Which telco offers the best SIM-only plan in Singapore? (2021 Version)

Note: This feature was first published on 24 November 2021.

Who has the best SIM-only plans for you?

Ever since our last SIM-only comparison, many providers have come and gone in the telco space. Zero Mobile, and more recently Grid Mobile, have left or are leaving the market. However, new players also showed up, catering to different audiences and demographics. Then, there's also the incumbent Big Three (StarHub, Singtel and M1) forming the backbone of many of these new MVNOs.

Following our last comparison, these plans are some of the best options for big bundles of data without having to lock yourself into a 24-month contract, on top of the flexibility of letting you change your phone whenever you want.

In the ever-changing landscape of telco providers, who has the ideal SIM-only plan right now? Here, we look at how each offering suits your usage, based on different price tiers.

Note 1: Plans featured in our SIM-only compilation are permanent and core offerings from each brand. Plans that are not featured are either promotional in nature (limited availability, indefinite or otherwise), and do not factor in temporary promotional prices in permanent offerings, indefinite or otherwise.

Note 2: Available plans are arranged from the lowest monthly price to the highest, first to last.

Note 3: Recommendations made do not take into account network performance/reach and is based on overall plan proposition/offerings and value.

Note 4: For eSIM provisioning, while M1, Circles.Life and MyRepublic offer such options, only M1 supports NumberShare for Apple Watch.

Note 5: The article makes extensive use of tables to present data and is best viewed on non-phone devices such as a tablet, notebook or desktop. Do bookmark and re-visit this page if you're on your phone.

Value Plans (~$15/month and under) Part 1

Value Plans (~$15/month and under) Part 2

Analysis of plans

Gone is Circles.Life's previous $0 Flexi Plan, but it's not missed - it wasn't particularly practical for anyone due to its low data bundle and pricey add-ons.  That said, Circles.Life still holds the spot for cheapest plan overall with its S$5 Plan. The add-ons are still expensive when compared to other choices on this list.

The most attractive deal here for data-hungry users would be TPG's 50GB Plan, since other plans in this price bracket simply don't have as much data. The trade-off comes in limited SMSes, but that shouldn't affect users who mainly tap on WhatsApp or other online messaging services. TPG's plan has no add-ons, so what you see is what you get. Also, voice calls on TPG's network only work with VoLTE-supported handsets.

That said, TPG's network has also only just been upgraded to cover 100% of Singapore's underground MRT system, so if you want a more time-tested provider, there's StarHub's Giga! $10 Plan with 6GB of data, a cool 500 minutes of talk time and 500 SMSes, plus data rollover for 2 cycles.

Alternatively, if you're eligible for Changi Mobile's Flexi Value plan, S$8/month can net you 8GB of data, 200 minutes to talktime and 200 SMSes, along with a decent selection of add-ons. That is, if you sign up before 31st December 2021. After that date, new signees will have to fork up S$18/month instead, which makes it considerably less attractive.

CMLink’s unique offers are targeted at some expats. All of CMLink’s plans include 100 minutes of outgoing international calls to these countries: mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and the US. Despite online video calls being the norm, this plan may be handy for those calling overseas landlines or those who haven’t caught on with online messengers.

Our say

• For best value and most data ► TPG's 50GB plan at S$10
  
   
• For ample talk time and SMS  ► Giga! $10 Plan or Changi Mobile's Flexi Value plan for those eligible at S$8 before 31st Dec
  
   
• For calling overseas landlines ► CMLink's 6GB plan at S$10
  
   
• For those mostly staying at home and can rely on home Wi-Fi ► S$5 plan from Circles.Life (but beware of high registration costs)

Move on to the next page to see what more can the next tier of plans offer.

Available plans are arranged from the lowest monthly price to the highest, first to last.

Basic Plans (~$15-25/month) Part 1

Basic Plans (~$15-25/month) Part 2

Basic Plans (~$15-25/month) Part 3

Analysis of plans

Like the previous price bracket, the most eye-catching data plan is TPG’s 80GB for $18 plan, the most generous among this bracket despite not being the most expensive.

Another contender is Giga!'s Top Pick plan, with data rollover for two cycles. While it can't outright match TPG's plan in terms of raw data, rollover means you can carry over unspent data allotment to the next month(s). The 2,000 minutes of talk time and reliance on StarHub's more mature network doesn't hurt either, though you'd have to consider if you'd actually end up with enough data at the end of each month to justify the extra S$6.

If you prefer a more balanced offering that's also cheaper, MyRepublic’s Core Plan grants you 50GB unthrottled data and 500 SMSes for S$20 a month.

As for Changi Mobile's offerings, like the previous Flexi Value plan, their Flexi Best plan has good value if you manage to catch the early bird price, as it's comparable to VIVIFI's 50GB Binge plan, with a 10GB reduction in data for S$3 less. Otherwise, its usual price of S$25/month doesn't stack up to Giga's aforementioned Top Pick plan, especially as Changi Mobile's data rollover only lasts until the end of the year.

As for their Flexi Pro plan, even at the S$25/month early bird price, it only matches Giga's Top Pick plan in data, and falls short on talktime and SMSes. For its usual price of S$35/month after 31st December, it can't compete with other high-end plans at all, though we'll save those offerings for later in the comparison.

Similarly, Zero1 also offers you 50GB of data for less than S$20 a month, but be prepared to pony up the additional registration fee. It's worth noting that Zero1 also featured a 30u plan for S$24.95 while this list was being compiled, but at the time of writing it has disappeared off their platform.

M1's Bespoke SIM-only plan gives you the option to customise the amount of data and talk time in your plan - but the price goes up if you add more allotment to it. It's also rather expensive, with the absolute base plan costing almost S$16 and only giving you 5GB of data and 100 mins of talk time. 

Our say

• For best value and most data ► TPG's 80GB plan at S$18
  
   
• For abundant talk time, SMS and data  ► Giga! Top Pick plan at $25
  
   
• For a good balance of data, talk time and SMS ► MyRepublic's Core plan or Zero1's 50u Plan at S$20

Move on to the next page to see what more can the next tier of plans offer.

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Available plans are arranged from the lowest monthly price to the highest, first to last.

Midrange Plans (~$26-30/months) Part 1

Midrange Plans (~$26-30/months) Part 2

Analysis of plans

Zero1's 80u Plan is certainly attractive. It's well-rounded in talk time, SMSes and has the second-highest amount of data in this price category. If you're eligible for the promotional price, it's also a great deal as well.

Otherwise, the other options in this bracket come relatively close in value. For example, 10¢ more can give you 200 mins and 200 SMSes more in MyRepublic's Pro Plan, along with a slightly reduced amount of high-speed data. Of course, there's the option of CMLink's travel-focused 60GB Plan as well.

VIVIFI's Share plan seems convoluted at first glance. What it incentivises is plan sharing, where a single SIM costs S$31.90/month, and each SIM afterwards cost S$5.35 to add - making it an ideal plan if you're splitting among other users. For example, assuming you're planning to split the cost evenly between each user, two SIMs can get 60GB, 300 mins and 50 SMSes each for S$18.63 per pax. Talk time and SMSes are a bit constricted in this case, but in terms of data, where S$15-25 plans mostly offer anywhere between 10-50GB, it's a competitive choice.

Where VIVIFI's plan shines is perhaps when you need to provision a dedicated phone number per person in the family, but they are mostly staying at home and thus require very little mobile data. So the more family members you add, the cheaper it gets to own a phone number per person. Keep in mind, though, that VIVIFI's Share plan data is only 120GB for the first 12 months. It goes down to 40GB afterwards (along with a price cut to S$29.90).

That said, the Giga! and TPG plans from the S$15-S$25 range on the previous page are comparable, if not better than most options offered here. It's worth exploring if you really need to pay S$5-S$10 more every month, brand biases and network preferences aside.

Our say

• For a balanced, well-rounded plan ► Zero1's 80u Plan or MyRepublic's Pro Plan at S$30
  
   
• For generous talk time and SMS  ► Take Giga!'s Top Pick plan (listed on the previous page) for 2,000 minutes and SMS at just S$25
  
   
• For the most amount of mobile data ► Take MyRepublic's Core Plan (listed on the previous page) and add-on 50GB of mobile data for a grand total of 100GB all for S$29.90
  
   
• A travel-focused plan to share data between SG, CN and HK ► CMLink's 60GB plan at S$30
  
   
• For the lowest cost per phone line per person in a large family ► VIVIFI's Share plan at $31.90 
  
  (but beware of limited data, talk time and SMS unless you're buying add-ons)

Move on to the next page to see what more can the next tier of plans offer.

Available plans are arranged from the lowest monthly price to the highest, first to last.

High-end Plans (S$31 and higher)

Analysis of plans

At this price bracket, Giga!'s 100GB Plan is the most attractive option given its crazy amount of talk time and SMSes. However, if you don't need that much talktime and SMS, Changi Mobile's Flexi Ultra has an impressive amount of data, matching Giga!'s 100GB plan, for a whole S$10 less. As with their previous plans, however, that's only if you sign up before the end of the year. While at its usual price of S$45/month, it still competes with Giga!'s 100GB offering, it will no longer have data rollover.

And of course, there are other options to be had for less from plans shared on the prior pages.

If you're porting in from a competitor though, MyRepublic's Unlimited Data Plan may be more attractive for eligible users, but that's only if you can keep within the daily 4GB limit (for reference, Netflix uses 1GB per 20 minutes of streaming at the highest possible data-rate on mobile networks, with options to throttle quality in favour of saving data).

In short, here's what we recommend...

Our say

• If you need an excessive amount of data ► Changi Mobile's Flexi Ultra plan at S$35 (before 31st Dec 2021)
  
   
• If you need an excessive amount of talktime, SMS and data ► Giga!'s 100GB Plan at S$45
  
   
• If 100GB of data is a priority over talk time and SMS  ►Take MyRepublic's Core Plan (listed on the Basic Plan page) and add-on 50GB of mobile data for a grand total of 100GB all for S$29.90
  
   
• For a balanced, well-rounded plan► Take  Zero1's 80u Plan or MyRepublic's Pro Plan (listed on previous page) - both for S$30 or under that offer 80GB and 800mins or 70GB and 1000mins respectively.
  
   
• A travel-focused plan to share data between SG, CN and HK ► CMLink's 100GB plan at S$40

A closer look at M1's customisable plan

Not wanting to leave out an odd, yet major SIM-only offering, we have the rest of M1's Bespoke SIM-only Plans here. We've included examples of its CYO (customize your own) plan against other competitors in our Basic Plans and High-end Plans comparison earlier. Here's a breakdown of its SIM-only prices if you're really keen (the prices are different from its Bespoke contract plans).

Note: M1 automatically adds

• Caller Number Display (S$5.35 per month, free for first 3 months for new signups only)
• Unlimited Weekend Data (S$6 per month, free for first 12 months)
• S$10 Talktime & SMS Pack (S$10 per month, free for first 12 months).

The additional monthly fees will kick in when their free months expire, and these additional charges are not reflected in the table above.

Despite its interesting combination-styled structure, M1's resulting SIM-only plans don't really stack up well against alternatives from other vendors, even if you're a new user.

For example, MyRepublic has a S$39/month plan for new users with unlimited data (4GB per day) and 1,000 minutes and SMSes. Why would anyone choose M1's S$113.95/month's plan for nearly the same data bundle and fewer minutes instead would be beyond us. Even with MyRepublic's data add-ons, it's an increment of mere dollars next to a monthly S$100++ bill from M1. 

A fringe use case for these plans would go through M1's unique unlimited talk time offer, which can be appealing if your work or personal life revolves around phone correspondence 99% of your time. But there are much more practical plans for most other users, even from M1 themselves.

For example, see above Giga!'s 100GB Plan with 10,000 minutes talk time and 100GB data, for just S$45/month. For reference, reaching 10,000 minutes of talk time works out to non-stop, round-the-clock yakking for nearly seven consecutive nights and days, with zero breaks for food, water, sleep, or toilet trips.

Seniors Go Digital Plans

Finally, as part of IMDA's efforts to help seniors digitise, let's not forget about our seniors who've special plans made available. These are the contract-free plans offered by local telcos for eligible seniors .

These plans are eligible only for Singaporeans and PRs aged 60 and above.

TPG's is the cheapest and best all-rounder plan here, although M1 does offer the most of everything at a steeper premium. Again, it should be noted that voice calls on TPG only work on VoLTE-supported phones.

Singtel actually does have a S$5/month senior plan, but it's bundled with a phone and contract - therefore technically not a SIM-only plan suited for our comparisons here. The featured Singtel SIM-only senior plan does not have a contract period clearly stated and does not come with a bundled phone with upfront costs.

We hope our detailed cost analysis and recommendations help you make the most out of your precious dollar. Happy shopping and have a good journey with the telco partner you choose.

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