Short answer: 8 mobile, the budget telco that styles itself as 'eight' and prices almost everything in eights, sells some of the cheapest SIM-only plans in Singapore. Its cheapest voice plan is now the $10.80 5G+ Power plan, which gives you 588GB of 5G+ data across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong, unlimited local calls, 18GB of APAC roaming and 6GB of international roaming in 68 countries, all with no contract and the option to keep your number. The $8 plan this guide used to lead with has gone. It rides StarHub's network, so the signal is the same one StarHub customers pay far more for. The real question is whether the eights are doing financial work or just selling a gimmick, and whether the bigger tiers or the 1-year plan are the smarter buy. As of October 2026, here is every tier, the catch in the fine print, and how to decide if switching is worth ten minutes of your time.
8 mobile is the consumer brand of eight (eight.com.sg), a virtual telco that launched in Singapore as a price fighter and leans hard on the number eight, the figure many associate with luck and prosperity. Its 5G+ mobile plans cost $10.80, $12.80, $14.80 and $18.80 a month, the data comes in numbers like 588GB and 888GB, the IDD minutes and SMS land on figures like 588 and 288, and the trial famously offered 88 free days to the first 88,888 sign-ups. It is memorable marketing, but the prices underneath sit at the low end of the market.
The part that matters for your wallet is invisible in the branding: 8 mobile does not own towers. It is a virtual operator, an MVNO-style brand that buys capacity wholesale and resells it. Independent reviews place it on StarHub's network, which covers almost the whole island, so the bars in your hand are StarHub's. You get a major network's reach at a sub-brand price, which is the entire pitch of budget telcos in Singapore and the reason the headline number can be this low.
Because it is contract-free and prepaid ahead of each cycle, there is no lock-in and no early-termination fee. That is what makes 8 mobile worth a serious look even if you are happy with your current telco, since the cost of trying it and switching back is close to zero.
Update, 13 October 2026: eight has replaced the line-up this guide described. The $8 Double Eight voice plan is gone, the cheapest voice plan is now the $10.80 5G+ Power plan, the seniors plan costs $6.80, and the $8.80 Double eight plan is data-only. Here is the current lineup as listed on eight.com.sg as of October 2026. Prices and data allowances on budget telcos move with promotions almost monthly, so treat this as the current shape and confirm the live figure on the eight site before you sign up. The pattern is consistent: each tier bundles a very large local-and-regional data pool, generous roaming and unlimited local calls, with the price stepping up mainly for more roaming and more destinations.
The entry plan is the $10.80 5G+ Power plan: 588GB of 5G+ data usable across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong, 18GB of APAC roaming across 20 countries, 6GB of international roaming, unlimited local calls, 588 IDD minutes and 88 SMS. The $12.80 Life plan has 688GB, the $14.80 Ultra plan 788GB with China and Japan added to the data pool, and the $18.80 Supreme plan 888GB with China, Korea, Japan and Australia, each with more roaming and SMS. There is also a $6.80 Senior Plan for those aged 60 and above, and data-only plans from $8.80 for tablets or a second line.
Compare these against the broader budget-telco market in our guide to the best SIM-only plans in Singapore, and judge eight's $10.80 entry plan on price, roaming and network rather than on the headline data figure.
| Plan | Network | Price/mo | Local + regional data | Roaming | Calls / SMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Plan (60+) | 5G+ | S$6.80 | 528GB (SG-MY-ID-TH-HK) | 6GB APAC + 6GB intl | Unlimited calls / 88 SMS |
| 5G+ Power | 5G+ | S$10.80 | 588GB (SG-MY-ID-TH-HK) | 18GB APAC + 6GB intl | Unlimited calls / 88 SMS |
| 5G+ Life | 5G+ | S$12.80 | 688GB (SG-MY-ID-TH-HK) | 28GB APAC + 10GB intl | Unlimited calls / 128 SMS |
| 5G+ Ultra | 5G+ | S$14.80 | 788GB (SG-MY-ID-TH-HK, plus CN, JP) | 38GB APAC + 18GB intl | Unlimited calls / 188 SMS |
| 5G+ Supreme | 5G+ | S$18.80 | 888GB (SG-MY-ID-TH-HK, plus CN, KR, JP, AU) | 48GB APAC + 28GB intl | Unlimited calls / 288 SMS |
| Double eight Data (data only) | 4G | S$8.80 | 588GB (SG) | 18GB APAC + 6GB intl | No calls or SMS |
The biggest saving in the 8 mobile range is the 1-year plan, not a monthly one. eight sells yearly versions of its 5G+ plans that work out far cheaper than paying month to month: $96 a year for Power, $108 for Life, $118 for Ultra and $128 for Supreme, and $68 a year for the Senior Plan (eight.com.sg, October 2026). At $96, Power works out to $8 a month, locked for twelve cycles.
Run the maths and the saving is real. Twelve monthly payments at $10.80 for Power come to $129.60, so the $96 yearly plan saves $33.60. The gap widens up the range: Life saves $45.60 a year, Ultra $59.60 and Supreme $97.60, against twelve monthly payments. That is money for nothing if you were going to stay on the plan anyway. The trade-off is that you pay upfront and commit for a year, so only take the yearly plan once you are sure the network works where you live and roam.
Before you lock in twelve months, it is worth checking what that same outlay does elsewhere. Our personal budget calculator shows how a recurring telco line fits the rest of your spending, and a $33.60 to $97.60 yearly saving, repeated every year and invested, is the kind of small, silent win that compounds. The discipline of reviewing a silently renewing bill is what turns a cheap plan into a cheap habit.
The single most useful fact about 8 mobile is the network it rides, because that, not the brand, is the signal you live with. Independent reviews place eight on StarHub's network, which covers virtually all of Singapore including tunnels, basements and MRT lines. In practice, an 8 mobile SIM should give you reception close to what a StarHub customer gets at a fraction of the price.
How good is StarHub? In Opensignal's December 2025 Singapore report, built on real users' phones rather than a lab, StarHub posted the fastest overall download speed at about 156Mbps, with Singtel taking the Best Network title and M1 leading on pure 5G download. The gaps between the three incumbents are small enough that for everyday streaming, calls and apps you will not feel the difference, which is exactly why buying StarHub coverage through a budget brand makes sense.
The honest caveat budget telcos rarely advertise: virtual operators' data can be deprioritised behind the network's own paying customers when a cell is congested, so at a packed event or a peak-hour crush a direct StarHub line might hold speed a touch better. For normal daily use this is invisible. If you want to see how StarHub stacks up for home internet too, our broadband plans guide covers the same network from the other side.
The most expensive mistake in mobile plans is paying for data you never touch, and 8 mobile's eye-catching 588GB and 888GB numbers are squarely a marketing lever. Your phone spends most of the day on Wi-Fi at home, at work and in cafes, so mobile data only counts when you are out without Wi-Fi. Most young adults in Singapore land between 15GB and 50GB a month.
If you use 25GB, even the $10.80 plan's 588GB is more than twenty times your real need, and the larger tiers are pure waste on the data front. That flips the buying logic: do not climb the tiers for gigabytes, climb them only if you need more roaming, more destinations or more SMS. Check your actual usage first. On iPhone go to Settings then Mobile Service; on Android go to Settings, Network and internet, Data usage. The smallest plan that comfortably covers your real number is the right one, and for almost everyone that is the $10.80 entry tier.
The same reasoning applies to any high-data plan. Read our take on unlimited and high-data plans before you assume bigger is better, because once a plan buries your usage, extra data has no value. A recurring few dollars saved each month is real money: $5 a month is $60 a year, every year, for choosing the right tier once.
If there is one place the 8 mobile plans genuinely punch above their price, it is roaming. Even the $10.80 5G+ Power plan bundles 18GB of APAC roaming and 6GB of international roaming, and the 588GB data pool is usable across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong, not just Singapore. For a frequent Causeway commuter or an ASEAN traveller, that can replace the day passes or travel eSIMs you would otherwise buy on every trip.
Higher tiers stack more on top. The $12.80 Life plan has 28GB APAC and 10GB international roaming, the $14.80 Ultra plan 38GB and 18GB with China and Japan added to the data pool, and the $18.80 Supreme plan 48GB and 28GB with China, Korea, Japan and Australia added. Match the tier to your travel pattern, not to fear of running out: an occasional traveller is covered by the $10.80 plan's pool, while a monthly regional commuter may find the bigger roaming worth the few extra dollars.
If you cross into Johor Bahru often, the bundled Malaysia data is a quiet cost saver, and our Johor Bahru budget guide shows where the rest of the trip money goes. An occasional traveller who rarely leaves Singapore gets little from the roaming-heavy tiers.
For a price-sensitive user, 8 mobile's $10.80 plan sits at the low end of the market as of October 2026 while bundling generous roaming and unlimited local calls on a major network. If your current bill is $20 or more and your coverage needs are normal, switching could halve your mobile cost with no loss in everyday experience.
It is not automatically right for everyone. If StarHub's signal is weak where you live, work or commute, the brand cannot fix that, since you are on StarHub regardless. If you make heavy use of a service counter, want flagship-grade priority in congestion, or need a family plan with shared lines and perks, an incumbent's own plan can still earn its premium. And the eights, while charming, are branding, so judge the plan on price, network and inclusions rather than the lucky numbers.
The deciding move is mechanical and cheap. Because there is no contract, you can sign up, test the coverage for a cycle, and either commit to the annual plan or walk away. Switching keeps your number for free under Singapore's number portability rules, so the only cost of finding out is a few minutes. Review a telco line the way you would any savings account or credit card: once a year, against the current best offer.
Switching to 8 mobile is the easy part, and the part people overthink. Singapore has had full mobile number portability since 2008 under IMDA rules, so you keep your existing 8-digit number when you move between any telcos, free in normal cases. You do not call your old telco to cancel; the new provider handles the transfer.
Sign up on eight.com.sg, choose to port in your existing number rather than take a new one, give the telco you are leaving plus your account or NRIC details, and pick a porting date. eight supports both a physical SIM and an eSIM, so you can often be live within minutes once the port completes. Keep your old SIM active until then and do not terminate it yourself, or the request can fail.
If your phone supports it, an eSIM lets you run 8 mobile as a second line first to test coverage before you fully switch, which removes almost all the risk. Our eSIM guide walks through activation step by step. Once the port confirms, your old plan stops billing and you are on the cheaper line with the same number.
A few practical points decide whether a cheap plan stays cheap. GST at 9 percent applies to mobile bills in Singapore, so confirm whether eight quotes its $10.80 price inclusive or before tax; over a year the difference is small but real. Some telcos add a one-time SIM or registration fee of a couple of dollars, so check the checkout total rather than the headline.
Watch the auto-recharge setting. eight prepays each cycle ahead of time with auto-recharge, which you can toggle during sign-up, so make sure it is set the way you want to avoid a surprise charge or a sudden cut-off. If you pick a data-only or tourist variant, note the different expiry and inclusions, since a tourist SIM typically expires in 30 days.
Finally, check the SMS line if you still rely on texts for bank and login codes. The plans bundle 88 to 288 SMS, which is plenty for one-time passwords but thin if you text overseas often, where outgoing messages beyond the cap are charged per message. None of these break a good plan; they just stop a $10.80 plan from quietly becoming an $18 one.
8 mobile is the consumer brand of eight (eight.com.sg), a budget virtual telco in Singapore that prices nearly everything in the lucky number eight. It sells no-contract SIM-only plans, with voice plans from $10.80 a month ($6.80 for seniors) and data-only plans from $8.80, runs on StarHub's network for island-wide coverage, and bundles large local-and-regional data pools, unlimited local calls and generous roaming. It does not own towers; it resells StarHub capacity at a sub-brand price, which is how the headline figure stays this low.
The $8 Double Eight voice plan has been withdrawn. As of October 2026 the cheapest voice plan is the $10.80 5G+ Power plan, with 588GB of data usable across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong, 18GB of APAC roaming, 6GB of international roaming, unlimited local calls, 588 IDD minutes and 88 SMS, or $96 for a 1-year plan. Seniors aged 60 and above can take the $6.80 Senior Plan, and the $8.80 Double eight plan is data-only. Confirm the live figure on eight.com.sg before signing up.
Independent reviews place 8 mobile (eight) on StarHub's network, which covers close to the whole island including tunnels, basements and MRT lines. That means your signal is effectively StarHub's, at a budget-brand price. In Opensignal's December 2025 Singapore report, StarHub posted the fastest overall download speed at about 156Mbps, so the coverage you get for $10.80 is the same major network StarHub customers pay considerably more for.
It can be. The 1-year plans cost $96 (Power), $108 (Life), $118 (Ultra) and $128 (Supreme), which saves $33.60 to $97.60 a year against twelve monthly payments, most on the top tier (eight.com.sg, October 2026). The saving is real money if you were going to stay on the plan anyway, but you pay upfront and commit for twelve months, so only lock in once you have confirmed the StarHub signal works where you live and the plan suits your roaming.
Yes. Singapore has full mobile number portability under IMDA rules, so you keep your existing 8-digit number when moving to 8 mobile, free in normal cases. You do not cancel with your old telco yourself. Sign up on eight.com.sg, choose to port in your number, give your old account or NRIC details and a porting date, and keep your old SIM active until the port completes. eight supports physical SIM or eSIM, so you can often be live within minutes.
It is cheap because it is a virtual operator, not because the network is weak. Riding StarHub means the coverage is among the best in Singapore for everyday streaming, calls and apps. The one honest caveat is that budget-brand data can be deprioritised behind StarHub's own customers during congestion at packed events or peak crushes, so a direct line may hold speed a touch better then. For normal daily use the difference is invisible, and the no-contract terms let you test a cycle risk-free.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.
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