MTN Data Plans and Prices in Nigeria (2026)

45GB Always On is the MTN plan we would buy for a phone: ₦9,000 for 30 days, which at ₦200 a gigabyte is the lowest rate of any monthly phone plan. The catch is that it arrives as 1.5GB a day, so it suits steady use. Text 163 to 312 to buy it.

Bursts of heavy use suit 40GB for 14 days better, at ₦10,000. And anyone who can find ₦125,000 up front should look at 800GB for a year: ₦156 a gigabyte, the cheapest all-hours data on any MTN phone plan.

Monthly plans

The per-gigabyte column counts data you can use at any hour. MTN’s own page shows lower rates on many plans because it also counts YouTube-only data: the 7GB plan comes with 2GB for YouTube between 12am and 5am, so MTN prints ₦0.38/MB where the all-hours figure is ₦0.49/MB. Plans from 2GB to 16.5GB carry that 2GB, and 20GB and 25GB carry 4GB. Unless you watch YouTube at 3am, ignore it.

The two Always On plans are the odd ones out. 18.6GB costs what 12.5GB costs, and 45GB costs what 25GB costs. The price of that is a daily allocation: 634.88MB on the smaller plan and 1.5GB on the larger. MTN’s FAQ does not say whether an unused day carries over, so treat those figures as ceilings. Further up the list, 250GB costs more per gigabyte than 165GB.

Two bonuses change these sums. MTN’s data FAQ gives a line in its first 90 days on the network 100% bonus data on most plans up to 36GB, so 25GB becomes 50GB for the same ₦9,000. A newly activated device earns 50%. Always On plans get no bonus, so a new line should skip them until the 90 days are up.

What your daily use adds up to

MTN’s data calculator counts an hour of messaging as 160MB, browsing as 60MB, social media as 330MB, and video as 350MB in SD or 1.2GB in HD. Over 30 days that works out like this.

The Always On picks depend on steady use, because a heavy day cannot borrow from tomorrow. With uneven days on those budgets, take 20GB at ₦7,500 or 36GB at ₦11,000, which have no daily limit.

At 5GB a day a phone plan is the wrong tool. MTN’s router Silver plan gives 150GB and then 2GB a day for ₦30,000, and its FlyX outdoor unit starts at the same price with no fair usage limit. Those are set against the other networks under unlimited data plans in Nigeria.

Daily and 2-day plans

The ₦200 for 1GB that people search for is the Smart Bundle above, sold only in the app and gone after 24 hours. MTN’s plan page has no ₦100 plan for 1GB. Plans under 1GB are the worst value on this list, with 75MB costing five times as much per gigabyte as the Smart Bundle. At ₦1,000 you can have 3.5GB for one day or 3.2GB for two, and two days is the better deal unless you will finish it today.

Weekly and 2-week plans

40GB for 14 days costs the same per gigabyte as 20GB for 7, and it gives you twice the time to use it, which is why we prefer it. MTN sells the 15GB weekly plan to prepaid lines only.

Two months, three months and a year

Skip the 2-month plans: two 75GB monthly plans give the same 150GB for ₦36,000, against ₦40,000. The other two do save money. 480GB works out at ₦30,000 for each 30 days and 160GB, where the 165GB monthly plan costs ₦35,000. 800GB comes to ₦10,417 a month for about 67GB, while twelve 65GB monthly plans would cost ₦192,000, which is ₦67,000 more for 20GB less.

How to buy MTN data

• USSD: dial *312*1# or *904# and choose a plan from the menu.
• SMS: text the plan’s code to 312, such as 110 for the 7GB monthly plan.
• App: myMTN NG is the only route to the Smart Bundle. Text myMTN to 5018 for the download link.
• MoMo: dial *671# on your MTN line or use the MoMo PSB app, and pay from your wallet. MoMo’s FAQ promises 2% data cashback when you buy MTN data for yourself, and MTN’s MiFi help page lists *671*2# for buying through MoMo.
• Zigi: MTN’s assistant sells bundles on WhatsApp at 09033000001, after a one-time code.

USSD and SMS purchases come out of your airtime. Before activating, MTN asks whether you want Auto-renew, One-off or Buy for a Friend. Choose One-off unless you want the plan to take your airtime again at expiry, and if you have already said yes, here is how to stop auto renewal on MTN.

To buy a plan for someone else, dial *312*plan code*their number#. Moving data from your own balance is a different code, covered under MTN Share and Sell.

MTN night plan code

MTN’s plan page has no standalone night plan, and its data pages list nothing at ₦25 or ₦50 for the night. The nearest thing is MTN X Nightlife: ₦75 for 500MB between 11pm and 6am. Text NT2 to 312 or dial *406#. You can buy it up to four times a day for 2GB, it does not renew, and whatever is left is cleared at 6am. Used in full that is ₦154 a gigabyte, lower than any plan above.

Buying it moves your line to the MTN X tariff, free for the first move in 30 days and ₦102 after that. MTN X charges a ₦10 daily fee for its call rate, so work out what the move does to your calls if you make a lot of them.

Balance, rollover and running out

To check your data balance and expiry date, dial *323*4# or *310#, or text 2 to 323. With several plans active, the one with the shortest validity is used first.

Data left at expiry is kept only if you buy another plan from the same group within the grace period: one day for daily plans, three days for plans of 2 to 14 days, and seven days for plans of 30 to 90 days. You cannot use it during the wait. Bonus data does not roll over.

When a plan runs out, browsing stops unless you have opted in to pay-as-you-go with *312*200#. Stay out of it if you can, as ₦3.07/MB is ₦3,144 a gigabyte, more than twelve times the price of 40GB for 14 days. *312*201# turns it off.

Plans for MiFi and routers

MTN’s data plans page says the plans above work on a phone or a MiFi. Its router plans are a separate list, bought with *312*500#, and none of its unlimited plans is for a phone.