We compared Vodacom Plus and Telkom FreeMe – and the winner is clear
Vodacom launched its Smart+ and Red+ contract plans on 1 August, following Telkom unveiling its new FreeMe packages.
The Plus plans from Vodacom follow the structure of its Smart and Red plans – with minutes, SMS messages, and data included.
Vodacom tweaked the existing plans to offer more data and fewer SMS messages, and adjusted the prices accordingly.
We took Vodacom’s Plus plans and compared them to Telkom’s FreeMe packages, as detailed below.
Post-paid vs prepaid and roll-over
First, we must note that Telkom Free packages are available as Boost Bundles to contract and prepaid subscribers at the same price.
Prepaid subscribers who buy a boost bundle will receive all the package benefits a contract subscriber gets.
Vodacom’s deals are only available if you sign a 24-month contract.
While a FreeMe boost bundle of 500MB is available, Telkom has no 500MB FreeMe contract listed on its website, so it is excluded from this comparison.
Basic package value
The tables below summarise the basic package value included in each of the contracts.
| Vodacom | Price | Data | Minutes | SMS |
| Smart S+ | R179 | 500MB | 75 | 75 |
| Smart M+ | R289 | 750MB | 120 | 120 |
| Smart L+ | R469 | 1GB | 250 | 250 |
| Smart XL+ | R659 | 1.5GB | 400 | 400 |
| Red Classic+ | R889 | 2GB | 700 | Unlimited |
| Red Premium+ | R1,399 | 4GB | 1,200 | Unlimited |
| Red VIP+ | R1,749 | 10GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Telkom FreeMe | Price | Data | Minutes | SMS |
| 1GB | R99 | 1GB | 0 | 50 per day |
| 2GB | R149 | 2GB | 0 | 50 per day |
| 5GB | R299 | 5GB | 0 | 50 per day |
| 10GB | R399 | 10GB | 0 | 50 per day |
| 20GB | R599 | 20GB | 1,500 | 50 per day |
| Unlimited | R999 | 25GB FUP | 3,000 | 50 per day |
Added value
Certain features of the deals are more difficult to compare.
Counting in Vodacom’s favour, for example, is that its Plus plans offer a 60-day roll-over on minutes, data, and SMS messages, whereas FreeMe has no roll-over.
In Telkom FreeMe’s favour is 10GB of free Wi-Fi data, unlimited free calls to Telkom numbers, and free access to WhatsApp, BBM, and Viber with a 2GB fair use policy.
Extra bundles and out-of-bundle rates
To balance the value of included package benefits in the plans, we used the bolt-on bundles and out-of-bundle prices summarised in the tables below.
| Telkom all-network voice bundles | Price |
|---|---|
| 25 minutes | R17 |
| 50 minutes | R34 |
| 100 minutes | R67 |
| 200 minutes | R134 |
| 500 minutes | R299 |
| Telkom bundles | Data Only | FreeMe Boost |
|---|---|---|
| 250MB | R39 | – |
| 500MB | R69 | R69 |
| 1GB | R99 | R99 |
| 2GB | R139 | R149 |
| 3GB | R199 | R199 |
| 5GB | R299 | R299 |
| 10GB | R499 | R399 |
| Vodacom data bundles | Price |
|---|---|
| 250MB | R59 |
| 500MB | R99 |
| 1GB | R149 |
| 2GB | R249 |
| 3GB | R299 |
| 5GB | R399 |
| 10GB | R599 |
| Out-of-bundle rates | Data | Voice | SMS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telkom FreeMe | R0.29 per MB | R0.69 per minute | R0.30 per SMS |
| Vodacom Smart S+ and M+ | R1.00 per MB | R1.75 per minute | R0.35 per SMS |
| Vodacom Smart L+ and XL+ | R1.00 per MB | R1.50 per minute | R0.35 per SMS |
| Vodacom Red+ | R1.00 per MB | R1.25 per minute | N/A |
Deals compared
The Telkom FreeMe and Vodacom Plus deals are compared head-to-head below.
Vodacom Smart S+ vs Telkom FreeMe 1GB — Winner: FreeMe
| Vodacom Smart S+ | Price | Telkom FreeMe 1GB | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base price | R179 | Base Price | R99 |
| 500MB bundle | R99 | 75 minutes | R51 |
| Total | R278 | Total | R150 |
Vodacom Smart M+ vs Telkom FreeMe 1GB — Winner: FreeMe
| Vodacom Smart M+ | Price | Telkom FreeMe 1GB | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base price | R289 | Base Price | R99 |
| 250MB bundle | R59 | 120 minutes | R81 |
| Total | R348 | Total | R180 |
Vodacom Smart L+ vs Telkom FreeMe 1GB — Winner: FreeMe
| Vodacom Smart L+ | Price | Telkom FreeMe 1GB | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base price | R469 | Base Price | R99 |
| 250 minutes | R168 | ||
| Total | R469 | Total | R267 |
Vodacom Smart XL+ vs FreeMe 1GB — Winner: FreeMe
| Vodacom Smart XL+ | Price | Telkom FreeMe 1GB | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base price | R659 | Base Price | R99 |
| 400 minutes | R268 | ||
| 500MB bundle | R69 | ||
| Total | R659 | Total | R436 |
Vodacom Red Classic+ vs Telkom FreeMe 2GB — Winner: FreeMe
| Vodacom Red Classic+ | Price | Telkom FreeMe 2GB | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base price | R889 | Base Price | R149 |
| 700 minutes | R433 | ||
| Total | R889 | Total | R582 |
Vodacom Red Premium+ vs Telkom FreeMe 2GB — Winner: FreeMe
| Vodacom Red Premium+ | Price | Telkom FreeMe 2GB | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base price | R1,399 | Base Price | R149 |
| 2GB bundle | R139 | ||
| 1,200 minutes | R732 | ||
| Total | R1,399 | Total | R1,020 |
Vodacom Red Premium+ vs Telkom FreeMe 5GB — Winner: FreeMe
| Vodacom Red Premium+ | Price | Telkom FreeMe 5GB | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base price | R1,399 | Base Price | R299 |
| 1GB bundle | R149 | 1,200 minutes | R732 |
| Total | R1,548 | Total | R1,031 |
Vodacom Red VIP+ vs high-end Telkom FreeMe packages — Winner: FreeMe
Comparing Vodacom’s Red VIP+ contract to FreeMe packages proved challenging due to the unlimited minutes included.
Vodacom does not have a fair use limit for the number of voice minutes you can use.
It says it will step in if any usage adversely impacts the quality of service for other subscribers.
To compare Vodacom’s top-end SIM-only contract to Telkom’s offering, we show the basic package value of the 10GB and Unlimited FreeMe packages in the table below.
Note: with the R750 difference between Red VIP+ and FreeMe Unlimited, a Telkom subscriber can buy another 1,225 all-network voice minutes.
| Basic package value | Price | Data | Minutes | SMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telkom FreeMe 10GB | R399 | 10GB | 0 | 50 per day |
| Telkom FreeMe Unlimited | R999 | Unlimited (25GB FUP) | 3,000 | 50 per day |
| Vodacom Red VIP+ | R1,749 | 10GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
More on Telkom FreeMe and Vodacom Plus
Vodacom’s new Plus packages take on Telkom FreeMe
Telkom FreeMe vs data-only bundle weirdness
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