Read on for a brief crash course in Vodacom plans.

What is Prepaid?

AKA: Pay as you go

Included: A Prepaid SIM card (device is not included: you need to have a phone already to use Prepaid, or buy one via Vodacom Online or in-store).

How it works: You purchase airtime and data to use on your phone, and when you’ve used up everything you bought, you can’t go online, send messages or make calls until you’ve recharged.

Specials, promotions and packages: Vodacom has a number of promotions and specials that are only available to Prepaid customers, such as the Vodacom Power Hour, where you’ll pay only R7 for 60 minutes’ talk time to use anytime between 6am and midnight.

Great-value Prepaid packages include Daily Free Calls – pay for the first three minutes of your call to any other Vodacom customer, and you’ll get 57 minutes on that call for FREE. So on any day of the week, at any time, when you call any Vodacom number from your Vodacom Prepaid SIM, you’ll get 60 minutes of talk time and pay for only three minutes!

For more great-value Prepaid packages and plans, go to Vodacom Online.

Perks: It’s easy to stick to a strict monthly budget on Prepaid. Plus, you can change your spend from month to month – in a month where you’re getting more income, you can spend more, and cut back when you’re making less.

What is uChoose?

AKA: Top Up

Included: A Vodacom SIM card and, depending on your budget, a smartphone (more affordable uChoose plans do not include a smartphone)

How it works: With uChoose, you pay for a set amount of airtime and data every month. When you run out, you can top up or recharge just as you would if you were on Prepaid.

uChoose Flexi plans give you a set amount of airtime only, no data or SMSes. You can choose how you want to divide your airtime up, depending on your needs. Do you use your phone only for making calls? Then you can choose to use all your airtime as voice minutes. But if you use your phone mostly for connecting to the internet, then most of your airtime can be used as data.

Specials, promotions and packages: On any uChoose plan, you can make use of the Vodacom Power Hour, plus the My 5 special, which lets you link your top 5 friends or relatives who are also on Vodacom, and then you can talk to them for as little as R6 per hour. Or you can talk to them for an hour AND use the internet from as little as R8!

For more on the uChoose options available to you, go to Vodacom Online.

Perks: uChoose is flexible, adaptable to your lifestyle, budget and needs.

What are Smart plans?

AKA: Contract

Included: A smartphone (usually) and a set amount of minutes, SMS and data.

How it works: You pay for a set amount of voice minutes, SMSes and data every month. At the same time, you will usually pay off the smartphone that comes with your plan, unless you choose to buy only the SIM and use a phone you already have.

Specials, promotions and packages: There are a number of different Smart plans available – the one you choose will depend on your budget and needs. For example, the Smart More Data 2GB plan gives you 50 monthly minutes, 25 SMSes and 2GB of data for only R349 per month, ideal for those who mostly use their phone for connecting to the internet.

Perks: Smart plan customers get access to loads of benefits, like a Data Sharing SIM service for as little as R29 per month, which gives you up to four data SIMs linked to your primary contract, so you can use your data on up to four different devices. The Smart Plans focus on offering customers the best network, unmatched customer experience and best value, and you’ll never lose your connection to the internet or run out of data.

Go to Vodacom Online to see more Smart plans.

What is RED?

AKA: Vodacom’s premier range of contracts, especially for businesspeople and those who need to stay connected on the go.

Included: Top-of-the-range smartphones, large allocations of voice minutes and data, and unlimited SMSes, plus first-class service and VIP treatment.

How it works: RED plans offer customers top-class service and assistance, making sure they are treated like VIPs – this means offering price plans that give plenty of data, minutes and SMSes and giving them access to Vodacom service agents 24/7.

There are six different RED plan options, based on what different customers would need. RED Advantage, RED Premium, RED Premium + and RED Classic + all offer a set number of monthly minutes, 1GB, 2GB or 4GB of data and unlimited SMSes (as do all RED plans), while RED VIP offers limitless voice calls and 5GBs of data, and RED VIP + gives customers 150 minutes of voice calls and a whopping 10GBs of data.

For more on the RED plans, go to Vodacom Online.

Specials, packages and promotions: RED customers get access to RED Rewards, exclusive benefits and discounts from retailers, travel agencies and service providers. Plus, they get access to their own crew of service agents 24/7, get to skip the queue in Vodacom stores and get loads of other special benefits as Vodacom’s VIP customers.

Perks: RED customers get two Data Sharing SIMs for free!

For more on all the Vodacom plans and contracts on offer, visit Vodacom Online today »

Prices were correct at time of publishing in November 2016 and are subject to change without notice. T & Cs apply.