Which Network Has the Cheapest Data in South Africa?

Ask ten South Africans which network has the cheapest data and you will get ten different answers, most of them a year out of date. The honest answer is that no single network is cheapest, because the winner changes depending on how much data you buy. The network that gives you the best price on 1GB is nowhere near the best on 50GB, and the cheapest prices in the country right now are ones you cannot buy in a shop at all.

Here is what the prices actually say, taken from each operator's own published bundle list, last verified on 2 July 2026 with Pi and MTN's app-only deals added on 11 August 2026.

So who has the cheapest data in South Africa?

At the small end, the bank and reseller SIMs win comfortably. A single gigabyte costs R30 on AirMobile. The cheapest gigabyte Vodacom will sell you is R49, and MTN's own is R80. Capitec Connect does 2GB for R59. From 5GB upward the winner becomes Pi, MTN's digital-only brand, at R99 for 5GB and R149 for 10GB.

Above 20GB it changes again, and this is the part most people miss. The cheapest 20GB and 100GB prices in South Africa are sold only inside MTN's apps. Buy the same 20GB bundle from the normal prepaid menu and you pay R599 instead of R199.

The cheapest data at every bundle size

Prices include VAT and are for 30-day prepaid bundles, ranked on anytime data with free night-time data left out of the ranking. Cost per GB is worked out on the amount you need, not the size of the bundle, which is why the 50GB and 100GB rows share a bundle at different rates. Prices as published by each operator, last verified 2 July 2026, with Pi and MTN's app-only deals added 11 August 2026.

Look at what happens to the price per gigabyte. Bought on its own, a gigabyte costs about R30. Bought inside a 100GB bundle, the same gigabyte costs under R5. Buying data in small pieces is the most expensive habit in South African mobile, and it is the one almost everybody has.

Then look at the names. Vodacom, Cell C and Telkom do not win a single row, and the three rows MTN takes are the ones you cannot buy in a shop.

Which SIM card has the cheapest data?

Two of the four winners above are MVNOs, businesses that rent capacity wholesale from an operator and sell it under their own brand. AirMobile and Nedbank Connect ride on MTN's network. Capitec Connect and FNB Connect ride on Cell C's. You get the host network's coverage and the reseller's price, which is usually lower than what the host charges its own prepaid customers for the same gigabytes.

Pi is the odd one out, and it gets lumped in with the MVNOs constantly. MTN classifies Pi as a digital network operator rather than a virtual one: it runs directly on MTN's own infrastructure as MTN's in-house digital brand, rather than buying wholesale capacity the way a true MVNO does. In practice that means MTN coverage at prices MTN does not offer on its own prepaid menu. Pi also rolls unused data over for up to 12 months, capped at twelve times your monthly allocation, so a 10GB plan can carry a maximum of 120GB.

If you want the full picture of who resells what, we have a guide to every MVNO operating in South Africa.

The cheapest prices are hidden inside an app

This is the part that makes any simple "which network is cheapest" answer misleading. MTN sells two bundles inside its apps that it sells nowhere else. The MTN App has 20GB of anytime data plus 20GB of night data for R199, against R599 for the same anytime allocation on the standard prepaid menu. The MTN MoMo app has 100GB plus 100GB of night data for R349, which is more data than MTN's biggest standard prepaid bundle, 60GB for R800, at under half the price.

Those are real prices from MTN's own channels, not a rumour, and they are the reason MTN wins the bottom three rows of the table. They come with two caveats. You cannot get them at a shop counter, over USSD or on the website, so if you are not willing to install the app they may as well not exist. And app promotions move far faster than published prices do. The R349 MoMo deal sits on a live MTN page, while the R199 one rests on MTN's own marketing posts rather than a standing price list, so it is the more likely of the two to disappear without notice.

MTN is not alone in doing this. Other networks run app-only promotions too, so open your own network's app before you buy anywhere else.

What about uncapped or unlimited data?

Everything above is about prepaid bundles, where you buy a fixed number of gigabytes that expire after 30 days. Truly uncapped mobile data is a different product and a much thinner market. Melon sells plans that keep you connected after you finish your full-speed allocation, but at a heavily reduced speed, which is not the same thing as unlimited fast data and should not be compared as though it were.

If what you actually want is uncapped internet for a house rather than a phone, that is a fixed wireless or fibre question, and we compare 5G and LTE home internet deals separately.

Is prepaid cheaper than a contract?

Prepaid means no debit order, no credit check and no two-year commitment, and every price on this page is a prepaid one. Contracts start making sense when you want a subsidised phone bundled in, or when you would rather not think about topping up at all. We have deliberately not ranked contracts here, because comparing a two-year commitment with a phone in it against a once-off bundle of gigabytes is not a fair fight in either direction.

Four ways to pay less, whichever network you pick

Buy from a reseller. Same towers, same coverage, lower price. If you are on Vodacom or MTN prepaid and buying data at the standard rate, you are paying a premium for the logo.

Buy the biggest bundle you will genuinely finish. The price per gigabyte falls off a cliff as bundles grow. The catch is that most prepaid data expires after 30 days, so anything you do not use is money thrown away. Capitec Connect sells bundles that never expire and Pi rolls data over, which changes that calculation.

Check your network's app first. As above, this can be a difference of hundreds of rands for exactly the same gigabytes.

Consider paying upfront for several months. Cell C and Telkom sell multi-month bundles that work out cheaper per month than anything on a 30-day cycle, as long as you are comfortable paying the lump sum and can use the data before it runs out.

Work it out for your own usage

The table above covers the common sizes, but the cheapest deal for 7GB or 35GB a month is not always the one directly above or below it, and the answer moves whenever a network reprices. Our tool that compares prepaid data prices across all ten networks ranks every bundle for the exact amount you use, flags the deals that are locked inside an app, and shows the multi-month options separately so a pay-once bundle is never disguised as a cheap monthly price.

Frequently asked questions

Which network has the cheapest data in South Africa?

There is no single cheapest network, because the winner changes with the size of the bundle. AirMobile is cheapest at 1GB, Capitec Connect at 2GB, Pi from 5GB to 10GB, and MTN above that, but only through its apps. The reason a generic answer is always wrong is that a bundle that wins at 2GB can be among the worst at 50GB.

Who has the cheapest 1GB of data?

AirMobile and Nedbank Connect, both at R30 for 1GB on MTN's network. For comparison, the cheapest gigabyte from Vodacom is R49 and from MTN itself is R80. Small bundles are the worst value per gigabyte on every network.

Are MVNOs slower than the big networks?

No. An MVNO uses the host network's towers, so an MVNO running on MTN gives you MTN coverage and MTN speeds. What you give up is usually the retail footprint and the call centre, not the signal.

Does prepaid data expire?

Almost always after 30 days, and unused data is simply lost, which is why buying more than you need is rarely a saving. Two exceptions are worth knowing: Capitec Connect sells bundles that never expire, and Pi carries unused data over for up to 12 months, capped at twelve times your monthly allocation.

One last thing. These prices change often and promotions change faster still, so treat every figure here as a close guide rather than a quote, and confirm the current price on the operator's own site or app before you hand over money.