The three major telecom players in the country have all hiked their prepaid plans for customers. Airtel and Vodafone-Idea’s new plans went into effect last week, while Jio announced the price hike yesterday. Jio’s new plans will be active from December 1. Let us take a look at the best plans for customers which offer maximum data at the best prices.
Airtel new plans under Rs 400
Airtel announced a hike of around 20-25 per cent across its prepaid plans which went into effect on November 26. Airtel’s Rs 149 plan which had unlimited calling and 100 SMS per day along with 2GB of data in total now costs Rs 179.
The next plan which cost Rs 219 with 1GB of daily data now costs Rs 265 for 28 days validity and unlimited calling with 100 SMS per day.
The Rs 249 plan which was another popular one, now has a price tag of Rs 299. This plan has 1.5GB of daily data along with unlimited calling, 100 SMS per day. Finally, the Rs 298 plan which comes with 2GB of daily data costs Rs 359 along with the benefits of unlimited calling, 100 SMS/ day. All of these plans have a validity of 28 days.
After this, all new plans now cost more than Rs 400 according to Airtel’s new price range. Those plans also come with longer validity but have gotten much more expensive.
Airtel new plans vs old plans: Prices, benefits
| Airtel old Price (Rs) | Validity | Airtel New Price (Rs) | Benefits |
| 149 | 28 Days | 179 | Unlimited Calling, 100 SMS per day, 2GB Data |
| 219 | 28 Days | 265 | Unlimited Calling, 100 SMS/Day, 1GB/day Data |
| 249 | 28 Days | 299 | Unlimited Calling, 100 SMS/Day, 1.5GB/day Data |
| 298 | 28 Days | 359 | Unlimited Calling, 100 SMS/Day, 2 GB/day Data |
Vodafone-Idea prepaid plans under Rs 400
Vodafone-Idea has also hiked the prices for prepaid plans in a manner similar to Airtel. The Rs 149 plan now starts at Rs 179 with 2GB of data in total, though this one has only 300 SMS per day. Unlimited calling is a part of this plan.
Vodafone’s Rs 219 now costs Rs 269, which is slightly more than Airtel. This plan has 1GB daily data, 100 SMS per day, and unlimited calling.
Vodafone’s Rs 249 plan with 1.5GB of daily data now costs Rs 299 which is the same as Airtel. Finally, the Rs 299 plan will cost Rs 359 as well and continues with 2GB of day per day. Both plans have unlimited calling and 100 SMS per day.
Just like Airtel, Vodafone-Idea has hiked up prices of plans with longer validity to more than Rs 400.
Vi new plans vs old plans: Prices, benefits
| VI old Price (Rs) | Validity | VI New Price (Rs) | Benefits |
| 149 | 28 Days | 179 | Unlimited Calling, 300 SMS, 2GB Data |
| 219 | 28 Days | 269 | Unlimited Calling, 100 SMS/Day, 1GB/day Data |
| 249 | 28 Days | 299 | Unlimited Calling, 100 SMS/Day, 1.5GB/day Data |
| 299 | 28 Days | 359 | Unlimited Calling, 100 SMS/Day, 2 GB/day Data |
Jio’s new prepaid plans under Rs 400
Jio’s bundled prepaid plans had a lower starting price compared to Vodafone-Idea and Airtel even before the price hike, and this continues, though the plans are slightly different. The plans go into effect from December 1, so there is still time to recharge with older plans.
The Rs 129 plan with 2GB of data in total, unlimited calling, and 300 SMS will now cost Rs 155. The plan has a validity of 28 days. The Rs 149 now costs Rs 179, but this one has better data benefits compared to Airtel and Vi. It comes with 1GB of data per day, unlimited calling, 100 SMS per day. However, the validity is only 24 days.
Jio’s Rs 199 plan now costs Rs 239 with a daily data limit of 1.5GB and unlimited calling, 100 SMS per day. The Rs 249 plan will now cost Rs 299 with 2GB of data per day, unlimited calling, and 100 SMS per day. The plans are comparatively cheaper compared to Airtel and Vi.
Jio new plans vs old plans: Prices, benefits
| Jio old Price (Rs) | Validity | Jio New Price (Rs) | Benefits |
| 129 | 28 Days | 155 | Unlimited Calling, 300 SMS, 2GB Data |
| 149 | 24 Days | 179 | Unlimited Calling, 100 SMS/Day, 1GB/day Data |
| 199 | 28 Days | 239 | Unlimited Calling, 100 SMS/Day, 1.5GB/day Data |
| 249 | 28 Days | 299 | Unlimited Calling, 100 SMS/Day, 2 GB/day Data |
Jio’s next plan which originally cost Rs 399 will now cost Rs 479. The plan will come with 56 days validity and unlimited calls, 100 SMS per day.
It should be noted that Airtel, VI, and Jio have all hiked prepaid plans with longer validity and these are much more expensive now. Plans with 84 days validity and more than 1.5GB of daily data now cost more than Rs 600 on average.
