We all love a good dupe — clothes, groceries, perfume — you name it, it’s probably out there. But did you know Telstra, Australia’s largest mobile coverage telco, also has several dupes?
For a fraction of the price of a Telstra mobile plan, you can sign up to a smaller mobile provider and receive very close to Telstra’s full 4G coverage. Keep reading to see which one is best for you and how much money it could put back into your pocket.
We’ve done the math: how much could you save with a Telstra dupe?
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When you compare Telstra’s lowest priced mobile plan of $39 per 28 days to the lowest priced Telstra MVNO prepaid plan (currently ALDI Mobile’s $23 Mobile Plan for 30 days) you’ll sacrifice just 0.9 per cent coverage for a saving of $208 over a year.
If you were to recharge both plans 13 times a year (to make up enough recharges to cover the whole 12 months) you’ll pay $507 per year with Telstra but just $299 per year with ALDI Mobile.
Now, if you wish to compare apples and apples between Telstra’s $39 plan vs Boost’s $39 plan, you’ll get 75GB of data on the first three recharges with Boost, then it drops to 25GB of data per month.
Telstra’s deal doesn’t fare as well here, with just 45GB on offer for the first three recharges, then it drops right down to 15GB of data per month.
How does it all work?
Any mobile provider besides Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, which are notoriously the three largest in Australia in terms of coverage, are known as MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators). This means they buy their network service from one of the big three providers, but it’s not the exact same coverage.
So who are Telstra MVNOs? We’re specifically talking about ALDI Mobile, Belong, Boost Mobile, Everyday Mobile, Exetel, MATE, More, Superloop, Spacetalk and Tangerine.
If you choose an MVNO under Telstra, you’ll only receive access to the Telstra Wholesale network which equates to 98.8 per cent 4G coverage and 75 per cent 5G coverage. Telstra’s full network coverage is 99.7 per cent for 4G coverage and 95 per cent for 5G coverage.
The only exception here is Boost Mobile. Its customers receive Telstra’s full network coverage.
And sure, with these telcos besides Boost you’ll get less Telstra coverage, it’s still 0.3 per cent more than you’d get with Optus or 0.4 per cent more than if you were to switch to Vodafone.
Telstra dupes priced $20 and under
At the time of writing, the cheapest 28-day plan you can get under the Telstra network is Tangerine’s 30GB 5G mobile SIM at $15 per month.
Currently it has a deal running where you can get 50 per cent off plan fees plus double the data (so an extra 30GB) for your first six months. And since it’s a no-contract plan, you can change telcos after that.This offer ends December 14, 2025.
It’s important to mention, however, that the above plan from Boost only lasts seven days.
Telstra dupes priced $30 and under
When you spend a little more, you get more MVNO options to choose from. Belong, Superloop, Tangerine, more and Everyday Mobile all offer plans around the $30 per month mark.
And each one comes with its own perks, such as continuous data rollover (ALDI Mobile), 10 per cent off an eligible Woolworths shop each month (Everyday Mobile) or shared number availability, which means you can also use it for your Smartwatch to receive calls (Tangerine).
Telstra dupes priced $40 and under
If you manage to pay less than $39 for an MVNO mobile plan, you’re already getting a deal compared to Telstra’s lowest-priced mobile plan. Several telcos even offer more data than Telstra.
For example, More is offering double the data (30GB + 30GB for the first six months) until February 3, 2026. Even after the six months are up, More still offers 5GB of extra data than Telstra’s $39 prepaid plan. And that’s for $6 less per month!
Christie Graham is Digital Content Editor at WhistleOut, Australia’s mobile and internet comparison site.
