In Nigeria, a country of over 200 million mobile subscribers, call and internet charges have become a focal point for users trying to make the most of their airtime. While telecoms frequently promote bonuses and bundled deals, the base tariffs ultimately determine how far a user’s airtime can stretch. In this article, we compare prepaid call and browsing rates from Nigeria’s four major network providers: MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9Mobile, to determine which offers the best value in July 2025.
- Cheapest network for calls: Glo offers the lowest call rate among Nigeria’s major mobile networks through its ‘Glo Super Talk‘ tariff plan, which charges 15.5 kobo per second (k/s) for calls. However, this rate applies after a ₦15 daily access fee is automatically deducted on the user’s first call of the day, making it a strong choice for users who make regular calls.
- Cheapest network for browsing with airtime: Glo also leads in pay-as-you-go (PAYG) internet browsing. It charges ₦1.50 per megabyte (MB) across all its tariff plans. This uniform rate makes Glo the best choice for users who browse the internet using their regular airtime balance rather than a dedicated data bundle.
- Best network for bonuses: Airtel takes the lead with its Ovajara Xtra tariff plan, offering a 200% bonus on every recharge: 100% for airtime and the other 100% for data. This means a ₦100 recharge gives users an extra ₦100 airtime and ₦100 worth of data. However, calls made from the bonus airtime are charged at 83.3 k/s (₦50 per minute), while the bonus data is deducted at a steep rate of 15MB per second.
Following the January 2025 approval of a tariff increase by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), mobile operators made changes to their tariff structures. This included the discontinuation of popular bonus-based plans and adjustments to call/data rates.
However, you can still find the best rates that suit your needs. Here’s what each mobile network is offering under its tariff plans as of July 2025.
Glo
- Super Talk: This Glo tariff plan offers national calls at 15.5 k/s. However, international call rates vary depending on the receiver’s country zone. Users on tariff are charged a ₦15 daily access fee, deducted on their first call of the day.
- Talk On: Glo’s Talk On tariff charges 22 k/s for national calls, making it a moderate plan for calls compared to other network call charges. Its international call rates vary based on the destination country’s zone. The plan is a balanced option for users seeking moderate call charges without a daily access fee.
- Data rate on airtime (PAYG): Glo offers the same airtime charge rate for browsing the internet for all of its tariffs, charging ₦1.5 per MB.
What people are saying
We spoke to a few users to understand their experiences with the actual charges and recent changes to these plans.
Yusuf Nasiru, a Lagos-based civil servant, shared that Glo was previously his preferred network for making calls, largely because of the generous airtime bonuses it offered. However, since he was migrated to a new plan, Glo Talk On, he said its rate no longer meets his airtime needs.
“I was on Glo Berekete, and I used to get ₦20,000 airtime and 2 gigabytes (GB) of data as bonuses whenever I recharged ₦5000. I mostly make calls, and the airtime would last me up to three weeks, as long as I kept topping it up with at least ₦100 every seven days,” he said. “Since the new tariff has no bonuses, it has reduced how often I make calls with the line, because it is almost the same thing as the other SIM I’m using.”
MTN
- Pulse: MTN’s Pulse tariff is the most affordable plan the network currently offers, charging 23 k/s for national calls. International call rates vary depending on the receiver’s country zone. Pulse is placed among the lowest call rate tariffs offered by mobile networks.
- BetaGist: This MTN tariff plan charges 30 k/s for national calls, making it one of the most expensive among the network’s tariff plans. However, it comes with an exclusive reward where users get 3 minutes as a call bonus after every 6 minutes of outgoing calls. The bonus can be used on the next calls or accumulated and is valid for two days.
- XtraValue: This plan charges 30 k/s for national calls, the same as BetaGist, making it one of the most expensive call rates on the network. Unlike BetaGist, XtraValue does not offer any exclusive call-time rewards or bonuses.
- Data rate on airtime (PAYG): For internet browsing with airtime, MTN charges ₦3.07 per MB on all its tariffs. This is among the most expensive airtime for browsing among all tariffs offered by mobile networks in Nigeria.
What you should know
MTN currently does not offer any airtime or data bonuses on recharge under its existing tariff plans. The provider recently decommissioned some tariffs, including BetaTalk, which previously offered large airtime rewards to subscribers.
“The best tariff MTN ever had was BetaTalk. It gave us real value for money,” said Zubair Onireke, a final-year Microbiology student at the University of Ilorin. “You can recharge, get bonuses, and still use your original airtime to buy a data bundle. But suddenly, they migrated us out of it.”
Airtel
- SmartTalk is the cheapest call tariff offered by Airtel, charging 25 k/s (₦15 per minute) for national voice calls to all networks. International call rates vary based on the destination country’s zone.
- OverJara Xtra is Airtel’s only tariff plan that offers bonuses on recharge among all its plans. It charges 30 k/s (₦18 per minute) for national calls. With every recharge from ₦100 to ₦5,000, users receive a 200% bonus, split equally between airtime and data, and valid for two days. However, bonus airtime is billed at a higher rate of ₦50 per minute, and bonus data is charged at 15MB per second.
- SmartGist is the second most expensive tariff plan for call rate by Airtel, charging 33.33 k/s, which amounts to ₦20 per minute for national calls. Its high call rate places it among the priciest options offered by the network.
- SmartLife is the network’s highest-priced call tariff, billing users at 40 k/s (₦24 per minute) for national calls. It ranks as the most expensive among all plans across major mobile networks in Nigeria.
What you should know
Among all Airtel tariff plans, only OverJara Xtra offers extra value on every recharge.
Outside of bonus usage, Airtel applies a flat browsing rate of ₦4.6 per MB across all its tariffs. This is currently the highest airtime-based browsing rate among all mobile networks in Nigeria, making it the most expensive option for users who surf the internet without an active data bundle.
9Mobile
- MoreLife Complete: 9mobile’s MoreLife Complete tariff plan offers the network’s lowest national call rate at 16.38 k/s (₦9.83 per minute), ranked among the most affordable plans across the four mobile networks. However, to access this rate, subscribers are charged a daily access fee of ₦7.68, deducted on the first call made each day.
- 9Konfam: This tariff charges ₦31.74 k/s for local calls to all networks, making it one of the network’s higher-rate options. However, it offers a nine times (9x) airtime bonus on every recharge from ₦100 and above, which can be used for calls, SMS, and browsing. For bonuses, the tariff charges 83 k/s for calls and ₦70 per MB for browsing with an airtime bonus, making it most expensive for PAYG. These bonuses are valid for 7days.
- MoreTalk: This is the most expensive tariff plan for call rate offered by the network, charging 40 k/s, also among the highest across all major mobile networks in Nigeria. Hi
What you should know
9mobile offers several tariff packages, but we selected the most affordable ones in terms of the best with call rates and extra value based on recommendations from our call to the customer care representatives.
“Sometimes, the network disappears for almost a week,” said Abdulganiyu Salaudeen, a Lagos-based fashion vendor who said he linked his 9mobile line to his bank accounts and NIN-related services. “I no longer receive alerts or access services linked to the SIM due to frequent outages.”
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