Paying the lazy tax: Aussies are throwing away an average of $156 a year on mobile data they don’t need

The end of financial year is an ideal time to reassess your finances and find out where you’re spending too much on everyday bills, such as your mobile and internet plans.

Mozo’s analysis has found Australians could be spending on average up to $156 a year on mobile data they aren’t using, while staying loyal to their internet provider could be costing them up to $240 a year.

The key findings come as part of our annual analysis of mobile and internet plans for the Mozo Experts Choice Awards for Mobile and the Experts Choice Awards for Broadband. 

Here’s what to look for to make sure you aren’t overspending on your internet and phone bills.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says that on average, Aussies use 14.2GB of mobile data on their phone every month. Yet in the same report , the consumer watchdog estimates that the average advertised data allowances for mobile plans across all telcos is much higher, at 68GB per month.

This suggests a significant gap between how much data telcos are selling to consumers, and how much they’re actually using. As a result, Aussies could be spending much more than necessary.

To take a real-world example, Telstra is Australia’s largest telco and its entry-level phone plan offers 50GB of data for $65 a month. Meanwhile, Mozo’s winner for best mobile plan provider – Spintel – offers 25GB of data for a much cheaper $22 a month.

That’s a difference of $43 per month – adding up to a staggering $516 a year.

Why switching to a smaller plan can help you save

Even with smaller telcos, you might still be paying more than necessary. Mozo’s analysis of 611 Australian phone plans found that those with a ‘medium’ data allowance of between 43-69GB cost around $42 a month on average.

Taking that average data-use figure of 14.2GB a month into account, many consumers may find that a plan with a smaller data allowance is significantly cheaper, and still covers their data needs.

For example, the Mozo award-winning plans offering smaller data allowances (42GB or less) cost an average of just $29 a month. Over the course of a year, that difference adds up to a saving of $156 compared to the cost of an average $42 a month ‘medium’ plan – but as the Telstra example above illustrates, the savings can be much more substantial depending on the specific plans in question.

Our tip: take a look at how much data you actually use on your phone plan each month. If you’re often connected to Wi-Fi at home or work, you might be surprised by how little mobile data you’re using, and how much you could save by comparing phone plans and switching.

How else can you tell if your phone plan offers good value for money? One simple way is to use the $1 per gigabyte benchmark.

Divide your monthly cost by the amount of data included, and if it shakes out to be more than $1 per gigabyte, chances are you’re paying too much – especially if you’re not using all the data you’re paying for.

According to Mozo’s research, Australians that are on a mid-range mobile plan (43-69GB) pay an average of $42 each month – that’s around 62 to 98 cents per gigabyte.

All the 5G mobile winners in this year’s Mozo Experts Choice Awards came in well under $1 per gigabyte. Among the winners for small data plans (under 42GB) costs ranged from about 70 to 85 cents per gigabyte, with higher data plans offering a lower cost per gigabyte.

Our tip: check that you’re not paying more than $1 per gigabyte of data, particularly if you’re on a medium-sized plan (43-69GB). If you have your own phone ready to go, you’ll find that smaller telcos often offer better value for money.

Unfortunately, staying loyal to your mobile or internet provider isn’t often rewarded with a better deal. Mozo’s finance expert, Rachel Wastell, says it’s good to see how your telco plans stack up at least once a year.

“The telco market is competitive, but providers won’t reward loyalty, they’ll exploit it,” says Wastell. “If you’ve been with the same plan for over a year, it’s time to check what else is out there.”

In the tables below, you’ll see average monthly costs of different mobile data and NBN speed categories, compared to the average costs of Mozo Experts Choice Award winners.

Mobile plans: loyalty tax by data tier

NBN plans: loyalty tax by speed tier

Spintel swept this year’s Experts Choice Awards, and was named Australia’s Best Mobile Plan Provider and Australia’s Best Broadband Provider for 2025, winning multiple awards across our NBN and mobile categories.

Other standout winners for phone plans include Moose Mobile and Swoop, while Flip was another notable winner in the broadband category.