Best MTN Tariff Plan for Calls in Nigeria (2026)
MTN lists five call plans, from 33k/sec on BetaGist down to 20k/sec on postpaid. A ₦100 sachet bundle buys 10 minutes on any of them.
For most people the pick is BetaGist, the plan every new MTN SIM starts on. There is no daily fee, and for every 6 minutes you pay for in a week MTN gives 3 back, which brings a call down to ₦13.20 a minute. If your calls come in bursts, buy a sachet bundle on top and pay ₦10 a minute or less.
This page looked very different in 2018. It compared XtraPro, TruTalk Plus, Zone and Pulse, all at 11 kobo a second or less. Three of those are gone from MTN’s website and Pulse has become MTN X. The rates and codes below are the ones on MTN Nigeria’s own pages.
MTN call plans compared
| Plan | What it is | Calls to all networks | Per minute | What ₦100 buys | How to move to it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetaGist | Prepaid plan, the default | 33k/sec, with 3 minutes back for every 6 paid | ₦19.80, or ₦13.20 if every returned minute is used | 5 min 3 sec, before any minutes back | Text BG to 312, or dial *123*2*1# |
| MTN X | Prepaid plan with a ₦10 daily fee | 25k/sec | ₦15 | 6 min, once the day’s ₦10 fee is taken | Text MTNX to 312, or dial *406*1# |
| XtraValue | Prepaid plan sold as bundles | 18k/sec from a bundle, 30k/sec once it is used up | ₦10.80, then ₦18 | Nothing: bundles start at ₦500 | Text V500 to 312 |
| mPulse | Prepaid plan for ages 9 to 15 | 20k/sec | ₦12 | 8 min 20 sec | Text mPulse to 344, or dial *344*1# |
| XtraSpecial Postpaid | Postpaid plan | 20k/sec | ₦12 | 8 min 20 sec | Dial *409# |
| Sachet bundle | Call bundle for any plan | 16.67k/sec | ₦10 | 10 min, valid for one day | Dial *887# |
The first five are tariff plans. Your line sits on one of them, and every call paid for from your airtime is charged at its rate. A sachet bundle is bought on top of whichever plan you are on.
No plan charges more for calling another network: MTN numbers and the rest cost the same. A text is ₦6 on the prepaid plans and ₦4 on postpaid. Changing plan is free the first time in a month. After that MTN charges ₦150 to move to BetaGist and ₦102 to move to MTN X or mPulse.
BetaGist: the default plan
BetaGist is 33 kobo a second to any Nigerian network, which is ₦19.80 a minute, with no access fee. A ₦1,000 recharge is 50 minutes 30 seconds of calls at that rate.
The reason to stay on it is the minutes it gives back. For every 6 minutes of local calls you pay for from your main balance in a week, MTN returns 3 minutes, valid for two days. The week runs from Monday to Sunday and the count starts again each Monday.
Six paid minutes cost ₦118.80. Use all 3 returned minutes and you have had 9 minutes at ₦13.20 each. Let them lapse and you have paid the full ₦19.80. Calls made from a bonus account do not count towards the 6 minutes.
To move to BetaGist, text BG to 312 or dial *123*2*1#. Dial *310*5# to see the minutes you have been given back.
MTN X: 25k/sec with a daily fee
MTN X sits where Pulse used to be: the old Pulse address on MTN’s site now opens the MTN X page. You pay a ₦10 access fee a day, and calls to all networks are then 25 kobo a second, or ₦15 a minute. If there is not ₦10 on the line for the fee, calls are charged at 30 kobo a second.
Against BetaGist’s plain rate, MTN X saves ₦4.80 a minute, so the fee is covered after a little over two minutes of calls in a day. Against BetaGist with its returned minutes, MTN X loses: ₦15 a minute plus the fee is more than ₦13.20.
The reason to choose MTN X is data. MTN lists a ₦750 weekly bundle of 1.2GB with an hour of Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and a ₦300 bundle of 1GB for streaming apps. The night plan people search for is here too, and it is data, not calls: 500MB for ₦75, usable from 11pm to 6am. Text NT2 to 312 or dial *406# to buy it.
To move to MTN X, text MTNX to 312 or dial *406*1#.
XtraValue: calls and data in one bundle
XtraValue works differently. You buy a bundle, and MTN prices the calls inside it at ₦10.80 a minute (18 kobo a second). Once the bundle is used up, calls from your airtime are 30 kobo a second.
Two of the bundles lean towards calls. XtraTalk 500 costs ₦500 and gives 37 minutes, 250MB and 5 SMS for 7 days. XtraTalk 1500 costs ₦1,500 and gives 117 minutes, 580MB and 10 SMS for 30 days. Text V500 or V1500 to 312 to buy one. MTN says buying a bundle moves your line to XtraValue, and you pay only for the bundle.
Divide ₦1,500 by 117 minutes and each one costs ₦12.82, with the data and texts thrown in.
mPulse and postpaid: the 20k/sec plans
The lowest plain rate MTN prints is 20 kobo a second, ₦12 a minute, and two plans have it. Neither suits everyone.
mPulse is for customers aged 9 to 15. To move a child’s line, text mPulse to 344 or dial *344*1#.
XtraSpecial Postpaid charges the same 20 kobo from the first second, with no daily or monthly access fee. It is a postpaid line, so you get a bill. A prepaid customer moves by dialling *409# and entering their BVN. A new customer goes to an MTN outlet with their NIN and pays a one-time ₦2,000 activation fee. Our article on the MTN Super Saver code goes through this plan in full.
Sachet bundles: the cheapest minutes
You do not have to change plan to pay less per minute. MTN’s sachet bundles are blocks of minutes for calls within Nigeria, open to every prepaid and postpaid customer.
| Sachet bundle | Price | Minutes | Per minute | Valid for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | ₦100 | 10 | ₦10.00 | 1 day |
| Popular | ₦200 | 21 | ₦9.52 | 2 days |
| Max | ₦500 | 55 | ₦9.09 | 5 days |
Dial *887# to buy one from your airtime, and *310*15# to see the minutes left. The minutes stay with you if you change plan.
The catch is the clock. Unused minutes are cleared when the bundle expires unless you buy the same bundle again in time. ₦100 at BetaGist’s plain rate is about 5 minutes, so the Starter bundle only wins if you use more than half of its 10 minutes that day.
GistPlus needs a second look before you use it. Recharge between ₦100 and ₦5,000 with *888*PIN# and MTN adds a 300% bonus, but the whole amount goes into a separate account where calls are billed at 75 kobo a second, which is ₦45 a minute. So ₦100 becomes ₦400 and buys 8 minutes 53 seconds over three days. That beats the 5 minutes ₦100 buys at BetaGist’s plain rate and loses to a sachet bundle’s 10.
Which one should you pick?
Here is what 150 minutes of calls in a month costs each way.
| How you pay | The sum | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| XtraSpecial Postpaid | 150 minutes at ₦12 | ₦1,800 |
| BetaGist, every returned minute used | 100 paid minutes at ₦19.80, 50 returned | ₦1,980 |
| XtraTalk 1500, then airtime | ₦1,500 for 117 minutes, 33 more at ₦18 | ₦2,094 |
| MTN X, calling every day | 150 minutes at ₦15, 30 daily fees of ₦10 | ₦2,550 |
| BetaGist, no returned minutes used | 150 minutes at ₦19.80 | ₦2,970 |
Sachet bundles do not fit the table neatly. Three Max bundles are ₦1,500 for 165 minutes, but each lasts five days, so that only works if your calls come in clusters.
- You call most days: BetaGist. Six paid minutes in a week is all it takes to start getting minutes back, and there is no daily fee.
- You make your calls on one or two days a week: stay on BetaGist and buy a sachet bundle on those days.
- You want one payment to cover a month of calls and some data: XtraTalk 1500 on XtraValue.
- You talk a lot and do not mind a bill: XtraSpecial Postpaid, at ₦12 a minute with no fee.
- You care more about data than calls: MTN X, for its streaming and night bundles.
If you also carry an Airtel line, the two networks now price calls almost alike. Airtel’s SmartLife is 33 kobo a second with the same 3 minutes back for 6. The difference is at 25 kobo a second, where Airtel’s SmartTALK has no daily fee and MTN X charges ₦10. Our guide to the best Airtel tariff plan for calls has the details.
Migration codes and checking your plan
| What you want to do | Dial or text |
|---|---|
| Change tariff plan | *123*2#, then choose |
| Move to BetaGist | Text BG to 312, or dial *123*2*1# |
| Move to MTN X | Text MTNX to 312, or dial *406*1# |
| Move to XtraValue | Text V500 or V1500 to 312, which buys an XtraTalk bundle |
| Move to mPulse | Text mPulse to 344, or dial *344*1# |
| Move to XtraSpecial Postpaid | *409#, then enter your BVN |
| Buy a sachet bundle | *887# |
| Check sachet bundle minutes | *310*15# |
| Check BetaGist returned minutes | *310*5# |
| Recharge with the GistPlus bonus | *888*PIN# |
| Check GistPlus balance | *310*14# |
| Check airtime | *310# |
| Buy the 500MB night bundle | Text NT2 to 312, or dial *406# |
To see which plan you are on, open the myMTN NG app and tap your airtime or data balance on the home screen. Your current plan is named at the top of the next page, and tapping it brings up Change Plan. On the myMTN website, mymtn.com.ng, sign in with your number, click your name at the top right and choose My Plan.
What happened to the old plans
XtraPro, TruTalk Plus and Zone have no page on MTN’s website, and a search of the site for XtraPro or TruTalk finds nothing. None of the three was on MTN’s published list of tariff plans in October 2019. MTN’s own TruTalk page was still up that December, in a copy the Internet Archive holds, offering 11 kobo a second after a ₦7 daily fee. The lowest plain rate on an adult’s prepaid line is now 25 kobo a second, after a ₦10 daily fee.
The 2019 list also had BetaTalk, YafunYafun and Awuf4U. MTN’s BetaGist FAQ covers BetaTalk and YafunYafun customers being moved to BetaGist, and its GistPlus FAQ says lines with an Awuf4U account are now charged at the GistPlus rate.
If your line dates from those days, check which plan it is on now. We cover two of the old plans in more detail: MTN Zone and SuperSaver Plus.
Quick answers
Which MTN tariff plan is cheapest for calls?
On prepaid with no bundle, MTN X has the lowest rate for adults: 25 kobo a second after a ₦10 daily fee. BetaGist works out cheaper for regular callers, at ₦13.20 a minute once the returned minutes are counted. A sachet bundle beats both at ₦10 a minute or less.
What is the code to migrate to another MTN tariff plan?
*123*2# opens the menu. To go straight there, text BG to 312 for BetaGist or MTNX to 312 for MTN X.
How do I check my MTN tariff plan?
Open the myMTN NG app and tap your airtime or data balance. The plan is named at the top of that page.
What is the MTN night plan code?
Text NT2 to 312 or dial *406#. It buys 500MB for ₦75, usable from 11pm to 6am. It is a data bundle on MTN X, not a call offer.
Which MTN plan gives a bonus on recharge?
BetaGist and MTN X give none: MTN’s FAQs say you get the exact value of your recharge. The recharge bonus is GistPlus, which you get by loading a card with *888*PIN#, and its airtime is billed at ₦45 a minute.
