Prepaid SIM plans and tariffs: what a top-up does to each one
A prepaid line can be on three quite different arrangements, and topping it up does something different to each. Knowing which one you are on tells you when to load it, how much, and what your money is actually buying.
Three shapes a prepaid line can be on
They are not alternatives you pick between once — a line can move from one to another, and often has two of them running at the same time. The last column is the one that changes what you should do.
| The shape | What it is | Who set it up | What a top-up does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain balance | Credit sitting on the line with nothing attached to it, spent at the operator's own per-unit rates as the phone uses things. | Nobody chose it. It is what a prepaid line does by default. | Adds to the balance. Nothing to renew, nothing with an end date. |
| A pack bought from the balance | A fixed allowance — data, or minutes and texts — for a fixed period, bought out of the credit at the operator's pack price. | Whoever holds the line picked it from that operator's catalogue. | Does not extend the pack that is running. It funds the next one. |
| An all-in prepaid plan | A tariff that bundles calls, texts and data together for a period and comes back round on the operator's schedule. | Chosen from the operator's own tariff list, on their side, at sign-up or later. | Where the operator renews a plan out of the balance, the top-up is what makes that renewal possible. |
Only one of the three is ours, and it is not the plan. We sell no SIM cards, no tariffs and no unlimited product of any kind — the plan belongs to the operator that issued the number, and what we do is put credit on that number so it keeps working. Where a prepaid line comes from in the first place is on the prepaid SIM overview.
Working out which one the line is on
Nobody outside the operator can read this off a number, us included. The person holding the phone can settle it in under a minute.
Load a number now- A renewal date, or a plan name shown in the operator's app, means an all-in tariff is running.
- An allowance with its own countdown — so much data, so many days — and no plan name is a pack bought from the balance.
- Credit that simply falls as calls and texts are made, with no allowance and no date attached, is plain balance.
- Two of them at once is normal: a plan running, with leftover credit underneath it that pays for anything the plan does not include.
Where to look, and why the reference code we return is a receipt for an order rather than a statement of what is on the line, is set out on pay as you go. That page also covers what draws a balance down and what stops when it reaches zero.
Five things worth reading in a tariff
All five are the operator's own terms, published on their own page. None of them is visible from a number, and none of them is ours to set — but each one changes what the plan is worth to you.
The period, and what ends with it
Every prepaid tariff runs for a stretch and then stops or comes round again. Whether an unused allowance carries over, and whether the line keeps working in the gap, are two separate answers — check both.
What is actually inside it
Calls, texts and data are usually all in there, but rarely on the same terms. Inclusions are often national only, so calls to another country and use of the line abroad can sit outside the plan and be charged separately.
Whether it renews, and from where
Some tariffs come round on their own by taking the price out of the balance; others wait to be bought again by hand. That single difference decides whether the line needs credit sitting on it before the date, or only when you choose.
What it falls back to
When a plan cannot renew, the line usually drops to the operator's per-unit rates or stops until it is funded. Knowing which of the two happens is the difference between a surprise bill of credit and a phone that has simply gone quiet.
On the operator's own site or in their app, never here. We publish no tariff sheet and no rate card, because any figure printed on this page would be a snapshot of one network on one day. What loads at our checkout is that operator's current catalogue for the number you enter, priced in their currency, with our service fee — which depends on the country, the operator and the amount — shown as a separate line before you confirm.
Topping up a line that is on a plan
The mechanics are the same as any other top-up. The timing is not, and that is where people lose a renewal.
- 1
Fund it before the date, not after
Where a tariff renews out of the balance, the operator takes it on their schedule and takes nothing if the credit is not there yet. Loading the line the day after is a different, worse outcome than loading it the day before.
- 2
A top-up mid-period changes nothing
Adding credit while a plan is running does not lengthen it, raise its allowance or upgrade it. The credit waits underneath, and pays for whatever the plan does not cover.
- 3
Delivery is quick, the renewal is theirs
Credit is usually on the line 5 to 60 seconds after payment clears, and every completed order returns the operator's reference code on screen and by email. When the operator acts on that credit is their timetable, not ours.
Nothing on this side renews, schedules or repeats by itself: each order is one payment to one number, made when you choose to make it, with no card kept afterwards. The full version of that is on prepaid recharge and subscriptions. If the operator refuses the load — an expired line, a blocked SIM — the full amount comes back to your card with the service fee included, and their reason comes with it.
About "unlimited" prepaid plans
Searching for a prepaid SIM card with unlimited data is really searching for an operator's tariff, and those are sold by operators inside one country. There is none to buy here: no SIM, no plan, no unlimited product. If the network that owns a number publishes a large or genuinely uncapped pack, it appears in their catalogue at their price and under their conditions, and we deliver it like any other.
Read those conditions before you treat the word literally — almost every unlimited offer has a figure behind it. The three ways that usually works are set out on mobile data bundles, and whether an uncapped pack is available for a given number at all is answered on bundle shapes.
Plans and tariffs, question by question
Payment, refunds and delivery questions are answered in the help centre.
Open the help centreCan I buy a prepaid plan or change tariff here?
No. Choosing, changing or cancelling a tariff happens with the operator that issued the number, in their app or on their site. What we do is put credit on the line, which is what a renewal usually needs.
Does topping up renew the plan automatically?
We renew nothing — no order here schedules or repeats itself. Some operators do take a tariff's price out of the balance when the period comes round; where that is the arrangement, the credit needs to be sitting there before their date.
Is a prepaid plan the same as a contract?
No. There is no minimum term to serve and nothing to cancel — the period simply ends. The six practical differences between prepaid and a monthly contract are on the prepaid SIM page.
How much should I load for a plan renewal?
Enough to cover the tariff's price on that network, which the operator publishes and we do not. If the line also uses things the plan excludes, leave a little underneath for those — how much to put on works through the sizing side.
The plan did not renew even though I topped up. What now?
Check the timing first: credit that arrives after the operator's renewal attempt does not trigger a retry on its own, and the line may need the tariff buying again from their side. The credit itself is not lost — it stays on the balance. Our delivery is confirmed by the operator's reference code on your receipt.
Where to go next
This page is the arrangement the line is on. The pages around it are the line itself, the balance and the packs.
Carrying the line abroad changes which inclusions still apply — prepaid travel SIM covers that side. For a line in a tablet or a router rather than a phone, the same arrangements are described on the prepaid data SIM page.
Know the date? Load it before then.
Enter the number with its country code and the operator's own catalogue opens, with the fee and the total on screen before anything is charged.