The best international calls plan in Australia is usually one you already have: Optus includes unlimited calls to 35 countries on all its SIM plans except Choice Plus Small, Boost and ALDImobile include unlimited calls to 20 countries from A$39 and A$28, and amaysim includes 28 or 42 countries from A$30. On Telstra you add an International Calling Pack from A$10 a month. What matters most is whether the country you call is on the unlimited list or only on a capped one.

Every price below was checked on the provider's own website and is quoted in Australian dollars as of October 2026. Plans and promotions change often, so follow the links before you buy.

The short version

You call India, the UK, the USA, China or New Zealand. Optus, amaysim, Boost and ALDImobile include all five as unlimited, and so does Telstra's A$10 Zone 1 pack. Choose on data and price.
You call the Philippines or Pakistan. These sit on the capped list at Optus, Vodafone and Boost. amaysim's 42-country plans are the main exception, with unlimited calls to both.
You call Vietnam. It is unlimited on Optus, Boost and amaysim and in Telstra's Zone 1, capped (Zone 2) on Vodafone, and not included at all on ALDImobile.
You want to recharge once a year. Boost's A$300 and A$365 recharges, amaysim's A$270 plan and Telstra's A$395 Pre-Paid plan all last 12 months and include international calls.
You call rarely, or a country no plan covers. Paying per minute is usually cheaper than moving to a bigger plan.

Plans and add-ons with international calls compared

All inclusions are for standard landline and mobile numbers, called from Australia. Premium, satellite and special numbers are excluded everywhere.

Provider	Plan or add-on	Price	Unlimited calls to	Capped minutes
Telstra	Upfront plans (built in)	Included	Nothing	30 minutes a month to any country
Telstra	International Calling Pack Zone 1	A$10/month	23 destinations	None
Telstra	Pack Zone 2 / Zone 3	A$20 / A$30 a month	The same 23	200 minutes to 45 / 99 more destinations
Optus	SIM plans except Choice Plus Small	Included	35 countries (Group 1)	None
Optus	Group 1 / Group 2 / Group 3 add-on	A$10 / A$10 / A$20	Group 1 only	Up to 200 minutes (Groups 2 and 3)
Vodafone	Selected Infinite, Plus and SIM Only Plus plans	Included	Zone 1 (37 destinations)	Up to 300 minutes to Zone 2
Vodafone	A$40 Prepaid Plus	A$40	Nothing	500 minutes to Zone 1
Vodafone	A$50 / A$60 Prepaid Plus	A$50 / A$60	Zone 1	100 / 200 minutes to Zone 2
amaysim	15GB / 42GB plans (28 days)	A$30 / A$35	28 countries	None
amaysim	80GB / 95GB plans (28 days)	A$40 / A$45	42 countries	None
Boost	A$39 to A$74 recharges (28 days)	A$39 to A$74	20 countries	300 minutes to 30 more
ALDImobile	A$28 to A$59 plans	A$28 to A$59	20 destinations	100 to 400 minutes to 30 more
Belong	International calls add-on	A$5/month	30 destinations	None

Sources: Telstra International Calling Packs, Optus International Talk and Text add-ons, Boost prepaid plans, ALDImobile international inclusions, and the international calls and plans pages of Vodafone, amaysim and Belong.

The amaysim prices are the ongoing ones. New customers often get a discount on the first renewal, and the A$35 plan was showing 75GB with bonus data at the time of writing (42GB ongoing). Vodafone was also selling Prepaid Plus SIMs below the recharge price to new connections, so the first month may cost less than the table shows.

365-day prepaid plans with international calls

If you would rather pay once a year, these long-expiry recharges include international calls. Prices as of October 2026.

Recharge	Lasts	Unlimited to	Capped minutes
amaysim A$270 (200GB)	365 days	28 countries	None
Boost A$300	365 days	20 countries	3,600 minutes to 30 more
Boost A$365	365 days	20 countries	3,600 minutes to 30 more
Telstra Pre-Paid A$395	12 months	Nothing	6,000 Zone 1, 800 Zone 2 and 100 Zone 3 minutes
Vodafone Prepaid Plus A$350	Not printed on the plan card	Nothing	6,000 Zone 1 and 1,200 Zone 2 minutes
Boost A$180	186 days	20 countries	3,600 minutes to 30 more
Telstra Pre-Paid A$200	6 months	Nothing	3,000 Zone 1, 350 Zone 2 and 50 Zone 3 minutes

Telstra's minute bundles come from its Pre-Paid international call rates page. Boost's A$300 and A$365 differ only in data (240GB ongoing against 365GB). Boost was selling the A$180 SIM for A$160 until 19 October, with later recharges at A$180. Vodafone sells 185-day and 365-day Prepaid Plus recharges, but its plans page does not state the expiry next to the A$350 card, so confirm it in the Critical Information Summary before you pay.

Here is what those minute bundles mean in practice. 6,000 Telstra Zone 1 minutes over 12 months is 500 minutes a month, or about 16 minutes a day. Boost's 3,600 capped minutes on the yearly recharges come to 300 a month, the same as its 28-day plans. On the 186-day A$180 recharge, the same 3,600 minutes stretch to about 600 a month.

Is your country on the unlimited list?

This is where plans really differ. Here is how four common destinations for Australian callers are treated. "Capped" means the country is on a minutes-limited list.

Destination	Telstra Pre-Paid	Optus	Vodafone	amaysim 28 / 42	Boost	ALDImobile
India	Zone 1	Unlimited (Group 1)	Unlimited (Zone 1)	Unlimited / Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Vietnam	Zone 1	Unlimited (Group 1)	Capped (Zone 2)	Unlimited / Unlimited	Unlimited	Not included
Philippines	Zone 2	Capped (Group 2)	Capped (Zone 2)	Not included / Unlimited	Capped	Not included
Pakistan	Zone 2	Capped (Group 2)	Capped (Zone 2)	Not included / Unlimited	Capped	Capped

Telstra Pre-Paid has no unlimited zone: each recharge gives a set number of minutes per zone. Belong does not publish its 30-destination list on its plans page, so check it in the Belong app before you add the A$5 add-on.

ALDImobile's list has one more catch. For Argentina, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Taiwan and Turkey, ALDI says the included minutes only cover calls to landlines. Calling a mobile in those countries uses your pay-as-you-go credit.

Carrier by carrier: what to watch

Telstra

Upfront plans include 30 minutes a month of standard calls to any country, which covers a couple of short calls home. Past that you need a pack, and you can only have one active at a time. The A$10 Zone 1 pack gives unlimited calls to 23 destinations, including India, China, Vietnam, the UK, the USA, Canada and New Zealand. Our guide to Telstra international calls goes through the zones.

Optus

Optus is the simplest choice if you call India, the UK, New Zealand, China, Vietnam or Poland, because Group 1 is already in every SIM plan except Choice Plus Small. Group 2 (the Philippines, Pakistan, South Africa and 50 more) costs A$10 for up to 200 minutes. Optus says its add-ons expire once you use the inclusions or at the end of the payment cycle, whichever comes first, and that they can only be used in Australia. The Optus international calls guide covers older plans and pay-as-you-go rates.

Vodafone

Vodafone's Zone 1 list is long (37 destinations, including India, Japan, Mexico and Brazil), but Vietnam, the Philippines and Pakistan are all Zone 2. The A$40 Prepaid Plus recharge gives 500 Zone 1 minutes rather than unlimited calls. The A$50 and A$60 recharges are unlimited to Zone 1.

amaysim

amaysim gives unlimited calls rather than a minutes bucket, which is easier to manage. The cheaper plans use the 28-country list. The 80GB, 95GB and 120GB plans (A$40 to A$50) use the 42-country list, which adds the Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Italy, Poland and Turkey, among others. More detail is in our amaysim international calls guide.

Boost and ALDImobile

Both cover 20 countries for unlimited calls, but the lists are not identical. Boost includes Vietnam, Taiwan and the Netherlands. ALDImobile has Israel, Mexico and Norway instead. Boost's A$14 and A$28 recharges include no international calls at all.

Belong

Belong plans leave out international calls unless you add them. The add-on was A$5 a month for 30 destinations when we checked. If your country is on Belong's list, that is about as cheap as unlimited international calling gets in Australia.

When a plan is not the cheapest answer

Plan inclusions are great value when you call one country often. They are poor value when you call rarely, when the country is on a capped list or missing, or when you need to call from a laptop because you are travelling or your phone is not with you.

For those cases, BoraPhone lets you call landlines and mobiles in 180+ countries from a web browser, with no app, no SIM and no subscription. You top up from US$5, see the rate before each call, and pay per minute (rounded up to the next full minute). Your first call is free and failed calls are refunded. Rates are in US dollars, at the time of writing (October 2026):

Destination	Landline	Mobile	10-minute call to a mobile
United Kingdom	US$0.04/min	US$0.07/min	US$0.70
India	US$0.11/min	US$0.11/min	US$1.10
New Zealand	US$0.07/min	US$0.19/min	US$1.90
Philippines	US$0.46/min	US$0.65/min	US$6.50

For occasional calls to the UK or India, paying per minute costs little. The Philippines is the opposite: if you call there every week, Optus's A$10 Group 2 add-on or an amaysim 42-country plan will cost you far less. The rates pages show the live price before you dial.

How to dial overseas from an Australian mobile

Press + (hold 0 on most phones) or dial 0011.
Enter the country code, for example 44 for the UK or 91 for India.
Enter the number without its leading 0.

So a London number written 020 7946 0000 becomes +44 20 7946 0000. For more on dialling and cheaper routes, see our guide to making international calls from Australia.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best phone plan for international calls in Australia?

It depends on the country you call. For India, the UK, the USA, China or New Zealand, Optus, amaysim, Boost and ALDImobile all include unlimited calls, so choose on price and data. For the Philippines or Pakistan, amaysim's 42-country plans give unlimited calls, while Optus, Vodafone and Boost give capped minutes.

What is the cheapest way to make international calls from Australia?

If you call one covered country often, a plan inclusion or a A$5 to A$10 add-on is the cheapest option. If you call rarely, a pay-per-minute service avoids a monthly fee. Avoid calling overseas with no inclusion at all, because the standard rates for calls outside your plan are far higher.

Which Australian SIM card is best for international calls?

There is no single best SIM. Optus suits Group 1 callers because those 35 countries are already included. amaysim suits people who want unlimited calls to a wider list. Boost and Telstra Pre-Paid suit people who want a 6 or 12-month recharge with international minutes built in.

Do international call inclusions work while I am overseas?

No. These inclusions cover calls made from Australia, and Optus, for example, says its add-ons can only be used in Australia. Calls you make while travelling are international roaming, which is charged separately or through a roaming pack.

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