While many Swiss mobile service providers offer numerous special promotions throughout the year, on Black Friday they are going all out. Telecom expert Ralf Beyeler studied this year’s offers to find out what the Black Friday deals are really worth.
Good to know: Most of the Black Friday discounts for mobile plans apply for the life of the plan. Only the Black Friday offers from Swisscom, Sunrise, and Salt tie you in to long minimum contract terms. Some service providers like Lebara, Yallo, and Wingo let existing customers take advantage of Black Friday deals as well. But many other service providers limit their deals to new customers only.
Here, we list mobile plan deals for Black Friday 2021, with assessments by Ralf Beyeler.
Digitec Connect for 8.33 francs instead of 25 francs
The Black Friday offer from Digitec Connect costs 100 francs per year, which translates into 8.33 francs per month. The discount is 67 francs. Digitec does not charge a one-time activation fee. The plan includes monthly allowances of 3 gigabytes of local data and 1 gigabyte of roaming data for Europe. The standard 6-franc fee applies to each additional gigabyte of local data for getting online in Switzerland. This is a very interesting offer if you only need a few gigabytes of mobile data each month.
Das Abo Easy for 9.95 francs
With this promotion from Salt subsidiary Das Abo, subscribers pay 9.95 francs per month for the life of the contract. There is a one-time activation fee of 59.90 francs. Das Abo includes unlimited calls within Switzerland, but only 4 gigabytes of mobile data per month. This plan was already offered at 9.95 francs on last year’s Black Friday. It is the cheapest Black Friday deal for a plan with limited data. But Salt’s new GoMo offer has an introductory offer for unlimited local calls and data at the exact same price.
Lebara Swiss plan for 9.95 francs instead of 29 francs
With this Black Friday offer from Sunrise subsidiary Lebara, subscribers pay 9.95 francs per month for the life of the plan. There is a 59-franc activation fee which applies once when you activate the SIM. Lebara Swiss includes unlimited calls in Switzerland and 3 gigabytes of local data per month. The discount off the standard price tag is 65 percent. This is the first time this plan is being offered for 9.95 francs. That is the same price at which the Das Abo plan is being offered, but Lebara Swiss has one less gigabyte of data.
M-Budget Maxi for 11.60 francs instead of 29 francs
The joint venture between Swisscom and Migros is selling this plan with a 60-percent discount. The one-time activation fee is 40 francs. It includes a flat fee for unlimited calls within Switzerland and 4 gigabytes of local data per month. The discount only applies for the first two years, after which you pay the standard price. This plan has never been offered as such a low price. But compared to competing offers, the M-Budget plan with 4 gigabytes is somewhat expensive.
Coop Mobile Basic plan for 11.95 francs instead of 29.90 francs
Until November 29, 2021, you can buy the Basic plan from the Coop retail group for 60 percent off the normal monthly price. The one-time activation fee is 40 francs. This plan gives you unlimited calls within Switzerland, but only includes 3 gigabytes of local data. The discount applies for 24 months, after which you pay the normal price. This plan has never been offered at this price before, but cheaper plans with more data are available from competitors.
Salt Basic for 13.95 francs instead of 34.95 francs
Salt is offering this plan with 5 gigabytes of data for getting online in Switzerland and unlimited local calls at 60 percent off its regular price-tag. The activation fee is 59.95 francs. This plan has been offered for 13.95 francs before. Compared to other offers, Salt Basic is slightly expensive, even if you account for the 5-gigabyte data allowance. The long 24-month minimum contract term is a disadvantage, as is the fact that the discount only applies for the first 24 months.
digital republic Flat 50 for 15 francs instead of 30 francs
For 180 francs per year, which comes to 15 francs per month, you get unlimited local data and calls within Switzerland. The discount is 50 percent off the normal price. digital republic does not charge a one-time activation fee. That makes this the cheapest Black Friday deal for unlimited local calls and data. But it is still not as cheap as the introductory offer from the new mobile service GoMo, which also offers unlimited calls and data.
Yallo swiss flat 5G for 19 francs instead of 68 francs
This plan with a flat fee for data and calls within Switzerland is being offered by Sunrise subsidiary Yallo for 19 francs per month, for the life of the contract. That is a very good deal for unlimited local calls and data – only Salt subsidiary GoMo with its 9.95-franc introductory offer is significantly cheaper.
Wingo Swiss for 19.95 francs instead of 58 francs
The Wingo Swiss plan from Swisscom subsidiary Wingo is being offered as a “black November” deal with a lifelong discount of 66 percent. The one-time activation fee is 40 francs. This is the first time ever that Wingo is selling an unlimited plan for less than 20 francs. A 20-franc price tag is good for a plan with unlimited local calls and data, even though Salt’s GoMo unlimited plan is currently being offered at a much lower price.
Salt Smart for 21.95 francs instead of 59.95 francs
This Salt plan includes unlimited local calls and data within Switzerland in its flat fee. The one-time activation fee is 59.95 francs. The Salt Smart plan has already been offered at lower prices than this in the past – most recently for 17.95 francs. This is one example of Black Friday deals not always being the best offered. The deal is also somewhat expensive compared to competing offers. Yallo and Wingo both offer unlimited plans for under 20 francs per month. A not-so-customer-friendly aspect of this plan is that you are tied in to a 24-month minimum contract term. The discount also expires after 24 months.
Yallo Black for 24 francs
Yallo launched this plan exclusively for Black Friday. The plan includes unlimited data and calls within Switzerland and 40 gigabytes of data roaming in Europe, the US, and Canada. The one-time activation fee is 59 francs. The price is 24 francs per month for the life of the contract. Swiss plans with 40 gigabytes of roaming data have never been offered in this price range until now. But this plan is also interesting even if you do not travel abroad on a frequent basis.
Lebara Europe L for 24.95 francs instead of 69 francs
This deal from Lebara cuts the price tag from 69 francs to 24.95 francs – a 64-percent discount. The one-time activation fee is 59 francs. The plan includes unlimited data and calls within Switzerland, and unlimited calls from Switzerland to most European countries. This plan has not yet been offered at this price. If you make a lot of calls to the included European countries, this deal is very attractive.
Lidl Connect Smart Europe for 24.95 francs instead of 39.95 francs
German discount retailer Lidl recently launched this plan, and is offering it with a 38-percent discount for Black Friday. The one-time activation fee is 49 francs. The plan includes 3 gigabytes of data for getting online in Switzerland, plus unlimited calls within Switzerland and three hours of call to most European countries per month. Compared to competing offers, this plan does not give you enough to justify its price tag.
Salt Swiss XXL for 28.95 instead of 69.95 francs
You can get this plan with a 59-percent discount. In addition to unlimited data and calls within Switzerland, you also get 4 gigabytes of roaming data and 100 call roaming minutes. The one-time activation fee is 59.95 francs. This plan too has been offered at lower prices in the past, with promotional prices in 2021 being as low as 24.95 francs. Compare to its competition, this Black Friday deal is too expensive. It also has a long 24-month minimum contract term, and the discount expires after 24 months.
Swisscom inOne mobile go for 29 francs instead of 80 francs
The market leader is offering its most popular mobile plan with a 64-percent discount. This discount only applies for twelve months, but the minimum contract term is 24 months. So in effect, you are paying an average 54.50 francs per month across the minimum life of the plan. Swisscom does not charge an activation fee when you order the plan online. Although the plan includes 40 gigabytes of roaming data and roaming call minutes in addition to unlimited local calls and data, the high average price disqualifies it from being considered a Black Friday steal.
Yallo fat plus 5G for 29 francs instead of 88 francs
Yallo is offering this plan with a Black Friday discount of 67 percent. There is a one-time activation fee of 59 francs. The plan includes unlimited data and calls within Switzerland, plus 100 international call minutes, 3 gigabytes of roaming data, and 300 call roaming minutes. At its core it is a relatively expensive plan which includes some international and roaming allowances.
Sunrise We Mobile plans for half price – starting at 32.50 francs
Sunrise is offering its We Mobile plans at half price, and is throwing in a set of Airpod Pros for good measure. All plans include unlimited data and calls within Switzerland. But the Sunrise offer is expensive compared to competing deals. Its fine print is not exactly customer friendly either. The minimum contract term is 24 months, and the discount expires after 24 months.
Salt Europe for 33.95 francs instead of 79.95 francs
Salt offers this plan with unlimited local calls and data, 40 gigabytes of roaming data, and call roaming allowances, for 58 percent off its standard monthly price. The one-time activation fee is 59.95 francs. Here too, Salt has offered this plan at lower prices before, with promotional prices of less than 30 francs being common throughout 2021. Yallo offers a similar plan – but without call roaming minutes – for 10 francs less. A disadvantage of the Salt plan is that you are tied in for 24 months. The discount expires after 24 months.
Wingo International for 44.95 francs instead of 130 francs
Throughout the whole month of November, Wingo is offering Wingo International with a lifelong discount of 65 percent. There is a 40-franc activation fee which applies once. In addition to unlimited calls and data in Switzerland, the plan also includes 40 gigabytes of data roaming, plus call roaming and international calling allowances. If you need unlimited data in Switzerland, unlimited calls within Switzerland and to Europe, and 40 gigabytes of roaming data, there is currently no cheaper offer than this.
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