Circles.Life Australia review: How good are its mobile plans?

Circles.Life had made a name for itself by offering lots of data at reasonable prices. While there's always flux, Circles.Life regularly offers more data than its competitors do at the same price point.

This is largely due to the discounts Circles tends to offer. It's rare for there to be a time when the provider isn't offering a saving on your first six months or year. But even excluding these discounts, Circles plans tend to be pretty good value.

Circles.Life SIM-only plans are pretty basic. All you get is data and local talk and text. The plans are all contract-free, however. At time of writing, plan allowances range between 5GB and 100GB. Prices start as low as $10 per month.

For comparison, here's a look at postpaid SIM-only plans with at least 100GB:

Circles.Life doesn't currently offer student discounts or family plans, but has a referral program.

For each friend you refer who activates their SIM card, Circles.Life will give you $5 off your monthly bill for six months. Your friend will get $10 off their monthly bill for six months. 

Referring a family member is a good way for you both to save money on Circles.Life plans.

With Circles.Life plans, you'll get access to the Optus 3G and 4G network. Optus' mobile network currently covers 98.5% of the population, putting it right between Telstra and Vodafone. 

Circles.Life does not currently offer 5G connectivity on any of its plans. 

Here's a selection of other popular postpaid SIM-only plans powered by the Optus network:

If you like your SIM Only plan with a side of perks, Circles.Life isn’t the telco for you. That lean, mean pricing above is evidence that Circles.Life is focused on providing plenty of monthly data at a competitive price. 

Circles.Life does however offer cheaper excess data than most other providers. If you go over your allowance, you can purchase an extra 3GB for $10. The standard rate is 1GB for $10. You can top-up as many times as you need to in a month.

Just be aware that this is a manual purchase. If you don't, you'll pay $0.01 for each megabyte of excess data, which works out to be roughly $10 per for 1GB. 

Circles.Life plans don't include international calls meaning you're stuck with pricey pay-as-you-go rates.

There’s also international roaming, but it’s also pay-as-you-go, which means it’s very expensive. If you're travelling overseas regularly, we'd recommend a competitor like Vodafone, where you'll get $5 per day roaming.

Circles.Life now offers just one data add-on: 3GB for $10 (non-recurring). It can be purchased as many times as necessary in a billing period. 

While the support options aren’t as varied as other telcos, Circles.Life prides itself on getting back to you fast.

The Circles.Life app also features bill tracking, billing and payment settings (if you need to update your payment method), and a live chat feature.

You can also call Circles.Life on the phone number 1300 863 004 to leave a voicemail. The support team will return your call within a day (according to Circles.Life’s website). The customer service centre operates between 8am and 8pm AEST Monday to Friday and between 8am and 5pm AEST on weekends and public holidays.

If you prefer to avoid talking over the phone at all costs you can lodge a ticket over on the telco’s website. Once again, Circles.Life claims you will have a response within the day.

Existing customers can also get in touch with the customer service live chat team via the iOS or Android app.

If you’re a new customer, there’s a web chat service for new connections and questions here. As with the call centre, the live chat team operates 8am to 8pm AEDT Monday to Friday and between 8am and 5pm on weekends and public holidays.

In terms of customer satisfaction, it depends where you go to read about it. The Circles.Life website boasts that its app has a 4.7 star rating in the iOS App Store.

On the other hand, Product Review and Trustpilot have lower ratings. Product Review has a 2.4-out-of-five rating from 660+ reviews. There are only 70 or so on Trustpilot, but the majority of those are one-star ratings, which puts the overall score at just 1.8 out of five.

If you're looking to sign-up to Circles.Life, pick a plan below and click or tap the "Go" button. 

This will take you to the Circles.Life website, where you'll be able to sign-up to your new plan. You can keep your existing phone number. 

In select metro areas, Circles can deliver your new SIM card within five hours.

Circles.Life currently doesn't have 5G plans. SpinTel, Aussie Broadband, and Southern Phone are the main Optus network providers that offer 5G, other than Optus itself.

Below is a daily updating list of popular 5G plans across SIM-only and prepaid.

Read about how we rate mobile providers here.