In Uganda today, no-expiry data bundles are the new trend with MTN Freedom bundles and Airtel Chillax bundles taking a new twist as the best internet packages one can load, and forget about top-ups until the current package hits the 100% usage mark. First, MTN Freedom bundles were the first to launch in late 2019, before a revamp in 2021 paving the way for Airtel’s Chillax Bundles months later.
Well, both MTN Freedom and Airtel Chillax bundles follow the same legacy of ensuring cheap internet access for customers. Though normal data prices are still high as compared to market newbies like Lyca Mobile Uganda, the new no-expiry bundles present a levelled field that gives customers more power over what data they can buy, and when they choose to exhaust it.
As opposed to normal data bundles that range between daily, weekly and monthly tiers, no-expiry packages only require a single activation, and thereafter use your loaded data bundle for as long as you want. To our experience, both MTN Freedom and Airtel Chillax Bundles offer similar packages, but with a few differences in speed and pricing.
Packages and Pricing
Much as MTN Freedom bundles were launched first in Uganda, Airtel Chillax Bundles follow the red telco’s trend of copy and perfect it. Similar to the Freedom packages and pricing, Chillax bundles are few in number, but host more data priced fairly as opposed to normal bundles. In simple terms, MTN Freedom has more offers from as low as 6MB, but Airtel’s Chillax bundles host more data from a high of 1.5GB.
Airtel Chillax Bundles
| Data bundle | Price (UGX) |
|---|---|
| 1.5GB | 7,500 |
| 4.5GB | 16,000 |
| 7GB | 25,000 |
| 15GB | 50,000 |
| 40GB | 100,000 |
MTN Freedom Bundles
| Data bundle | Price (UGX) |
|---|---|
| 6MB | 100 |
| 80MB | 1,000 |
| 1GB | 10,000 |
| 4GB | 15,000 |
| 7GB | 25,000 |
| 15GB | 50,000 |
| 40GB | 100,000 |
MTN Freedom vs Airtel Chillax Bundle Internet Speeds
Currently, Airtel Uganda is ranked as the fastest mobile internet provider in the country as per a recent study by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). By this status, you can rank Airtel as a good internet provider in terms of speed, but in terms of offers, then, MTN maintains a lion’s share with generally attractive bundles.
Well, we tested both MTN Freedom and Airtel Chillax Internet Bundles to prove how fast a 100MB file can be downloaded off the Internet, and as per our findings, MTN Freedom ranks as a tortoise package in comparison to an Airtel’s Chillax bundle. In fact, other MTN Daily, Weekly and Monthly bundles perform at higher speeds, but a loaded Freedom package then attracts slow network speeds.
This means MTN Uganda offers throttled internet speeds for its Freedom bundles as compared to Airtel’s Chillax Bundles that seem to be open without have any sort of speed limitations. By this standard, enjoying full 4G network performance becomes a necessity making Airtel Chillax bundles quite the better offer.
Validity and How to buy
Both MTN Freedom and Airtel Chillax bundles are no-expiry bundles meaning they’re not limited to daily, weekly or monthly validity timeframes. However, the two bundles differ in activation as the former can only be loaded through the MY MTN App and the latter through the MY Airtel App or through the *175# shortcode.
So, if you own a smartphone you can buy both MTN Freedom and Airtel Chillax bundles, but if you own a feature phone or MiFi router, then the latter is designed for you to utilize through the Airtel data USSD shortcode. With pricing, buying channels, and internet speeds factored in one equation, Airtel Chillax bundles are the best to load for a good internet browsing experience.