Anyone looking for a tariff for their own cell phone is spoiled for choice: Which provider should I choose? Who offers me the most bang for my buck? And most importantly: Should I take prepaid or postpaid (term contract)?
For this overview, we deliberately chose prepaid tariffs and a 10 euro per month mark, as you can get a lot of data volume in this price range, which is particularly advantageous with regard to streaming.
What tariff models are there in general?
When it comes to mobile phone contracts, we now differentiate between four different variants:
- Term contracts, which usually have a minimum contract term of 24 months.
- Postpaid contracts with the option to cancel on a monthly basis.
- Prepaid contracts – here credit is first loaded, which is then used over a period of usually four weeks.
- So-called annual contracts. You pay a one-time fee for this and can then use the tariff for twelve months at no additional cost. These are also prepaid tariffs.
Prepaid tariffs are particularly interesting for price-conscious people, and they also give you the most flexibility.
Overview of prepaid tariffs for around 10 euros
There are countless prepaid providers in Germany. We have limited ourselves to the most well-known and will show you an overview of their tariff offers.
All tariffs have one thing in common: they include a flat rate for telephony and SMS in Germany.
| Provider | Price per 4 weeks | network | Data volume | speed | LTE/5G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aldi Talk | 8,99 Euro | o2 | 15 GB | 100 Mbit/s | LTE |
| Moon Star | 9,99 Euro | o2 | 8 GB | 50 Mbit/s | 5G |
| Blau | 8,99 Euro | o2 | 10 GB | 50 Mbit/s | 5G |
| Congstar | 10 Euro | Telekom | 10 GB | 25 Mbit/s | 5G |
| Deutsche Telekom | 9,95 Euro | Telekom | 8 GB | 300 Mbit/s | 5G |
| Edeka Smart | 9,95 Euro | Telekom | 9 GB | 300 Mbit/s | LTE |
| phonic | 9,99 Euro | o2 | 10 GB | 50 Mbit/s | LTE |
| Five | 8,95 Euro | Vodafone | 8 GB | 21,6 Mbit/s | LTE |
| Yes! Mobile | 8,99 Euro | Telekom | 10 GB | 50 Mbit/s | 5G |
| Kaufland Mobil | 9,99 Euro | Telekom | 10 GB | 25 Mbit/s | 5G |
| Lebara | 9,99 Euro | o2 | 13 GB | 50 Mbit/s | 5G |
| Lyca Mobile | 9,99 Euro | o2 | 12 GB | 50 Mbit/s | LTE |
| Lidl Connect | 8,99 Euro | Vodafone | 15 GB | 100 Mbit/s | 5G |
| NetCOM | 8,99 Euro | o2 | 15 GB | 100 Mbit/s | 5G |
| Norma Connect | 8,99 Euro | Telekom | 10 GB | 50 Mbit/s | 5G |
| O2 | 9,99 Euro | o2 | 10 GB | 300 Mbit/s | 5G |
| Othello | 7,95 Euro | Vodafone | 8 GB | 21,6 Mbit/s | LTE |
| Penny Mobil | 8,99 Euro | Telekom | 10 GB | 50 Mbit/s | 5G |
| Rossmann cars | 7,95 Euro | Vodafone | 8 GB | 21,6 Mbit/s | LTE |
| Tchibo | 8,99 Euro | o2 | 3 GB | 100 Mbit/s | 5G |
| Vodafone | 9,99 Euro | Vodafone | 10 GB | 300 Mbit/s | 5G |
Please keep in mind that the mobile phone market is very fast-moving. It may therefore happen that prices or the amount of data volume change.
Advantages of prepaid tariffs
With a prepaid tariff you are flexible. If you don't want to use the contract for a month, you can let it rest.
This is different with term contracts, even if they can be terminated on a monthly basis - they would then simply have been terminated and may no longer be able to be reactivated.
When does a prepaid contract expire completely?
How long a prepaid contract can remain dormant before it is canceled by the provider varies. For some providers the time period is over a year, for others it is a few weeks. If this is important to you, be sure to contact the provider.
Prepaid tariffs from providers are sometimes significantly cheaper than those with a minimum contract term.
A good example here is Deutsche Telekom:The network operator offers the “MagentaMobil Prepaid M” tariff in the prepaid area for 9.95 euros per month.
Among other things, you get eight gigabytes of data volume and a flat rate for telephony and SMS. There is no connection fee; the one-off provision fee of 9.95 euros for the SIM card will be credited to you as starting credit.
However, if we look at the term contracts, we see:The smallest tariff, MagentaMobil Basic, with five gigabytes of data volume and telephone and SMS flat rate, costs just 25 euros per month outside of price promotions.
There is also a one-off setup fee of just under 40 euros.
The tariff basically offers the same content, but offers additional booking options that are missing from its prepaid counterpart - such as a MultiSIM.
Two other advantages of prepaid contracts:
- With prepaid contracts you don't fall into any expensive cost traps, so you don't have to worry about high bills because you accidentally made an in-app purchase or used roaming outside the EU. If in doubt, your available credit would at most be used up more quickly.
- Starter sets are available in almost every supermarket, drugstore or gas station. This means you can quickly buy a card for a second cell phone or test a different cell phone network if you have poor reception from a provider in your area.
Many prepaid providers now offer the optionon request that Automatically deduct funds from your bank account. This means you don't need to buy this in the form of a credit card and you have the same convenience as with fixed-term contracts.
Disadvantages of prepaid cards
There is now often the option of oneMultiSIMto order – i.e. more than one SIM card. This is practical if you also want to use your tariff on smartwatches, tablets, etc. This option is not available with most prepaid providers.
If you book a prepaid tariff without a flat rate offer, there is always thatRisk that the credit will suddenly be used up. In this case, it could happen that you are no longer able to make calls or surf the internet - this is of course particularly annoying when you are on the move.
With prepaid contracts it isIt is not possible to co-finance a smartphone through the tariff. Although many providers offer affordable budget models that match the prepaid tariff, top devices with no or small one-off down payment are only available with a fixed-term contract.
To be addedadditional tariff benefitssuch as certain roaming packages or HotSpot flat rates for WLAN use. There can definitely be differences between the cheap prepaid tariffs and the often more expensive postpaid tariffs.
Prepaid annual tariffs: An alternative to the monthly tariff
For several years now, some providers have been offering so-called annual tariffs. You pay once and can then use the mobile phone tariff for a year. This type of contract is interesting if you don't want monthly costs and would rather pay once.
The tariffs usually include a telephone and SMS flat rate as well as a certain data volume quota, which varies depending on the price.
Some of the data volume can be used without any time limit. If you're not careful, you'll miss out on your annual quota before the end of the term. However, some providers divide it up into months or offer you the corresponding option.
LTE or 5G: What do I really need?
Not all providers equip their prepaid tariffs with 5G technology. On the one hand, this may be due to the costs, but on the other hand, it may also be due to the fact that certain network operators do not make the technology available to resellers.
Example:As a reseller in the Telekom network, Edeka Smart only offers LTE – 5G is not available. Aldi Talk on the O2 network provides you with 5G.
But the question is, do you absolutely need 5G?First of all, you would have to have a smartphone that supports the network standard. If this is the case, there are other things to consider.
Do you live and move in a region where your provider maintains a well-developed LTE network? Then that's itDifference to 5G is small in many cases. The internet speeds are usually fast enough on both networks to stream music or videos.
You would benefit if the LTE cell phone cell is used to capacity by many cell phone users, but the 5G cell still has capacity. In this case, you would achieve higher download and upload speeds.
Reduced speed
With both prepaid and cheap fixed-term contracts, it often happens that the provider throttles the internet speed. For example, instead of 300 megabits per second, you “only” get 50 megabits per second. However, don't let that blind you. The specified maximum values refer to the ideal case. If there are many users in the same cell as you, the internet speed is often significantly slower. The differences in everyday life are often small or not at all noticeable.
AHowever, the advantage of 5G is the lower latency. The delay in data transmission is therefore lower, and streams or websites sometimes open more quickly.
AAnother advantage of using 5G lies in a fall-back scenario. If you are in a location where only 5G and the significantly slower 2G (GPRS, EDGE) are available, you could only use 2G technology without 5G. Loading websites is no longer possible, nor is sending large images or videos.
So you shouldcarefully consider what is important to you. If you live in the city, you will in most cases find a well-developed LTE network. This does not necessarily have to be the case in rural areas. This is where 5G could definitely make sense for you.
On the network maps ofO2,VodafoneandTelekomyou can find out about the network coverage.
Do you rely on prepaid or do you only use mobile phone contracts with a fixed term? What are the advantages and disadvantages for you? Please let us know your opinion in the comments.
