The Best (& Cheapest) Call Tariff Plans in Nigeria at The Moment

I have a quick confession to make:

Don’t fret, it’s nothing too serious.

Here it is:

In the past, I never really gave a hoot about what calling tariff plan I was on. All I cared about was my data. So, as long as I had an active data plan, I was good to go – who makes calls these days huh?

Then, the worst happened.

My smartphone went bad and I was relegated to using a “feature phone” and guess the only “feature” this device had?

Yup! You guessed right – making and receiving phone calls.For the first few days, I would sometimes “forget” I had a phone but after a week – no, it was two – After two weeks, it made absolutely no sense at all that I was disconnected from family and friends.

To reconnect, I had to make use of the only useful feature (apart from Alarm clock) my phone had – I needed to start making calls.

So, I picked up my device, recharged it with about ₦200 and dialed a pal’s number. After talking for what I think was 7 minutes, the call terminated. My thoughts were:

 

“Omo, network na spoil!”

So I redialed my friend’s number.

Surprisingly, one silly female started chanting some really irritating words into my drums.

My airtime don finish bawo?

Maka gini?

Sharp Sharp, I checked my account balance.

Damn! I tanked out.

At this point, I wanted to call customer care and enquire how my ₦200 got exhausted – In fact, I did. However, while helping myself through their self-care portal, I came to realize the tariff plan I was on.

A quick research about the tariff plan revealed something really shocking – I was making phone calls at 40kobo per second!

40k/s for this Buhari regime?

Understand: 40k/s translates to ₦24/min which would mean that with ₦100, I can only “yan” for just about 4 minutes!

Quick Quick, I browsed through all the available tariff plans and selected the best one for me (based on my current situation) and now guess what?

The same ₦100 that only allowed me talk for 4 minutes now lets me yap on and on for up to 15 minutes! – Don’t worry, details in a bit.

Here’s proof:

That’s over 20 minutes for less than ₦150.

Best Call Tariff Plans in Nigeria 2017

Presently, there are just 4 major network providers in Nigeria – Airtel, Etisalat, MTN, and GLO – so with this article, I am looking to outline the most interesting, no, scratch that, the cheapest Tariff plans each network provider has to offer.

Here we go:

Best Airtel Tariff Plans

Okay, so I wasted a lot of time browsing through this particular Network provider’s available tariff plans. Guess what I was seeing?

Smart this, smart that, smart everything.

Initially, they all looked the same to me, but then, I dug deeper, like really deep – beneath the surface – and trust me, I found an interesting plan. 

The best calling tariff I found on Airtel can give just about anyone calling superpowers (literally!) but unfortunately, it’s not for everyone.

With that plan, ₦100 translates to 20 minutes talk time to all networks in Nigeria, yes all of ‘em.

That plan is Airtel SmartCONNECT but the painful thing is:

SmartCONNECT is only available to new Airtel subscribers. I.e. Buy a new Airtel SIM, and bam! You’re a phone booth!

What about the best plan for someone who already has an Airtel SIM?

*sighs*

It’s not as sweet as the deal I talked about above, but it’s not bad either.

With Airtel SmartTRYBE, you and I could be on the same “calling level”.

I say that because with my current tariff, I can talk for as long as 30 minutes with just ₦200 (I use MTN, want my number?  ).

Airtel SmartTRYBE can empower you to do just that as well. But that’s not all, no, not at all.

Some other juicy benefits come along with being a TRYBE member. One of such includes getting 1.5GB for just ₦200. You can read more about Airtel SmartTRYBE in my article on all the Airtel Tariff Plans in the country right now.

To join the Trybe, dial *312#

Best Etisalat Tariff Plans

These guys are the minimalist of the pack.

No much options to choose from. It’s either you’re on this, or you are on that. There’s no fence to sit on.

No, wait.

There is a fence.

That fence is Etisalat’s EasyLife 4.0.

Gee, that was a really stupid analogy up there. – Very meaningless!

But EasyLife isn’t. No, not at all!

In fact, it’s the most meaningful plan Etisalat has to offer.

On this tariff plan, ₦200 guarantees you 29 minutes, 33 seconds talk time to all local networks.

However, there’s a little caveat.

If you’re on Easylife, you pay a ₦5 daily access fee.

What if you don’t make calls on a particular day?

Well, you can keep your ₦5 as the daily access fee is only charged on your first call of the day.

To migrate to Etisalat EasyLife 4.0, Dial *420*1#

Update: Calls on EasyLife are now charged at 15k/s – ₦9/min

Best GLO Tariff Plans

You know Globacom is the king of cheap data (and slow connection) right?

Yes, they are. They are the only ones selling 3.2GB for a thousand naira – more on this here, but that same “cheapness” doesn’t hold true for their calling plans (sadly).

Much like Airtel above, they possess an almost impossible to believe tariff plan for new subscribers and subscribees (Autocorrect please allow me use that word).

When you purchase a new GLO SIM and register it, you are automatically on the new GLO Jollific8 and this plan features amazing benefits that allow you…… Jollific8.

The official story is, you get 800% bonus on ever recharge which means for a ₦100 recharge, you’d get back ₦800 for calls (plus free data to gift).

Even with the outrageous “price per minute” of this plan (₦40.2 per minute), you’d still end up talking for up to 20 minutes with just a hundred naira.

Trust me, with this, you’re definitely Mike Adenuga  The thing, however, is, this plan is for new GLO SIMS only!

If you be old cargo, you’d have to make do with GLO Bounce.

On GLO Bounce, 22 minutes of talking over the phone would cost you approximately ₦200.

Yeah, I know, it’s so not fair, but, this is the best GLO call tariff plan out there. Go and Check.

To “bounce to the up side of life”, dial *170*4#

Best MTN Tariff Plans

Me and MTN we are 5 and 6.

I’ve been on MTN since like Forever!

Unlike Airtel and GLO above, MTN has no tariff plan to lure in new subscribers, at least, none that I know of.

This means that both folks who have been on the network since Obasanjo and those who joined the bandwagon since Buhari are on the same level.

MTN has nice tariff plans, they do, but the sweetest deal has to go to MTN Pulse.

If you are part of the movement (the Pulse), making calls would cost you as low as ₦6.6/minute. No daily charges, no rental fees. But:

Your first 50 seconds of the day would be charged at 20k/s.

Now, don’t get confused or worked up. Even with your first few seconds charged at ₦12/min, you can still bag approximately 15 minutes with just ₦100.

Besides the attractive calling rate, on Pulse, you get to enjoy 500MB for just ₦25 to browse at night and while the others are paying ₦500 for 750MB, you’re getting 1024MB for that same ₦500.

To join MTN Pulse, Dial *406#

Conclusion

So, these are the cheapest calling tariff plans in the country at the moment. With most of these plans, you get to talk for as long as you want without breaking the bank.

Did I miss a plan?

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