It’s good to have choices, but options can make it hard to decide. Even choosing between prepaid and postpaid plans can be difficult.
Prepaid offers, such as the prepaid Orange net plan available in Jordan, are popular because they offer users flexibility and control. However, postpaid plans also have benefits, and it’s up to you to decide which is better for your lifestyle. Below are the specific differences between prepaid and postpaid mobile plans.
How You Pay
You pay upfront for the cost of a prepaid plan. This lets you easily track and control your spending because you’re effectively using data and services you’ve already paid for.
You pay for postpaid plans at the end of the month. This can lead to unexpected charges. Since postpaid plans allow you to use services that are not originally part of your subscription, your bill can be higher than expected.
What It Allows You to Do
Prepaid plans offer unmatched flexibility. You can switch plans, adjust your data usage, or even pause your service without penalties on a prepaid plan. You’re not under contract with your provider, so you can stop and start the service as you like.
This makes prepaid plans ideal for users with varying internet needs. Do you use mobile internet only when you go out? Do you go out infrequently? A prepaid mobile plan is perfect.
Postpaid plans require a contract. This commits you to paying a fixed amount, due at regular intervals (typically monthly) for a specific period (could be one year). You can’t stop your subscription before your term ends unless you pay a penalty.
That said, postpaid plans offer a different type of flexibility. They will let you go beyond your call minutes, allow you to send more than your allotted text messages, or let you exceed your plan’s data allowance. They will charge you for exceeding your limits, but they’ll let you exceed them and often let you avail of services beyond your plan.
Postpaid plans, therefore, suit individuals who want continuous access to services without the risk of running out of data, minutes, SMS, or other services.
Usage Control
Prepaid plans offer better control over your data usage. Monitoring your data consumption is easier since you pay for data in advance. If you run out of data, your service ends. You’ll have to top up before you can use your services again – and that’s inconvenient – but that means you don’t accidentally exceed your allocation.
Postpaid plans are convenient. You typically don’t need to top up on anything. However, you must be mindful of your usage if you don’t have unlimited data. Forgetting to turn off your mobile data can lead to significant extra charges.
Availability and Accessibility
Postpaid plans require credit checks and income documents. Thus, they are generally geared towards employed individuals and registered business owners who require continuous and consistent service and often consume high volumes of data, minutes, and SMS.
Prepaid mobile plans are available to everyone. You don’t need good credit to get prepaid service, and the network won’t ask you for your income statements. Just get your SIM card (or your eSIM) and go.
Thus, prepaid plans are a good option for younger customers (e.g., students) and self-employed individuals (e.g., freelancers and contractors). Anyone who may not have a consistent income, good credit, or the documents operators require from postpaid service applicants will appreciate the prepaid option.
Even frequent travelers, the so-called citizens of the world – while they may not fit the typical prepaid plan profile – may appreciate the freedom offered by prepaid plans. Suppose you are a dual citizen with a second passport from Antigua & Barbuda or another Caribbean country with a citizenship by investment program.
That must mean you’re a high-net-worth individual, probably with a postpaid plan in your home country. Even so, you may not want another postpaid plan in Antigua & Barbuda. It’s simply not worth it when you visit only once a year and are primarily using your second passport as a means to travel most of the world visa-free.
Customer Support and Benefits
Prepaid mobile plans follow the pay-as-you-go model. They provide you with the data and services you purchased – no more, no less.
Postpaid plans provide a different level of service. They often come with extra perks like free data allocation for social media and video streaming, bundled services (like international calling), priority customer service, and device discounts.
Maximizing Your Mobile Plan
Prepaid and postpaid mobile plans have distinct value propositions. Whichever plan you choose, maximize its utility by doing the following:
Monitor your service usage: On a prepaid plan, you monitor usage so you don’t run out of SMS, data, or minutes. On a postpaid plan, you monitor your usage to avoid exceeding your limits and overspending.
Set usage alerts: Let your phone’s innate data-usage monitoring app alert you when you reach a particular data consumption level.
Use Wi-Fi when possible: At home, use your Wi-Fi to access the internet and turn off your mobile data.
Optimize phone settings: When out and on data, optimize your phone settings to reduce data usage. For instance, set Netflix so it doesn’t download content on a mobile data connection.
Download content for offline use: Speaking of Netflix, download data-heavy content on Wi-Fi and store it on your phone to watch offline. This way, you won’t have to use your mobile data to stream content.
Choose the right plan: Whether prepaid or postpaid, choose the plan with the right amount of data, minutes or messages you need. If you often run out of data, consider upgrading to a higher tier. Services can cost more as stand-alone add-ons.
Take advantage of promotions: Look out for seasonal offers that can provide additional value or data at no extra cost.
Which Plan Should You Choose?
Choose the plan that fits your needs. Prepaid plans offer cost control, flexibility, and ease of access. They are ideal for those who don’t want to be tied down to a specific plan and features, maybe because they don’t regularly need the internet or have erratic data demands. Postpaid plans provide convenience, additional benefits, and often unlimited data. However, they come with long-term commitments and potential unexpected costs.
