Last updated: January 2024
One of the best reasons to get a Prepaid Plan over a postpaid mobile phone plan is the extra freedom.
Unlike with postpaid plans that usually lock you into a contract, prepaid plans typically let you commit to just one month (30 days), or even shorter depending on the plan.
Of course, there are some advantages to like the fact that you have to pay first to receive service, and that missing a payment or forgetting to renew means you’re not going to have any mobile service.
That said, prepaid plans still offer plenty of flexibility and advantages, and they’re a surefire way to eliminate any risk of overspending on your mobile service.
If you’re looking for the best prepaid plans you can get in Malaysia, then look no further than the list below:
Cheapest Prepaid Plans Available in Malaysia
We’ve handpicked the best monthly prepaid plans across all of Malaysia’s trusted and most reputable telecommunication companies to bring you this curated list of the best options available to consumers.
Selected and reviewed based on a handful of factors – data allocation, call and SMS allocation, sharing capabilities, price, speed and network coverage, and other available features, these prepaid plans represent the best value offerings you can get today, including:
- Maxis Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited
- redONE Prepaid Starter Pack
- U Mobile GX38
- Unifi Data 4GB
- Celcom Unlimited GB (30 Days)
- Digi Prepaid Next 35
- Tune Talk Cun Value Monthly RM28
Check out our review below to find out how each of these prepaid mobile plans stack up against each other in terms of value and performance.
Prepaid Plans in Malaysia Comparison Chart
| Telco | Maxis | redONE | U Mobile | Unifi | Celcom | Digi | Tune Talk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan Title | Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited | redDATA 30 | GX38 | Bebas | Unlimited GB | Prepaid Next 35 | Cun Value Monthly |
| Price | RM 40 | RM 40 | RM 35 | RM 59 | RM 38 | RM 35 | RM 28 |
| Data Allocation | Unlimited | 8GB 4G LTE 10GB 4G LTE redSOCIAL 15GB redVIDEO |
Unlimited | 2GB High-Speed 2GB Basic Internet |
Unlimited | 30GB | 6GB Hi-Speed Data 15GB Video 10GB Basic Internet |
| Speed | Up to 3Mbps | 4G LTE | Up to 6Mbps | 4G LTE | Up to 3Mbps (Internet Pass) |
4G LTE | 4G LTE |
| Hotspot Limit | Add-On Required | X | 12GB Hotspot | X | 3GB | X | X |
| Free Features | X | 1GB 4G LTE per Month 10GB Basic Internet |
X | X | X | Unlimited Access to YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and |
Unlimited Access to YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and |
| Calls & SMS | Unlimited Calls Maxis Rates for SMS |
Unlimited Calls (redOne Prepaid) redONE Rates for other calls, SMS, and MMS |
Unlimited Calls U Mobile Rates for SMS |
X | Unlimited Calls to all Network | Unlimited Calls Digi Rates for SMS |
Unlimited Calls to Tune Talk Tune Talk Rates for SMS |
| Add-ons & Misc. | Premium Access to Viu | Free SIM | X | X | X | Free Data for Plan Renewal Earn Store Credit |
Unlimited Chat |
Representing the best prepaid plans in Malaysia, we came up with this comprehensive comparison chart to show each plan side-by-side and help give you a better idea of the value each one has to offer.
While each telco offers a wide variety of prepaid plans, we thought we’d level the playing field by making sure we include only monthly prepaid plans with a validity of 30 days, and only those prepaid plans that are available at roughly the same price range, around RM 30.
Depending on your needs and your purposes, any one of these monthly prepaid plans might give you the best bang for your back, and the best mileage out of your mobile phone.
Whether the most important thing for you is data, calls & SMS, internet sharing, or any combination of the features listed above, here’s our take on the best prepaid plans in Malaysia, by category:
Best Prepaid Plans for Data
Best Prepaid Plans for Data - Prepaid Plans Malaysia
If the most important thing for you is data, then you’ll want as many gigabytes of it as you can so you can freely surf, play, and watch over the internet without worrying about hitting your data cap.
For data-hungry power users, we recommend any of the Unlimited Data Prepaid Plans on our list. That includes the Maxis Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited, U Mobile GX38, and the Celcom Unlimited GB Plan.
If you know how much data you consume in a given month, the Digi Prepaid Next 35 Plan is also worth a look since it offers a sizable data allocation with no speed limits. redONE’s redDATA 30 plan also offers plenty of data for specific purposes, but won’t afford you the same level of data freedom as the unlimited plans.
The plan you’ll want to avoid if you need a large data allocation is the Unifi Data 4GB plan which only offers a total of 4GB of data, only two of which are high-speed 4G LTE.
Best Prepaid Plans for Calls and Texts
Best Prepaid Plans for Calls and Texts - Prepaid Plans Malaysia
If you’re looking for a prepaid plan with the best unlimited calls, then we recommend getting either Maxis’ Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited Plan or the U Mobile GX38 Plan.
Apart from providing unlimited high-speed data, both the Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited and the GX38 Plan come with Unlimited Calls to all networks.
If you’re only planning on calling numbers on a single network, you’ll still get plenty of call mileage from any of the other prepaid plans on our list, all except for Unifi Data 4GB which doesn’t offer any call minutes.
Most of these prepaid plans let you enjoy Unlimited Calls to numbers within their own telco, but it’s important to note that the Unlimited Calls being offered with the redDATA 30 Plan only applies to redONE Prepaid users: calling redONE Postpaid users will cost you their standard rate.
For SMS, none of these prepaid plans offer any form of unlimited texts, so make sure you check out the standard SMS and MMS rates for each telco if you need the best SMS value for your prepaid plan.
If you send messages primarily over chat instead of SMS, then Tune Talk’s Cun Value Monthly Prepaid Plan will serve your purposes better since they offer unlimited chats for five different chat services, namely WhatsApp, WeChat, IMO, Line, and Viber.
Avoid getting the Unifi Data 4GB Plan if you need convenient access and allocations for calls and texts: the Unifi Data 4GB plan is strictly for data.
Best Prepaid Plans for Hotspot Sharing
Best Prepaid Plans for Hotspot Sharing - Prepaid Plans Malaysia
If you’re planning to get a prepaid plan for data that you can share with friends and family, then the unfortunate truth is that there aren’t a lot of great options out there in terms of hotspot sharing.
Fortunately, a handful of prepaid plans on this list do offer some great value in terms of hotspot sharing, particularly the U Mobile GX38 plan, which offers up to 12GB of Hotspot Sharing on top of their Unlimited Data allocation.
If you’re willing to spend a little extra for Hotspot Sharing, the Maxis Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited offers Unlimited Hotspot for an additional RM 5 per month, making it the best add-on plan if you want to share your Unlimited Data with others.
Celcom’s Unlimited GB Plan also comes with up to 3GB of Hotspot, but if you act fast and get the prepaid plan now, you’ll still be able to enjoy their ongoing promo which offers 88GB of Hotspot alongside the Unlimited Data allocation.
Fastest Prepaid Plans
Opensignal Ranking - Best prepaid plan Malaysia
While data allocation is great and offers you flexibility, another very important factor to consider when you’re choosing the best prepaid plan for you is network speed.
Data speed is especially important to professionals and entrepreneurs who rely on fast internet to get things done. If speed is important to you, then the prepaid plan we highly recommend is the Maxis Hotlink Unlimited Prepaid Plan which offers Unlimited Data and award-winning network speed.
Whether it’s for videos or games, or for more technical users, download speed and upload speed, Maxis absolutely dominates the telco industry in Malaysia with the best mobile data experience in terms of both speed and reliability.
However, if you spend most of your data communicating with others – particularly over voice calls or VoIP services like Skype, Discord, and Facebook – Unifi offers a unique niche prepaid plan that may only come with a limited 4GB of Data, but offers the best-in-class Voice App experience thanks to their super reliable network with minimal jitter for buttery-smooth voice calls.
Best Network Coverage Prepaid Plans
Based on the same report from Opensignal Malaysia, the telco that offers the best and most reliable network coverage is Celcom, especially in terms of 4G Availability.
If you want data that you can depend on no matter where you go in Malaysia, chances are Celcom will have you covered. That said, Maxis, Digi, U Mobile, and Unifi all have wide coverage, too, so the difference here is more or less minimal.
If you want the best based on user statistics, Celcom wins – however, depending on where you want to go, where you live, or where you work, some networks might offer better coverage in some areas than others, so that might be worth looking into as well.
Best Prepaid Plans Add-on Features
Best Prepaid Plans Add-on Features - Prepaid Plans Malaysia
In most aspects, mobile prepaid plans are more or less the same – they all offer you some combination of data allocation, high-speed internet, hotspot sharing, calls & SMS, data freebies, and more.
However, thanks to each telco’s different brand partnerships and promotion campaigns, each prepaid plan may come with unique bonuses and add-on features.
If you’re looking for something a little extra, then take note of the additional features you get with each prepaid plan as shown above.
Maxis offers Viu Premium, a premium subscription to the Hong Kong-based streaming platform that’s a lot like Netflix. With Viu Premium, you’ll be able to enjoy a more polished experience, which includes Full HD streaming in 1080p.
For the redONE redDATA 30 Plan, you can actually get it as a part of the redONE Prepaid Starter Pack and get a Free SIMPACK each time you subscribe.
Digi’s add-on features offer plenty of value that rewards customer loyalty with all kinds of freebies and store credits for renewing your plan and availing of their services.
How do I get a prepaid SIM card in Malaysia?
Getting a prepaid SIM card in Malaysia is easy and depends on what cellular service provider you wish to avail yourself of. One service provider in Malaysia is Unifi.
To purchase a SIM card, simply download an app called mobile@unifi for 10 MYR. Once done, your SIM card will now be ready for pick-up at the local store.
Also, this is the best option for tourists who visit Malaysia. SIM cards are also available in the airport, bus stations, and shopping malls.
How much is a prepaid SIM card in Malaysia?
Maxis is one of the big providers in Malaysia, and it is one of the most reliable one when it comes to service and data.
The SIM card itself costs 10 MYR, which also includes 5MYR of credit valid for five days.
SIM cards in Malaysia range from 10 MYR to 40 MYR, depending on the service provider and the data it includes.
How many SIM cards can a person have in Malaysia?
In Malaysia, owning a SIM card has a limit.
Each person can only have five SIM cards providing the appropriate documents or information a user needs to submit, like identification card and mailing address.
It is stated in the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission that service providers shall not register more than 5 SIM cards per customer or user.
Should I get a new SIM card when I upgrade my phone?
When you buy a new phone, there is no sim included, so you need to move your sim to your new phone.
However, it is unnecessary to get a new SIM card when you upgrade your phone, especially when there is a limit in owning a SIM card per user in Malaysia.
However, if, in any case, your SIM card is of a different type like micro or nano SIM card, or if your phone has a specific service provider, you may need to get a new SIM card.
Why is my data internet line so slow?
Malaysia is a relatively big country with a large population spread across a limited number of metropolitan areas, meaning that the infrastructure to support an efficient internet service is inadequate.
Furthermore, due to the large population, there is a great deal of congestion on the network leading to slower speeds (too many users in the same area).
Other factors that can affect the speed of the data line include issues with the physical connection, the type of infrastructure used, or even the location of the user. The Malaysian government has been trying to improve internet access but progress is slow.
Which Prepaid Plan is the Best in Malaysia?
Whether you’re in it for the best budget option, the highest-end prepaid plans, or an elegant combination of price and performance, there are a ton of options out there available to cater to just about every need and every budget.
We hope you found the ideal choice for you right here on our list of the Best Prepaid Plans in Malaysia.
Read more:
The Best Smartphones To Get in Malaysia
