Data Bundles by Kenyan Telcos, Who’s the Fairest of them all?

Comparing Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom data bundle prices

This article compares data bundle prices for Telkom Kenya, Safaricom and Airtel Kenya. According to the most recent data by the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA), the number of active mobile subscriptions rose to approximately 41 million while data/internet subscriptions increased to about 39 million.

In spite of numerous reports indicating that Kenya has one of the highest internet penetration rates in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa, have you ever wondered how much you spend on data and whether you are getting the best deal possible? We decided to compare all the mobile data plans in Kenya to determine where customers would get the best bang for their buck.

Safaricom data bundles

Safaricom is the leading ISP in Kenya in terms of subscribers. Their connectivity across the country is the widest and Internet speeds are faster, however their data bundles are pricier than those of rivals. See below the data bundles prices.

Daily Bundles

150MB +150 SMS                     Kshs. 50
60MB + 60SMS                        Kshs. 30
35MB + 35SMS                        Kshs. 20
7MB + 7SMS                            Kshs. 5

Weekly Bundles

200MB             Kshs. 99
65MB               Kshs. 50
30MB               Kshs. 30
10MB               Kshs. 10
5MB                 Kshs. 5

Monthly Bundles

12GB                Kshs. 2,999
7.5GB               Kshs. 1,999
5GB                  Kshs. 1.499
3GB                  Kshs. 999
1GB                  Kshs. 499
350MB              Kshs. 249

Airtel data bundles

Airtel has been in the Kenyan market for quite sometime but has lagged the competition in one key area. While the other mobile operators have successfully launched 4G networks, Airtel has been stuck at ‘3.5G’ and only recently announced plans of upgrading its network. See below the data bundles prices.

Daily bundles

1GB     Ksh. 99
70MB   Ksh. 20
25MB   Ksh. 10
8MB     Ksh. 5

Weekly bundles

2GB                 Ksh. 250
350MB             Ksh. 100
150MB             Ksh. 50
15MB               Ksh. 10
6MB                 Ksh. 5

Monthly bundles

36GB                Ksh. 3,000
20GB                Ksh. 2,000
15GB                Ksh. 1,500
10GB                Ksh. 1,000
3GB                  Ksh. 500
1GB                  Ksh. 300

90-day bundles

70GB                Ksh. 9,000
40GB                Ksh. 6,000
12GB                Ksh. 3,000

Unliminet

Modem daily

500MB             Ksh. 99
200MB             Ksh. 50

Modem weekly

10GB                Ksh. 999
5GB                  Ksh. 699
1GB                  Ksh. 250

Modem monthly

20GB                Ksh. 2,999

Telkom Kenya data bundles

Back in June 2016, Helios Investment Partners acquired a 60 percent stake in Telkom Kenya, the country’s oldest telecommunications provider. Telkom is currently focused on expanding its 4G networks coverage beyond the current nine towns (Meru, Embu, Nyeri, Kisumu, Kakamega, Mombasa, Nairobi, Eldoret and Nakuru). See below the data bundles prices.

Daily bundles

XL daily 400MB                                   Ksh. 49
400MB                                               Ksh. 49
100MB                                               Ksh. 39
40MB                                                 Ksh. 19
15MB                                                 Ksh. 9

Weekly bundles

XL weekly 12GB                                  Ksh. 990
XL weekly 2GB                                    Ksh. 249
500MB                                                Ksh. 199
200MB                                                Ksh. 99
80MB                                                  Ksh. 49
20MB                                                  Ksh. 19

Monthly bundles

XL monthly 30GB                               Ksh. 2,990
XL monthly 6GB                                 Ksh. 990
20GB                                                Ksh. 2,999
10GB                                                Ksh. 1,999
6GB                                                  Ksh. 1,499
4GB                                                  Ksh. 999
XL monthly 3GB                                 Ksh. 499
1.5GB                                               Ksh. 499
400MB                                              Ksh. 199
150MB                                              Ksh. 99

90-day bundles

XL 90 days 100GB                               Ksh. 4,999
100GB                                                Ksh. 8,999

Faiba 4G

Jamii Telecommunications Limited (JTL) announced the launch of its mobile network operator, Faiba 4G back in December. Although its coverage isn’t as widespread as Safaricom’s, limited to only Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu and Thika it offers the most affordable 4G data bundles. The only challenge with Faiba 4G is that it is limited to some specific devices which can be found here.

Daily bundles

1GB      Ksh. 50

Weekly bundles

15GB    Ksh. 500
8GB      Ksh. 300

Monthly bundles

210GB              Ksh. 6,000
120GB              Ksh. 4,000
70GB                Ksh. 3,000
40GB                Ksh. 2,000
25GB                Ksh. 1,000

Equitel

Equity bank’s mobile virtual network operator called Equitel was launched two years ago with the main aim of targeting a piece of the mobile money pie. Although it has tried to appeal to more customers by introducing a number of data bundle packages, it still has a long way to go in order to catch up with its peers.

Weekly bundles

20MB          Ksh. 24
5MB            Ksh. 6

90-day bundles

500MB        Ksh. 500
100MB        Ksh. 110
50MB          Ksh. 60

120-day bundle

1.5GB        KSh. 1000

180-day bundle

20GB         Ksh. 7,999
8GB           Ksh. 3,999
3GB           Ksh. 1,999

Question remains, who’s the fairest of them all, and what’s your preference?