Airtel’s Rs 399 and Rs 449 prepaid recharge plans now come with ‘unlimited data’
Bharti Airtel has updated two of its existing prepaid plans to offer unlimited 4G and 5G data, without changing the plan prices. The plans themselves aren’t new but the data benefit has changed to “unlimited” but with its own fair usage limit. For now, this applies only to the Rs 399 and Rs 449 prepaid plans, both of which are available across India.
The Rs 399 prepaid plan offers 28 days of validity, unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS per day, and unlimited 4G/5G data. Airtel allows this data to be consumed over a 28-day window. The plan also includes bundled extras like Adobe Express Premium for one year, access to Airtel Xstream Play, and free HelloTunes. “Unlimited data” has a caveat though, it means users get full-speed access until they hit the 300GB cap. Once that limit is crossed, speeds are reduced.
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The Rs 449 prepaid plan comes with the same 28-day validity, calling and SMS benefits, and the same 300GB data limit. The difference here is in the add-ons. This plan bundles Google One (30GB cloud storage), Apple Music for six months, SonyLIV and multiple OTT apps via Airtel Xstream Play, JioHotstar Mobile for 28 days, and free HelloTunes. The data allowance remains unchanged from the cheaper plan.
In terms of competition, Vodafone Idea also offers prepaid plans with a similar “unlimited” structure at the same price and validity but the differences lie in the bundling and the data usage. In Vi’s case, the “unlimited data” window is only from 12 pm to 12 pm or 12 am to 6 am, depending on the pack, and for the rest of the day, there is a 2GB cap on the data in the Rs 399 plan. However, this caveat is removed in the Rs 449 plan. For bundling, Vi has a one-month access to JioHotstar in the Rs 399 plan but in Rs 449, the benefits extend to 19 OTT services including SonyLIV, Zee5, Lionsgate and more. Free JioHotstar is valid for 28 days.
Reliance Jio also offers unlimited 5G data with certain prepaid packs priced around the same. Jio’s 28-day plans are for Rs 349, Rs 445, and Rs 500 and come with fixed daily data limits of 2GB per day along with unlimited 5G data. For heavy data users, the company offers a 28-day data-only plan for Rs 100 with a 28-day validity and a daily limit of 5GB.
If you’re choosing between these plans, it comes down to how you use data. Airtel’s updated plans are better suited for heavy users — people who stream a lot, download large files — as 300GB is easier to manage than daily limits. Between the two, the Rs 399 plan makes more sense if data is all you care about. The Rs 449 plan is only worth it if you’ll actually use the OTT apps or cloud storage it bundles.
Vi’s plans can work if most of your data use happens during the night or early morning, but the daytime limits on the Rs 399 plan can feel restrictive. With Jio and Airtel, it depends on which connectivity is widely available in your area as both telcos offer similar benefits along with unlimited 5G data.
