If you are looking to buy affordable prepaid plans in India, we have got you covered.
I have carefully picked up and compared the value-for-money prepaid plans for all the major Telcom Operators in India – JIO Vs Airtel Vs Vodafone-Idea Vs BSNL.
As you are most likely aware that all three private telecom players have increased the tariffs from December 2021.
The Government of India-owned BSNL seems to be the cheaper option in the market currently. But let’s explore how cheap it is compared to other players?
Let’s start with the monthly plans that offer a good amount of data and unlimited voice calling.
Comparing Monthly Recharge Plans
| Company | MRP (Rs.) | Benefit | Validity |
| BSNL | 187 | 2GB per day (Total 56GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day | 28 days |
| Jio | 299 | 2GB per day (Total 56GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day | 28 days |
| Airtel | 359 | 2GB per day (Total 56GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day | 28 days |
| Vodafone-Idea | 359 | 2GB per day (Total 56GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day | 28 days |
BSNL has the most affordable monthly recharge plan, as seen above. BSNL is charging only Rs. 187 for the 2GB per day data for 28 Days validity.
Whereas, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea now offer the most expensive monthly recharge plans. Infact, the price is almost double than BSNL.
Notably, all plans in the table provide similar benefits – 2GB/day of data, unlimited calls, and 100 SMS/day.
Comparing Quarterly Recharge plans
| Company | MRP (Rs.) | Benefit | Validity |
| BSNL | 499 | 2GB per day (Total 180GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day | 90 days |
| Jio | 719 | 2GB per day (Total 168GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day | 84 days |
| Airtel | 839 | 2GB per day (Total 168GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day | 84 days |
| Vodafone-Idea | 839 | 2GB per day (Total 168GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day | 84 days |
If you are planning to do a long validity recharge the above plans are best suited for you.
BSNL offers a cheap quarterly recharge plan too. Additionally, it provides more validity than others.
Infact, BSNL quarterly recharge plan is available for nearly 50% discount than Airtel or VIL plans.
Comparing Long validity plans
| Company | MRP (Rs.) | Benefit | Validity |
| BSNL | 1498 | 2GB per day (Total 730GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day | 365 days |
| Jio | 2879 | 2GB per day (Total 730GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day | 365 days |
| Vodafone-Idea | 2899 | 1.5GB per day (Total 730GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day | 365 days |
| Airtel | 2999 | 2GB per day (Total 730GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day | 365 days |
Airtel has the most expensive plan for long validity, while the Jio and Vodafone-Idea plans have nearly identical prices. In the Jio case, the user gets 2GB of data/day; however, the Vi users get 1.5GB of data/day.
BSNL once again leads the pack in terms of affordability and is offering similar benefits as private companies at a fraction of the price.
Comparing High data PLANS
| Company | MRP (Rs.) | Benefit | Validity |
| Vodafone-Idea | 501 | 3GB per day (Total 84GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day, Disney + Hotstar(1-year access) | 28 days |
| BSNL | 599 | 5GB per day (Total 420GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day | 84 days |
| Airtel | 599 | 3GB per day (Total 84GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day, Disney + Hotstar(1-year access) | 28 days |
| Jio | 601 | 3GB per day + 6GB extra (Total 90GB), unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS/day, Disney + Hotstar(1-year access) | 28 days |
BSNL is offering a crazy high 5GB data/day with 84 days validity at just Rs. 599.
All three private players are pretty expensive if you have a higher data requirement.
Vodafone-Idea is the cheapest among the three and offers 3 GB /Day data at Rs. 501 for 28 days validity and 84 GB total data.
Concluding Thoughts
From the above comparison, we are getting a clear idea that after the tariff hike by private players BSNL is the cheapest option in the market.
Notably, it is offering similar benefits at 50% of the price charged by other telecom operators.
Also, you may like to check out the best postpaid plans from all telecom operators.
However, you must check the quality of the BSNL network in your area before porting out to BSNL or getting a new sim card from the state-operated telecom player.
