A prepaid SIM only plan has no monthly contract, but it does have a floor: the minimum monthly charge that must be in the prepaid balance to keep the service working. It is a payment requirement rather than a bill, and it is the number that decides whether the service stays on.
The published floors
| Plan | Minimum monthly charge | Bundled monthly charge | Included data |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIM Only Small | $20 | Not applicable | 12GB |
| SIM Only Medium | $25 | $20 | 25GB |
| SIM Only Large | $30 | $25 | 45GB |
| SIM Only Extra Large | $40 | $30 | 60GB |
The fourth column is the reason the floors differ. The provider is stating the balance required to hold the included data, not a subscription price. Choose the floor that matches your use, not the one with the biggest number.
What the floor does not include
Excess data is charged separately and is not part of the minimum. On these plans the excess rate is per MB for the included data tier, and excess data is itself an excluded usage that is charged at a block rate. Reading the floor as a cap on your monthly spend is the mistake; the floor is what you pay to keep the plan, and the excess is what you pay when you use more.
When the floor works against you
If your real use is a fraction of the included data, you are paying the floor for unused allowance. That is the honest argument for the smaller plan or for a shorter prepaid term, and it is why we publish the data allowance next to the price rather than the price alone.
What we could not verify. Where a provider has not published a figure we mark it unknown rather than estimate it. Re-read the provider page linked below on the day you decide.