Which phone plan Malaysia postpaid or prepaid ?

If you decide to live in Malaysia and stay at least 1 year, you will surely need a Malaysia phone plan with subscription.
These are the “postpaid” packages.
As seen on our study and comparison of 4G networks Malaysia, overall, on Kuala Lumpur, Maxis and Celcom networks are the best. This is even more noticeable when you leave the capital for the Perhentian Islands for example.

Connection sharing in Malaysia : possible or not?

Before entering the heart of the subject of the choice of the Malaysia phone package, it is important to remember a primordial detail: is it possible to share your unlimited connection with your friends?
You want to share your connection with your PC, or your BOX TV, is it possible?
Or, you may want to share this connection with your friends to avoid taking an additional package, reduce costs and pay less.
Contrary to France, this is not totally “possible”: in Malaysia, in the proposed subscriptions, you will have a quota for connection sharing!

YES, you can share your connection.
NO, this will not be deducted from your main internet quota, but from your “hotspot” internet quota.

In the packages presented in the following article, you will have to take into account this option if you want to share your connection.
This can quickly add to your budget, or you can avoid unpleasant surprises.

Example: I subscribed to a prepaid plan with Hotlink unlimited 4G at 6MBPS (before committing myself, I like to test the quality of service, network, etc.), with an unlimited data plan, thinking I could share the connection to use for example, IPTV. Bad surprise: it was impossible to share the connection with anyone, anything, because the package subscribed did not offer any data in “hotspot / tethering” …

The different offers with unlimited 4G

You have decided to take an unlimited data plan: top!
There are several mobile networks in Malaysia, and as elsewhere, they are not all equal.
On the one hand, by their quality, their stability, their speed, and on the other hand, by their price and their options.
Several providers can use the same telephone network in Malaysia.
We will compare the packages offered by :

DiGi (using its own Digi network)
Celcom / Xpax (using the Celcom network)
Hotlink (using the Maxis network)

Unlimited Malaysia Package – DIGI

Let’s start with the Malaysia phone plan by DIGI: it offers an unlimited, high speed plan with and without throttling.
Two packages are currently offered, beginning in 2021:

Digi Postpaid 100 Infinite at RM100 per month,
Digi Postpaid 150 Infinite at RM150 per month.

Both plans offer unlimited internet, unlimited calls, and 5gb + 60 minutes of roaming (when you are in neighboring countries such as Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Myanmar (Burma), Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand).

What is the major difference between the 2?

The first one has a speed limit of 10 Mbps.
The second one is without speed limit (High Speed as they say) : to be checked on the facts.
You may be limited by the quality of the network and not by this imposed limitation.
The best would be to test the network quality (speed and stability) from where you will mainly use this package (usually from your home).

The other big difference, and the sharing of connection, called here “Tethering”: if you want to share your package (for example, by opening the Wifi of your phone to your relatives around you), you will enjoy 20GB with the first package, and unlimited for the second.

Unlimited Malaysia Package – CELCOM

Celcom offers two unlimited packages, which differ in terms of the data quota for sharing the connection in particular (called “hotspot”, here).
More details below :

The unlimited plan with 10GB of data for sharing is RM98(Mega Unlimited M).
For the one with 20GB of data, it is RM148(Mega Unlimited L).

Unlimited Malaysia Package – HOTLINK

Unfortunately, Hotlink does not offer an unlimited, subscription-based package.
On the other hand, it offers the prepaid package unlimited for internet, and also unlimited for the Hotspot in option for RM5 extra. However, the package is limited in speed.
Be careful, if your prepaid plan ends in 10 days for example, and you take the option RM5 Hotspot unlimited, it will end after 10 days. You will have to re-subscribe to this option after reloading the main RM45 package.

The prepaid plan at RM45 is ideal if you don’t want to commit.

The different offers with “non-unlimited” 4G

As before, let’s compare the offers of the providers, but this time, on the packages with 4G not unlimited.
We will also add Maxis to the comparison.

Why choose a non-unlimited plan ?

The question that would be rather interesting to ask would be: why opt for an unlimited package?
If you have no use for unlimited, you might as well save money and opt for a package that suits your needs.
It works for everything: buying a car or using Grab? buy your own furniture or rent it ?
If you already have an unlimited plan at home, taking out an unlimited phone plan in Malaysia would probably be useless, unless you are very often on the move and use your phone a lot.

Moreover, if you already have a fiber or ADSL subscription at home, it is always more economical to take the packages offered by the providers: fiber internet + telephone package, etc.

You must decide according to your budget, but especially according to your needs.

The telephone package – DIGI

Let’s start with the Malaysia phone plan by DIGI: it offers an unlimited, high speed plan with and without throttling.
Two packages are currently offered, beginning in 2021:

Digi Postpaid 80 to RM80 per month,
Digi Postpaid 120 to RM120 per month,
Digi Postpaid 160 to RM160 per month,
Digi Postpaid 190 to RM190 per month.

You can see on the screenshot, the different offers, and the differences in the options:

Also note that Digi, at the time of writing this article, is offering the RM38 subscription for any additional line opening, for your family members who take the same package.

The telephone package – CELCOM

This is the “Mega Lightning” offer.
It starts at RM80, then you can add options.

You also have the“Celcom InternetGo” package which offers 15GB unclamped, and unlimited for Zoom, Google Meet, Webex, and Microsoft Teams.
It is currently at RM45.

Phone Package – HOTLINK

Finally, here are the offers for the packages offered by HOTLINK.
As we have seen before, HOTLINK does not offer unlimited with a subscription.
But you have the choice between 3 packages with limited data:

The POSTPAID 60 package with 30GB seems to be a good option.
You are entitled to 15GB on the Internet, without clamping, and 15 GB on Youtube without clamping: beyond this limit, the speed will be limited.
Calls and sms are unlimited to all networks.
You can add a free option to have either unlimited social networks, unlimited music, or unlimited chat (WhatsApp, WeChat, Line, etc.)

The phone package – Maxis

The Maxis network is excellent.
The price is however quite high.
Compared to Hotlink, above, which uses the same network, I prefer to opt for Hotlink Postpaid 60.

So I eliminate Maxis, for a price too high.
Beware, for others, it could be suitable, especially if you also take the fiber to them.

Other packages : TuneTalk, Unifi, Yoodoo, etc.

You have other providers in Malaysia for internet, and phone subscriptions.
TuneTalk, which is a very good provider for prepaid, does not offer a subscription plan, but does offer prepaid plans with automatic renewal.
The package at RM48 below is a good compromise, if you don’t want to commit yourself.

For other suppliers, we invite you to visit their websites directly.
You can also test Yoodoo, which offers a package tailored to your needs, and moreover, it is without commitment.
They use the Celcom network (so very good).

Personally, I prefer to opt for TuneTalk prepaid. They have stores on the street, while offering a lower price, compared to our needs.

New for 2022-2023 : e-sim for compatible phones

If you are lucky enough to have an esim compatible phone, then there are several additional options available to you.
We will provide a summary shortly.
Until the end of 2022, here is the list of ESIM compatible phones.

All iphone 11 to iphone 14.
This also includes the iphone XR, XS, SE 2 and 3.

In Android, all Samsung since the S20.
This also includes the Galaxy Z Fold2/3/4 and Flip.

At Google Pixel: all generations between the Google Pixel 2 to 7.
For Huawei: all generations since the Huawei P40.
Several other phones like Xiaomi 12T Pro, Oppo Find X3 Pro, etc.

The list goes on and on, just check your phone’s features.

Conclusion: the choice for your phone subscription Malaysia

Not to change: it will depend on your personal situation and your requirements.

Our favorite plan for unlimited 4G

Depending on your personal situation and requirements, our choice may not be suitable for you.
For us, the HOTLINK prepaid, unlimited but restricted plan is a good choice for the beginning.
If you don’t have fiber to the home (not eligible), this can help you out.
You can even share the connection for only RM5 extra.
Otherwise, Celcom’s Unlimited plan might be a good fit if you’re a heavy user, use only your phone and share little or no internet connection with your plan.
If you want to share your connection, then the option offered by Digi RM150 may be a good solution.

Which package did we choose in our situation?

We didn’t need a mobile plan with unlimited internet, as we had fiber recently installed in our residence.
The difference in price between commitment and noncommitment plans is not huge, if at all.

Getting started : TuneTalk without commitment

We have therefore decided to take, for the moment, a package without commitment at TuneTalk, at RM48 per person It offers 10GB unrestricted + 60GB Video (2gb per day) + unlimited calls, all networks + unlimited chat (WhatsApp messages, calls and videos, etc.) + social networks + music.
TuneTalk uses the Celcom network (excellent).
If you use all your data, the speed will be limited to 64kpbs: this will allow you to launch the TuneTalk application and to recharge if necessary.
This is not the case for other providers, especially XPax: as soon as you run out of data, you should find a store or a wifi connection to recharge your plan…
In addition, unlimited services (chat, social networks, etc.) use unlimited “High Speed”, not a limited speed!
Their service, for the moment, seems to us very correct and reactive.

Depending on the evolution : 2 packages with commitment

Probably, depending on the evolution, if necessary, we will lean for a subscription at Hotlink for Asmae and a package at Celcom for myself, Ihsane.
Hotlink using the Maxis network, and Celcom using its own network.
2 packages, 2 different networks in order to not to depend on a single network : if we have to move, and one of these 2 networks fails, there will always be the second network in plan B (hoping that at least, one of the two works correctly at that time!).

For Ihsane: Celcom MEGA Lightning package (40GB unrestricted, unlimited calls to all networks, 0.20 cts per SMS), without additional option at RM80.
For Asmae: Hotlink POSTPAID 60 package (15GB unbridled for internet, 15GB unbridled for Youtube, unlimited calls and sms all networks, and unlimited social networks), at RM60.

Others : special numbers in Malaysia

Here is a summary, at Digi, for special numbers and their pricing (which may be different at other providers) :

Some tips before choosing your package

Here are some tips before you sign a contract:

All the information in this article is as of January 4, 2021: so check the latest news directly on the suppliers’ websites to have the updated prices if there was a change.
Make sure that the network you choose is of good quality, where you will mainly use it (from your apartment or workplace for example). For example, run a speed test. Many applications exist like “Speedtest” on Playstore or AppleStore.
Be sure to check the length of the commitment: 1 or 2 years.
If you decide to break the contract, you will probably have to pay the outstanding balance of all months. Check the conditions for the end of the contract.
When you have the option of unlimited calls, check if it is for all networks, or only on the network of your provider. These are generally unlimited calls only to local landlines and mobiles, excluding premium rate numbers (as in France): for example, numbers 1-300/1700/600, TM100 and 121 are special numbers, and therefore not included in your package!
If you decide to stop your contract before the end of the date, and avoid paying the remaining months or a penalty, you will be able to transfer your contract to another person: this is quite “common”, but you still have to find the person who would like to take over your subscription.
If you don’t want to miss any calls, while avoiding out-of-pocket expenses, there are a few tricks like redirecting your French (or Belgian or other) number to a VOIP number. We will do an article on this.

Which phone plan Malaysia : postpaid or prepaid ?