Right now, we use our phones for so much more than just talking. We have all kinds of messaging applications to text and call our friends and family. This is why many users rethink the need to have a contract with a phone company for anything more than just mobile data. And providers noticed that. They now offer many SIM-only mobile plans to be relevant and answer customers' needs. In Singapore, we can find some of the best offers.
It is so tempting for customers to know that they don't have to lock in for a long contract period of 1 or 2 years, pay high monthly fees and not even use part of the services. Many people back in the day took higher plans to get a new smartphone at a discount, but now this is possible even with a SIM-Only mobile plan. And since new players joined the mobile virtual network operators' battle, we have many options to choose from.
What is a SIM-Only plan?
Let's start with a quick introduction to what a SIM-Only plan is. This package offers you data, minutes for talking, SMS, and more at a fixed monthly fee. Until now, it sounds very much like a traditional contract. But there is one main difference — there is no lock-in period. This means that you are free to cancel your SIM-Only plan or change it with another at any time you want. This flexibility is actually the most attractive part of SIM-Only plans.
Is a SIM-Only plan better than a fixed contract?
The answer to this question very much depends on your needs. Most SIM-Only plans are focused on the mobile data they offer because this is what people are most interested in. If you get a SIM-Only plan with a higher number of GBs included, this might mean that you will pay a higher price than a lock-in contract for the same number of GBs. But at least you will be free to switch at any point to another plan or even provider.
If you know that you will use a lot of minutes to talk and use SMS and mobile data, then a fixed contract is also not a bad idea. However, you need to calculate your usage well and estimate if it will change with time. With a fixed contract is always better to go with a higher one than the one covering your needs at the moment of signing. This is because you need to allow yourself some flexibility if you need more minutes or data in the future. When with SIM-Only plans, you don't have to prepare for any changes in your usage in advance since, at any point, you can upgrade or downgrade your plan.
Best SIM-Only mobile plans in Singapore
Many providers in Singapore offer SIM-Only mobile plans. We will look into each one in more detail.
redONE SIM-only plans
| Plan | Data | Minutes | SMS | Price |
| Amazing8 | 5GB | 300 | 300 | S$8 |
| Amazing18 | 25GB | 500 | 500 | S$18 |
| Amazing28 | 50GB | 800 | 800 | S$28 |
| Amazing38 | 80GB | 1000 | 1000 | S$38 |
redONE is a Malaysian telco that offers its services in Singapore as well. The plans they offer can be used in Singapore and Malaysia, which is an excellent benefit since there are a lot of Malaysians living in Singapore and the other way around. Another benefit they offer is to the people that pay their bills with Giro and receive 100 additional minutes of talk time. The higher plans offer enough data to browse, stream, talk over messaging apps, and more without any worries.
Circles Life SIM-only plans
| Plan | Data | Minutes | SMS | Price |
| Basic Plan | 20GB | 100 | 25 | S$18 |
| Sun-Sational Plan | 50GB | 100 | 25 | S$20 |
| Unlimited Data Plan | Unlimited | 100 | 25 | S$38 |
Circles Life has the best customizable SIM-Only plans in Singapore, and the prices start from S$18. Indeed they offer fewer SMSes and minutes, but it is still a bargain considering the price.
VIVIFI SIM-only plans
| Plan | Data | Minutes | SMS | Price |
| VIVIFI Lite | 3GB | 500 | 20 | S$8.80 |
| VIVIFI Plus | 9GB | 350 | 200 | S$9.00 |
| VIVIFI Binge | 50GB / 70GB | 300 | 300 | S$18 / S$25 |
| VIVIFI Share | 120GB | 400 | 100 | S$40 |
VIVIFI offers plans with a reasonable amount of services for a good price. The first three are very easy to understand, but the last one, VIVIFI Share, has some particularities we want to cover. As the name might suggest, you can share this plan with up to 9 people, and each user should pay a small additional fee of S$6 per month. Then each of you will receive a SIM to use, and you will be able to use the data, minutes, and SMS included in your plan.
Zero1 SIM-only plans
| Plan | Data | Minutes | SMS | Price |
| 6u Plan | 6GB unlimited | 200 | 200 | S$9.90 |
| 50u Plan | 50GB unlimited | 500 | 500 | S$17.90 |
| 80u Plan | 80GB unlimited | 800 | 800 | S$24.90 |
All plans of Zero1 are promoted as unlimited plans with which you can use as much data as you need. The GBs included at full speed are 6GB, 50GB or 80GB, depending on which of the plans you choose, and after that, you will be able to browse at a lower speed. You should keep in mind that Zero1 has a registration fee, which might be bypassed if you get the higher plan.
TPG Singapore SIM-only plans
| Data | Minutes | SMS | Price |
| 100GB | Unlimited* | 30 | S$10 |
| 130GB | Unlimited* | 50 | S$18 |
TPG is an Australian telco that entered the market of Singapore in 2016 and offered amazing deals for heavy data users. The plans include at least 100GB which is great if you highly depend on a stable mobile internet connection. What they offer in terms of minutes is unlimited minutes to mobile numbers for both of the plans and then 300 or 500 minutes to landlines. The 130GB plan includes 300 IDD minutes and 2GB of roaming data to selected countries. However, TPG doesn't work with all kinds of mobile devices, so you need first to check if yours can be connected to them.
StarHub GIGA SIM-only plans
| Data | Minutes | SMS | Price |
| 10GB | 500 | 500 | S$10 |
| 100GB | 500 | 500 | S$20 |
| 120GB | 2000 | 2000 | S$25 |
| 150GB | 10000 | 10000 | S$45 |
GIGA is the virtual telco of StarHub that offers two great options. A fantastic benefit of this provider is that if you didn't use all of your data, you could just roll it out for the next month. There is not much else to say because the plans are pretty much self-explanatory.
MyRepublic SIM-only plans
| Plan | Data | Minutes | SMS | Price |
| Lite | 18GB | 300 | 300 | S$10 |
| Core | 80GB | 500 | 500 | S$17 (U.P. S$20/mth) |
| Pro | 100GB | 1000 | 1000 | S$20 (U.P. S$29/mth) |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 2000 | 2000 | S$25 (U.P. S$39/mth) |
Currently, MyRepublic offers most of their plans at a lower price, but they don't specify until when the sale will be active, so if you want to grab a plan at a lower price, now is your moment. MyRepublic is one of the most reliable providers in Singapore, not only for mobile data but the internet as well, so you can count on them. Their unlimited plan is perfect for people that don't want to be limited in their usage, but even the Pro plan is more than enough for regular users.
Singtel GOMO SIM-only plan
| Data | Minutes | SMS | Price |
| 20GB | 200 | 200 | S$20 |
GOMO is a sub-brand of Singtel that offers a simple plan for SIM-only that includes decent data and some minutes on top of it. For a while, GOMO was the market leader, but since there are new providers that offer even lower prices, their popularity decreased quite a bit. GOMO stands for Go Out More Often, which was the way of Singtel to address the younger public
M1 SIM-only plan
| Data | Minutes | SMS | Price |
| 80GB | 1000 | 1000 | S$17.95 |
| 100GB | 1000 | 1000 | S$19.95 |
And lastly, we will talk about M1. Their lower plan for only S$17.95 includes not only the services we stated above but also unlimited free calls to 3 M1 numbers, and you will also get 80GB of extra data for the first 12 months. And the one for S$19.95 will give you unlimited free calls to 3 M1 and 100GB of data for the first 12 months.
