Subscription or prepaid card? A long-term contract, a phone included in a package, or perhaps a competitive offer and convenience without any commitments? If you're still asking yourself this age-old question in the mobile market, we have a short summary for you. To make a final decision, it's worth getting to know all aspects of how both a prepaid card and a subscription work.
➡ No Limit Offer
Tariffs where selected services are available without any limits are already a reality – both for prepaid and subscription offers. The number of unlimited services depends on the chosen tariff and the top-up amount or subscription fee. You've long been able to enjoy unlimited SMS, MMS, and calls to all networks and landlines with Mobile Vikings. Currently, this applies to two tariffs – the refreshed Viking 29 No Limit and the brand-new Viking 39 No Limit.
➡ Contract
With a subscription offer, we are bound by a long-term contract with a specific operator, which can prove problematic over time. If we are dissatisfied with the offered services, we cannot terminate the contract without financial consequences. Moreover, even if we choose the most attractive offer at a given moment, new, improved services will soon appear on the market, which we won't be able to use due to the signed long-term contract. And although short-term offers have also been available for some time, those valid for 24 and 36 months still predominate.
In the case of a prepaid offer, we are not bound by any contract, which means we can actually change our tariff or even our operator every month.
➡ Payment and Top-up System
The payment system for services in a subscription is clear and predictable – we pay a fixed amount of money each month. However, a situation may arise where the phone bill pleasantly surprises us. If we exceed the limits available in the selected subscription, we will incur additional costs. And it's easy to forget to monitor the limits and thus the expenses in this system.
With a prepaid card, we have full control over costs because we only call as much as we currently have on our account. Unless we've chosen a no-limit offer – then there's no risk of exceeding our planned budget, nor of losing access to services due to depleted funds.
In the Mobile Vikings prepaid offer, auto top-ups are an important feature. Thanks to this service, we don't have to remember to top up our account on time, because the system does it for us. And at the same time, we can change our tariff or opt out of auto top-ups at any time.➡ Internet
In the case of subscription offers, network operators offer a pool of internet data to be used, as specified in the given tariff. Unused data transfer in a given month usually expires.
With Mobile Vikings' prepaid offer, unused internet, provided the account is topped up before the previous top-up expires, rolls over to the next month. And the 15 or 25-gigabyte data packages are very strong competition for the packages available in subscription offers.
➡ Phone
For those deciding to purchase a new offer along with a phone, a subscription often seems like the only sensible solution. However, you need to be vigilant – operators often charge more for a phone than electronics stores where you can buy a smartphone on installments.
➡ Offers for Companies and Entrepreneurs
For companies, subscription offers are more popular. However, the postpaid system is not always the best solution for entrepreneurs. If you care about low operating costs, a flexible offer, and no long-term commitments, a prepaid card will often be a more advantageous option.
➡ Roaming
This is particularly important for travelers and entrepreneurs working with international clients. A subscription offers a more favorable deal in this regard. However, it's important to remember to purchase/activate roaming services before your trip or check if your offer covers the specific country (applies to travel outside the European Union). What you should be wary of is the risk of incurring high costs associated with uncontrolled phone use abroad. With a postpaid plan, you won't be surprised by the bill.
You can always find current roaming prices HERE. It's worth noting that when abroad, we often opt for a local SIM card, which gives us internet access and allows us to use popular messengers, and calls and SMS messages are significantly cheaper than in roaming.➡ Number Portability
Each operator has its own procedure for number portability, and changing service providers is not a particularly complicated process.
With a subscription, to port your number, you need to adhere to the deadlines set in the contract. With a prepaid card, number portability is easier because there is no notice period. You can change your operator at any time.
Both subscriptions and prepaid cards have their advantages and disadvantages, and there is still room for both options on the market. Operators are constantly improving their offers, meeting customer expectations. When choosing the right service, we should primarily be guided by our individual needs.