The Ultimate Expat Guide to Getting the Best Prepaid SIM Card in Singapore
Have you ever wondered how long you can last without data or your phone in another country?
If you’re going to be staying in Singapore for a while, I’m sure you’ll need to get your connectivity issues sorted out as soon as possible!
Since applying for a postpaid plan requires proof of your residential address, you might not have one since you’re still sorting out your accommodation.
Don’t worry, focus on settling down and let us do the comparison between M1, Singtel and StarHub for the best prepaid SIM card for you!
TL;DR: The Ultimate Expat Guide to Getting the Best Prepaid SIM Card for Your Stay in Singapore
Best Prepaid SIM Card for Overall Use in Singapore
If you’re staying in Singapore for less than 3 months and just looking for the best value for your money, both Singtel and M1 offer $8 prepaid SIM cards with 1.5GB data for 30 days.
Otherwise, if you’re staying in Singapore for more than 3 months, one of the best options would be the StarHub $15 Happy Prepaid SIM, especially since your local data can last up to 180 days!
Best Prepaid SIM Card Provider for Calling Locally in Singapore
If your main concern when choosing a prepaid SIM card is making local calls, StarHub might be your top choice!
The only tiny downside to StarHub’s local call rates? They charge you 2 cents more for the first minute, but the rest of the call is done at the lowest rate!
Unlike Singtel and M1, StarHub’s local call rates are very straightforward as the rates are the same all day, every day.
Which means you can call anyone at any time of the day, without having to worry that your card’s stored value might run out halfway through the call!
Best Prepaid SIM Card Provider for Making International Calls from Singapore
A two-week vacation is enough to make me homesick, I can’t even begin to imagine how much more intense it’ll be for a couple of months.
Calling home while you’re in Singapore doesn’t have to break your bank since the three providers offer attractive international call packages instead of deducting it through your card’s stored value.
| Prepaid SIM Card Provider | Best for International Calls to | Rates per Minute (International Call Packs) |
|---|---|---|
| Singtel | Bangladesh | 4.3 cents |
| Myanmar | 8.8 cents | |
| Philippines | 3.3 cents | |
| StarHub | India | 1.1 cents |
| Indonesia | 12.2 cents | |
| M1 | China | 1 cent |
Do note that for StarHub and M1, their international call packages include other features like local call time and local data. For easier comparison, the rates for StarHub and M1 are calculated based on the international call minutes only.
Best Prepaid SIM Card Provider for Local Data in Singapore
Of course, we’re going to talk about the best prepaid SIM card provider for local data!
While StarHub has the lowest local data rate at 4 cents per 10KB, it’s not funny when that accumulates…
I know, everyone’s data needs will differ since it’s highly dependent on your usage
But I’m guessing you probably will know how much you’ll roughly use per month, right?
| Monthly Data Usage | Prepaid SIM Card Provider | Data Plan | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 10GB | M1 | 30-day | 4.5GB | $14 |
| More than 10GB | StarHub | 4-week | 20GB + Free 40GB over 4 Sundays | $25 |
Singtel offers a wide variety of data plans too, just not with the best rates compared to StarHub and M1.
Best Tourist SIM Card for a Short Stay in Singapore
Bonus! If you’re only here for a few days, it doesn’t really make sense for you to purchase a SIM card that’s going to last you for a few months.
| Duration | Prepaid SIM Card |
|---|---|
| 7 days or less | $12 Starhub Travel Prepaid SIM |
| 8 - 12 days | $30 Singtel hi!Tourist SIM |
| 13 - 15 days | $50 Singtel hi!Tourist SIM |
Don’t worry, M1 offers tourist SIM cards too, just that the rates ain’t as good.
Let me save you some time since this article is really long, so click the types of prepaid cards below to be transported!
- M1 Prepaid SIM Cards
- Singtel Prepaid SIM Cards
- Starhub Prepaid SIM Cards
- M1 Tourist SIM Cards
- Singtel Tourist SIM Cards
- Starhub Tourist SIM Cards
M1 M Card
Wish I can make things simpler for you, but there are just so many choices for M1 Prepaid SIM cards…
| $5 M Card | $15 M Card | $8 Prepaid SIM | $14 Prepaid SIM | $25 Prepaid SIM | $60 Prepaid SIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $5 | $15 | $8 | $14 | $25 | $60 |
| Stored Card Value | $5 | $15 | $10 for 90 days | $14 for 180 days | NA | NA |
| Local Data | 500MB for 20 days | 4GB for 120 days + 4GB for 30 days | 1.5GB for 30 days | 4GB for 120 days + 4GB for 30 days | 1GB per day for 30 days | 1GB per day for 90 days |
| Local Incoming Calls | Pay-per-use | Pay-per-use | Pay-per-use | Pay-per-use | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Local Outgoing Calls | 5,000 | 5,000 every 30 days | ||||
| Local SMS | 5,000 | 5,000 every 30 days | ||||
| Validity | 90 days | 180 days | 90 days | 180 days | 30 days | 90 days |
M1 seems to be pretty generous with their free local data though, so I suppose that’s a good sign?
Local & International SMS Rates
| Rates | |
|---|---|
| Local SMS | 5 cents per SMS |
| Free 10 local SMS with 5 local SMS sent | |
| International SMS (XL Axiata subscribers) | 5 cents per SMS |
| International SMS (All other operator subscribers) | 15 cents per SMS |
While the SMS rates are pretty much the same, sending 5 local SMS with M1 gives you 10 free local SMS!
Social Data Plans
I’m afraid I’ve got bad news if you’re an avid Facebook user…
You’ll need to purchase an additional social data plan to feed your Facebook addiction!
| Data | Monthly Rate | |
|---|---|---|
| 32GB | $7 | |
| imo | 18GB | $12 |
Local Call Rates
Now, M1 has different local call rates for different periods in the day, so be sure to monitor your card’s stored value if you don’t want to run out halfway through a call!
| Period | Local Call Rates |
|---|---|
| Monday - Friday, 8pm - 7:59am | 20 cents for first minute 8 cents per minute |
| Monday - Friday, 8am - 7:59pm | 20 cents for first minute 16 cents per minute |
| Saturday & Sunday, All Day | 20 cents for first minute, 8 cents per minute |
International Calls & IDD Packs
While M1 IDD packs include local data and/or SMS, but 50MB will probably be used up really quickly, so it’s still pretty fair for us to compare based on overseas call rates only!
| IDD Packs | Overseas Call Rates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Call Rates | Overseas Call Time (Estimated) | Local Data / SMS | ||
| China | $26 | 1 cent per minute | 2,600 minutes for 30 days (Connection Charge of 30 cents) | 50MB | 2.1 cents per minute |
| 3 cents per minute (from 04 Feb 2020) |
|||||
| Malaysia | $26 | 3.3 cents per minute (Fixed line) OR 8.3 cents per minute (mobile line) | ~788 minutes for 30 days (Fixed line) OR ~ 313 minutes for 30 days (mobile line0 | 50MB | Free (local rates apply) |
| Philippines | $5 | 16.7 cents per minute | ~29 minutes for 3 days | NA | 15 cents per minute |
| 20 cents per minute (from 04 Feb 2020) |
|||||
| Indonesia | $5 | 22.7 cents per minute | ~22 minutes for 3 days | 50 SMS to Indonesia | 10 cents per minute |
| 15 cents per minute (from 04 Feb 2020) |
|||||
| Bangladesh | NA | 4.5 cents per minute | |||
| 7 cents per minute (from 04 Feb 2020) |
|||||
| India | NA | 3 cents per minute | |||
| 5 cents per minute (from 04 Feb 2020) |
|||||
| Myanmar | NA | 45 cents per minute | |||
| 60 cents per minute (from 04 Feb 2020) |
|||||
Local Data Rates & Data Packs
Now, if you’re already on an M1 prepaid card, make sure you monitor your data usage and purchase the necessary data packs.
| Data Packs | Data | Validity | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Day Data Packs | 100MB | 3 days | $2 |
| 1GB | 3 days | $5 | |
| 7-Day Data Packs | 10MB | 7 days | $1 |
| 1GB | 7 days | $7 | |
| 2GB + 7-day free incoming call | 7 days | $10 | |
| 30-Day Data Packs | 300MB | 30 days | $5 |
| 1GB | 30 days | $10 | |
| 4.5GB + 30-day free incoming call | 30 days | $14 | |
| 8GB + 30-day free incoming call | 30 days | $21 | |
| 12GB + 30-day free incoming call | 30 days | $28 |
If you exceed your data limit, you’ll be charged 7 cents per 10KB, not cool at all!
Data Roaming
Heading to another country while you’re in Singapore?
Well, M1 offers two prepaid data roaming packs, but you might be better off finding other options!
| $15 Roaming Pack | $28 Roaming Pack | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $15 | $28 |
| Roaming Data | 2GB | 2GB |
| International Call Time | 10 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Countries | Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA | Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA |
| Validity | 10 days | 10 days |
Singtel hi! SIM Cards
However, if you’re going to be in Singapore for more than 2 weeks, it doesn’t make sense for you to purchase more hi!Tourist SIM cards since it’s rather pricey.
Fret not, even though Singtel hi! SIM cards are not solely for tourists, it’s a good option for a longer stay!
| $8 hi! SIM | $15 hi! SIM | $38 hi! SIM | $50 hi! SIM | $20 hi! Data SIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $8 | $15 | $38 | $50 | $20 |
| Stored Card Value | $10 | $15 | $38 | $50 | $20 |
| Local Data | 1.5GB for 30 days - Anytime: 500MB - 12am to 8am: 1GB | 3GB for 120 days - Anytime: 1GB - 12am to 8am: 2GB | 3GB - For Singapore & Malaysia | 5GB - For 7 days | 5GB |
| Card Validity | 90 days - not extendable | 120 days - extendable | 180 days - extendable | 180 days | 7 days |
You’ll notice only local data and stored card value are bundled together with the hi! SIM cards, that’s because other features are charged and deducted from your card’s stored value as you use them!
Local & Overseas SMS Rates
| Rates | |
|---|---|
| Local SMS | 5 cents per SMS |
| Overseas SMS (Telkomsel & Globe subscribers) | 5 cents per SMS |
| Overseas SMS (All other operator subscribers) | 15 cents per SMS |
It’s gonna take a lot of SMSes to deplete your stored card value but still, be sure to monitor your usage!
You must be rolling your eyes at me by now, who still uses SMS when you’ve got WhatsApp?
Social Data Plans
I’m not sure if you had the same thought I did when checking out the hi!Tourist SIM cards, but I was curious why they had to mention unlimited WhatsApp, LINE, WeChat or Facebook access.
After scrolling through and reading the terms and conditions, I found out that you’ll have to pay if you want to use WhatsApp, LINE, WeChat or Facebook!
| Plans | LINE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Day Plan | $0.50 | $1 | $0.50 | $1 |
| 7 Day Plan | $3 | $6 | $3 | $5 |
| 30 Day Plan | $6 | $12 | $6 | $9 |
These plans don’t even allow you to make video calls so I wonder if it’s going to be deducted from your data limit…
Local Call Rates
| Period | Incoming Local Call Rates | Outgoing Local Call Rates |
|---|---|---|
| Monday - Friday, 8pm - 7:59am | 20 cents for first minute 8 cents per minute | 20 cents for first minute 10 cents per minute |
| Monday - Friday, 8am - 7:59pm | 20 cents for first minute 16 cents per minute | 20 cents for first minute 18 cents per minute |
| Saturday & Sunday, All Day | 20 cents for first minute 8 cents per minute | 20 cents for first minute 10 cents per minute |
Remember to monitor your calls as the local call rates will be deducted from your stored card value!
International Calls Rates & IDD 019 MegaSaver Packs
Likewise, if you’re making a couple of short overseas calls, your hi! SIM card’s stored value might be enough to cover the overseas call rates.
But if you foresee yourself making overseas calls often, you might want to consider purchasing the IDD 019 MegaSaver Packs since the rates are significantly lower.
| Country | IDD 019 MegaSaver Packs | Overseas Call Rates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Call Time | Price | Call Rates | ||
| Bangladesh | 70 IDD minutes for 7 days | $3 | 4.3 cents per minute | 9 cents per minute |
| China | 150 IDD minutes for 7 days | $3 | 2 cents per minute | Free v019 calls (Local call rates apply) |
| India | 120 IDD minutes for 7 days | $3 | 2.5 cents per minute | 7 cents per minute |
| Myanmar | 100 IDD minutes for 30 days | $8.80 | 8.8 cents per minute | 60-80 cents per minute |
| Philippines | 300 IDD minutes for 30 days | $9.80 | 3.3 cents per minute | 34 cents for first minute 16-22 cents per minute |
| Australia (fixed), Brunei, Canada, Hong Kong, Laos, Macau, Mongolia, New Zealand (fixed), Puerto Rico, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, UK (fixed), USA, Vietnam, Thailand | NA | Free v019 calls (Local call rates apply) |
||
Local Data Rates & Data Plans
Now, I know we usually try to estimate how much data we’ll need and work around our data limit.
But, if you exceeded about your data limit, you’ll be paying 6.4 cents per 10KB, which can accumulate to a big sum over time!
Let’s say you predict that you won’t be making a lot of phone calls, you might be getting the $8 or $15 hi! SIM card.
What if 1.5GB or 3GB of data is not enough for you but it doesn’t make sense to get the higher value cards?
I personally feel that it can get a little confusing, but Singtel offers so many data plans to cater to your needs, you’ll eventually choose one that’s right for you!
| Data Plans | Data | Validity | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value+ Data Plans | Anytime: 1.5GB 12am - 8am: 750MB | 7 days | $10 |
| Anytime: 1.5GB 12am - 8am: 750MB | 30 days | $13 | |
| Anytime: 4GB 12am - 8am: 2GB | 30 days | $25 | |
| SG & M'sia Data Pass | 1GB | 28 days | $10 |
| 5-Day Plan | 100MB | 5 days | $2 |
| 7-Day Plan | 1GB | 7 days | $8 |
| 30-Day Plans | 1GB | 30 days | $10 |
| 3GB | 30 days | $20 | |
| 5GB | 30 days | $30 | |
| Ultimate Plans | 2GB | 1 day | $7 |
| 6GB | 3 days | $16 | |
| 15GB | 7 days | $30 |
hi!DataRoam Packs
Plans change sometimes and you might need to travel elsewhere while you’re in Singapore, right?
If you’re lazy to buy another tourist SIM card for your destination, you can consider the data roaming plans available.
hi!DataRoam Pack Data Country Price
Pack A 1GB for 30 days Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand & Philippines $10
Pack B 1GB for 30 days China, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea $20
Pack C (Malaysia) 100MB for 7 days Malaysia $5
Pack D (Australia) 100MB for 7 days Australia $5
Though I think you might be able to find better deals elsewhere…
StarHub Happy Prepaid SIM Card
StarHub offers three variants of the Happy Prepaid SIM card, depending on your needs during your stay in Singapore.
| $8 Happy Prepaid SIM | $15 Happy Prepaid SIM | $50 Happy Prepaid SIM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $8 | $15 | $50 |
| Stored Card Value | $10 for 90 days | $15 for 180 days | $50 for 180 days |
| Local Data | 800MB for 30 days | 8GB for 180 days - First month: 1.2GB - Subsequent 5 months: 200MB per month - First 30 days: 6GB | 100GB for 10 days |
| Roaming Data | NA | NA | 5GB for 30 days |
| Access to WeChat, WhatsApp & LINE | NA | Free for 180 days | NA |
While it seems 8GB of local data for 180 days may be too good to be true, it’s an ongoing promotion for the $15 Happy Prepaid SIM and it’s a pretty good deal!
Local Calls & Data Rates, Local & Overseas SMS Rates
| Local Calls | SMS | Local Data |
|---|---|---|
| 22 cents for first minute | 5 cents per local SMS | 4 cents per 10KB |
| 8 cents per minute | 15 cents per global SMS |
Apart from having the most straightforward local call rates, StarHub has the lowest local call and local data rates compared to the other two telcos!
Social Data Plans
| LINE | ||
|---|---|---|
| Daily Rate | $0.40 | $0.40 |
| 30-day Rate | $6 | $6 |
Luckily for StarHub prepaid card users, you’ll only need to pay for extra social data plans if you’re using LINE or WeChat!
International Call Rates & WOW IDD Plans
Making things super easy to remember, StarHub’s international IDD call packs are all priced at $11.
| Country | WOW IDD Plans | Overseas Call Rate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overseas Call Time | Price | Call Rates | Local Call Time | Local Data | ||
| India | 1001 minutes for 11 days | $11 | 1.1 cents per minute | 101 minutes | 1.1GB | 3 cents per minute |
| Bangladesh | 250 minutes for 11 days | 4.4 cents per minute | 100 minutes | 1GB | 4.5 cents per minute | |
| Indonesia | 90 minutes for 11 days | 12.2 cents per minute | 22 cents per minute | |||
| Philippines | 45 minutes for 11 days | 34.4 cents per minute | 22 cents per minute | |||
| Myanmar | 30 minutes for 11 days | 36.7 cents per minute | 80 cents per minute | |||
| China | 600 minutes for 11 days | 1.8 cents per minute | 8 cents per minute | |||
I get it, the WOW IDD plans also include local call time and local data…
But since the main purpose of purchasing these plans is international calls, we’re calculating the call rates based on overseas call time only.
WOW Data Plans
I may be biased, but StarHub sure knows how to simplify their offerings for an easier decision-making process!
| Validity | Data | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1-Day | 1GB | $3 |
| 3-Day | 1GB | $5 |
| 1-Week | 1GB | $8 |
| 4-Week | 1GB | $10 |
| 2GB + Free 40GB over 4 Sundays | $18 | |
| 20GB + Free 40GB over 4 Sundays | $25 | |
| Supported Countries: Singapore + Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States of America |
||
The best part about the WOW Data Plans?
Your data can be used in all supported countries as well, so no need to worry about having to purchase extra roaming data!
Best Tourist SIM Cards for a Short Stay in Singapore
If you’re just visiting Singapore for a week or two, the three major telcos offer very competitive options to cater to your travel needs.
Before we go into details for the prepaid tourist SIM cards, you’ll find that they’re all going to offer you 100GB of local data, which is a lot!
M1 Prepaid Tourist SIM Card
M1 provides three options for you if you’re only going to be in Singapore for 2 weeks or less.
| $12 Prepaid Tourist SIM | $30 Prepaid Tourist SIM | $50 Prepaid Tourist SIM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $12 | $30 | $50 |
| Local Data | 100GB | 100GB | 100GB |
| Local Calls | 500 minutes | 3,000 minutes | 3,000 minutes |
| Local SMS | 100 SMS | 5,000 SMS | 5,000 SMS |
| IDD Calls | 20 minutes | 50 minutes | 50 minutes |
| Roaming Data | NA | 3GB | 5GB |
| Validity | 7 days | 12 days | 14 days |
M1 Prepaid Tourist SIM cards offer roaming data for 5 countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
Unfortunately, M1’s options shy when it comes to the call time for international IDD calls, so if that’s your priority, you’ve still got the other two telcos!
Singtel hi!Tourist SIM Cards
Singtel offers four options for tourists on a short visit to Singapore, providing flexibility based on the length of stay.
| $15 hi!Tourist SIM | $30 hi!Tourist SIM | $50 hi!Tourist SIM | hi!Tourist EZ-Link SIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $15 | $30 | $50 | $18 |
| EZ-Link Card Value | NA | NA | NA | $3 |
| Local Data | 100GB | 100GB | 100GB | 100GB |
| Access to Facebook, LINE, WeChat, Whatsapp | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Local Calls | 500 minutes | 3,000 minutes | 3,000 minutes | 500 minutes |
| Local SMS | 100 SMS | 5,000 SMS | 5,000 SMS | 100 SMS |
| IDD Calls | 30 minutes | 90 minutes | 90 minutes | 30 minutes |
| Roaming Data | 1GB | 3GB | 5GB | 1GB |
| Card Validity | 7 days | 12 days | 15 days | 7 days |
Singtel hi!Tourist SIM cards’ roaming data applies for four countries, namely Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
You’d noticed by now that the $15 hi!Tourist SIM and hi!Tourist EZ-Link SIM is very similar, the biggest difference is that the hi!Tourist EZ-Link SIM functions as an EZ-Link card too for your transport needs!
There are some extra perks that you can enjoy with the hi!Tourist EZ-Link SIM card:
- Free cable car ride (worth $15)
- Up to 25% off Sentosa attractions
- Exclusive dining offers with HungryGoWhere
StarHub Travel Prepaid SIM Cards
StarHub offers only two options for travellers on a short stay, sorry if you’re staying here for more than 12 days!
| $12 Travel Prepaid SIM | $32 Travel Prepaid SIM | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $12 | $32 |
| Local Data | 100GB for 7 days | 100GB for 12 days |
| Local Incoming Calls | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Local Outgoing Calls | 500 minutes | 3,000 minutes |
| Local SMS | 100 SMS | 5,000 SMS |
| IDD Calls | 30 minutes | 90 minutes |
| Roaming Data | 1GB for 7 days | 3GB for 30 days |
| Social Messaging | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Validity | 7 days | 12 days |
StarHub Travel Prepaid SIM cards offer roaming data for 18 countries, namely Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States of America.
So if Singapore is your first stop before moving to another destination in the list above, this might just be the card for you!
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