Airtel and Jio have hiked their prepaid and postpaid plans in India by up to 20%. Both telecom operators have increased tariffs on their monthly and annual plans. In this guide, let’s compare the new rates of Airtel and Jio and find out which plans provide the best value.
Check out the table below, which lists the new plans from Airtel and Jio for prepaid and what the companies offer to customers now.
Airtel vs Jio: New Prepaid Plans Compared
| Airtel | Jio | Benefits (unlimited calling on all plans) |
Plan Validity (Days) |
| Rs 199 | Rs 189 | 2GB total | 28 |
| Rs 299 | Rs 249 | 1GB/day | 28 |
| Rs 349 | Rs 299 | 1.5GB/day | 28 |
| NA | Rs 349 | 2GB/day | 28 |
| Rs 409 | Rs 399 | 2.5GB/day | 28 |
| Rs 449 | Rs 449 | 3GB/day | 28 |
| Rs 579 | Rs 579 | 1.5GB/day | 56 |
| Rs 649 | Rs 629 | 2GB/day | 56 |
| Rs 509 | Rs 479 | 6GB total | 84 |
| Rs 859 | Rs 799 | 1.5GB/day | 84 |
| Rs 979 | Rs 859 | 2GB/day | 84 |
| NA | Rs 1199 | 3GB/day | 84 |
| Rs 1999 | Rs 1899 | 24GB total |
365 in Airtel, 336 in Jio
|
| Rs 3599 | NA | 2GB/day | 365 |
| NA | Rs 3599 | 2.5GB/day | 365 |
As the table above shows, Jio’s monthly and quarterly plan tariffs are comparatively cheaper than Airtel’s. The annual plans are priced the same in both, but Jio offers a higher data limit of 2.5GB/day, compared to just 2GB/day in Airtel. For prepaid plans, Jio continues to remain more affordable than Airtel.
It is worth noting that Jio will continue to offer Unlimited 5G for free with 2GB/day or higher plans. However, Airtel has not commented on the availability of 5G data with its revised plans.
Airtel vs Jio: New Postpaid Plans Compared
Now let’s compare the new monthly rentals of postpaid plans in Airtel and Jio.
| Airtel | Jio | Data Benefits (unlimited calling) |
| Rs 449 | Rs 349 |
40GB in Airtel, 30GB in Jio
|
| Rs 549* | Rs 449 | 75GB |
*Airtel includes Disney+Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video subscriptions with the Rs 549 plans. However, Jio’s new postpaid plan has no additional OTT benefits.
Although Airtel’s postpaid plans are priced higher than Jio, they also provide more benefits. The higher data limit and an optional plan with two OTT subscriptions make Airtel a better choice for you if you are an individual postpaid user.
Note that Jio does have postpaid plans with Netflix Basic and Amazon Prime Video, but these are under family plans where you need to have more than one connection. Jio has not yet revised the tariffs of its family plans.
Jio vs Airtel: Which Operator Is Cheaper?
If you are a prepaid user, Jio’s plans offer more value as they are priced lower. Airtel’s prepaid plans are comparatively expensive, but it has always been the case even before this tariff hike. However, Airtel has an edge over Jio for individual postpaid plans as it offers OTT subscriptions as a bundle.
The new tariffs in Airtel and Jio will come into effect on July 3, 2024. Until then, users can stack and queue their prepaid recharges on existing rates. Meanwhile, Vi is also expected to increase plan rates soon.
Update:
Vi has also hiked its tariff rates in India, which are close to the revised plans from Jio and Airtel. Their entry-level prepaid recharge is now priced at Rs 199. The telco has also revised its postpaid plans and data voucher rates. You can check all the new Vi plans here.
