[2023 Edition] Complete Guide To Prepaid SIM Plans In Singapore

All three major telcos – Singtel, StarHub and M1 –  offer prepaid SIM cards, giving you plenty of options depending on your intended usage. Different bundles vary in terms of the validity period, amount of local/roaming data, talk time and SMS. Some also provide features such as unlimited usage on certain social messaging apps.

For your convenience, you can use this handy guide we compiled to help you find the right prepaid SIM card that suits your needs. All prices in this article are inclusive of GST.

Long Validity Prepaid SIM Cards

A longer validity prepaid SIM card is suitable for those who live in Singapore and prefer a prepaid SIM card over a post-paid plan. All these SIM cards have bundled local data. For local outgoing calls and SMS, some cards come with a bundle while others charge based on pay per use.

	Validity	Price	Value	Local Data	Local Outgoing Calls	Local SMS	Added Features
Singtel $8 hi! Prepaid SIM Card	90 Days (top up extend to 180 days)	$8	$10	1.5GB for 30 days	22¢ /min	5¢ each	FREE 30-day Viu Premium & Banglaflix + Activate on hi!App and get FREE 2GB
Singtel $15 hi! Prepaid SIM Card	120 Days (top up extend to 180 days)	$15	$15	3GB for 120 days + 5GB for 30 days	22¢ /min	5¢ each	Extra 100GB, $15 value and FREE 30-day Viu Premium & Banglaflix. + Activate on hi!App and get FREE 2GB.
$38 hi! Prepaid SIM Card	180 days (top up to extend to 180 days)	$38	$38	8Gb for 30 days + 3Gb for use in Singapore and Malaysia	22¢ /min	5¢ each	FREE 30-day Viu Premium & Banglaflix
StarHub $8 Prepaid SIM Card	90 Days	$8	$10	1GB (30 days)	22¢ /min	5¢ (Local)  / 15¢ (Global)	30 mins IDD 018 calls for 30 days
StarHub $15 Prepaid SIM Card	180 Days	$15	$15	8GB (180 days)	22¢ /min	5¢ (Local)  / 15¢ (Global)	FREE WeChat, WhatsApp Messenger and LINE for 180 days. Free 120GB local data for 28 days. Free $100 IDD 018 credit for 28 days. Free 5000 mins local calls for 28 days. Free 200 local SMS for 28 days.
StarHub $50 Prepaid SIM Card	180 Days	$50	$50	120GB (30 Days)+ 5GB roaming data (30 Days)	22¢ /min	5¢ (Local)  / 15¢ (Global)	30-day 5GB roaming data (17 destinations)
M1 $8 Prepaid SIM Card	90 Days	$8	$10	1.5GB (30 days)	20¢ / min	5¢ (Free 10 local SMS with 5 local SMS sent)	–
M1 $12 Prepaid SIM Card	28 Days	$12	–	56 GB (2 GB/day, valid for 4 weeks)	5,000 mins outgoing/month, incoming free	5¢ (Free 10 local SMS with 5 local SMS sent)	1,000 Local SMS + Unlimited Incoming Calls
M1 $14 Prepaid SIM Card	180 Days	$14	$14	4GB (120 Days) + 4GB (30 days)	20¢ for first minute; 18¢ per subsequent minute	5¢ (Free 10 local SMS with 5 local SMS sent)	–
M1 $20 Prepaid SIM Card	28 Days	$20	–	150GB (4GB/day +38GB)	5,000 mins Local Outgoing Calls	600 Local SMS	Up to 1,000 IDD 033 mins (Bangladesh 400 mins / India 1,000 mins / China 1,000 mins / Indonesia 200 mins / Philippines 80 mins / Malaysia 500 mins) + Unlimited Incoming Calls​
M1 $49 Prepaid SIM Card	84 Days	$49	–	168GB (2GB/day for 12 weeks)	5,000 mins outgoing/month, free incoming	1,000/month	Unlimited. Incoming Calls
Simba Prepaid SIM Card	30 Days	$10	–	100GB	Unlimited mobile to local mobile lines + 300 Local Fixed Line Minutes	Unlimited SMS to SIMBA Mobile (30 local SMS)	+1GB Roaming Data to selected countries

Observations:

For regular usage, the M1 $12 Prepaid SIM Card is the most value for money at $12. It has a generous amount of local outgoing calls and SMS.

Power users would appreciate M1’s $49 Prepaid SIM option, with 168GB (rationed at 2GB/day) and a whooping 5,000 outgoing minutes, 1,000 SMS and free incoming calls.

In terms of the lowest possible cost (just to be contactable), M1 currently offers an $8 plan, with $8 in value and 1.5GB of data (for 30 days), valid for 90 days.

For those who want the longest validity of 180 days, Singtel $14 hi! Prepaid SIM gives the best value, at $14, for $14 of value and 4GB of data.

SIMBA (Previously known as TPG) has a $10 plan for 100GB and it’s for those who need a massive data cap at a lower price range.

Data-Only Prepaid SIM Cards

If local data is all you need, you can look at data-only prepaid SIM cards. These types of prepaid SIM cards are ideal for tablet devices or if you plan to communicate only via messaging such as WhatsApp or WeChat.

	Validity	Price	Local data
StarHub (3 – Days) Prepaid Internet SIM Card	3 Days	$5	1GB
StarHub (7 – Days) Prepaid Internet SIM Card	7 Days	$8	1GB
StarHub Prepaid Internet SIM Card	28 days	$8	10GB
StarHub Prepaid (AIO) Internet SIM Card	28 Days	$25	80GB + 40GB worry-free data on Sundays
Singtel Data Plans	1 Day	$7	2GB
Singtel Data Plans	3 Day	$16	6GB
Singtel Data Plans	7 Day	$30	15GB

 

Observations:

For individuals who have high data usage over the longer-term (1 month), StarHub’s $25 prepaid internet SIM card provides good value.

Short-Term Tourist Prepaid SIM Cards (7 Days)

The 7-Day tourist SIM cards are suitable for travellers who are staying in Singapore and neighbouring countries for a week or less. All three telcos offer 100GB of local data, 500 mins local outgoing calls and 100 local SMS. Both Singtel and StarHub offer 1GB of roaming data, but StarHub Happy Roam has roaming coverage for more destinations. Roaming data is not available for the M1 7-day Prepaid Tourist SIM card.

	Singtel hi!Tourist SIM Card	Singtel hi!Tourist SIM Card	StarHub Travel Prepaid SIM Card	M1 Prepaid Tourist SIM Card
Price	$12	$15	$12	$12
Local Data	100GB	100GB	100GB	100GB
Roaming Data	3GB (Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia & Thailand)	3GB (Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia & Thailand)	1GB (17 destinations)	Nil
Local Outgoing Calls	500 mins	500 mins	1000 mins	500 mins
International Calls	30 mins	30 mins	30 mins	20 mins
Local SMS	100	100	100	100
Validity	14 days	28 days	10 days	15 days
Other Features	Nil	Free $3 value for MRT/Bus Rides	Unlimited local incoming calls	eSIM available.

Observations:

At a price of $12, StarHub Travel Prepaid SIM Card is the most value for money as it has the widest data roaming coverage.

For those who prefer the convenience of eSIMs, M1’s offering provides that option for supported phones.

Longer-Term Tourist Prepaid SIM Cards (12-15 Days)

For travellers who are staying in Singapore and neighbouring countries for more than a week, getting a longer duration SIM card may make sense. All the three telcos offer 100GB local data, 3,000 mins local outgoing calls and 5,000 local SMS (except for StarHub with 500 local SMS). All telcos provide data roaming with roaming coverage for different countries, with StarHub having the widest coverage.

	Singtel hi!Tourist SIM Card	Singtel hi!Tourist SIM Card	StarHub Travel Prepaid SIM Card	M1 Prepaid Tourist SIM Card	M1 Prepaid Tourist SIM Card	M1 Prepaid Tourist SIM Card
Validity	28 days	28 days	30 days	30 days	120 days	12 weeks
Price	$30	$50	$32	$30	$14	$60
Local Data	100GB (5G)	120GB (5G)	100GB	150GB	100GB	168GB (2Gb/day)
Roaming Data	5GB (Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia & Thailand)	10GB (Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia & Thailand)	3GB (17destinations, 30 days validity)	3GB (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan)	Shared between local and roaming. Valid for 30 days (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan)	Shared between local and roaming. Valid for 30 days (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan)
Local Outgoing Calls	Unlimited	Unlimited	3,000 mins	3,000 mins	1,000 mins	5,000 mins every 4 weeks
International Calls	90 min	90 mins	90 mins	50 mins	20 mins	Nil
Local SMS	Unlimited	Unlimited	5,000	1,000	500	1,000 every 4 weeks
Social Messaging Apps Usage	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Nil	Nil	Nil
Other Features	Nil	Nil	Unlimited local incoming calls	Nil	Nil	Unlimited  incoming calls

Observations:

The best prepaid SIM card to get in this case depends if you are travelling to other countries within the validity period. The StarHub Travel prepaid SIM card provides the best roaming coverage across 17 destinations, including countries out of Asia.

For the best value, the $14 M1 Prepaid Tourist SIM Card offers 100GB data for just $14 over 120 days. You can also use the same data (shared across local and roaming) in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan.

For 5G speed, check out the Singtel hi!Tourist SIM. At just $30, you get 100GB (same as the other offerings) which is valid for 12 days, and unlimited calls and SMSes.

This article was first published on 31 January 2019 and updated with the latest information.

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