4G Data War: Best Data Plans Under Rs 500
The tariff war between the dominant telecom providers has been waging ever since Reliance Jio was introduced in September of 2016. Since then Airtel, Vodafone and many other network operators have been pushing out multiple data plans to counter Jio’s offers. Jio’s recent plans, Jio Summer Surprise and Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan provide Jio Prime users with 4G data at reasonable prices till 30th July.
Given the increasing popularity and demand of Reliance Jio, other telecom companies such as Airtel, Vodafone, Idea etc. have been trying to keep up with the competition by launching new data plans every other week. To help you chose the right data plan for you 4G Smartphone, here’s a list of top data plans which won’t burn a hole in your pocket.
Note: These plans may change from time to time, and may not apply to some regions of service.
Under Rs 250
Airtel: offers 1 GB data per day for 70 days for Rs 244 under FUP (fair usage policy). Though the plan claims to provide unlimited free STD and local calls, only 1,200 minutes on calls made to other networks and 300 minutes of Airtel to Airtel are free. After which the users will be charged Rs 0.10 per minute.
Reliance Jio: For a price of Rs 149, users will get 2 GB 4G data for 28 days. To sweeten the deal, reliance threw in an extra 300 SMS bundled with free voice calls.
Vodafone: Joining the 4G band wagon, Vodafone recently released a Rs 250 4G data plan. The plan offers 4GB data for 28 days. The company is offering almost four times more data than the previous plans.
Idea: Offers 1GB data for 28 days. The plan is priced at Rs 249.
Telecom Providers | Data Usage for 28 days | Price |
Airtel | 1 GB data per day + Free 1500 minutes | Rs 244 |
Jio | 2 GB data + Free Calls + 300 SMSs | Rs 149 |
Vodafone | 4 GB data | Rs 250 |
Idea | 1GB Data | Rs 249 |
Under Rs 350
Airtel: is now offering 2GB data per day with thea dded incentive of free 3,000 minutes for Rs 345. Waiving off the earlier restriction of data usage of upto 500 megabyte (MB) from 12am-6pm and the other 500 MB available for rest of the day, the plan now offers unlimited internet access to the user.
Reliance Jio: Jio recently introduced a new plan providing the Jio Prime customer with 1 GB 4G data per day for 28 days with a with a recharge of Rs. 309. In addition, the users will also get benefits like free voice calling, sms and Jio apps.
Vodafone: For existing customers, the company has launched a plan costing Rs. 346, which will come with 1GB data per day, free calls to any network (300 free minutes per day) with validity 56 days.
Idea: Idea has launched a Rs. 297 data pack that provides 1GB data per day for 70 days for a 4G smartphone. The offer comes with 300 minutes of free calls per day and 1,200 minutes per week to other Idea customers.
Aircel: The company offers 1.5 GB 4G data with the added incentive of free unlimited calling for 28 days. The 4G plan is priced at Rs 348.
Telecom Providers | Data Usage | Validity | Price |
Airtel | 2 GB data per day + Free 3000 minutes | 28 Days | Rs 345 |
Jio | 1 GB data per day+ Free Calls + 300 SMSs | 56 Days | Rs 309 |
Vodafone | 1 GB data per day + 300 free minutes per day | 56 Days | Rs 346 |
Idea | 1GB data per day +1,200 minutes per week | 70 Days | Rs 297 |
Aircel | 1.5 GB data + free calling | 28 Days | Rs 348 |
Under Rs 500
Telecom Providers | Data Usage | Validity | Price |
Airtel | 1 GB data per day + Free 3000 minutes | 70 Days | Rs 399 |
Jio | 2 GB data per day+ Free Calls + SMSs + Jio Apps | 56 Days | Rs 509 |
Vodafone | 1 GB data per day + Free calls | 56 Days | Rs 352 |
Idea | 1GB data per day +3000 minutes | 70 Days | Rs 447 |
Many other telecom providers have resorted to increasing the data usage but are still exploring the 3G networks. For instance, BSNL recently launched a new prepaid recharge pack with a massive 360GB data to compete with Reliance Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan Offer. Named Chaukka 444, the plan costs Rs. 444 and will offer 4GB data per day with a validity of 90 days. However, unlike Reliance, BSNL will only offer 3G network.