Here Is What You Need To Know About SIM-only Plans VS Post-paid Plans

With the recent surge in popularity of SIM-Only mobile plans, many people are left in a dilemma as to whether they should make the switch from their conventional postpaid mobile plans.

Well, SIM-Only mobile plans may seem like a good, money-saving opportunity however, it may not actually be suitable or worthwhile for some people depending on your needs, wants, and usage. In this article, we will be going through some of the differences between both SIM-Only and Postpaid mobile plans, as well as how to do the calculations to determine which is actually more worth it for you!

Source

SIM-Only Mobile Plans

Many of you may be wondering if these SIM-Only mobile plans are a scam. How else would they be able to offer such affordable monthly rates?

The answer is simple. SIM-Only mobile plans as the name goes, only provides you with the data network just like any other mobile plan. However, the catch is that they do not provide you with handsets at discounted prices unlike postpaid mobile plans and this is how they are able to provide you with much lower monthly prices. This is also made possible as these MVNOs do not have physical stores which saves them a great deal of rental expenses.

While the major telecommunication networks in Singapore do offer SIM-Only plans, there are also other Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) such as GOMO and CirclesLife to name a few, who also offer these SIM-Only mobile plans.

Some of you may then be wondering, do these MVNOs offer a stable network? No worry about this at all. While MVNOs are not like the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) such as Singtel, M1, Starhub and TPG, MVNOs rent bandwidth and network services from MNOs, ensuring that customers still enjoy the same reliable network.

Here is a summary of the MVNO networks and who they are renting from:

Mobile Network Operator (MNO)	Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO)
Singtel	GOMO
	CMLink
	VIVIFI
	Zero1
M1	Circles.Life
	MyRepublic
	Changi Mobile
	Gorilla Mobile
Starhub	MyRepublic
	giga!
	redONE
TPG	-

 

Postpaid Mobile Plans

Very much unlike SIM-Only plans, Postpaid mobile plans are most frequently purchased from the 4 main MNOs (Singtel, M1, Starhub and TPG). These plans are frequently more expensive than SIM-Only plans, with a smaller monthly data limit, but with the provision of a new mobile handset at a heavily subsidised rate.

When signing for a postpaid mobile plan, it is most common to see these plans being offered as part of a 2 year contract, with a no-penalty renewal from the 20th month onwards.

In simpler terms, a SIM-Only plan is just a postpaid plan without the provision of a subsidised mobile handset, and without a minimum contract period.

How worthwhile is the switch over to a SIM-only plan?

For the majority of us, we wish to seek the most value from our mobile plans to ensure that we are able to save as much money as possible.

However, as every MNO and MVNO offers very different plans, we will not be going into the nitty gritty calculations, but will be providing you with some ideas on how to determine which mobile plan provides the most value for you.

1. Determine which plan you are looking at

To begin with, you first need to identify your needs and wants, such as:

• how much mobile data you need on a monthly basis?
• is there sufficient talktime and SMS provided in the plan?

Shortlist a few plans that you are keen on and take note of their prices.

2. Calculating the cost of the contract

For an unbiased calculation, always calculate the cost based on the same time period (i.e. 20 months or 24 months). Multiply the monthly payable amount by the number of months depending on which basis you are going for! This is the total monthly cost you would have to fork out.

Thereafter, include the cost of the handset. Are you looking to keep your current handset? Or are you looking to purchase a new handset. If you are looking to purchase a new handset, include the cost of the subsidised handset for your Postpaid mobile plan calculations, and include the raw cost of the non-subsidised handset for your SIM-Only mobile plan calculations.

If you are looking to retain your current handset, then you would not have to add any calculations to your SIM-Only calculations, but it would be good to include the handset calculations for your Postpaid calculations. To do so, simply find a handset you would be keen on getting (to sell later on) and include its costs, followed by subtracting the predicted price you can sell this handset later on through Carousell or other means!

Conclusion

To determine which plan provides you with the greatest value, you can then simply look at the net cost over the selected time period and identify the lower cost option.

While SIM-Only plans may now seem to be a more viable option with the drastically cheaper monthly costs, it would also depend on your usage, needs and wants. Those who use very little mobile data or those who are more keen on talktime and SMS may find some Postpaid plans to be more suitable, while those who have more emphasis on mobile data may find SIM-Only plans more suitable.

As SIM-Only plans require you to purchase handsets at their unsubsidised rates, this may be a turn-off for those who tend to be more clumsy or prefer the idea of having a new handset every now and then. Those who are more careful and able to preserve the ‘health’ of your handphones may then be more suited to SIM-Only as they would be able to enjoy greater savings.

Ultimately, it all boils down to each individual and which mobile plans you are looking at, with no definite answer as to which type of mobile plans provides users and customers with greater value.

---

Do you have any questions? Let us know via Snapask’s Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. If you're new to Snapask, don't forget to check us out!