Less than ₹500: Know the best monthly prepaid plans on Airtel, Jio, Vodafone

Major telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea offer a good variety of monthly prepaid plans for prices less than ₹500 per month.

Airtel has 11 prepaid plans under ₹500 per month in two categories - smart recharge and truly unlimited. Out of these 11 plans, 10 include internet data. The cheapest plan for a month is available at a price of ₹45 and has no internet data.

The cheapest plan that comes with data can be purchased for ₹49 per month and offers 100 MB data and talktime worth ₹38.52. There are no additional benefits on this plan.

The other nine plans can be purchased for ₹79, ₹149, ₹219, ₹249, ₹279, ₹298, ₹349, ₹379 and ₹398. The internet data, talktime and additional benefit that is available for each plan is dependent on its price.

Vodafone offers six prepaid plans under ₹500 per month. The plans can be found in two categories - allrounder and unlimited. The least expensive plan available for a month is priced at ₹49 that lets users consume 100 MB data and utilise a talktime worth ₹38.

The remaining five plans are available for ₹79, ₹149, ₹219, ₹249, and ₹299.

Reliance Jio has nine options available for less than ₹500 per month. Out of these, four packs are available exclusively for Jio phone users. The cheapest plan for non-Jio phone users is priced at ₹98 per month, for Jio phone users the cheapest plan is for ₹75.

The ₹98 plan offers 2GB data, all of which can be consumed at a high speed, along with that the user can make unlimited voice calls and can send up to 300 text messages over a period of 28 days. A complimentary subscription to Jio apps also comes with this plan.

In the ₹75 plan, 3 GB data is available. Of the 3 GB, 0.1 GB can be utilised per day at high speeds, after which the speed will be reduced to 64 Kbps. One can make unlimited Jio to Jio calls under this plan and avail up to 500 minutes of talktime with a non-Jio user.

Fifty text messages can be sent over a period of 28 days without any extra charge under the ₹75 plan. This plan has a complimentary subscription of Jio apps as well.

Apart from the cheapest plans, the other plans available for all Jio users are priced at ₹129, ₹199, ₹249 and ₹349, while the plans exclusively available for Jio phone users can be availed at ₹125, ₹155 and ₹185.

So, which is the best one?

The best plan available in all the three brands - Jio, Airtel and Vodafone - is priced at ₹249 for a period of 28 days.

The Vodafone plan offers 1.5 GB data per day with unlimited talktime and 100 text messages per day along with a subscription of Zee5 and Vodafone Play worth ₹999 and ₹499, respectively.

The ₹249 Jio pack lets users consume a total of 56 GB data out of which 2 GB per day can be consumed at high speed after which the speed comes down to 64 Kbps. One can send 100 text messages a day and make unlimited Jio to Jio calls. This plan also includes Jio to non-Jio call time of 1,000 minutes. Like other Jio schemes, this one also includes complimentary subscription of Jio Apps.

The ₹249 Airtel plan gives 1.5 GB data and 100 text messages per day along with unlimited phone calls. Other benefits are ₹100 cashback on FASTag, unlimited music downloads for free from the Wynk Music App, free four-week course on Shaw Academy and subscription to Airtel Xstream App Premium.