Reliance Jio, Airtel Cheapest Prepaid Plans Now Start Above ₹100: Check Out New Affordable 4G|5G Plans

Two Indian leading telecommunications and wireless broadband 5G internet service providers have discontinued their cheapest prepaid subscription plans that were priced below ₹100. The cheapest prepaid Reliance Jio and Airtel plans now start at ₹149.

Mukesh Ambani-led telecom operator Reliance Jio, and Bharti Mittal-led Airtel, are trying to improve their Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). However, instead of increasing the cost of subscriptions, both telecom operators have now ended their cheapest prepaid plans, indirectly coaxing subscribers to avail higher-priced plans.

What Is The Cheapest Prepaid Plans From Reliance Jio and Airtel?

Airtel was the first company to terminate its cheapest prepaid plan, which cost ₹99. After discontinuation of the ₹99 plan, the most affordable / cheapest Airtel prepaid recharge pack costs ₹155.

Reliance Jio's cheapest prepaid plan cost ₹119. After sunsetting this plan, the most affordable / cheapest Jio prepaid recharge pack costs ₹149.

The ₹119 prepaid plan from Jio offered a validity of just 14 days. However, users had access to unlimited voice calling and 1.5GB of 4G high-speed data in the validity period. Jio restricted users of this plan to just 100 free SMS per day.

How Good Are The Cheapest Prepaid Plans From Jio And Airtel?

The Jio ₹149 prepaid plan offers 20 days of validity to the subscribers. Subscribers get access to 20GB of high-speed 4G data with this recharge plan. However, the data speed drops after 1GB of data is consumed per day.

Just like all the prepaid plans for Jio, even the ₹149 plan also offers unlimited voice calls and 100 free SMS daily. Subscribers also get complimentary access to free JioTV, JioCinema, and JioCloud subscriptions.

The Airtel ₹149 prepaid plan has a slightly higher validity of 24 days. Similar to the ₹149 plan from Jio, even this Airtel plan grants access to unlimited voice calling. However, this plan limits access to high-speed 4G data to a total of 1GB of data and a total of 300 SMS for the entire validity period.

The ₹149 Airtel prepaid plan does offer access to Xstream Premium, HelloTunes, and Wynk Music. Airtel Xstream Premium is an aggregated OTT content platform that grants subscribers access to content from more than 15 OTT platforms in a single app.

Compared to just 1GB total for 24 days, the 1GB data daily offered by Reliance Jio, makes the latter a clear winner. Moreover, Jio users get to send a total of 2,000 free SMS during the validity period, compared to just 300 free SMS offered in Airtel's ₹155 prepaid plan.

Needless to mention, the Reliance Jio ₹119 prepaid plan beats the Airtel ₹155 plan even though it has a lower validity period as both offer unlimited calling benefits.