What Are the Best SIM Cards for Students in Germany? (2026)
The verdict for students
Buy CallYa Jahrespaket M at EUR 8.33 per year for 250 GB on the Vodafone network. Read that EUR 8.33 as an equivalent, not a monthly bill: the pack is 250 GB across 365 days, bought once and allocated by you, and anything left when the year ends is lost. Germany requires identity verification on every SIM, so a student needs a passport, but prepaid asks for no German address, no German bank account and no SCHUFA record. The general ranking weights coverage at 25%, which almost nobody living on a campus needs, and this page drops it to 10% so price per gigabyte decides.
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Which SIM plan is the best for students?
Sorted by effective monthly price, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
Sorted by price per gb, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
Sorted by coverage, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
Sorted by english support, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
Sorted by contract freedom, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
★ Student pick
CallYa Jahrespaket M
Cheapest set-and-forget year on a top network
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Signup
- Passport or ID check to activate
Plans(4)
- CallYa Jahrespaket MOur pick here250 GB / per year · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.04 per GBEUR 8.33
- CallYa Allnet Flat S25 GB / per 28 days · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.40 per GBEUR 9.99
- CallYa Allnet Flat M50 GB / per 28 days · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.30 per GBEUR 14.99
- Vodafone Young M200 GB / per month · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.20 per GBEUR 39.99
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Price per GBBest
- EUR 0.04
More details
- Physical network
- Vodafone
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- 365 days, 250 GB total to self-allocate (~8.33 EUR/month equivalent)
Best for students who want the most data per euro.
Also great
congstar Prepaid Allnet M
Telekom quality at discounter price without a contract
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Support
- German-only support
Plans(4)
- congstar Jahrespaket365 GB / per year · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.04 per GBEUR 8.33
- congstar Prepaid Allnet MOur pick here30 GB / per 28 days · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.33 per GBEUR 10
- congstar Homespot100 GB / per month · EUR 0.20 per GBEUR 20
- congstar Allnet Flat M100 GB / per month · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.24 per GBEUR 24
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.33
More details
- Physical network
- Telekom
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~10.83 EUR/month)
Best for students who need a different physical network.
Best value
fraenk 25 GB
10 EUR monthly cancellable on the best network
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Signup
- Passport or ID check to activate
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.40
More details
- Physical network
- Telekom
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- calendar-month subscription, monthly cancellable
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Best for students who need a different physical network.
SIMon mobile flex
9.99 EUR permanently with monthly cancellation
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Support
- German-only support
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.20
More details
- Physical network
- Vodafone
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- monthly subscription, monthly cancellable (1-month notice)
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Best for students who need a different physical network.
ALDI TALK S
The archetypal student SIM: cheap, contract-free, everywhere
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Coverage
- Runs on the O2 network
Plans(4)
- ALDI TALK Jahrespaket60 GB / per year · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.10 per GBEUR 5.83
- ALDI TALK SOur pick here25 GB / per 28 days · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.36 per GBEUR 8.99
- ALDI TALK M/L50 GB / per 28 days · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.28 per GBEUR 13.99
- Aldi Daten Home&Go S150 GB / per 28 days · EUR 0.13 per GBEUR 19.99
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.36
More details
- Physical network
- O2
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~9.74 EUR/month)
Best for students who need a different physical network.
Lidl Connect Smart S
Vodafone-network value at Aldi-level prices
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Support
- German-only support
Plans(2)
- Lidl Connect Jahrestarif250 GB / per year · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.04 per GBEUR 7.50
- Lidl Connect Smart SOur pick here25 GB / per 28 days · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.36 per GBEUR 8.99
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.36
More details
- Physical network
- Vodafone
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~9.74 EUR/month)
Best for students who need a different physical network.
Penny Mobil Smart
Telekom coverage at Aldi prices
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Support
- German-only support
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.36
More details
- Physical network
- Telekom
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~9.74 EUR/month)
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Best for students who need a different physical network.
ja! mobil Smart
Telekom network at discounter price
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Support
- German-only support
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.36
More details
- Physical network
- Telekom
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~9.74 EUR/month)
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Best for students who need a different physical network.
Also a strong fit
Same eligibility, a different shop or network. Every plan is in the full market overview.
The student decision is not which network is best, it is how many gigabytes EUR 10 buys. Mind the cycle while you compare: congstar Prepaid Allnet M renews every 28 days, so its EUR 10 for 30 GB is 13 payments a year and about EUR 10.83 a month. fraenk charges the same EUR 10 for 25 GB on the same Telekom network but bills on the calendar month.
How we ranked this for students5 criteria, weights published
A reader on a student budget is not the average reader, so this page does not use the average weights. Price per GB carries 45% here against 25% on the general ranking, and Coverage carries 10% here against 25% on the general ranking. The weights were fixed on 17 August 2026, before the prices were collected.
Criteria weighting
Fixed 17 August 2026, before pricing was collectedWhat is ruled out, and why
A blocker is not a drawback. It is something that makes the product unbuyable for this reader, and it caps the score at 1.0 however good the tariff is otherwise.
Blocked for this reader
What counts as student proof in Germany?
Nothing, because there is nothing to prove. German operators do not run student pricing: the catalogue records no student discount and no proof-of-study requirement on any tariff, so there is no enrolment certificate to chase. What exists instead are age gates on the youth tariffs. Telekom MagentaMobil Young is for under-28s, Vodafone Mobil Young is for under-28s, and O2's young price runs to your 29th birthday, the widest gate of the three. The test is your date of birth.
All three are 24-month contracts with a credit check, which makes them a second-year decision rather than a first-week one. MagentaMobil M Young is EUR 24.95 for the first 24 months and EUR 39.95 after, for 100 GB. Vodafone Mobil Young M is EUR 27.99 then EUR 39.99, for 200 GB. O2 Mobile S young is EUR 14.99 for 15 GB.
What every student does need is identity verification: a passport, a VideoIdent call, available 24/7, then minutes to hours before the line works. Prepaid asks for nothing beyond that, so a student can hold a German number in the first days without an address, a bank account or a credit history.
The same tariffs, ranked for other readers
View all 98 plansThe plan picker is the full market overview: every named tier from every provider with its allowance, price and EUR per GB, filterable by situation and re-rankable.Every persona page ranks the same catalogue. Only the weights differ, and each page states its own. If you are already down to two tariffs, the full market overview puts every named tier side by side on price, data and EUR per GB.
How we compared these
Five criteria, weighted for this reader and published above, fixed on 17 August 2026 before the prices were collected. Every price comes from the provider's own page, dated in the catalogue. A blocker caps a product at 1.0. Unlimited allowances are capped at 200 GB when calculating EUR per GB, or every unlimited plan would win that column automatically.
One limit worth stating: the catalogue carries one fit score per persona, not a score per criterion, so the ordering reflects that score and the editorial reasoning behind it rather than an arithmetic weighted total. Per-criterion scoring is the next data pass; until it lands, the weights explain the ranking rather than compute it.
Of the 98 plans in the catalogue, 24 score 4 or 5 for this reader, across 17 providers. Where fewer than three providers clear that line, the third card is still the next best option available and is labelled for what it wins on, not presented as a strong fit.
Sources: provider tariff pages and dated German price sources, accessed August 2026. Some links earn a commission at the same rate for every provider, so no weighting favours a payer.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a student discount on German mobile plans?
No. The catalogue records no student pricing and no proof-of-study requirement on any German tariff. What exists are age gates on the youth tariffs: Telekom MagentaMobil Young and Vodafone Mobil Young are for under-28s, and O2's young price runs to your 29th birthday. Eligibility is your date of birth, not your enrolment.
Do you need ID to buy a prepaid SIM in Germany as a student?
Yes. Identity verification is required on every German SIM, prepaid included. VideoIdent accepts any passport and runs 24 hours a day, with activation minutes to hours later. Prepaid needs nothing further: no German address, no German bank account and no SCHUFA record.
Which German SIM gives the most data per euro for a student?
Of the three ranked here, Vodafone's CallYa Jahrespaket M: 250 GB across 365 days at an equivalent of about EUR 8.33 a month, bought as one annual pack. Unused data is lost at the end of the year, so it only wins if you actually use it. congstar Prepaid Allnet M is EUR 10 for 30 GB on the Telekom network every 28 days, and fraenk is EUR 10 for 25 GB on the same network billed by calendar month.