Vodafone, Idea, Jio or Airtel: Who Gives the Cheapest International Roaming Pack

Posted by monalisa on October 7th, 2019

Planning a trip overseas? Regardless of it being for business or vacation, the first thought that always strikes a chord while travelling abroad is; How do I stay connected with my family and friends back home? Even though places of stay such as inns, hotels, and other places, for the most part, offer free WiFi in most nations around the globe, there still might arise a need to receive or make calls.

To stay connected, you can generally buy a local SIM card (available at most international terminals worldwide) wherever you’re going; however, it‘s always prudent to plan. The most effortless alternative is to get the cheapest international roaming pack before you travel. It’s also always better to get it through your usual cellular service provider back home. That way, you can easily and economically stay connected through your number.

Telecom providers in India these days offer various international roaming plans at affordable rates, which may change depending on factors such as validity term, data usage, calling benefits, etc. Here are the best plans offered by India's top cellular providers; Vodafone, Idea, Airtel, and Jio. Ascertain for yourself which is the cheapest international roaming plan.

Vodafone

Vodafone offers various international roaming packs that might suit the requirements of different users. Say you need connectivity for a single day abroad, their ₹695 plan gives you 1GB free data, free SMS and incoming calls. You also get 120 mins of free outgoing calls (both local & to India).

If you’re going to be overseas for 7 days, then the cheapest IR pack would be their ₹3495 that gives you 7GB free data, free SMS as well as incoming calls. Same as the 1-day IR pack, you get 120 mins of free outgoing calls (both to India & local calls).

And, just in case you need an IR pack for more than a week, their 10-day IR pack costs ₹4695 and gives the same benefits as the 7-day IR pack with the exception that you get a generous 10GB free data usage. Other benefits remain the same.

Idea

Idea’s cheapest IR pack with 1-day validity costs ₹649 and gives 0.5GB data free, bundled with outgoing calls of 100 mins, unlimited incoming calls, and 100 outgoing SMS per day.

If you want to stay overseas for a little longer, say for 5 days, then their ₹3245 pack includes 2.5GB free data, 100 SMS/day, with 500 mins of outgoing calls as well as unlimited incoming calls.

Airtel

Airtel’s 1-day validity IR pack costs ₹649 and gives 500MB free data, 100 SMS free, unlimited incoming calls, and 100 mins free outgoing calls (local numbers and to India). Their 10-day validity IR pack is for ₹3599 and gives 3GB free data, unlimited incoming calls, 100 free SMS, and 250 mins of free outgoing calls (to both India and local numbers).

Jio

Jio's unlimited IR packs start at ₹575 for 1-day validity which gives free incoming calls, 100 SMS per day, 100 mins of outgoing calls per day (to India and local numbers) as well as unlimited mobile data. For higher validity, say a 7-day pack is for ₹2875 with the same benefits mentioned above.

Today, it’s so much easier to stay connected overseas with so many affordable options for international roaming packs offered by cellular providers. It is cheaper to use your current number rather than taking up the hassle of getting a local SIM after reaching your destination. The smarter choice is to activate your IR pack before you travel and using that to stay connected during your stay abroad.