"best" prepaid cellular provider

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Mobus

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I am looking for a comparison of the different provider's (Vodacom, MTN, TM and cell C) prepaid offerings and benefits.
I searched the forums and the wider net a bit but couldn't find a recent review. The tariff plans and bonus benefits are really all over the place and which is "best" really depends on each individuals needs. (Lock-in by confusion?)

Ideally I'd like something with some cheap talk minutes (especially over weekends or after hours) to phone family. Perhaps some on-net special like vodacom's my5 bundle or similar? I can always get the family members to port to the same network or keep a second sim & phone. Put it differently, whats the best way to get ~60mins of talk time each weekend?

(I'd still like the general prepaid comparison, as I want to advise family members which network & prepaid tariff plan to use for their everyday use).
 
Mobus said:
I am looking for a comparison of the different provider's (Vodacom, MTN, TM and cell C) prepaid offerings and benefits.
I searched the forums and the wider net a bit but couldn't find a recent review. The tariff plans and bonus benefits are really all over the place and which is "best" really depends on each individuals needs. (Lock-in by confusion?)

Ideally I'd like something with some cheap talk minutes (especially over weekends or after hours) to phone family. Perhaps some on-net special like vodacom's my5 bundle or similar? I can always get the family members to port to the same network or keep a second sim & phone. Put it differently, whats the best way to get ~60mins of talk time each weekend?

(I'd still like the general prepaid comparison, as I want to advise family members which network & prepaid tariff plan to use for their everyday use).
Click to expand...

Telkom Mobile is currently the "Best".
 
Prepaid Voice

Here I go.

Vodacom: Anytime per second price plan - R1.20 per minute to any network any time.
*Power hour which gives you 60min vc to vc minutes on the same day for R7
* My5 that gives you 60min for the same day to your 5 linked numbers for R6
*Chat for 20 gives you 20min to any network for R10. Valid only until 00:00 day of purchase
*Power bundles: Not available between 5pm and 9pm
- 50mb for R5 valid for 1 hour after activation.
-60min vc to vc valid for 1 hour after activation for R4
-10min vc to vc valid for 1 hour after activation for R2

Some other small Vodacom promotions too.

MTN: Pay per second price plan - 79c per minute to any network any time
* MTN WoW bonus. After using R6 of airtime you get R50 free for the same day to use on MTN to MTN calls and you get 10MB data. There are other wow options too that give more bonus if you use more airtime. You can opt into the one you want.
*MTN rush Hour gives you 60 MTN to MTN minutes valid for 1 hour after activation for R5
*MTN PAYG bundles starting from R7 that gives you R7 airtime to any network plus 12min MTN to MTN and a few extras valid for 2 days. There are bigger bundles too.
*MTN boosta bundles R39 gives you 100min MTN to MTN, 200mb data and 100sms valid for 5 days. Bigger bundles available
*Weekend Boosta for R20 gives you R100 value to use on MTN to MTN calls,data and SMS for Saturday and Sunday.
*MTN All net 20 gives you 20min to any network for R10 valid until midnight of the day your purchased it.
Tons of other promotions

Cellc: 99c For Real price plan - 99c per minute to any network anytime
* Recharging any amount gives you free Cellc to Cellc minutes and Data. Gives a decent amount so worth looking at.

Cellc: Mega bonus price plan - R1.50 per minute to any network anytime
* Free whatsapp data
*Get double recharge amount for Cellc to Cellc calls and data

Cellc: Easychat price plan - R1.50 per minute to any network anytime
*Epic bundles giving free Cellc to Cellc minutes for R5,R7 or R120
http://www.cellc.co.za/epic-bundles

Telkom: Sim Sonke price plan - 75c per minute to any network anytime, 29c per minute to Telkom.
Recharge over R5 to get free Telkom calls from 7pm
Free wifi data if you recharge with more than R20 I think.

Telkom now has Voice Bundles which can be purchased on any of their prepaid price plans:
-All Networks Voice Bundles-
R25 = 25min
R50 = 50min
R90 = 100min
R180 = 200min
R400 = 500min

-Telkom Mobile Voice Bundles-
R10 = 25min
R20 = 50min
R30 = 100min
R60 = 200min
R100 = 500min

-Telkom Fixed Voice Bundles-
R12 = 25min
R24 = 50min
R45 = 100min
R90 = 200min
R200 = 500min

Virgin Mobile: Bonus prepaid price plan - R1.29 per minute to any network anytime billed per second Updated
Recharging with airtime gives you free data or SMS you choose which one you want.
Sundays gives you 20% free airtime on all recharges.
Rewards table can be found here
http://www.virginmobile.co.za/our-rates/prepaid/bonus-prepaid/
http://www.virginmobile.co.za/our-rates/prepaid/prepaid-my-bonus/

These are just a basic summary of what I could think of. There are other plans on Vodacom like the Vodacom daily free calls plan which also includes the promotions. Same goes for MTN. MTN Zone gives a % discount before you make a call. The promotions are valid on this price plan too.

Vodacom 79c price plan offers you 79c per second to any network anytime. This price plan does not offer any of the promotions. It is a base rate of 79c and that is it.

MTN Zone gives a percentage discount off R2.50 as the base rate. These percentages varies and are more higher when you use 3G compared to 2G. You can check *135# to check the discount. All on net promotions listed above also works on this price plan.

Vodacom Yebo 4 less price plan which is the default price plan when activating a new prepaid stater pack offers a percentage discount on calls and sms depending on the time of day. Base rate is R3 per min Vodacom to Other and R2.89 VC to VC minus the % discount. Check discounts on *111*444# I think.

MTN Talk Free price plan:
This price plan is best if you want to make calls from MTN to MTN for more than 3min at a time.
MTN to MTN call rate is R1.20 per min for the first 3 min of the call and the next 57min is free.
MTN to other calls are charged @ 79c per minute
Billed per second

Cellc 66c per minute price plan: **CHEAPEST PRICE PLAN**
This price plan offers 66c per minute billed per second to any network anytime.
No promotional options available on this price plan.
You can however load Cellc All-For-One vouchers to give you extra value to make Cellc to Cellc calls.
http://www.cellc.co.za/shop/vouchers/all-in-one-voucher
**Cellc has finally dropped call rates to special non premium numbers like 089,0860,0861,087 and 0800 to price plan rate which on the 66c price plan is 66c per minute.

Cellc Sharks Mobile price plan:
This price plan offers a fixed rate of R1.50 per minute to any network anytime.
Same recharge bonuses that megabonus offer.
Free whatsapp does not apply to this price plan.
Free 80 Cellc to Cellc minutes on each match day that the sharks play including currie cup.
Exclusive Cellc Sharks content for free

Telkom More prepaid price plan:
This price plan offers a base rate of R1.90 per minute to any network anytime.
Get 100% recharged airtime with each recharge. The free airtime is valid for data,voice to any network anytime and sms/mms. Free airtime only valid for 7 days after recharge.
Free wifi with recharges

MTN Pulse Price plan:
This price plan offers call rates of:
MTN to Other: R1.20 per minute billed per second
MTN Pulse to MTN: 79c per minute billed per second
MTN Pulse to MTN Pulse first 60sec of the day: 79c per minute billed per second
MTN pulse to MTN Pulse all subsequent calls for the rest of the day: 29c per minute billed per second

Vodacom Bonus R1.50 price plan:
This price plan charges you R1.50 per minute to any network any time.
*Bonus* You get 50% free airtime to use on calls to any network,data and sms which will last until midnight day of recharge.

**Free Facebook data on Cellc via the internet.org app


Prepaid DATA

Vodacom:

Standard 30day bundles valid for 30days from date of purchase:
R9 = 15mb
R12 = 30mb
R29 = 100mb
R59 = 250mb
R99 = 500mb
R149 = 1GB
R249 = 2GB
R299 = 3GB
R399 = 5GB
R599 = 10GB
R999 = 20GB

Internet Daily valid until 00:00 day of purchase:
R5 = 20mb
R6 = 60mb
R10 = 100mb
R20 = 250mb

Power Bundles valid for 1 hour after purchase. ***Not available between 6pm and 9pm. ***Not available on 79c price plan.
R3 = 50mb

Pay Once bundles:
R999 = 1GB data every month for 12 months
R1499 = 2GB data every month for 12 months


MTN:
Standard bundles Valid for 30days:
R4 = 5mb + 2.75mb valid for 1 day
R12 = 20mb + 11mb valid for 1 day
R25 = 50mb + 27.5mb valid for 3 days
R35 = 100mb + 55mb valid for 3 days
R85 = 300mb + 165mb valid for 5 days
R105 = 500mb + 257mb valid for 5 days
R160 = 1GB + 1GB valid for 30 days
R260 = 2GB + 2GB valid for 30 days
R330 = 3GB + 3GB valid for 30 days
R430 = 5GB + 5GB valid for 30 days
R650 = 10GB + 5.6GB valid for 15 days
R1250 = 20GB + 11.2GB valid for 15 days

Weekly bundles valid from 7 days from date of purchase:
R10 = 50mb
R15 = 100mb
R35 = 300mb
R45 = 500mb
R65 = 1GB

2 Week bundles valid for 2 weeks after date of purchase:
R89 = 1GB

**Please note that all these bundles can be extended by simply buying another once off bundle of the same category before the previous bundle expired and of any denomination to extend it.

MTN Rush hour bundles. Valid for 1 hour after pruchase:
R1.50 = 10mb
R5 = 50mb

MTN Daily bundle valid until 00:00 day of purchase:
R3 = 20mb
R7 = 50mb
R12 = 100mb
R40 = uncapped *150mb fair use after that 128k uncapped. Valid for 24 hours after purchase

MTN Daily night express bundles. Valid from 00:00 to 6am:
R5 = 250mb
R10 = 1GB

MTN Night express month bundles. Valid for 30 days from purchase. Valid only between 00:00 and 6am:
R10 = 100mb
R25 = 300mb
R35 = 500mb
R59 = 1GB

MTN Pay once bundles:
R99 = 100mb x 6 months
R259 = 300mb x 6 months
R339 = 500mb x 6 months
R579 = 1GB x 6 months
R929 = 2GB x 6 months

R159 = 100mb x 12 months
R399 = 300mb x 12 months
R529 = 500mb x 12 months
R899 = 1GB x 12 months
R1399 = 2GB x 12 months


Cellc:
Standard 30day bundles valid for 30 days from date of purchase:
cellc_bundles_30day.png


Daily bundles Valid until 00:00 day of purchase:
R2.70 = 20mb
R6.50 = 50mb
R12.50 = 100mb

Nite Data valid from 1am to 7am once off:
R5 = 250mb
R12.50 = 1GB

Virgin Mobile
Standard 30 day bundles valid for 30 days from date of purchase:
R10 = 25mb
R30 = 100mb
R40 = 200mb
R80 = 512mb
R175 = 1.5GB
R300 = 3GB
R500 = 5GB

Telkom: Updated
R7.25 = 25MB
R14.50 = 50mb
R29 = 100mb
R39 = 250mb
R69 = 500mb
R99 = 1GB
R139 = 2GB
R199 = 3GB
R299 = 5GB
R499 = 10GB
R899 = 20GB valid for 6 months
R1799 = 50GB valid for 12 months
R3199 = 100GB valid for 12 months

Once Off Bundles:
R5 = 75MB valid for 1 hour after purchse
R10 = 150MB valid until 00:00 date of purchase
R39 = 500MB valid from 00:00 Friday until 00:00 Sunday [Whole weekend]
R59 = 1GB valid from 00:00 Friday until 00:00 Sunday [Whole weekend]

*It should be noted that Telkom no longer distinguish between roaming on MTN and being on Telkom network. Once bundle for roaming and home network

Pay Once Bundles. These bundles work on both Telkom and MTN roaming:
R49 = 100mb x 12 months
R99 = 200mb x 12 months
R249 = 512mb x 12 months
R499 = 1GB x 12 months

Axxess and Afrihost Data now works on MTN prepaid simcards via the apn option!
 
Last edited:
mister said:
You could use Vodacom "Daily Free Calls". You pay for the first 3 minutes, and get the next 57 free. So you pay R3.60 to chat for an hour to another vodacom number.
Click to expand...

I don't think I ever had a call last more than 3 minutes :D
 
cavedog said:
Here I go.

Vodacom: Anytime per second price plan - R1.20 per minute to any network any time.

*Power hour which gives you 60min vc to vc minutes on the same day for R7
* My5 that gives you 60min for the same day to your 5 linked numbers for R6
*Chat for 20 gives you 20min to any network for R10. Valid only until 00:00 day of purchase
*Power bundles: Not available between 5pm and 9pm
- 50mb for R5 valid for 1 hour after activation.
-60min vc to vc valid for 1 hour after activation for R4
-10min vc to vc valid for 1 hour after activation for R2

Some other small Vodacom promotions too.

MTN: Pay per second price plan - 79c per minute to any network any time
* MTN WoW bonus. After using R6 of airtime you get R50 free for the same day to use on MTN to MTN calls and you get 10MB data. There are other wow options too that give more bonus if you use more airtime. You can opt into the one you want.
*MTN rush Hour gives you 60 MTN to MTN minutes valid for 1 hour after activation for R5
*MTN PAYG bundles starting from R7 that gives you R7 airtime to any network plus 12min MTN to MTN and a few extras valid for 2 days. There are bigger bundles too.
*MTN boosta bundles R39 gives you 100min MTN to MTN, 200mb data and 100sms valid for 5 days. Bigger bundles available
*Weekend Boosta for R20 gives you R100 value to use on MTN to MTN calls,data and SMS for Saturday and Sunday.
Tons of other promotions

Cellc: 99c For Real price plan - 99c per minute to any network anytime
* Recharging any amount gives you free Cellc to Cellc minutes and Data. Gives a decent amount so worth looking at.

Cellc: Mega bonus price plan - R1.50 per minute to any network anytime
* Free whatsapp data
*Get double recharge amount for Cellc to Cellc calls and data

Cellc: Easychat price plan - R1.50 per minute to any network anytime
*Epic bundles giving free Cellc to Cellc minutes for R5,R7 or R120
http://www.cellc.co.za/epic-bundles

Telkom: Sim Sonke price plan - 79c per minute to any network anytime, 29c per minute to Telkom.
*R5 unlimited telkom calls for 1 day
*R20 unlimited Telkom calls for 7 days
Recharge over R5 to get free Telkom calls from 7pm
Free wifi data if you recharge with more than R20 I think.

Virgin Mobile: V2V booster price plan - 99c to any network anytime
*Recharging with R35 or higher gives you equal amount of Virgin Mobile to Virgin Mobile calls.

These are just a basic summary of what I could think of. There are other plans on Vodacom like the Vodacom daily free calls plan which also includes the promotions. Same goes for MTN. MTN Zone gives a % discount before you make a call. The promotions are valid on this price plan too.
Click to expand...

*slow clap man. I have spent hours trying to figure all these plans out on my own. Thank you.
 
Wow cavedog. That is an awesome summary! Thanks a lot!

Sticky?
MyBB article even?
 
I'm using the Vodacom 79c per second package, until the promotion ends. Will look around once it does.
 
What an awesome reply Cavedog. Many people have been searching for a summary of SP's I am sure.

One thing to add though is that we can differentiate between call and data services. No single operator gives the best of both worlds on a single "package". If for example you take Vodacom's prepaid, you have to stick to their data rates. If you go with Telkom, you could possibly score on data charges but then calling costs are higher (on one of their plans).

To solve this issue I think one can "melt" the best of two separate offerings, by getting a dual sim phone for example the LG G3 dual sim, Note 4 dual sim, Moto G dual sim etc. All highly capable phones which allow you to for example go with a Vodacom prepaid sim for making calls and a Telkom prepaid data sim for using data (both running concurrently). The Telkom sims cost between R50 and R499 depending on your data appetite and are the cheapest I have come accross. They offer monthly data between 100mb - 1gig for these one off costs mentioned.

If you'd like to see options for purchasing dual sim devices amongst other things, please visit our store:
http://www.zeekonline.co.za
 
Thanks guys updated the post with some more info. Feel free to add if you know of any more. There are some more that I will add soon like data offerings between the 2 networks on prepaid.
 
ZEEK ONLINE said:
What an awesome reply Cavedog. Many people have been searching for a summary of SP's I am sure.

One thing to add though is that we can differentiate between call and data services. No single operator gives the best of both worlds on a single "package". If for example you take Vodacom's prepaid, you have to stick to their data rates. If you go with Telkom, you could possibly score on data charges but then calling costs are higher (on one of their plans).

To solve this issue I think one can "melt" the best of two separate offerings, by getting a dual sim phone for example the LG G3 dual sim, Note 4 dual sim, Moto G dual sim etc. All highly capable phones which allow you to for example go with a Vodacom prepaid sim for making calls and a Telkom prepaid data sim for using data (both running concurrently). The Telkom sims cost between R50 and R499 depending on your data appetite and are the cheapest I have come accross. They offer monthly data between 100mb - 1gig for these one off costs mentioned.

If you'd like to see options for purchasing dual sim devices amongst other things, please visit our store:
za
Click to expand...

Please place your link in your signature and refer to it in your post else it could be construed as spam.
 
abandonallhope said:
Doesn't vodacom also have a 79c p/m prepaid deal ?
Click to expand...

They do but since OP asked for promotions with lots of minutes for discounted prices I did not include it in my post because the Vodacom 79c price plan does not offer any promotions. 79c per minute only. No cheap calls or data for you when you on it.
 
Update with prepaid data pricing too. More providers like Afrihost and Axxess to be added soon.
 
Great work cavedog - your time and effort is hugely appreciated! Saved me making a spreadsheet and spending hours on all of the operators sites to mine the info!
 
cavedog said:
MTN: Pay per second price plan[/B] - 79c per minute to any network any time
* MTN WoW bonus. After using R6 of airtime you get R50 free for the same day to use on MTN to MTN calls and you get 10MB data. There are other wow options too that give more bonus if you use more airtime. You can opt into the one you want.
*MTN rush Hour gives you 60 MTN to MTN minutes valid for 1 hour after activation for R5
*MTN PAYG bundles starting from R7 that gives you R7 airtime to any network plus 12min MTN to MTN and a few extras valid for 2 days. There are bigger bundles too.
*MTN boosta bundles R39 gives you 100min MTN to MTN, 200mb data and 100sms valid for 5 days. Bigger bundles available
*Weekend Boosta for R20 gives you R100 value to use on MTN to MTN calls,data and SMS for Saturday and Sunday.
*MTN All net 20 gives you 20min to any network for R10 valid until midnight of the day your purchased it.
Tons of other promotions
Click to expand...

I'm on MTN 1c per second (no longer available for signup) so I need to talk for longer to reach the target spend to get the WOW Bonus. For me I opted for the minimum WOW Bonus as I can reach the R6 target almost every weekday. The bonus airtime however depletes at R2/min so R60 is in effect it 30min of MTN-MTN calls. SMS's (@50c) or data (@R2/MB) only deplete the bonus airtime once bundled SMS's or Data are finished.

There is now a R10 option which gives R128 Bonus airtime (64 MTN-MTN talk minutes) if you want some free calling to MTN on a particular day, though in that case perhaps buy a R5 rushhour (60min calling) pack, and stay on the smaller WOW package to get the daily bonus.
 
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