It's a tough fight between leading Indian telcos – Vodafone Idea, Airtel and Reliance Jio – leading to huge confusions among users who cannot decide which telco has the best recharge plans. While there is only a small difference between the prepaid plans of each telco, some weigh in on features like quality of service in any particular area.
But if you're actively looking for a telco with the best prepaid plans or simply want to recharge your number with a new plan, here are the best prepaid plans for calls and data from Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and Airtel.
Let's start with Jio, which continues to be a pain for incumbents who are losing their users to the new entrant. Looking at the wide range of prepaid plans Reliance Jio has under its umbrella, it is not surprising to see why many users prefer the Mukesh Ambani-led telco in India over others.
Take a look at the best prepaid plans each telco offers in India in 2019:
Reliance Jio
All Jio prepaid plans have unlimited calling, SMS and access to MyJio apps. The tariffs change depending on the data allotment and validity of each plan. Users can choose from 1.5GB data per day and go as high as 5GB data per day plans and validity packs start as low as 28 days and go as far as 1 year. There's no shortage of plans at Reliance Jio, but here are the best ones we think will appeal to the masses.
Rs 399 plan offers 1.5GB data per day for 84 days
Rs 449 plan offers 1.5GB data per day for 91 days
Rs 448 plan offers 2GB data per day for 84 days
Rs 398 plan offers 2GB data per day for 70 days
Rs 1,699 plan offers 1.5GB data per day for 365 days
Vodafone Idea
As compared to Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea doesn't have as many combinations of calls and data in its prepaid offering. But the limited options won't disappoint you completely. Take a look at some of the best prepaid plans Vodafone Idea users get in India.
Rs 169 plan offers 1GB data per day for 28 days
Rs 479 plan offers 1.5GB data per day for 84 days
Rs 509 plan offers 1.4GB data per day for 90 days
Rs 569 plan offers 3GB data per day for 84 days
Rs 1,499 plan offers 1GB data per day for 365 days
The reason we haven't mentioned anything about calls or SMS is that all plans come with unlimited calling (local + STD + national roaming) and 100 SMSes per day.
Airtel
Airtel is the biggest challenger to Reliance Jio with its range of competitive prepaid plans. There are some value-for-money packs that give even Jio a tough fight. Not to mention, the reliable network and faster internet speeds work in Airtel's favour, even though Reliance Jio has been equally good in recent days.
If you're looking for a perfect recharge plan on Airtel's network, here are the best value packs you cannot go wrong with. As in the case of Jio and Vodafone Idea, all these plans come with unlimited local and STD calls and 100 SMSes per day.
Rs 199 plan offers 1.5GB data per day for 28 days
Rs 399 plan offers 1GB data per day for 84 days
Rs 448 plan offers 1.5GB data per day 82 days
Rs 509 plan offers 1.4GB data per day for 90 days
Verdict
Looking at the different prepaid plans each telco offers, it is quite clear that Reliance Jio wins by a huge margin. The new telco not only offers cheaper packs but also manages to give higher data and validity. There's a close tie between Vodafone Idea and Airtel, but the latter wins in the end with better coverage and plans.
