Safaricom Kenya Data and SMS Bundles to Choose From, Their Prices and How to Activate

Safaricom Kenya’s data and SMS bundles were created to give customers the best available options to choose from. Being the largest telecommunication company in Kenya means Safaricom must be doing something right. One of the many attractive qualities they possess is cheap and affordable plans. Subscribers enjoy a wide range of options that lets them select the data or SMS plan that suits their needs at the time. For potentially new subscribers who are seeking to move to a new network operator and are considering Safaricom, it is essential to know what their data and SMS bundles look like. Also, knowing the cost and how to activate these bundles will help subscribers make a better-informed decision.

Safaricom Data Bundles

Living in the 21st century means living in a time where the internet plays a crucial role in day-to-day life. To access the internet, individuals need data, and in the past, data has always been so pricey. As time passed, the price continues to become more tolerable.

For Safaricom, the telecommunication giant has a wide range of bundles available, and there is a plan for every kind of subscriber out there. Even on selected bundles, customers can continue to access messaging apps like WhatsApp even after their bundle has been exhausted. Customers also have the option of purchasing data bundles with their Bonga points instead of airtime.

The available data plans are broken into daily, weekly, monthly, and blaze categories. Each one of these categories has various options under them that you can select from depending on your need. Take a look at them below:

1. Daily Plan Bundle

The daily plan bundle entails subscribing to data plans that have a validity period of 24 hours. This plan is usually suited for people that are either on a tight budget and cannot afford to subscribe to anything longer. It also serves non-regular data users who only need it for an emergency or to complete a project. This is an advantage of the plan.

Another advantage is options under the daily plan come with a limited number of free SMS. Others come with free WhatsApp access even after your data volume expires. The daily bundle is also usually cheaper compared to other bundles. Still, a significant disadvantage is that there is no rollover should your data expire before you are done exhausting your data volume. So when you are subscribing the next day, the remaining data is not carried over. The table below depicts the options available under the daily plan bundle.

2. Weekly Plan Bundle

While the weekly plan bundle typically lasts longer than the daily plan, it also costs more. The weekly plan bundle has a validity period of 7 days. It means your data plan expires after seven days regardless of whether you have exhausted your volume or not.

This Safaricom Kenya data bundle is for individuals who use data more frequently than daily plan subscribers but still not to the level where they require something more long-term. It is also used as a stop-gap plan by more heavy data users until they can afford monthly plans.

The advantage of this plan is that you get significant data volume for a relatively subsidized amount. Also, three out of the four options under the weekly plan bundle come with free WhatsApp access after your data volume has been exhausted or your plan expired.

The disadvantage is that you have limited time to finish the data volume before it expires. If you are not a heavy data user, it means you will potentially still have a lot of data volume left after seven days which could go to waste. Below are the options under the weekly plan bundle.

3. Monthly Plan Bundle

The monthly plan bundle is probably the most popular subscription plan amongst Safaricom Kenya data subscribers. The reason for this is because of its 30 days validity period. It means you have ample time to enjoy and use your volume without worrying about it expiring soon.

This plan suits users who are regulars on social media platforms, use data for light work purposes, and enjoy streaming or downloading from time to time. A significant advantage of this plan is that if your data volume is exhausted before the 30 days validity period, you can subscribe again without waiting for the 30 days to elapse.

It means you can subscribe multiple times within the 30 days validity period, allowing for flexibility and freedom of usage. Four out of five plans under the monthly bundle come with free WhatsApp after you exhaust your volume or the plan expires.

On the downside, the prices for the plans under this bundle are a bit on the high side, and they may not be affordable for a lot of people. Also, the prices are a bit too high for the data volume being allocated. Take a look at the data plans under the bundle.

4. Blaze Bundle

The blaze bundle gives eligible subscribes even more data at an affordable cost based on what the customer’s data usage need is. The bundle is open to all Safaricom Kenya prepay data subscribers aged between 10 – 26 years who have successfully registered on the Blaze platform. The service, which was launched on the 14th of September 2018, is made up of the blaze daily, weekly, monthly, and power hour plans. To subscribe to the blaze bundle:

• Dial *555# from your Safaricom line
• Select your preferred bundle from the options available
• Follow the prompts
• Wait for confirmation

Alternatively, you can subscribe by going through the Blaze app. Download and install on your phone, log in with your registered details, and proceed to select your preferred plan from the options below.

Blaze Daily Bundle

• 25MB + 25 SMS for Ksh10 or 25 Bonga points
• 70MB + 70 SMS + WhatsApp for Ksh 20 or 70 Bonga points
• 200MB + 200 SMS + WhatsApp for Ksh 50 or 200 Bonga points
• 1GB + 200 SMS + WhatsApp for Ksh 100 or 1000 Bonga points

Blaze Power Hour Plan

• Power Hour 250MB for Ksh 19 or 250 Bonga points. This plan lasts for just one hour.

Blaze Weekly Plan

• 350MB + WhatsApp for Ksh 99 or 350 Bonga points
• 1GB + WhatsApp for Ksh 250 or 1000 Bonga points
• 4GB + WhatsApp for Ksh 500 or 4000 Bonga points

Blaze Monthly Plan

• 3GB + WhatsApp for Ksh 500 or 3000 Bonga points
• 5GB + WhatsApp for Ksh 1000 or 7500 Bonga points
• 20GB + WhatsApp for Ksh 2000 or 20000 Bonga points

How to Activate the Safaricom Kenya Data Bundles

For interested subscribers who seek to subscribe to any of the listed bundles, you can activate the bundles via different methods. You can use USSD, the Safaricom website, or the MySafaricom app.

USSD

• Dial *544# from your Safaricom line
• Proceed to select any of your preferred bundle or plan
• Follow the prompts as you complete your transaction
• Wait for a confirmation message

Via Website

• Visit the website safaricom.co.ke
• Navigate to the ‘bundles’ section
• Select your preferred bundle
• Enter your required details and complete your transaction
• Wait for a confirmation message

Safaricom SMS Bundles

The importance of the short message service (SMS) may have dwindled since more and more messaging apps continue to spring up. It, however, does not mean its usefulness has been completely eroded, and it has contributed to SMS being very affordable for customers. It is still a critical medium of communication.

Safaricom recognizes this and has therefore created an attractive SMS bundle package for its subscribers. Safaricom Kenya SMS bundles give better value for money compared to paying Ksh 1 for every SMS you send outside of a bundle plan. The available SMS bundles are:

1. Daily SMS Bundles

It gives a significant amount of SMS at low prices. The problem, however, is that it encourages a lot of waste as the amount of SMS given may not be exhausted before the validity period is over. It could be suitable for those that send a lot of bulk SMS out daily. Below are the options available under the daily bundle:

• 20 SMS daily at Ksh 5
• 200 SMS daily at Ksh 10
• 500 SMS daily at Ksh 20

2. Weekly SMS Bundle

This plan is a bit more costly than the daily plan, but it offers more SMS volume in comparison as well. It also offers an extended validity period before the bundle expires. It is still paying a bit too much for a service you may not have to use frequently. The options are:

• 400 SMS weekly at Ksh 30
• 700 SMS weekly at Ksh 50

3. Monthly SMS Bundle

This is perhaps the fairest SMS bundle. You get heavy SMS volume over 30 days, but it means you have to part with a fair amount of money as well. Unless you actively require bulk SMS service for work, it is unrealistic to expect to finish the volume before the expiration date. The options available are:

• 1500 SMS at Ksh 100
• 3500 SMS at Ksh 200

How to Activate SMS Bundle

Follow the following steps to activate any of the SMS bundles on offer.

1. Dial *188# from your Safaricom line
2. Select the validity period of the SMS bundle you wish to purchase
3. Proceed to select the particular SMS bundle you desire
4. Select if it is a one-off purchase or an auto-renewal should kick in once it expires
5. Await a confirmation SMS of your subscription

This remains the only way to purchase Safaricom SMS bundles.