Boost, ALDI Mobile, amaysim, Lebara and felix roaming: cost vs a travel eSIM

• Prepaid packALDI Mobile North America Data Pack (prepaid)A$5.00 for 2 GB over 7 days.In 3 destinations. Covers the USA. Not covered: Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Thailand, India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada.Data only.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packALDI Mobile Pacific Data Pack (prepaid)A$5.00 for 1 GB over 7 days.In 7 destinations. Covers New Zealand. Not covered: Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the USA, India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada.Data only.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packALDI Mobile Asia Data Pack (prepaid)A$8.00 for 1 GB over 7 days.In 15 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. Not covered: New Zealand, the USA, India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada.Data only.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packALDI Mobile Global Data Pack (prepaid)A$15.00 for 2 GB over 7 days.In 69 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Europe, Vietnam, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada.Data only.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packALDI Mobile Global Travel Pack (prepaid)A$30.00 for 5 GB over 7 days.In 47 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Europe, Vietnam, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada.Includes 30 minutes of standard calls, including receiving calls, and 50 SMS.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packamaysim The Works Roaming Pack (prepaid)A$25.00 for 2 GB over 365 days.In over 120 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Europe, Vietnam, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada.Includes 50 minutes of calls and 30 SMS.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packamaysim Just Gigs Roaming Pack (prepaid)A$50.00 for 6 GB over 365 days.In over 120 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Europe, Vietnam, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada.Data only.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packamaysim The Epic Roaming Pack (prepaid)A$70.00 for 9 GB over 365 days.In over 120 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Europe, Vietnam, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada.Includes 100 minutes of calls and 60 SMS.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packBoost International Roaming Small (prepaid)A$20.00 for 2 GB over 3 days.In 42 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada. In Europe it covers France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Norway, but not Switzerland.Includes 15 minutes of calls and 15 texts.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packBoost International Roaming Medium (prepaid)A$30.00 for 5 GB over 7 days.In 42 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada. In Europe it covers France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Norway, but not Switzerland.Includes 30 minutes of calls and 30 texts.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packBoost International Roaming Large (prepaid)A$40.00 for 7 GB over 14 days.In 42 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada. In Europe it covers France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Norway, but not Switzerland.Includes 60 minutes of calls and 60 texts.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packfelix International Roaming add-on (prepaid)A$20.00 for 4 GB over 365 days.In over 40 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Europe, Vietnam, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada.Includes 100 standard international minutes and 100 standard international SMS.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packLebara Economy Roaming (prepaid)A$15.00 for 0.5 GB over 2 days.Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Europe, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: Vietnam, India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada.Includes 50 minutes of standard talk and 50 standard texts.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packLebara First Class Roaming (prepaid)A$45.00 for 3 GB over 10 days.Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Europe, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: Vietnam, India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada.Includes 150 minutes of standard talk and 150 standard texts.Checked 1 Nov · Source

• Boost: bought in the My Boost Mobile app. A pack starts the moment you buy it.
• ALDI Mobile: every pack lasts 7 days from purchase and differs by region. You need an active ALDI Mobile plan and roaming switched on in My ALDI Mobile.
• amaysim: bought in the amaysim app. Packs are usable across trips, and unused inclusions roll over if you buy another before one expires.
• Lebara: bought through MyLebara with an active plan or main balance.
• felix: bought in the felix app. If you buy another, unused inclusions roll into it.
• Coverage of our destinations differs by pack. Boost covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Lebara covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Europe, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. ALDI Mobile's regional packs cover only their region, while its Global packs cover all of ours, as do amaysim and felix.
• Roaming availability can change at short notice, and a pack only works in the destinations it lists, so check the list for your destination before you buy.

Boost has no pay-as-you-go roaming: Boost says international roaming only works when you buy a pack.

Outside a pack's inclusions or destinations, ALDI Mobile says standard pay-as-you-go roaming rates apply, and it warns that overseas use is not included in its plans. You are not charged for receiving texts abroad, but calls are charged at pay-as-you-go rates.

felix works differently: without the add-on you can't use data or make calls abroad, though you can receive texts and use Wi-Fi. felix says you won't get surprise roaming charges.

Lebara says that once a roaming add-on's inclusions run out you can buy another or use its pay-as-you-go roaming rates, which need main balance credit. Its rates list charges per minute for calls and per MB for data, and incoming texts are free.

For a trip of 7 days, using the cheapest option from Boost, ALDI Mobile, amaysim, Lebara and felix that lasts the whole trip and holds the data, against the cheapest single travel eSIM that does the same. Light use is about 0.5 GB a day and moderate use about 1 GB a day. A day pass is counted for every day of the trip; a pack is bought again, one after another, if it is shorter than the trip. The carrier options include calls and texts on your own number where stated; a travel eSIM is data only. A postpaid reader is compared with the day pass and a Pre-Paid reader with the packs, because you can only buy your own plan's.

Try your own trip in the roaming calculator, or compare plans for Japan, Bali and Europe.

A roaming pack keeps your Australian number working abroad, so you can leave your SIM in and use the pack. A travel eSIM is the other route: data on the eSIM, and your Australian number kept on for texts.

With roaming switched on, ALDI Mobile, Lebara and felix don't charge to receive texts abroad. Boost roaming only works with a pack, so without one a Boost number gets no texts overseas and a travel eSIM would not keep it reachable.

With a travel eSIM, turn off data roaming on your Australian line, and don't make or answer calls on it, so it doesn't use a pack or pay-as-you-go rates by accident.

Our guide to keeping your Australian number has the full setup.

• Don't buy an ALDI Mobile pack too early. It starts the moment you buy it and ends at midnight Australian Eastern Time 7 days later, wherever you are.
• Switch international roaming on in My ALDI Mobile while you're still in Australia, before you buy an ALDI Mobile pack. Roaming packs can't be activated or managed in the ALDI Mobile app, only on the web.
• Buying another ALDI Mobile pack of the same type while one is active replaces it, and unused inclusions are lost.
• Check the country list first. For example, Lebara's packs don't cover Vietnam, India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada.
• Don't count on a pack on a cruise ship: amaysim says its packs aren't available on ships.