Student SIM Plan in Germany
Relevance:
International+EU
Students
Depending on where you come from and your personal preference, you may opt for a pre-paid plan or alternatively, a mobile and SIM contract.
What are the options when it comes to SIM plans?
1. Prepaid Plans
This can be your best option when you have just arrived. Prepaid plans are cheap. Most start from about 8 euros per month. They are flexible meaning you can pay when you want to use it. Most students who go for pre-paid plans say they never see themselves making a switch to contracts.
With most prepaid plans, including those starting at 8 euros, you will typically get:
- Flat SMS and Calls in Germany – meaning you can sms/call without a limit
- An option of ranging from 750Mb upto 6Gb of mobile data
- Free EU roaming with mobile data
Here are some of the most popular providers, usually sold in the vendor supermarket chains:
ALDI Talk
ALDI Talk
2. Mobile contracts
Mobile contracts are also a fantastic option. The biggest advantage over prepaid plans comes from the possibility of getting bigger mobile data bundles. The trade-off is that they are quite inflexible. Once you sign up for one, you have to keep paying for it until you terminate it at the end of the contract period. Before the end of the contract, you have a short window to cancel your plan, if you miss it, your plan will be automatically renewed.
To get a SIM contract, you need the following:
- A bank account, preferrably a German bank account for the monthly billing (SEPA)
- A German address may be required by some providers
You can check directly for plans on the biggest provider websites:
T-Mobile Vodafone O2 OteloA great place to compare mobile phone and SIM contracts is on CHECK24.
However, always make sure to read the fine-print before accepting any contract to avoid surprise fees/charges.