Comparison between 2015 and 2016 data plans for MTN, Airtel, Glo and Etisalat

Update: Glo Data Plan updates as of June 2016 included

As in 2016 data plans are getting cheaper, one might think that everything is getting better and competition amongst telco companies will bring a bright new era of cheap data.

While Misstechy calls it the Nigerian Data Wars, I have the impression that there is a common consensus: MTN lowered prices and everybody else followed. Read and compare to see if they did their homework.

For your convenicene, I compared data plans published on providers’ websites in late 2015 with data plans published in May 2016 when all providers updated (some) of their tariffs (but left a lot of them unchanged…). There are other offers around not listed here like MTN’s Unlimited ₦150 data plan but because they are not available for all customers we do not list them in this article.

Should I change my data plan?

  • For those of you always short on data, some of the plans offer significantly additional data in 2016. Happy you if you already use one of these plans. If not, consider changing to a cheaper data plan or changing your provider.
  • If you rarely run out of data, you can probably save money by changing to a cheaper plan.
  • Keep in mind that if you regularly top-up airtime your data plan auto-renews with most of the tariffs. Learn about auto-renewal and how to turn it off on your provider’s overview page.

MTN 2016 Data Plans

MTN 2016 data plansFor quite some time MTN seemed to be unimpressed by their competitors low pricing. This suddenly changed in May 2016 with a rather impressive data offensive. MTN made a complete makeover of their data tariffs and forced the others to follow.

Plan NameChange since 2015PriceDataValidityActivation CodeDetails
MTN 30MBTriple data
Former MTN 10MB
₦ 10030 MB1 DaysText “104” to 131Details
MTN 100MBDouble data
Former MTN50MB
₦ 200100 MB1 DaysText “113” to 131Details
MTN 750MBFive times data
Former MTN150MB
₦ 500750 MB7 DaysText “103” to 131Details
MTN 1.5GBSix times data
Former MTN260MB
₦ 10001.5 GB30 DaysText “106” to 131Details
MTN 3.5GB4.7 times additional data
Former MTN 750MB
₦ 20003.5 GB30 DaysText “110” to 131Details
MTN 10GBNew₦ 500010 GB30 DaysText “116” to 131Details
MTN 22GBNew₦ 1000022 GB30 DaysText “117” to 131Details

Airtel 2016 Data Plans

Airtel 2016 data plansIn 2015 we did not have all Airtel data plans in our listing. They added data to their ANDROID data plans (which despite their name are usable on all devices). They added the UNLIMITED data plans to their range of offers (which despite their name are not unlimited) and the UNLIMINET plans (this is not a typo) which are bundles of data, calls and SMS. Special award for creative product names…

Plan NameChange since 2015PriceDataValidityActivation CodeDetails
Airtel FREE SURFNew₦ 00 MBOther*400#Details
Airtel 5-STAR PACKNew₦ 10025 MB5 Days*401#Details
Airtel Daily10 MB additional data₦ 10030 MB1 Days*410#Details
Airtel UNLIMITED DAYNew₦ 10040 MB1 Days*440*18#Details
Airtel 3-DayNew₦ 20050 MB3 Days*412#Details
Airtel UNLIMINET 200New₦ 20020 MB1 Days*489*1#Details
Airtel WEEKEND BUNDLE 200New₦ 200200 MBOther*472#Details
Airtel TIME BASED 30New₦ 300UnlimitedOther*439*3#Details
Airtel Weekly30 MB additional data₦ 30080 MB7 Days*417#Details
Airtel EASYNew₦ 500750 MB14 Days*418#Details
Airtel TIME BASED 60New₦ 500UnlimitedOther*439*4#Details
Airtel WEEKEND BUNDLE 500New₦ 500500 MBOther*473#Details
Airtel UNLIMITED WEEKNew₦ 525200 MB7 Days*440*17#Details
Airtel UNLIMINET 600New₦ 600150 MB7 Days*489*2#Details
Airtel ANDROID 1.0500 MB additional data₦ 10001.5 GB30 Days*496#Details
Airtel NIGHT 180New₦ 1000UnlimitedOther*481*2#Details
Airtel UNLIMITED MONTHNew₦ 15003 GB30 Days*435#Details
Airtel ANDROID 2.01.5 GB additional data₦ 20003.5 GB30 Days*437#Details
Airtel ANDROID 2.5Double data₦ 25005 GB30 Days*437*1#Details
Airtel UNLIMINET 3000New₦ 30002 GB30 Days*489*3#Details
Airtel ANDROID 3.5Double data₦ 35007 GB30 Days*438#Details
Airtel Smart12New₦ 500012 GB30 Days*452#Details
Airtel UNLIMINET 5000New₦ 50003 GB30 Days*489*4#Details
Airtel Smart24New₦ 800024 GB30 Days*460#Details
Airtel Smart34New₦ 1000034 GB30 Days*462#Details
Airtel Smart30New₦ 1500030 GB60 Days*463#Details
Airtel SMART 50New₦ 3600050 GBOther*406#Details
Airtel SMART 100New₦ 70000100 GBOther*407#Details
Airtel SMART 200New₦ 136000200 GBOther*408#Details

Glo 2016 Data Plans

Glo 2016 data plans
Glo presents some new plans. Some adaptions. An improvement of the Glo So Special Plan. Solid work, no surprises.

Update: Glo changed their data plans from June 2016. See changes below.

Plan NameChange since 2015PriceDataValidityActivation CodeDetails
Glo 1 Day PackNew₦ 5030 MB1 Days*127*14#Details
Glo Instant SurfFive times data₦ 100100 MB1 Days*127*51#Details
Glo N200 NIGHT PLANNew₦ 2001 GBOther*127*60#Details
Glo SmallieFour times data₦ 200200 MB3 Days*127*56#Details
Glo One WeekSame₦ 40065 MB7 Days*127*52#Details
Glo Always DaySame₦ 500195 MB1 Days*127*3#Details
Glo Big WeekSix times data
+3 days validity
₦ 5001 GB10 Days*127*57#Details
Glo N500 WEEKEND PLANNew₦ 5003 GBOther*127*61#Details
Glo Always Micro1 GB additional data₦ 10002 GB30 Days*127*53#Details
Glo My PhoneDouble data₦ 20006 GB30 Days*127*55#Details
Glo So Special5.5 GB additional data₦ 250010 GB30 Days*127*58#Details
Glo Always MacroNew₦ 300012 GB30 Days*127*54#Details
Glo N4000 Data PlanNew₦ 400018 GB30 Days*127*59#Details
Glo Always MinDouble data₦ 500024 GB30 Days*127*2#Details
Glo G-LeisureSame₦ 50004 GBOther*127*7#Details
Glo G 100Same₦ 60004 GBOther*127*5#Details
Glo G-WorkSame₦ 60004 GBOther*127*6#Details
Glo Always MaxDouble data₦ 800048 GB30 Days*127*1#Details
Glo SilverSame₦ 1000011 GB30 Days*127*11#Details
Glo G 300Same₦ 1500012 GBOther*127*4#Details
Glo Gold43 GB additional data₦ 1500060 GB30 Days*127*12#Details
Glo Platinum69 GB additional data₦ 1800090 GB30 Days*127*13#Details

Etisalat 2016 Data Plans

Etisalat 2016 data plansEtisalat introduced some new data plans in 2016. Especially the ₦1000 plan to comply with the rule: You must offer 1.5GB for ₦1000 and 3.5GB for ₦2000. Their data stays quite expensive though.

Plan NameChange since 2015PriceDataValidityActivation CodeDetails
Etisalat Daily 10MBNew₦ 5010 MB1 Days*229*3*8#Details
Etisalat Daily 20MBDouble data
Former Etisalat Daily 10MB
₦ 10020 MB1 Days*229*3*1#Details
Etisalat 1GB weekend planNew₦ 5001 GBOther*5995*2#Details
Etisalat 1.5GBNew₦ 10001.5 GB30 Days*229*2*7#Details
Etisalat 3.5GB1.5 GB additional data
Former Etisalat 2GB
₦ 20003.5 GB30 Days*229*2*8#Details
Etisalat 8GBSame₦ 80008 GB30 Days*229*2*5#Details
Etisalat 10GBSame₦ 1000010 GB30 Days*229*4*1#Details
Etisalat 15GBSame₦ 1500015 GB30 Days*229*4*2#Details
Etisalat 20GBSame₦ 1800020 GB30 Days*229*4*3#Details
Etisalat quaterly planSame₦ 2750030 GBOther*229*5*1#Details
Etisalat bi-annual planSame₦ 5500060 GBOther*229*5*2#Details
Etisalat 100GB PlanSame₦ 84992100 GB30 Days*229*4*5#Details
Etisalat annual planSame₦ 110000120 GBOther*229*5*3#Details

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