Update: Jio has officially announced a hike in the prices of its prepaid recharge plans in India. The tariff hike was announced on Sunday and the plans now start from Rs 91. While the new Jio plans have been hiked by around 20 percent, they are still cheaper than the new plans offered by Airtel and Vodafone Idea. You can read all about the new Jio recharge plans here.
India’s telecom giants Airtel and Vi have hiked the prepaid recharge plans in India and the new prices are now effective, meaning the old prices are no longer available. Both Airtel and Vi plans are now 25 percent expensive than before despite offering similar benefits (some shortcomings with select Vi plans). Airtel and Vodafone prepaid recharge now start at Rs 99, vs Rs 79 earlier, but these packs don’t offer SMS benefits; in order to get SMS benefits, buyers need to recharge with Rs 179 plan, which earlier used to cost Rs 149. Interestingly, Jio hasn’t spiked its recharge pack prices yet, though it does look inevitable. Either way, in this story, we will be comparing Airtel and Jio prepaid base plans with 28, 56, 84, and 365 days validity to see which company offers better value.
Also Read: Best Airtel recharge plans with voice and data benefits available in India
Airtel vs Jio prepaid recharge plans
Both Airtel and Jio offer a variety of prepaid recharge plans with varied benefits such as high-speed 4G data, unlimited calls to any network, access to OTT content platforms, up to 100 SMS per day, and up to 365 days validity. They both have a validity of 28 days, 56 days, 84 days, and 365 days. We will be comparing the base packs of the prepaid plans with the above-said validity periods.
Airtel Rs 179 vs Jio Rs 199 recharge
Airtel Rs 179 plan was earlier priced at Rs 149. It comes with 28 days validity and offers 2GB of data for the whole period, 300 SMSes, and unlimited voice calls to any network. Additionally, it offers free Amazon Prime Video mobile edition subscription for 30 days, free caller tunes, and Wynk Music access.
Jio Rs 199 plan on the other hand has the same 28 days validity but with 1.5GB data per day, unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS per day, and access to Jio TV, Jio Cinema, Jio Security, and Jio Cloud.
Winner: It’s a draw. Jio offers more data, but the Airtel plan is cheaper.
Also Read: Best Jio recharge plans with voice and data benefits in India right now
Airtel Rs 479 vs Jio Rs 399 recharge
Airtel Rs 479 plan is the cheapest recharge with 56-day validity. It offers 1.5GB of data per day, unlimited voice calls to any network, and 100 SMS per day. The plan additionally offers access to Amazon Prime Video Mobile trial for 30 days, Apollo Circle 24X7, free one online course with Shaw Academy, get Rs 100 cashback on FASTag, Wynk Music free, and free caller tunes.
The Jio recharge with 56-day validity offers 1.5GB of data per day, unlimited voice calls, and 100 SMS per day. It is Jio’s cheapest plan with 56-day validity. The recharge pack offers access to Jio TV, Jio Cinema, Jio Security, and Jio Cloud.
Winner: Jio
Airtel Rs 455 vs Jio Rs 555 recharge
The Rs 455 Airtel recharge offers unlimited calls to any network, 6GB of data throughout the entire pack validity, and 900 SMSes. It has a validity of 84 days and additional benefits include a 30-day free trial for Amazon Prime Video, Apollo Circle 24X7, free one online course with Shaw Academy, Rs 100 cashback on FASTag, Wynk Music free, and free caller tunes.
Similarly, the Rs 555 Jio recharge offers 84 days of validity. It brings unlimited voice calls to any network, 1.5GB data per day (which means 126GB throughout the validity period), 100 SMS per day, and access to Jio TV, Jio Cinema, Jio Security, and Jio Cloud.
Winner: Jio
Airtel Rs 1,799 vs Jio Rs 2,121 recharge
After the price revision, Airtel’s 365-day plan costs Rs 1,799. It offers 24GB of data for the entire year, unlimited voice calls, and 3600 SMSes throughout the entire validity. The plan offers access to 30 days free trial to Amazon Prime Video, Apollo Circle 24X7, free one online course with Shaw Academy, Rs 100 cashback on FASTag, Wynk Music free, and free caller tunes.
On the other hand, the Rs 2,121 Jio recharge pack comes with 336 days validity, which is 11 months. This approximately rounds off to Rs 193 per month, so in order to complete the 365-day plan, it comes to Rs 2,314. The plan offers 1.5GB of data per day (504GB for the 11 month period), unlimited voice calls, and 100 SMS per day.
Winner: Airtel
Airtel vs Jio recharge plans: verdict
Airtel plans have become quite expensive after the recent price hike. However, the company hasn’t slashed the benefits that it used to offer before. When we compare Jio recharge packs with Airtel’s, the former brings more benefits like additional data and a quota of 100 SMS per day with all its plans. However, both networks offer unlimited voice calls to all networks.
It should be noted that Jio hasn’t announced a price hike of its recharge plans yet and hence the prices and the benefits they offers may seem lucrative at the moment. It’s possible that Jio may announce price revision any day now since Airtel and Vodafone Idea have already spiked their prices. We will update you once that happens.
