Australian iPhone 4 plans and pricing compared: [UPDATED] Telstra vs Optus vs Vodafone vs 3

While Apple was busy announcing the outright purchase prices of the iPhone 4 ($859/16GB $999/32GB), Telstra and Optus were taking the wraps off their iPhone 4 contract pricing deals.

Since then, Vodafone/Three have released their plans, and we've compared all their 24 month post-paid plans below. Other plans do exist for business users and those who BYO iPhone 4 models.

The key differences between Optus, Telstra  and Vodafone plans 
In terms of the plans offered, it seems that everything old is new again, as the plans on offer largely duplicate what you used to be able to get with the iPhone 3GS. Vodafone technically has the cheapest plans over the life of the service, but muddy the waters with confusing inconsistencies between what you get with a "Three" branded iPhone 4 versus what you get with a "Vodafone" model. The press release also notes a "bonus" 1GB with all plans, but it's not clear if that's just for the first month or the life of the plan, and at the time of writing, the Vodafone and Three web sites hadn't been updated with plans.

Vodafone and Optus both go in heavy with data offerings compared to Telstra, while Telstra is the only carrier offering an upfront payment for the iPhone, which could make things easier if you do want to switch carriers down the track.

All carriers offer far more "phone" value than data, but that's both because it's hard to quantify with differing flagfall and call rates, and also because services charged at a premium such as SMS actually cost the carriers very little.

Optus' pricing page is here and Telstra's iPhone pricing can be found here.

Apple iPhone 4 16GB pricing: Telstra v Optus v Vodafone v Three

Apple iPhone 4 16GB Selected Plans - Post Paid - $49 per month	Optus 'yes' Extreme $49	Telstra $49 Cap Plan	Vodafone $49 plan	Three $49 plan
Handset cost	$8 a month	$149 upfront	$5 per month	$5 per month
Term	24 months	24 months	24 months	24 months
Included credit	$450	$400	$450/Unlimited calls to Vodafone and 3	$270 calls to Vodafone or 3 customers, $350 of calls and text to any network
Included data	1GB	200MB	500MB plus "Bonus" 1GB	250MB plus "Bonus" 1GB
Minimum cost	$1,368	$1,325	$1,296	$1,296
Selected Plans - Post Paid - $79 per month	Optus 'yes' Extreme $79	Telstra $79 Cap Plan	Vodafone $79 plan	Three $79 plan
Handset cost	free	free	free	free
Term	24 months	24 months	24 months	24 months
Included credit	$800	$750	$650 calls/unlimited calls to Vodafone and Three	$650 calls to any network/ $450 calls to Vodafone and Three
Included data	2GB	500MB	750MB plus "Bonus" 1GB	1GB plus "Bonus" 1GB
Minimum cost	$1,896	$1,896	$1,896	$1,896

Apple iPhone 4 32GB pricing: Telstra v Optus v Vodafone v Three

Apple iPhone 4 32GB Selected Plans - Post Paid - $49 per month	Optus 'yes' Extreme $49	Telstra $49 Cap Plan	Vodafone $49 plan	Three $49 plan
Handset cost	$15 a month	$299 upfront	$10 per month	$5 per month
Term	24 months	24 months	24 months	24 months
Included credit	$450	$400	$450/Unlimited calls to Vodafone and 3	$270 calls to Vodafone or 3 customers, $350 of calls and text to any network
Included data	1GB	200MB	500MB plus "Bonus" 1GB	250MB plus "Bonus" 1GB
Minimum cost	$1,536	$1,475	$1,416	$1,416
Selected Plans - Post Paid - $79 per month	Optus 'yes' Extreme $79	Telstra $79 Cap Plan	Vodafone $79 plan	Three $79 plan
Handset cost	Free	$199 upfront	Free	free
Term	24 months	24 months	24 months	24 months
Included credit	$800	$750	$800/ Unlimited calls to Vodafone and Three	$650 calls to any network/ $450 calls to Vodafone and Three
Included data	2GB	500MB	750MB plus "Bonus" 1GB	1GB plus "Bonus" 1GB
Minimum cost	$1,896	$2,095	$1,896	$1,896

Also see:

HTC Desire vs iPhone: how the Desire bucks Apple's approach

iPhone 4: The top 5 reasons to buy (or not to buy)