You don't need to read very much Japanese to understand the original, up-to-date Japanese version.
MAR Matsushita has compiled a comparison of just about every Mobile Virtual Network Operator data SIM that uses Docomo's 3G (FOMA) and LTE (Xi) networks. I recently added the English version, which is abbreviated below. The most up-to-date version will likely be this google docs spreadsheet in Japanese.
The data are organized by price. For less than ¥1,000 per month, you'll get the low-speed, no streaming data SIMs that are good only for short messaging and light maps usage. Many of these have a coupon option that lets you add several hundred megabytes of usually unrestricted data (e.g., JCI's turbo charge).
Spending over ¥1,000 per month will get you about 1GB of data, though it will typically be relatively high-latency and will not perform as well as ¥6,000 Docomo data plan. Multiple gigabytes can be had for over ¥2,500.
See the end of the post for a description of the types of restrictions (i.e., A, B, C, etc.) and the column explanations.
Buying Considerations
Price per megabyte is not the only consideration. The least expensive plans (in terms of unit cost) have 2-year contract requirements often with strict early termination fees. Each of these MVNOs pays to Docomo a similar wholesale cost, and they all approach reselling that bandwidth differently. Some may more aggressively shape traffic than others. Newer MVNOs are perhaps more likely to be less aggressive at first while they are building a customer base. Absolutely none of these MVNOs guarantee speeds or disclose exactly how they limit bandwidth. Company A may have a reputation for providing consistently low latency and high speeds, but could change that at any time, with no warning.
Unit Price Differences
The average price for 100 MB is about ¥250. The absolute minimum is ¥56 from Biglobe for 7GB of LTE data, and the most is for the b-mobile FAIR chameleon SIM at ¥880. The difference in price between the extremes reflects two things:
- Prepaid versus postpaid with a minimum contract requirement and
- More importantly, the amount of traffic shaping done by the MVNO.
Somewhere in the middle of this is probably where most of you would be most comfortable.
"Unlimited"
Some of these plans are advertised as unlimited. None are. The low-speed plans with less 400 kbps have effectively no data quota. Plans that have full 3G or LTE speeds that don't have a stated monthly quota have 3-day limits, exceeding of which will result in speed restrictions that are typically in the ~ 100 kbps range. Plans that are advertised as unlimited by have these quota are denoted by a (*).
Less than ¥1,000 per month
Product | Company | Billing | Min time | Contract fee | Min monthly cost | ETF | Net type | Speed (up / down) | Coupon | Rest. | Micro SIM | Monthly MB | Price / 100MB | Exceed limit | IPv4 | IPv6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JCI | postpaid | 1 month | ¥3,150 | ¥0 | ¥0 | LTE | 25 m / 75 m | ¥37.8 | B | yes | 0 | ¥370 | stop | private | no | |
JCI | postpaid | 90 days | ¥34,000 | ¥400 | ¥0 | LTE | 25 m / 75 m | — | B | no | 500 | ¥80 | stop | private | no ? | |
DTI | postpaid | 1 month | ¥3,150 | ¥490 | ¥0 | 3G | 100 k / 100 k | — | unk | yes | unlimited | — | — | ??? | yes | |
Asahi Net | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,150 | ¥785 | ¥10,500 | LTE | 128 k / 128 k | — | — | yes | unlimited | — | — | ??? | ??? | |
BB.excite | postpaid | 1 month | ¥4,410 | ¥787 | ??? | LTE | 128 k / 128 k | ¥525 | A | yes | unlimited | — | — | private | yes | |
IIJmio | postpaid | 1 months | ¥3,150 | ¥945 | ¥0 | LTE | 128 k / 128 k | ¥525 | A | yes | unlimited | — | — | private | yes | |
Toppa! | postpaid | 1 month | ¥3,150 | ¥970 | ¥970 | 3G | 128 k / 128 k | — | B | no | unlimited | — | — | private | no | |
hi-ho | postpaid | 1 year | ¥3,150 | ¥980 | ¥5,250 | LTE | 128 k / 128 k | ¥472.5 | A | yes | unlimited | — | — | private | no | |
JCI | postpaid | 1 year | ¥3,150 | ¥980 | ¥10,500 | LTE | 150 k / 150 k | ¥525 | C | yes | unlimited | — | — | private | no | |
JCI | postpaid | 1 month | ¥3,150 | ¥980 | ¥0 | LTE | 150 k / 150 k | ¥525 | C | yes | unlimited | — | — | private | no | |
JCI | postpaid | 1 month | ¥3,150 | ¥980 | ¥0 | LTE | 150 k / 150 k | ¥525 | C | no | unlimited | — | — | private | no | |
Fusion | postpaid | 1 month | ¥4,200 | ¥980 | ¥0 | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | — | ??? | yes | 200 | ¥490 | 100 k | private | no |
¥1,001 to ¥2,000 per month
Product | Company | Billing | Min time | Contract fee | Min monthly cost | ETF | Net type | Speed (up / down) | Coupon | Rest. | Micro SIM | Monthly MB | Price / 100MB | Exceed limit | IPv4 | IPv6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Asahi Net | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,150 | ¥1,950 | ¥10,500 | LTE | 37.5 M / 100 M | — | L | yes | 1,024 | ¥190 | — | ??? | ??? | |
IIJmio | postpaid | 1 month | ¥3,150 | ¥1,974 | ¥0 | LTE | 128 k / 128 k | ¥525 | H | yes | 1,024 | ¥193 | 128 kbps | private | yes | |
BIGLOBE | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,150 | ¥1,980 | ¥9,975 | LTE | 37.5 M / 100 M | — | D | no (¥3,150) | 1,024 | ¥193 | 128 kbps | ??? | no | |
JCI | prepaid | 1 month | ¥3,150 | ¥1,980 | N/A | LTE | 25 M / 75 M 3G | — | B | yes | 500 | ¥396 | stop | private | no | |
JCI | postpaid | 1 year | ¥0 | ¥1,980 | ¥10,500 | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | ¥525 | B or C? | yes | 1,024 | ¥193 | 150 kbps | private | no | |
JCI | postpaid | 1 month | ¥3,150 | ¥1,980 | ¥0 | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | ¥525 | B | yes | 1,024 | ¥193 | 150 kbps | private | no |
¥2,001 to ¥2,500 per month
Product | Company | Billing | Min time | Contract fee | Min monthly cost | ETF | Net type | Speed (up / down) | Coupon | Rest. | Micro SIM | Monthly MB | Price / 100MB | Exceed limit | IPv4 | IPv6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JCI | prepaid | 1 month | ¥1,450 | ¥2,087 | N/A | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | — | B | yes | 250 | ¥835 | stop | private | no | |
JCI | prepaid | 1 month | ¥3,600 | ¥2,200 | N/A | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | — | C | yes | 250 | ¥880 | stop | private | no | |
JCI | postpaid | 3 months | ¥3,150 | ¥2,270 | ¥5,250 | 3G | 150 k / 150 k | ¥525 | C | yes | unlimited | — | — | private | no | |
Panasonic | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,150 | ¥2,340 | up to ¥13,440 | LTE | 5.7 M / 14 M | — | ??? | yes (¥3,275 | 3,072 | ¥76 | 512 kbps | ??? | no？ | |
BB.excite | postpaid | 1 month | ¥4,410 | ¥2,415 | ??? | LTE | 128 k / 128 k | ¥525 | A | yes | 500 | ¥483 | 128 kbps | private | yes | |
JCI | prepaid | 1 month | ¥0 | ¥2,416 | N/A | LTE | 300 k / 300 k | ¥525 | C | yes | unlimited | — | — | public | no | |
JCI | prepaid | 6 months | ¥0 | ¥2,460 | N/A | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | — | B | yes | 1,024 | ¥240 | 150 kbps | private | no | |
JCI | prepaid | 1 month | ¥3,320 | ¥2,480 | N/A | LTE | 300 k / 300 kbps | — | C | yes | unlimited | — | — | private | no | |
JCI | prepaid | 1 month | ¥0 | ¥2,980 | N/A | LTE | 300 k / 300 k | ¥525 | C | yes | unlimited | — | — | private | no |
¥2,501 to ¥3,000 per month
Product | Company | Billing | Min time | Contract fee | Min monthly cost | ETF | Net type | Speed (up / down) | Coupon | Rest. | Micro SIM | Monthly MB | Price / 100MB | Exceed limit | IPv4 | IPv6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TikiTiki | postpaid | 2 years | ¥0 | ¥2,580 | up to ¥16,000 | 3G | 300 k / 300 k | — | C | yes | unlimited | — | — | ??? | no | |
OCN | postpaid | 2 years | ¥2,625 | ¥2,670 | ¥9,975 | 3G | 5.7 M / 7.2 M | — | E | yes | 1,830 * | ¥146 | — | ??? | no | |
Mobile Renaissance | prepaid | 1 month | ¥0 | ¥2,680 | N/A | 3G | 5.7 M / 14 M | — | ??? | no | unlimited | — | — | ??? | no | |
Asahi Net | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,150 | ¥2,790 | ¥10,500 | LTE | 37.5 M / 100 M | — | M | yes | 2,048 | ¥136 | — | ??? | ??? | |
BB.excite | postpaid | 1 month | ¥4,410 | ¥2,835 | ??? | LTE | 128 k / 128 k | ¥525 | A | yes | 1,024 | ¥277 | 128 kbps | private | yes | |
OCN | postpaid | 2 years | ¥2,625 | ¥2,880 | ¥9,975 | LTE | 37.5 M / 100 M | — | E | yes | 2,048 | ¥141 | 100 kbps | ??? | no | |
IIJmio | postpaid | 1 month | ¥3,150 | ¥2,940 | ¥0 | LTE | 128 k / 128 k | ¥525 | A | yes | 1,024 | ¥287 | 128 kbps | private | yes | |
JCI | postpaid | 1 month | ¥3,150 | ¥2,970 | ¥0 | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | — | B | yes | 2,048 | ¥145 | stop | private | no ？ | |
BIGLOBE | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,150 | ¥2,980 | ¥9,975 | LTE | 37.5 M / 100 M | — | D | yes (¥3,150) | 2,048 | ¥146 | 128 kbps | ??? | no | |
So-net | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,150 | ¥2,980 | ¥9,975 | 3G | 5.7 M / 14 M | — | E | no (?) | 1,830 * | ¥163 | ??? | ??? | no | |
TikiTiki | postpaid | 6 months | ¥3,570 | ¥2,980 | ¥8,000 | 3G | 300 k / 300 k | — | C | yes | unlimited | — | — | ??? | no | |
TikiTiki | postpaid | 2 years | ¥0 | ¥2,980 | up to ¥16,000 | 3G | 5.7 M / 7.2 M | — | E | yes | 1,830 * | ¥163 | ??? | ??? | no | |
JCI | postpaid | 1 year | ¥3,150 | ¥2,980 | ¥10,500 | LTE | 400 k / 400 k | ¥525 | C | yes | unlimited | — | — | private | no | |
JCI | postpaid | 1 month | ¥3,150 | ¥2,980 | ¥0 | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | ¥525 | B | yes | 2,048 | ¥146 | 150 kbps | private | no | |
Mobile Renaissance | prepaid | 1 month | ¥0 | ¥2,980 | N/A | 3G | 5.7 M / 14 M | — | ??? | no | unlimited | — | — | ??? | no | |
Fusion | postpaid | 1 month | ¥4,200 | ¥2,980 | ¥0 | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | — | ??? | yes | 1,920 * | — | 100 kbps | private | no ? |
¥3,001 to ¥3,500 per month
Product | Company | Billing | Min time | Contract fee | Min monthly cost | ETF | Net type | Speed (up / down) | Coupon | Rest. | Micro SIM | Monthly MB | Price / 100MB | Exceed limit | IPv4 | IPv6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
plala | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,990 | ¥3,055 | ¥15,750 | 3G | ??? / 1.5 M | — | ??? | no (?) | unlimited | — | — | ??? | no | |
JCI | prepaid | 1 month | ¥380 | ¥3,100 | N/A | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | — | B | yes | 1,024 | ¥303 | stop | private | no | |
JCI | postpaid | 3 months | ¥3,150 | ¥3,270 | ¥5,250 | 3G | 5.7 M / 14 M | ¥525 | C | yes | 1,024 | ¥193 | 150 kbps | private | no | |
TikiTiki | postpaid | 6 months | ¥3,570 | ¥3,380 | ¥8,000 | 3G | 5.7 M / 7.2 M | — | E | yes | 1,830 * | ¥185 | ??? | ??? | no | |
Mobile Renaissance | prepaid | 1 month | ¥0 | ¥3,480 | N/A | 3G | 5.7 M / 14 M | — | ??? | no | unlimited | — | — | ??? | no |
¥3,501 to ¥4,000 per month
Product | Company | Billing | Min time | Contract fee | Min monthly cost | ETF | Net type | Speed (up / down) | Coupon | Rest. | Micro SIM | Monthly MB | Price / 100MB | Exceed limit | IPv4 | IPv6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DTI | postpaid | 2 years | ¥0 | ¥3,295 | up to ¥26,565 | 3G | 5.7 M / 7.2 M | — | ??? | no (?) | unlimited | — | — | ??? | no | |
hi-ho | postpaid | 1 year | ¥3,150 | ¥3,580 | ¥5,250 | LTE | 128 k / 128 k | ¥472.5 | A | yes | 1,024 | ¥350 | 128 kbps | private | no | |
Asahi Net | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,150 | ¥3,790 | ¥10,500 | LTE | 37.5 M / 100 M | — | N | yes | 3,072 | ¥123 | — | ??? | ??? | |
TikiTiki | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,570 | ¥3,880 | up to ¥20,000 | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | — | F | yes | 2440 * | ¥159 | ??? | ??? | no ? | |
@nifty | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,150 | ¥3,938 | up to ¥33,495 | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | — | K | no (?) | 5,120 | ¥77 | 300 kbps | ??? | ??? | |
JCI | prepaid | 1 month | ¥3,150 | ¥3,960 | N/A | 3G | 300 k / 300 k | — | C | no | unlimited | — | — | public | no | |
Mobile Renaissance | prepaid | 1 month | ¥0 | ¥3,980 | N/A | 3G | 5.7 M / 14 M | — | ??? | no | unlimited | — | — | ??? | no | |
Wireless Gate | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,150 | ¥3,980 | up to ¥38,000 | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | — | J | no | 3,072 | ¥130 | 128 kbps | ??? | ??? | |
Panasonic | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,150 | ¥3,980 | up to ¥15,080 | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | — | ??? | yes (¥3,275 | 3,072 | ¥130 | 128 kbps | ??? | no ？ | |
BIGLOBE | postpaid | 3 mo | ¥3,150 | ¥3,980 | ¥9,975 | LTE | 37.5 M / 100 M | — | I | yes (¥3,150) | 7,168 | ¥56 | 128 kbps | ??? | no | |
Inter Communications | postpaid | 1 year | ¥4,725 | ¥3,990 | up to ¥46,880 | 3G | ??? / 7.2 M | — | B | no (?) | 3,660 * | ¥109 | ??? | ??? | no |
Greater than ¥4,001 per month
Product | Company | Billing | Min time | Contract fee | Min monthly cost | ETF | Net type | Speed (up / down) | Coupon | Rest. | Micro SIM | Monthly MB | Price / 100MB | Exceed limit | IPv4 | IPv6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JCI | postpaid | 3 months | ¥3,150 | ¥4,270 | ¥5,250 | 3G | 5.7 M / 14 M | ¥525 | C | yes | 7,168 | ¥146 | 150 kbps | private | no | |
TikiTiki | postpaid | 6 months | ¥3,570 | ¥4,280 | ¥10,000 | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | — | F | yes | 2440 * | ¥175 | ??? | ??? | no ? | |
Inter Communications | postpaid | 3 months | ¥4,725 | ¥4,725 | up to ¥14,175 | 3G | ??? / 7.2 M | — | B | no (?) | 3,660 * | ¥129 | — | ??? | no | |
BIGLOBE | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,150 | ¥4,980 | ¥9,975 | LTE | 37.5 M / 100 M | — | G | yes (¥3,150) | 7,168 | ¥69 | 128 kbps | ??? | no | |
JCI | postpaid | 1 year | ¥3,150 | ¥4,980 | ¥10,500 | LTE | carrier speed | ¥525 | C | yes | unlimited | — | — | private | no | |
JCI | prepaid | 1 month | ¥400 | ¥5,400 | N/A | LTE | 25 M / 75 M | — | C | yes | 5,120 | ¥105 | stop | private | no | |
Panasonic | postpaid | 2 years | ¥3,150 | ¥6,780 | up to ¥17,880 | 3G | 25 M / 75 M | — | C | yes | 2,048 | ¥95 | 128 kbps | ??? | no |
* These plans are advertised as "unlimited" but each has a 3-day limit. The data amounts in the table were obtained by multiplying each 3-day limit by 10 to obtain the potential monthly maximum.
Data Restrictions
(3 million packets = 366 MegaBytes, but beware that some of these companies report as using 1000 bytes per KB, instead of 1024...)
A: 3 million packets/3day; no restrictions (with coupon)
B: 3 million packets / 3 days
C: 3 million packets / 3 days or 10 million / month
D: 360 MB / 3 days
E: 1.5 million packets / 3 days
F: 2 million packets / 3 days
G: 1 GB / 72 hours
H: 1.2 million packet / 3 days; no restrictions (with coupon)
I: 360 MB / 3 days: usage restriced to 2:00am-8:00pm
J: 200 MB/3 days: 2 day 300 kbps; 3 GB / month: 128 kbps
K: 5 GB / month: 300 kbps
L: 100 MB / 72 hours: 100 kbps until the next day
M: 200 MB / 72 hours: 100 kbps until next day
N: 300 MB / 72 hours: 100 kbps until next day
Column Explanations
- Company: MVNO
- Billing: prepaid or postpaid
- Min time: minimum contract or prepaid interval
- Contract fee: initial one-time payment at start of contract
- Min monthly cost: minimum monthly cost of product including any ISP fees that may be tacked on
- ETF: Early termination fee
- Net type: Network type (LTE or 3G)
- Speed: uplink and downlink speeds in Megabits or kilobits per second
- Coupon: if "turbo charge-like coupons are available
- Rest.: data restrictions
- Micro Sim: whether one is available. If a price is listed, this indicates that a normal size SIM must first be purchased, then replaced, such that you pay for two SIMs.
- Monthly MB: Amount of data in MegaBytes for the non-unlimited plans.
- Price/100MB: Price, after subtracting any voice service fees for 100 MB of data in the non-unlimited plans.
- Exceed limit: restrictions that are placed if the limits are exceed.
- IPv4: indicates if IP address is public or private
- IPv6: indicates if IPv6 is available.
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