Here is a comparison of the best prepaid plans within Rs 500 available across Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone and Idea. We tell which telecom operator offers the most amount of data, along with unlimited calling, roaming, and free SMS.
It's hard to think back to the days, the glorious 90s, when one had to shell out a large sum of money to avail of calling and internet services. Mobile phones were only just beginning to proliferate and telecom companies were charging a bomb for their services. Even till a few years back, mobile subscribers in India were paying through the roof for data, especially compared to how freely it is distributed by telcos in today's day. As data and price wars heat up in India's telecom market thanks to firebrand Reliance Jio, customer is king and calling is free. Prepaid customers in India can now get a lot more for their money than previously possible. In fact, there are a lot of data heavy plans available under just Rs 500. These prepaid plans from Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea offer good value for money and are enough to get you through the month, sometimes even more. So let's see how some of the best plans for all the four majour telecom operators compare with each other and who has the most amount of data to offer. To avoid repetition, three things will remain the same in all these plans across network providers. These are – Unlimited calling (Local + STD), Free 100 SMS per day, and no roaming charges. The amount of data is what will wary in plans from different operators and that is what we will highlight.
Prepaid plans from Rs 149 – Rs 199
Now that telecom companies are almost matching their offerings blow by blow, almost all networks have a Rs 149 plan to offer.
In Rs 149, Vodafone, has the most data-intensive plan with a total of 56GB 3G/4G data on offer for a validity of 28 days (2GB/Day). Jio comes next with 42GB of 4G data on offer, again with a 28-day validity (1.5GB/Day). Airtel offers the least amount of data in its Rs 149 plan, with 1GB of daily data amounting to 28GB of 3G/4G data for 28 days.
Idea does not have a Rs 149 prepaid plan and its lowest unlimited prepaid offering starts from Rs 199. In Rs 199, Idea offers 1.4GB of 3G/2G data daily for 28 days, amounting to a total of 39.2GB data. Airtel’s prepaid offering at Rs 199 is the same as Idea’s, with 1.4GB of 3G/2G data daily for 28 days. Reliance Jio offers the highest amount of data for Rs 198, which is 2GB daily 4G data amounting to a total of 56GB data for a validity of 28 days.
One must note that every Jio plan also comes with complimentary access to its content services such as JioTV, JioCinema, JioMusic and more.
Prepaid plans from Rs 200 – Rs 299
In this category, Reliance Jio has the best data plan to offer with 3GB daily data valid for 28 days. This amounts to a total of 84GB data for the month with the Jio Rs 299 prepaid plan.
Airtel has two prepaid offering in this price category. Airtel’s Rs 229 prepaid plan and Rs 249 prepaid plan both offer 28 days of validity, but varying amounts of data. For Rs 229, Airtel prepaid customers get a total of 39.2GB data (1.4GB/Day), while the Rs 249 plan offers 56GB of total data (2GB/Day) for the same amount of time.
Vodafone bring in its Rs 255 plan in the category, again, with a validity of 28 days. Vodafone offers the same amount of data as Airtel in this plan, i.e. 56GB with an FUP of 2GB data per day.
Idea’s best data plan in this range is the Rs 249 plan which offers 2GB of daily 2G/3G data for 28 days. This again gives prepaid customers a total of 56GB of data for the month.
Prepaid plans from Rs 300 – Rs 500
This price category is populated with some pretty good data plans. At Rs 349, Reliance Jio again has the best prepaid plan to offer with 105GB of data (1.5GB/Day) for a validity period of 70 days.
Vodafone and Idea both offer 3GB of daily data, amounting to a total of 84GB of data for a validity of 28 days. Both plans also offer unlimited calling, roaming, and free 100 SMS per day, but that’s pretty much standard across telecom operators these days.
Reliance Jio has another prepaid plan in this price range. Jio’s Rs 399 plan is valid for 84 days and offers 126GB of data (1.5GB/Day). There’s also a 100% cashback of Rs 400 (check terms here) available on this plan in the form of vouchers.
Airtel’s plans in this category start a little steeper than the others. Airtel has two prepaid plans to offer – one for Rs 495 and another for Rs 499. The Rs 495 Airtel prepaid plan offers 1.4GB of daily data for 84 days, that is a total of 117GB data. For a few rupees more, At Rs 499, Airtel offers 2GB of daily data for 82 days, amounting to 164GB of data.
Within the Rs 400 – Rs 500 bracket, Reliance Jio also has a Rs 449 plan with a total of 136GB 4G data (1.5GB/Day) on offer for a period of 91 days. Vodafone has a Rs 458 prepaid plan offering 1.4GB data daily for 84 days, bringing the total data available in this plan to 117GB. Lastly, Idea’s best plan within this segment is its Rs 499 plan which offers 2GB of daily data for 82 days, giving subscribers a total of 164GB data in just under five hundred rupees.
Before recharging, it is advisable that customers check the availability of these plans in their region online or through the respective apps of the telecom operators.
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