Vodafone Australia Review: Not Worth Your Money (+5G Speedtests)

Back in 2019/2020, I was supposed to stay in Australia for a year.

Unfortunately, things were cut short due to the pandemic.

While I intended to stay in Taiwan for only a month until my boyfriend's mom would go back home again (she decided to come to visit for just two months… and the apartment was too small for the three of us), I was in Taiwan for an entire year.

Yeah… that escalated quickly. Australia was closed off, and Europe, where I am from, was crazy.

Taiwan was kind enough to let me stay longer than my visa-exempt status would typically allow me to stay (90 days – but that was extended to 840 days if I wanted to 🤯 (read: had the savings, lol)), so I decided to stay.

And that may have been the best decision I had made in the 2020s (the Dutch government arranged a flight back home… but I declined it).

The year spent in Taiwan allowed me to test the six Taiwanese SIM cards extensively… and I have taken that experience and applied it to any other country I visited afterward.

You see, before Taiwan, I did not do extensive testing with the SIM cards I wanted to review.

I did a few speed tests here and there, used only one SIM card as my main one, and I was done

But after Taiwan, I upped my game (because I did tests at more than 100+ locations in nine counties) so that you can make a solid decision when buying local SIM cards.

As a result, I tested seven Australian SIM cards, including Vodafone Australia, and five travel eSIMs to be used here.

Btw, I wrote a Vodafone Australia review back in 2020. You might have read an excerpt of it if you came from Google. You are not missing out – the review was subpar 🗿.

I went to six different cities across five states.

I did more than 120+ speed tests with each SIM card and (travel) eSIM – going to tourist attractions and off the beaten track so that you can have a solid idea of how each SIM card or eSIM performs depending on your style of travel.

So I spent about 1000 AUD (Australian Dollar) for my Australian SIM card review series – who else is this crazy? 🤪

The Vodafone brand is recognized worldwide because it is active in many continents and regions, including Africa (primarily as Vodacom), Asia, Europe, the Middle East & Oceania.

I have said this in other Vodafone reviews, but Vodafone is often the best or the worst in a country.

So what about in Australia? Well… I said it is not worth your money in the title, but that is not the whole story.

Because I cannot say something is not worth your money without (extensively) testing it against its competition.

And in the case of Australia, that would be Telstra and Optus, but also a few Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), such as ALDImobile Australia (Telstra MVNO – speed restricted), Amaysim (Optus MVNO), Boost Mobile Australia (Telstra MVNO – speed NOT restricted) & Lebara Australia).

And as (travel) eSIMs are also becoming rapidly popular, I also tried out Airalo (Yes! Go! – can be used in Australia only & Discover Global – can be used in 84+ countries), Holafly, Nomad & SimOptions (3 HK).

Yeah… I went all out! But in this review, I will mostly focus on Vodafone Australia.

Let's get started, shall we?

Original publication: 12^th of April 2020. Last updated: 15^th of January 2024.

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Table of Contents

Who is Vodafone Australia?

Vodafone Australia, just Vodafone, is the smallest mobile operator in Australia.

It is often the cheapest of the Big Three, but many Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), even on the Vodafone network, are often more affordable.

In 2020, Vodafone became a subsidiary of TPG Telecom. However, there are no plans to phase by the Vodafone brand (anytime soon).

Vodafone is not loved by Australians. In fact, it was referred to as VodaFail in the early 2010s.

It has the slowest networks and the worst coverage, especially in the Outback.

While its reputation and services havew improved since then, Vodafone is still a relatively small player with about 6 million customers (18.3% market share).

For comparison, Telstra has 19 million customers (58.1% market share), and Optus has 10.5 million (23.6% market share).

In Australia, you have three mobile operators and 12 Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) offering prepaid services easily accessible to tourists:

• Telstra
• Optus
• Vodafone Australia (TPG Telecom)
• ALDImobile (Telstra MVNO)
• Amaysim (Optus MVNO)
• Australia Post Mobile (Optus MVNO)
• Belong Mobile (Telstra MVNO)
• Boost Mobile Australia (Telstra MVNO)
• Coles Mobile (Optus MVNO)
• Gomo Australia (Optus MVNO)
• Gotalk Australia (Vodafone Australia (TPG Telecom) MVNO)
• Hello Mobile Australia (Vodafone Australia (TPG Telecom) MVNO)
• Lebara Australia (Vodafone Australia (TPG Telecom) MVNO)
• Lycamobile Australia (Telstra MVNO)
• Woolworths Mobile (Telstra MVNO)

You have many, many more MVNOs in Australia (about 40 or so), but most offer postpaid services only, or you need to order the SIM card online (which can take some time, depending on where you are).

I tested the other two mobile operators and four MVNOs while in Australia. You can read about them here: Telstra, Optus, ALDImobile Australia, Amaysim, Boost Mobile Australia & Lebara Australia.

Let's talk about Vodafone Australia's coverage first, after these quick frequency details:

• 2G: N/A – shut down in March 2018
• 3G: 900 MHz – unlike its competitors, Vodafone is not planning on shutting down 3G in 2024
• 4G/LTE: 850 MHz (Band 5), 1800 MHz (Band 3), 2100 MHz (Band 1), & 2600 MHz (Band 7)
• 5G NR: 700 MHz (n28) & 3500 MHz (n78) & 26 GHz (n258 – not in use yet)
• VoLTE: Yes
• VoWiFi: Yes

Here you have Vodafone Australia's APN settings:

• Name: VB WEB
• APN: live.vodafone.com

Note: leave anything not mentioned above untouched.

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Vodafone Australia Coverage + My Experience

You can have a mobile operator providing you 1 Gbps download speeds.

But it will be useless if it covers only one street in Australia.

So, how is Vodafone Australia's coverage?

Being expanded.

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How to Get a Vodafone Australia SIM Card (or eSIM) & Prices

I would discourage you from buying a SIM card at airports in most countries.

Either becaue of (overly) expensive tourist SIM cards are sold there, or the salespeople jack up the prices with high “minimum top-ups” or because they simply can.

While getting a SIM card at the airport can be convenient, especially when you arrive late or need to be connected as soon as possible, it is often (way) cheaper to buy SIM cards in town.

In Australia, however, things are a bit different – there is often no harm in getting SIM cards at airports.

In fact, some airport deals are very attractive and only available there.

Being expanded.

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Vodafone Australia Plans, Bundles & Offers

Vodafone has three data-featured prepaid plans:

• Prepaid Plans (combo)
• Mobile Prepaid Internet Plans (data-only for data-only SIM card)
• Data Add-Ons (as the name implies)

All Vodafone plans can be activated on the My Vodafone (Australia) app.

Disclaimer: these were the available plans at the time I was in Australia – the offering may have changed since then (including whether 5G NR is available to prepaid customers or not). To see Vodafone Australia's current plans, check out my Australia SIM card buying guide (which gets updated regularly – at least four times a year).

I will list all the prices in AUD (Australian Dollar).

To convert AUD to your currency (let's say NZD – New Zealand Dollar) with up-to-date exchange rates, use the Wise Currency Converter tool.

Prepaid Plans

The Prepaid Plans are combo bundles with data (with 5G NR access during the trial), minutes & SMS.

Prepaid Plans can be activated on the My Vodafone (Australia) app:

Price	Data	Local Minutes	International Zone 1 Minutes 1	International Zone 2 Minutes 2	Local SMS	International SMS 3	Validity
10 AUD	4 GB	Unlimited	N/A	N/A	Unlimited	50 SMS	7 days
20 AUD	8 GB	Unlimited	N/A	N/A	Unlimited	50 SMS	14 days
30 AUD	15 GB	Unlimited	500 minutes	N/A	Unlimited	50 SMS	28 days
40 AUD	30 GB	Unlimited	1000 minutes	100 minutes	Unlimited	50 SMS	28 days
50 AUD	45 GB 4	Unlimited	1500 minutes	200 minutes	Unlimited	50 SMS	28 days
60 AUD	60 GB	Unlimited	2000 minutes	250 minutes	Unlimited	50 SMS	28 days
150 AUD	80 GB	Unlimited	N/A	N/A	Unlimited	50 SMS	185 days
250 AUD	150 GB	Unlimited	N/A	N/A	Unlimited	50 SMS	365 days

¹ to Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Germany, Guam, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States & Vatican City
² to Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brunei, Cambodia, the Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, the Faroe Islands, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, the Northern Mariana Islands, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Réunion, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela & Vietnam
³ to any country – not restricted to zone 1 and countries
⁴ with 5G NR access (after the trial – now, all Vodafone plans have 5G NR access)

Unused data will go to your Data Bank when your plan auto-renews (enabled by default) or when you renew your plan before it expires.

You can save up to 200 GB in your data bank.

Auto-renewal can be disabled on the My Vodafone (Australia) app.

Mobile Prepaid Internet Plans

The Mobile Prepaid Internet Plans are data bundles (with 5G NR access during the trial) for the data-only SIM card.

Mobile Prepaid Internet Plans can be activated on the My Vodafone (Australia) app:

Price	Data	Validity
10 AUD	7 GB	7 days
30 AUD	30 GB	30 days
40 AUD	45 GB	30 days
50 AUD	60 GB	30 days
150 AUD	100 GB	365 days
250 AUD	250 GB	365 days

Unused data will go to your Data Bank when your plan auto-renews or when you renew your plan before it expires.

You can save up to 50 GB in your data bank for one recharge only.

Mobile Prepaid Internet Plans auto-renew.

Data Add-Ons

The Data Add-Ons are, as the name implies, data add-ons.

Data Add-Ons can be activated on the My Vodafone (Australia) app:

Price	Data	Validity
3 AUD	2 GB	1 day
5 AUD	500 MB	28 days
5 AUD	4 GB	1 day
7 AUD	2 GB	7 days
10 AUD	1 GB	28 days
15 AUD	5 GB	7 days
15 AUD	2 GB	28 days

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Vodafone Australia Speed Test Results (in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Shepparton & Sydney)

Alright, now it is time to talk about the speeds you can expect with Vodafone Australia after covering all the other essential topics like coverage.

But before I share my 128 speed test results in Adelaide (SA – South Australia), Brisbane (QLD – Queensland), Canberra (ACT – Australian Capital Territory), Melbourne (VIC – Victoria), Shepparton (VIC) & Sydney (NSW – New South Wales), I want to set the stage first and make a small comparison with Vodafone Australia's competition.

Vodafone Australia is regarded by Speedtest as the slowest mobile operator in Australia in Q1-Q2 of 2022.

With a median download speed of 59.15 Mbps, behind Optus (75.27 Mbps) and Telstra (81.57 Mbps).

When I arrived in Australia, 5G NR was still restricted to postpaid customers (like in most countries).

But a month or two later, prepaid customers could use 5G NR as part of a trial (which has now been permanent if you purchase a 5G NR-enabled plan).

So I have quite some 5G NR results to share with you.

But I can already tell you that Vodafone Australia's 5G NR reach is not as extensive as Telstra's and Optus'.

I did speed tests with the Speedtest app in six cities (although Australia has sub-cities (like the City of Monash in metro Melbourne), making the number of cities 17) across five states.

So I will go city to city, allowing you to just read the results of the city/cities/state you plan to visit.

For reference, I consider an average download speed of 25 Mbps and an average of 10 Mbps upload speed fast enough.

Preferably, download speeds should be 100 Mbps+ on 4G/LTE… but we are not there yet 🗿.

But why these averages?

A download speed of more than 25 Mbps is enough to video stream content @ 4k resolution.

Social media sites that allow for live streaming, like Facebook Live, recommend an upload speed of at least 10 Mbps.

So, that is why – but that does not mean that a download speed of less than 100 Mbps excited me 😏.

But Australia spoiled… everything slower than 300 Mbps is slow now 🤣.

Vodafone Australia Speed Test Results in Adelaide (South Australia)

Adelaide is the capital of South Australia (SA), the second-least-populated Australian state (excluding the territories), and precisely in the middle (fifth-most-populated of nine) when taking internal territories into account.

Personally, I thought Adelaide was a boring city 🗿, and my fellow Melburnians agree (and I probably pissed off some Adelaideans – I still love y'all 🫶🏿🥹).

Luckily, my stay was short because I did not want to stay longer than an extended weekend.

Anyway, I mostly stayed in the city and did not explore the rest of South Australia (I may go in the not-near future).

Let's see how Vodafone Australia performed in Adelaide:

Vodafone Australia Speed Test Results in Brisbane (Queensland)

Brisbane is the capital city of Queensland (QLD), the third-most-populated Australian state. It is also the third-largest when taking internal territories into account.

Before I went to Brisbane, I asked some of my Melbourne friends if Brisbane was fun.

They all said Brisbane is a big country town – some even said it was as boring as Adelaide.

I can tell you that Brisbane is not boring at all – they were all liars.

I confronted one of those spreading anti-Brisbane propaganda… she told me that some other friends of her had visited the city between the time she told me about Brisbane, all saying it is actually quite fun.

She herself did not go to Brisbane in 20 years 🗿 so it may have been a boring country town in the past… but not anymore!

Anyway I mostly stayed in the city and did not explore the rest of Queensland (unlike South Australia, I would be willing to go back again, to Cairns, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast).

Let's see how Vodafone Australia performed in Brisbane:

Vodafone Australia Speed Test Results in Canberra (Australian Capital Territory)

Canberra is the largest city in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), which, as the name implies, is also Australia's capital city.

Not Sydney or Melbourne (and certainly not Brisbane) – Canberra.

Just like how Wellington is New Zealand's capital and not Auckland… or how Toronto and Vancouver get called Canada's capital instead of Ottawa.

The Australian Capital Territory is the most-populated internal territory (ahead of the Northern Territory and Jervis Bay Territory, which often gets forgotten), but the ACT has a smaller population than any other state.

One thing I find unfortunate about Canberra's reputation is that everyone says it is boring – even the security guy at the airport asked if I thought Canberra was boring.

Honestly… Canberra is not boring at all!

Sure, it is not as exciting as Brisbane, Melbourne, or Sydney, but it is certainly pretty.

Canberra Airport used to host two international flights (after years of lobbying) from Qatar and Singapore.

The latter scrapped the flight because of COVID – the former planned to resume its Melbourne – Canberra – Doha flights in October, then December, before ultimately ditching it, unfortunately.

But I do not think you should visit only Canberra when visiting Australia… that would be disappointing 🗿.

Let's see how Vodafone Australia performed in Canberra:

Vodafone Australia Speed Test Results in Melbourne (Victoria)

Melbourne is the capital city of Victoria (VIC), the second-most-populated Australian state (including the internal territories).

Greater Melbourne is also the second-largest city in Australia, just behind Sydney.

I may be baised because I live in Melbourne, but Melbourne is my favorite Australian city 😍.

The vibe, the way the city is set up & the attractions are why I, and especially my boyfriend, love (living in) Melbourne.

Sydney is not bad either – not at all. The issue is that things are too spread out… and I thought it felt a bit too corporate 🤔.

Moreover, Melbourne has the most extensive tram network worldwide (thanks to Major General Sir Robert Joseph Henry Risson) and the largest shopping mall in the southern hemisphere – Chadstone (take that, Sydney!).

Let's see how Vodafone Australia performed in Melbourne:

Fast speeds with Vodafone Australia in Melbourne!

In fact, Vodafone Australia had the third-slowest download– and third-slowest upload speed in Melbourne.

I had an average download speed of 136.01 Mbps and a median download speed of 103.39 Mbps with Vodafone Australia: it passed the 4K video streaming test in Melbourne.

The same counts for the HD live streaming test in Melbourne – Vodafone Australia had an average upload speed of 23.34 Mbps and a median upload speed of 19.95 Mbps.

Vodafone Australia's slowest download speed was at South Yarra Station (part of the City of Stonnington in Southeast Melbourne), with a download speed of 2.76 Mbps on 5G NR.

This was way too slow to pass the 4K video streaming test (minimum of 25 Mbps).

Surprisingly, every other SIM card and (travel) eSIM I tested at this location was faster than Vodafone Australia (including Lebara Australia, a Vodafone Australia MVNO, with a download speed of 13.71 Mbps on 4G/LTE.

Even Holafly, using the Vodafone Australia 4G/LTE network, was faster (8.35 Mbps on 4G/LTE).

Vodafone Australia's slowest upload speed was at Akwaaba Restaurant in St Kilda (part of the City of Glen Eira in Southeast Melbourne), with an upload speed of 0.88 Mbps on 4G/LTE, making it fail the HD live streaming test (minimum of 10 Mbps).

Only the SIM cards on the Telstra network, Telstra itself, ALDImobile Australia & Boost Mobile Australia, performed well at this restaurant (16.83 Mbps, 13.45 Mbps & 20.20 Mbps (the fastest of all SIM cards and (travel) eSIMs I tested) on 5G NR, respectively), so I cannot blame Vodafone Australia.

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Vodafone Australia Speed Test Results in Shepparton (Victoria)

Shepparton-Mooroopna (not to be confused with Shepperton, Surrey in the United Kingdom) is the sixth-largest city in Victoria.

While I had nothing to do there, my boyfriend always wanted to see the museum up there (Shepparton Art Museum – SAM).

Moreover, it was a great opportunity to test the mobile operators' and travel eSIMs' performance in regional Australia.

Shepparton is certainly not part of The Outback, but it is far from the metro area to call it regional.

But if you want to visit more exciting regional cities in Victoria, you are better off in Ballarat and Bendigo – both reachable by V/Line regional trains.

Let's see how Vodafone Australia performed in Shepparton:

Depressingly slow speeds with Vodafone Australia in Mooroopna and Shepparton!

In fact, Vodafone Australia had the slowest download- and upload speed in Shepparton.

Vodafone Australia did not have 5G NR coverage in Shepparton (the same for many other regional cities and towns).

I had an average download speed of 8.64 Mbps and a median download speed of 7.39 Mbps with Vodafone Australia: it failed the 4K video streaming test in Shepparton.

The same counts for the HD live streaming test in Shepparton – Vodafone Australia had an average upload speed of 1.40 Mbps and a median upload speed of 1.70 Mbps.

Honestly, there is nothing to analyze about Vodafone Australia's results.

It and Lebara Australia, a Vodafone Australia MVNO, were the worst performers in Shepparton (overall).

And it had no reception at two of the ten test locations (and at even more places where I was not doing any speed tests).

Sure, none of its competitors had a faster average download speed of more than 90 Mbps (Telstra and Boost Mobile Australia were close enough (89.89 Mbps and 83.92 Mbps, respectively).

Optus and Amaysim were not bad either (39.60 Mbps and 37.75 Mbps, respectively).

So when I tell you that you do not want to deal with Vodafone Australia in regional Australia, now you see why 🗿.

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Vodafone Australia Speed Test Results in Sydney (New South Wales)

Sydney is the capital city of New South Wales (NSW), the most-populated Australian state (including the internal territories).

Greater Sydney is also the largest Australian city (just ahead of Melbourne).

Sydney is a lovely city with plenty of things to see and do.

But it is a rather car-centric city, making visiting multiple key attractions in one day a bit challenging.

Let alone how expensive everything is over there 🤑.

But I do love Sydney's doubledecker suburban trains – they are fun!

Let's see how Vodafone Australia performed in Shepparton:

Unimpressive speeds with Vodafone Australia in Sydney!

In fact, Vodafone Australia had the fourth-fastest download– and second-slowest upload speed in Sydney.

I had an average download speed of 63.91 Mbps and a median download speed of 42.83 Mbps with Vodafone Australia: it passed the 4K video streaming test in Sydney.

The same counts for the HD live streaming test in Sydney (but barely) – Vodafone Australia had an average upload speed of 18.26 Mbps and a median upload speed of 12.27 Mbps (the slowest among its competitors).

Vodafone's slowest download speed was at Tawandang Restaurant in Haymarket – part of Sydney City (2.03 Mbps on 5G NR).

This was way too slow to pass the 4K video streaming test (minimum of 25 Mbps).

Surprisingly, every other SIM card and (travel) eSIM I tested at this location was faster than Vodafone (including Lebara Australia, a Vodafone Australia MVNO (9.65 Mbps on 4G/LTE) and Holafly on the Vodafone Australia network (2.60 Mbps on 4G/LTE).

The restaurant was also the same location where Vodafone Australia had its worst upload speed performance (3.06 Mbps), making it fail the HD live streaming test (minimum of 10 Mbps).

Only the Airalo Discover Global eSIM, on the Telstra/ Boost Mobile Australia 4G/LTE network (1.57 Mbps on 3G), and Holafly (2.56 Mbps) had a slower upload speed than Vodafone Australia.

Imagine if the Airalo Discover Global eSIM was not on 3G… and yes, Lebara Australia, a Vodafone Australia MVNO, was faster too (7.67 Mbps) – embarrassing 🗿.

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My Overall Experience with Vodafone Australia – Is It Any Good?

I would not recommend Vodafone Australia unless you truly care about making a lot of international calls to various destinations or are strapped for cash and only plan on staying in metro areas.

Being expanded.

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Australian SIM Card Reviews

As mentioned earlier, I also tried out Telstra, Optus, ALDImobile Australia, Amaysim, Boost Mobile Australia & Lebara Australia when I was in Australia.

You should read those reviews too.

>>> Telstra Review | Optus Review | ALDImobile Australia Review | Amaysim Review | Boost Mobile Review | Lebara Australia Review <<<

Later, I will make a comparison post of the seven Australian SIM cards I tried… but that will take a while (I have many reviews of other countries that I still need to write, so they are prioritized).

But you can still make an educated purchased after reading the Australian SIM card reviews.

I also tried out various travel eSIMs that work in Australia: Airalo (Yes! Go! & Discover Global), Holafly, Nomad & SimOptions.

You should also read those reviews.

>>> Airalo Yes! Go! Australia eSIM Review | Airalo Discover Global eSIM Review | Holafly Australia eSIM Review | Nomad Australia eSIM Review | SimOptions 3 HK eSIM in Australia Review <<<

Check out my reviews page if you want to read all the other reviews I have written, including other Oceanian SIM cards.

Australia SIM Card Buying Guide

There are 14 other SIM cards to choose from in Australia besides Vodafone Australia.

I analyze and discuss them in-depth in my Australia SIM card buying guide.