Prepaid Plans: Popular Recharge Plans and Benefits (2022)
Prepaid recharge plans are a popular choice amongst the majority of people in the country. All the top telecom service providers such as Airtel, Jio, Vi and BSNL offer a wide range of prepaid mobile plans, giving their customers so many options to choose from. Since there are so many plans available, one is bound to get confused or overwhelmed in figuring out the best plan for them. For one person, having the feature of unlimited calls would be more useful whereas, for someone else, high data limit plans would work better.
For that reason, we have compiled a list of all the popular prepaid plans of each type (unlimited calling focused, data-focused, value benefits-focused) offered by the top telecom companies in India. Read below to find out more.
Last updated in: November 2022
What are prepaid plans?
Prepaid, as the name suggests means a service for which you pay upfront before utilising its services. Prepaid plans work on a recharge basis and give you the flexibility to pay exactly for the service you want, unlike postpaid plans where getting a "bill shock" is a real thing for a lot of people.
What kinds of prepaid plans are available?
There are all kinds of prepaid plans available depending on your requirements. They are commonly categorised into the following:
- Talktime plans
- Unlimited calling plans
- Data plans
- Validity extension plans
- International Roaming plans
- Combo plans
- Annual plans
What are the advantages of a prepaid plan?
Prepaid plans have their fair share of advantages. Let’s have a look at some of the main advantages.
- Pricing - Generally, prepaid phone plans are cheaper compared to postpaid plans.
- No contract required - When you sign up for a prepaid plan, you'll pay upfront for what you plan to use.
- Flexibility - To recharge or change plan after every use of a current plan.
- Better parental controls if needed
What are the disadvantages of a prepaid plan?
Everything in this world has its pros and cons and Prepaid plans are no different. Although there are more benefits to having a prepaid plan than drawbacks. Here are some of the disadvantages.
- Limitations - Limits on calls and/or data can get difficult sometimes
- Needs constant tracking or else surprise completion of a plan may occur
- Less value and entertainment benefits - Most telecom providers offer additional benefits on a postpaid connection compared to a prepaid one.
Best Prepaid plans under Rs 200
Here are some of the best plans that can be bought for less than ₹200. These plans generally offer a bit of everything, hence it turns out to be a valuable deal.| Plan | Data | Calls | SMS | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jio ₹199 | 1.5 GB per day | Unlimited | 100 per day | 23 Days |
| Jio ₹179 | 1 GB per day | Unlimited | 100 per day | 24 Days |
| Airtel ₹179 | 2 GB | Unlimited | 300 | 28 Days |
Airtel - Popular Mobile Recharge Plans
Find out here about Airtel’s most popular prepaid recharge plans offering a bunch of features such as calling, data, SMS and additional benefits.| Plan Type | Price | Data/Calls | Validity | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talktime | ₹10 | Talktime worth ₹7.47 | Unlimited | - |
| Talktime | ₹100 | Talktime worth ₹81.75 | Unlimited | - |
| Smart Recharge | ₹99 | 200 MB data and Talktime worth ₹99 | 28 Days | - |
| Truly Unlimited | ₹179 | 2 GB data and unlimited calls | 28 Days |
|
| Truly Unlimited | ₹209 | 1 GB/day and unlimited calls | 21 Days |
|
| Truly Unlimited | ₹359 | 2 GB/day and unlimited calls | 28 Days |
|
| Truly Unlimited | ₹455 | 6 GB data and unlimited calls | 84 Days |
|
| Truly Unlimited | ₹599 | 3 GB/day and unlimited calls | 28 Days |
|
| Truly Unlimited | ₹1,799 | 24 GB Data and unlimited calls | 365 Days |
|
| Truly Unlimited | ₹2,999 | 2 GB/day and unlimited calls | 365 Days |
|
Which is the cheapest Airtel recharge plan?
The cheapest prepaid recharge plan by Airtel is the ₹10 talktime plan. However, considering features such as calling, data and SMS, then the cheapest plan is the ₹99 ‘smart recharge' plan.
| Type | Price | Data/Calls | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| For calls only | ₹10 | Talktime worth ₹7.47 | Unlimited |
| For data and calls | ₹99 | 200 MB data and Talktime worth ₹99 | 28 Days |
Popular Jio Mobile Recharge Plans
Jio is popular for offering affordable data and calling plans. Here are the popular prepaid recharge plans featuring their price, data and calling limit, validity and benefits.| Plan | Price | Data | Calls | Validity | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB/day Data Packs | ₹149 | 1 GB per day | Unlimited | 20 Days | Free subscription to all Jio apps |
| 1 GB/day Data Packs | ₹209 | 1 GB per day | Unlimited | 28 Days | Free subscription to all Jio apps |
| 1.5 GB/day Data Packs | ₹239 | 1.5 GB per day | Unlimited | 28 Days | Free subscription to all Jio apps |
| 1.5 GB/day Data Packs | ₹666 | 1.5 GB per day | Unlimited | 84 Days | Free subscription to all Jio apps |
| 2 GB/day Data Packs | ₹299 | 2 GB per day | Unlimited | 28 Days | Free subscription to all Jio apps |
| 2 GB/day Data Packs | ₹799 | 2 GB per day | Unlimited | 56 Days | Free subscription to all Jio apps, 1 year Disney+ Hotstar Mobile subscription |
| 3 GB/day Data Packs | ₹419 | 3 GB per day | Unlimited | 28 Days | Free subscription to all Jio apps. |
| Jio Freedom Plan | ₹296 | 25 GB | Unlimited | 30 Days | Free subscription to all Jio apps. |
| Cricket Plans | ₹499 | 2 GB per day | Unlimited | 28 Days | Subscription to Disney+ Hotstar and Free subscription to all Jio apps. |
| International Roaming Plan | ₹1,102 | - | Wi-fi calling back to India at ₹1 per minute | 28 Days | Applicable in 100+ countries |
Which is the cheapest Jio prepaid plan?
Similar to Airtel, the cheapest prepaid recharge plan by Jio is also the ₹10 talktime plan. However, considering the other features such as unlimited calling, data and SMS, then the cheapest plan is the ₹149 plan.| Purpose | Price | Data/Calls | Benefits | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| For calls only | ₹10 | Talktime worth ₹7.47 | - | Unlimited |
| For data and calls | ₹149 | 1 Gb per day data and unlimited calls | Subscription to Jio apps | 20 Days |
Which Jio prepaid plan offers the most benefits?
Reliance Jio’s 2 GB per day prepaid plans offer the most benefits. Plans above 2 GB per day offer the same amount of benefits. Hence we have listed down the most affordable plan with the highest amount of value and entertainment benefits.| Price | Data | Calls | Validity | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹499 | 2 GB per day | Unlimited | 28 Days | Disney+ Hotstar Mobile Subscription for 1 Year and Subscription to Jio Apps |
| ₹799 | 2 GB per day | Unlimited | 56 Days | Disney+ Hotstar Mobile Subscription for 1 Year and Subscription to Jio Apps |
| ₹1,066 | 2 GB per day + 5GB complimentary | Unlimited | 84 Days | Disney+ Hotstar Mobile Subscription for 1 Year and Subscription to Jio Apps |
| ₹1,499 | 2 GB per day | Unlimited | 84 Days | Disney+ Hotstar Premium Subscription for 1 Year and Subscription to Jio Apps |
Popular BSNL Mobile Recharge Plans
BSNL is the only state-owned telco that’s amongst the top telecom providers in the country. The company also offers a wide range of prepaid plans. Here are some of the popular prepaid plans by BSNL.| Price | Data | Talktime | Validity | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹147 | 10 GB | Unlimited | 30 Days | BSNL Tunes |
| ₹187 | 2 GB per day | Unlimited | 28 Days | 100 SMS per day |
| ₹247 | 3 GB per day | Unlimited | 30 Days | Free EROS Now subscription and BSNL Tunes |
| ₹319 | -- | Unlimited | 75 Days | - |
| ₹398 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 30 Days | - |
| ₹429 | 1 GB per day | Unlimited | 81 Days | Free EROS Now subscription |
| ₹499 | 1 GB per day | Unlimited | 90 Days | - |
| ₹998 | 2 GB per day | Unlimited | 240 Days | - |
| ₹1,999 | 3 GB per day | Unlimited | 365 Days | Subscription to Eros Now, BSNL Tunes and Lokdhun content service |
Which is the best BSNL prepaid plan?
As BSNL offers a lot of different recharge plans catering to all kinds of customer's needs, it is tough to determine which is the best plan. For one user, a high data limit can be important whereas, for somebody else, a simple talktime plan would do. If you’re looking for a good mix of calling as well as mobile data, then this plan could be the best for you.| Price | Data | Calling | Validity | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹197 | 2 GB per day | Unlimited (including MTNL roaming area of Mumbai & Delhi) | 100 Days | Zing Music (for first 18 days) |
Which BSNL prepaid plan offers the most benefits?
The most exhaustive plan of BSNL is the one that offers the most benefits. BSNL’s annual prepaid plan offers benefits like no other prepaid plan offered by the company. Here are the plan details.| Plan Name | Price | Data | Calling | Validity | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PV999 | ₹1,999 | 3 GB per day | Unlimited | 365 Days | Free PRBT with unlimited song change, Lokdhun content and EROS Now subscription for a year. |
Popular Vodafone-Idea (Vi) Recharge Plans
Vodafone-Idea, commonly known as Vi also has a bunch of prepaid recharge plans that are offered to its customers. Since the merger of Vodafone and Idea to come together to form Vi, the network has been giving good competition to other big players in the market such as Jio and Airtel.| Price | Data | Calls | Validity | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹99 | 200 MB | ₹99 worth talktime | 28 Days | - |
| ₹179 | 2 GB | Unlimited | 28 Days | Vi Movies and TV access |
| ₹269 | 1 GB per day | Unlimited | 28 Days | Vi Movies and TV access |
| ₹299 | 1.5 GB per day | Unlimited | 28 Days | Binge All Night, Weekend data rollover, and Vi Movies and TV access |
| ₹475 | 3 GB per day | Unlimited | 28 Days | Binge All Night, Weekend data rollover, and Vi Movies and TV access |
| ₹601 | 3 GB per day | Unlimited | 28 Days | 1 year of Disney+ Hotstar Mobile, Binge All Night, Weekend data rollover, and Vi Movies and TV access |
| ₹2,899 | 1.5 GB per day | Unlimited | 365 Days | Binge All Night, Weekend data rollover, and Vi Movies and TV access |
Which is the cheapest Vi prepaid plan?
Vi also has talktime plan options available, which can be considered as the cheapest plan as it’s priced at just ₹10. Although the cheapest recharge plan by Vi that offers both calling and data is the ₹99 plan.| Plan Type | Price | Data/Calls | Benefits | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talktime Plan | ₹10 | Talktime worth ₹7.47 | - | Unlimited |
| Combo/Validity Plan | ₹99 | 200 MB data | - | 28 Days |
Which Vi prepaid plan offers the most benefits?
There are two prepaid plans by Vi that offer the additional entertainment benefit by offering 1-year access to the Disney+ Hotstar Mobile edition. These are the 2 plans.| Price | Data | Calls | Validity | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹601 | 3 GB per day | Unlimited | 28 Days |
|
| ₹901 | 3 GB per day | Unlimited | 70 Days |
|
Popular long-term mobile recharge plans
With the increasing demand and the decreasing prices of prepaid plans, all the telecom providers have also been offering annual prepaid recharge plans to their customers. Let’s have a look at these long-term plans below.Airtel annual prepaid plan
| Price | Data | Calls | Validity | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹1,799 | 24 GB | Unlimited Local, STD and Roaming | 365 Days |
|
| ₹2,999 | 2 GB per day | Unlimited Local, STD and Roaming | 365 Days |
|
| ₹3,359 | 2 GB per day | Truly Unlimited | 365 Days |
|
Jio annual prepaid plan
| Price | Data | Calls | Validity | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹2,545 | 1.5 GB per day | Unlimited | 365 Days | Subscription to various Jio apps |
| ₹2,879 | 2 GB per day | Unlimited | 365 Days | Subscription to various Jio apps |
| ₹2,999 | 2.5 GB per day | Unlimited | 365 Days | Subscription to various Jio apps |
| ₹3,119 | 2 GB per day + 10 GB | Unlimited | 365 Days | 1 year of Disney+ Hotstar Mobile and Subscription to various Jio apps |
| ₹4,119 | 3 GB per day | Unlimited | 365 Days | 1 year of Disney+ Hotstar Premium and Subscription to various Jio apps |
Vi annual prepaid plan
| Price | Data | Calls | Validity | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹1,799 | 24 GB | Unlimited | 365 Days | Access to Vi Movies and TV |
| ₹2,899 | 1.5 GB per day | Unlimited | 365 Days | Binge All Night, Weekend data rollover, and Vi Movies and TV access |
| ₹3,099 | 1.5 GB per day | Unlimited | 365 Days | 1 year of Disney+ Hotstar Mobile, Binge All Night, Weekend data rollover, and Vi Movies and TV access |
BSNL annual prepaid plan
| Plan Name | Price | Data | Calls | Validity | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bindas Bol | ₹1,499 | 24 GB | Unlimited | 365 Days | - |
| BSNL 1999 | ₹1,999 | 600 GB | Unlimited | 365 Days | Free caller tune, Lokdhun Content for 60 days |
| BSNL 2399 | ₹2,399 | 2 GB per day | Unlimited | 365 Days | Free caller tune, Subscription to EROS Now Entertainment |
| PV 2999 | ₹2,999 | 3 GB per day | Unlimited calls to any network | 455 Days | - |
FAQ
How to check BSNL prepaid plan validity on mobile?
BSNL prepaid users can dial *123# on their mobile to get validity details on their plan.
What does validity mean in a mobile plan?
Validity basically means the number of days your chosen plan can be used for. Therefore, it is always recommended to check the validity of a plan before subscribing to it as there are so many plans with different validity periods.
How to check the status of my current prepaid plan?
All the telecom providers in the country have their own mobile apps with the help of which you can easily keep a track of your current plan, subscribe to other services, add-on data package or whatever it is that you may require.
What if I don’t recharge my prepaid number?
Generally, If a prepaid user fails to recharge upon expiry of validity, and that number has not had any active plan for a set number of days (depends on each provider), then the outgoing calls would be barred and the incoming calls will also stop after 7-10 days of that period.
Updated on 8 Jun, 2022
Fateem Ahmed
Energy Specialist & Copywriter
Born in India, raised in Dubai and now working with us in Barcelona, Fateem is the latest addition to our team at Papernest. He has been a part of the Switcheroo project from day one and ensures to provide you with all the latest information on the mobile and broadband internet updates in India.
Born in India, raised in Dubai and now working with us in Barcelona, Fateem is the latest addition to our team at Papernest. He has been a part of the Switcheroo project from day one and ensures to provide you with all the latest information on the mobile and broadband internet updates in India.
