upfront on a month to month basis.

What are Prepaid plans?

With Prepaid, it means you'll always pay/recharge for your plan upfront. This is seamless process if you link a payment method (such as a credit/debit card or PayPal) to your account, as this allows your plan to automatically recharge at the end of each plan period. For the long expiry prepaid plans, your account will automatically renew every 6 or 12 months depending on if you signed up to an UNLIMITED 150GB or UNLIMITED 165GB mobile plan.

You'll also have the ability to pay for your service using recharge vouchers and these are available in thousands of stores around Australia including Coles, Woolworths, Australia Post, 7-Eleven and more.

Recharge vouchers or prepaid cards are a great way to introduce prepaid mobile plans to kids and teenagers who are receiving their first mobile.

Choosing a prepaid mobile plan for kids and seniors

Teaching kids the importance of money and how to budget can go a long way in helping them become money savvy early on. Though we've all seen horror stories of crazy bills being racked up from excess mobile charges, prepaid plans will help you avoid this type of bill shock.

Firstly, decide how much you want to spend on your kid’s mobile plan and determine how much data they will need to access the internet. Getting a mobile broadband plan for your child's tablet is also a smart decision to teach them how to monitor their usage with a finite amount each month and provides them access to the internet for school assignments, as well as rewarding them with time to play games.

Seniors are accustomed to having a home phone as their main line of contact with family and friends. Having a prepaid phone that can be used as a backup device can certainly come in handy for when they're out and about and our pre-paid SIMs are the perfect fit.

What are Postpaid plans?

Postpaid mobile plans are usually set up as a contract over 12 months, sometimes 24 months, featuring an on going auto-renew that renews on a month to month basis. Every month you'll receive a bill and at the end of that billing cycle your plan inclusions will automatically refresh.

The bill will have a fixed amount at the end of each month. However, if you exceed your data limit or calls and SMS allowance, the services will continue, however excess charges will added to your next monthyl bill.

We no longer offer postpaid billing for new services and all amaysim mobile and data-only plans will remain a prepaid service.

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