Bharti Airtel is probably the only telecom operator in India right now providing versatile prepaid plans to the customers. Taking the route of the postpaid segment, the Sunil Mittal-led telco is even offering OTT subscription of Amazon Prime with its Rs 299 prepaid plan valid for one month. On top of that, there are a couple of prepaid plans from Airtel which ship with Rs 4 lakh insurance benefit. But on the other hand, Airtel also has some long-term prepaid plans like Rs 597, Rs 998 and Rs 1,699, offering unlimited voice calling, data benefit and 100 SMSes per day for the entire validity period. But the real question is: which plans to choose- long-term or short-term recharges? Let's find out.
Rs 1,699 Prepaid Plan by Bharti Airtel
When it comes to long term plans and specifically annual prepaid plans, Bharti Airtel has the Rs 1,699 prepaid plan which is very popular. The popularity of the plan is owing to the figures in the pricing which all the other telcos have used as well. There are also Rs 1,699 prepaid plans by Reliance Jio, BSNL and Vodafone Idea. The Rs 1,699 prepaid plan by Airtel offers 365 days validity, and it ships 1.4GB data with Norton Mobile security for a year, Airtel Xstream subscription, Wynk Music, and a free four week course on Shaw Academy. The per GB cost in this plan comes out to be Rs 3.34 per GB.
Want to Recharge Every Month? Here is the Calculated Cost
If you were to take the method of recharging, again and again, you would have to go for the Rs 199 prepaid plan which offers 1.5GB data per day with 28 days validity. This means that you would have to recharge 13 times in a year with a per GB price of Rs 4.7. This means that if you were to compare the long term plan then, you’d approximately be paying Rs 496 more for the same amount of data. For just a little more amount of data throughout Rs 365 days, you would pay Rs 2,587 or Rs 888 more than the Rs 1,699 prepaid plan.
The Special Case of Rs 499 Prepaid Plan
However, if you look closely, there is a prepaid plan in the Airtel portfolio which offers an even lower per GB price, and it is the Rs 499 prepaid plan. Now, the per GB pricing is not drastically different, and it comes out to be Rs 3.04. But still, if you would like to have the best economical option, you can go for recharging your number four times in a year. It is also convenient for subscribers who would like a switch of plans in between the year. This plan offers 2GB data per day, and it comes with 82 days validity with all the similar benefits mentioned above. The thing with this plan is that although you pay about Rs 300 more over the year, you also enjoy about 200GB extra data in the period. There's also the Rs 558 Airtel prepaid plan offering 3GB data per day for 82 days, which brings down the cost of per GB to just Rs 3.
Rs 299 Prepaid Plan With Extra Amazon Prime Benefit
For subscribers who do not mind shelling out a little more for better benefits, there is the Rs 299 prepaid plan which offers 2.5GB daily data with 28 days validity, and it also offers a subscription to Amazon Prime. This plan comes with a slightly higher per GB cost which is more than Rs 4 per GB, and that is why it deserves a separate mention. However, some subscribers might find it worthy given the special benefit. It is worth noting that all the plans mentioned here come with unlimited calling benefit and they also all offer subscription to Airtel Xstream app and Wynk Music.
Rs 1,699 Prepaid Plan is Best Choice for Long-Term Users
Right now, the Rs 1,699 prepaid plan is the best long-term choice for Airtel prepaid customers as it offers 1.4GB data per day for 365 days. Other long-term plans like Rs 597 and Rs 998 just ship with 6GB and 12GB data benefit for the entire validity period. The Rs 597 and Rs 998 prepaid plans are only for users who're looking for long-term prepaid plans with no major data usage and purely for voice calling.
