Singtel prepaid runs under the hi! brand, and it splits cleanly into two jobs: a cheap long-validity SIM for someone who barely uses data, and a fat tourist SIM for a few weeks of heavy use plus roaming. A hi! local card starts around S$8, a tourist SIM is S$12 to S$30, and a top-up keeps the line alive. The traps are not the prices. They are the rules: a SIM registered on a passport is suspended after 30 days with no refund, the law caps you at three prepaid SIMs across all telcos, and pay-per-use data is a brutal 6.4 cents per 10KB if you forget to buy a bundle. This guide lays out every card, every top-up channel, and the exact moment a tourist SIM is the smarter buy.
Singtel sells prepaid under the hi! name. There is no monthly bill, no contract, and no credit check. You pay upfront, the credit and data sit on the card, and when validity runs out the line goes dormant until you top up. That makes it the default choice for short stays, second lines, kids' phones, and anyone who hates surprise bills.
Two product lines matter. The hi! SIM cards are local-focused and built for long validity rather than huge data. The hi! Tourist SIMs are 30-day cards stuffed with local data and roaming, aimed at visitors but available to anyone. Singtel also runs a roaming layer (hi!DataRoam packs and ReadyRoam) that you bolt on before a trip.
Prepaid is not the cheapest way to get a lot of local data every month. If you are a resident who streams daily, a SIM-only plan almost always wins on price per gigabyte. We compare the two later, and our GOMO vs Circles.Life vs giga breakdown shows where the line sits.
Prepaid prices and bundled perks shift often, so treat the figures below as 'from' prices verified against Singtel's own pages and Dollars and Sense's 2026 round-up as of June 2026. Always confirm the live allowance in the hi!App before you buy, because Singtel rotates promotional data (often an extra 2GB just for activating in the app).
The local hi! cards are about validity, not volume. The S$8 card carries a small monthly data slice and 90-day validity; the S$15 card stretches validity further and adds more data. The tourist cards flip that: 30 days only, but hundreds of gigabytes of local 5G data plus roaming and IDD minutes baked in.
| Card | Price | Validity | Local data | Roaming / IDD | Calls & SMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hi! S$8 card | S$8 | 90 days | ~1.5GB / 30 days (+app bonus) | None | 22c/min, 5c/SMS |
| hi! S$15 card | S$15 | ~120 days | Larger data slice (+app bonus) | None | 22c/min, 5c/SMS |
| hi! Tourist S$12 | S$12 | 30 days | 500GB 5G+ | 12GB APAC + 3GB worldwide, 500 IDD min | Unlimited |
| hi! Tourist S$15 | S$15 | 30 days | 500GB 5G+ | 18GB APAC + 8GB worldwide, 600 IDD min | Unlimited |
| hi! Tourist S$30 | S$30 | 30 days | 700GB 5G+ | 80GB APAC + 15GB worldwide, 600 IDD min | Unlimited |
Most complaints about Singtel prepaid are not about price. They are about rules people did not know existed. Three of them bite hardest.
Since 15 July 2024, any SIM registered on a foreign passport is valid for only 30 days. After that the line is suspended without notice and there is no refund on the card. To keep it, you must re-register at a Singtel Shop, a Singtel Exclusive Retailer, or the mRemit counter at Lucky Plaza using a Singapore-issued IC or work pass within those 30 days.
This is an IMDA rule, not a Singtel quirk, so it applies across every telco. A tourist on a two-week trip never notices. A new arrival who buys a SIM on day one and only gets their FIN card three weeks later can lose the line right when they need it.
Under IMDA rules effective 1 April 2014, one person can register a maximum of three prepaid SIMs in total, counted by your ID across all telcos combined, not three per operator. If you already hold a couple of dormant prepaid lines on M1 or StarHub, you may be turned away at the Singtel counter until you cancel one.
If your bundled data runs out and you keep browsing, Singtel charges pay-per-use at 6.4 cents per 10KB. That works out to roughly S$6.40 per megabyte, so a single forgotten YouTube clip can drain your main balance in minutes. Always carry an active data bundle, and use the hi!App to watch the meter. Building a buffer for this kind of slip is exactly what a small emergency fund is for.
Registration is compulsory and done at the point of sale with an original ID. Singaporeans use the pink IC, PRs the blue IC, national servicemen their SAF/SPF/SCDF 11B, foreign workers and students their work-pass card, and visitors their passport (subject to the 30-day rule above). Singtel stopped supporting 2G in November 2016, so you need a 4G or 5G phone.
You can buy a hi! card at any Singtel Shop or Exclusive Retailer, online at singtel.com/prepaid, and at 7-Eleven, Cheers, Sentosa FUN Shops, and currency-exchange counters at Changi Airport. Topping up is the easy part, with the hi!App being the fastest route.
For a resident who uses real data every month, prepaid usually loses on price. A local hi! card gives you long validity but little data, and once you start buying data add-ons the cost climbs past a SIM-only plan that hands you 100GB-plus for around S$10. Prepaid wins on flexibility, not on data value.
Use prepaid when the line is short-term, occasional, or a backup; use SIM-only when it is your daily driver. The crossover comes fast: if you top up data more than once or twice a month, switch. Run the numbers against your own usage in our personal budget calculator before you decide, and treat the monthly difference as money you can redirect.
| Your situation | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tourist or short trip (under 30 days) | hi! Tourist SIM | Huge local data + roaming, no contract, no IC needed |
| New arrival waiting on a work pass | hi! card, then re-register | Bridges the gap before you get an IC/FIN |
| Light user, mostly WiFi | hi! S$8 / S$15 card | Cheap to keep alive, no monthly commitment |
| Daily heavy data user | SIM-only plan | 100GB+ for ~S$10/month beats prepaid data add-ons |
| Second line / kid's phone | hi! card | No bill, hard spending cap, easy to top up |
The hi! Tourist cards already include roaming, which is why visitors rarely need anything extra. If you hold a local hi! card and travel, you buy a hi!DataRoam pack in the hi!App; packs activate instantly and expire on their own validity. Singtel's wider ReadyRoam layer starts from a few dollars and covers more than 150 destinations, though availability and pricing for prepaid lines change regularly, so confirm in-app before you fly.
Receiving SMS while roaming is free. Receiving calls and sending messages are not, so a data pack plus a messaging app is usually cheaper than voice roaming. Our GST guide is a reminder that the sticker prices here already include the 9% tax, so what you see is what you pay.
A hi! local card carries 90 days or more of validity from activation, and each top-up extends it further. Tourist SIMs run 30 days. Once validity lapses the line goes dormant until you top up, and a card registered on a foreign passport is suspended after 30 days regardless of credit.
Yes. Visitors register a hi! SIM at the point of sale using their passport, available at Singtel Shops, 7-Eleven, Cheers and Changi Airport counters. Note the IMDA rule that passport-registered SIMs are valid for only 30 days unless you re-register with a Singapore IC or work pass.
IMDA caps prepaid SIMs at three per person in total, counted by your ID across all telcos combined rather than three per operator. If you already hold prepaid lines on other networks, you may need to cancel one before registering a new Singtel hi! card.
Only if you barely use data. Prepaid wins on flexibility and short-term use, but a daily heavy user pays less on a SIM-only plan that offers 100GB or more for around S$10 a month. Once you buy prepaid data add-ons more than once or twice a month, switching is cheaper.
Singtel charges pay-per-use local data at 6.4 cents per 10KB, roughly S$6.40 per megabyte, which can drain your balance fast. Always keep an active data bundle and watch usage in the hi!App, or buy a data add-on before you run dry.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.