There are several affordable capped and uncapped mobile data packages available in South Africa which don’t require a user to sign up to a long-term contract.
Mobile network operators tend to offer their most attractive data products on 12- or 24-month contracts, which locks the user into a major commitment.
While a contract can provide great value, you are usually required to pay a hefty cancellation fee should wish to terminate it early due to bad network or service experience.
This is why many users prefer month-to-month products.
Fortunately, there are a number of month-to-month LTE and 5G packages available that offer great value.
Capped packages
Fixed LTE packages on MTN and Telkom’s networks provide users with large amounts of anytime data as week as nighttime data.
Packages range from R199 to R1,949 per month, with data allocations ranging from 60GB to 1TB.
These are offered from numerous ISPs but are most affordable when purchased through Afrihost and Axxess, in most cases.
MTN recently also launched three of its own month-to-month Home Wi-Fi packages which offer great value.
Telkom offers the biggest and cheapest month-to-month mobile data package, however, with its recently-launched 1TB anytime data product priced at only R999.
The table below shows a comparison between the various capped month-to-month LTE packages available on Telkom and MTN’s networks.
Note that these prices do not include a router, which can either be purchased at a once-off fee or added on to the monthly price.
Capped LTE packages | |||
---|---|---|---|
Data | Service provider(s) | MTN | Telkom |
30GB anytime data 30GB night time data |
Afrihost / Axxess | R199 | R199 |
50GB anytime data 50GB night time data |
Axxess | – | R299 |
60GB anytime data 60GB night time data |
Afrihost / Axxess | R349 | – |
70GB anytime data 70GB night time data |
Axxess / Telkom | – | R399 |
75GB anytime data 75GB anytime data |
MTN | R399 | – |
90GB anytime data 90GB night time data |
Axxess / Telkom | – | R499 |
100GB anytime data 100GB night data |
Afrihost / Axxess | R549 | – |
110GB anytime data 110GB night data |
MTN | R499 | – |
120GB anytime data 120GB night data |
Afrihost / Axxess / Telkom | – | R699 |
150GB anytime data 150GB night data |
Afrihost / Axxess | R749 | – |
200GB anytime data 200GB night data |
MTN | R699 | – |
200GB anytime data 200GB night data |
Afrihost / Axxess | R949 | – |
220GB anytime data 220GB night data |
Afrihost / Axxess | – | R999 |
300GB anytime data 300GB night data |
Afrihost / Axxess | R1,349 | – |
500GB anytime data 500GB night data |
Afrihost / Axxess | R1,949 | – |
1TB anytime data | Telkom | – | R999 |
Uncapped packages
When it comes to uncapped month-to-month mobile data packages, you only have two networks to choose from.
Rain offers several uncapped LTE and 5G packages, which start at R250 for the Unlimited Off-Peak product.
It recently launched an uncapped 4G SIM specifically intended for use in smartphones, which is priced at R379 per month.
While its Unlimited 4G comes in cheap at only R479 per month, it is throttled at maximum speeds of 10Mbps and caps video streaming to a resolution of 360p.
For those seeking faster uncapped month-to-month connectivity with better streaming quality, Rain offers its 5G Home Standard and Premium packages.
Afrihost is the only other provider which offers a month-to-month uncapped data package, which runs on MTN’s network.
It is capable of reaching speeds of up to 150Mbps, but comes with a fair usage policy of 1TB, after which speeds will be throttled.
The table below shows the uncapped month-to-month 4G and 5G packages available from Rain and Afrihost.
Uncapped LTE packages | |||
---|---|---|---|
Data | Download speeds and other limits | Price | |
Rain Unlimited 4G for phones | Only for phones No hotspot support 360p video streaming |
R379 | |
Rain Unlimited Off-peak | Best effort speeds 23:00-18:00 – Uncapped 18:00-23:00 – R50 per GB |
R250 | |
Rain Unlimited 4G | Up to 10Mbps 360p video streaming |
R479 | |
Rain Unlimited 5G Home Standard | Up to 30Mbps 720p video streaming |
R699 | |
Rain Unlimited 5G Home Premium | “Ultra fast 5G download speeds” 1080p video streaming |
R999 | |
Afrihost Pure Uncapped LTE | Up to 150Mbps 1TB FUP |
R2,949 |
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