MTN vs Glo Data: 30-Day 1GB ₦520 vs ₦440, but MTN Wins at 3GB

In the MTN vs Glo data contest, Glo wins on price at most sizes. MTN wins on signal, and at 3GB a month. Pick Glo if its signal is strong where you live and work, and pick MTN if it isn't.

Here's the gap in naira. Glo sells its monthly gigabyte for ₦440, while MTN asks ₦520 for exactly the same amount of data over the same 30 days. Move up to 3GB, though, and MTN's monthly plan becomes the cheaper one.

Two catches sit behind those cheap Glo prices. Some Glo bundles hold a slice of data that only works while you're asleep. MTN also reaches far more people: NCC figures put it at about half of Nigeria's active lines, against roughly one in eight for Glo.

MTN vs Glo data plans, size for size

Prices as at 8 October 2026, read from the live AidaPay catalogue. To get the cost per GB, we divided each price by its gigabytes, and every row also shows the cashback that comes back to your wallet after you buy. Monthly plans come first, then weekly.

Buy cheap data for your own line or someone else's: Glo data plans on AidaPay or MTN data transfer plans on AidaPay.

Glo takes the small monthly plans. MTN grabs one slot, the monthly 3GB, and that's the only monthly size where it comes out ahead. Above that, Glo's AWUF plans (promo bundles with bigger volumes) run away with it, and a few of the weekly ones go below ₦200 per gigabyte, a price MTN has nothing close to.

MTN's bigger monthly bundles are in the catalogue, too. The MTN 10GB - 1 Month + 10mins Call Credit costs ₦4,433 there (₦26.60 cashback), and MTN's own data plans page lists it, with the call minutes thrown in, for ₦4,500. We checked mtn.ng the same day.

When Glo's AWUF bundles win: under ₦200 per GB

Streaming eats data. Film downloads do too, and so do those huge app updates your phone loves to run at the weekend while you're busy with something else. For a week like that, Glo's AWUF plans are hard to beat on paper, and the weekly 10GB one gives you the cheapest gigabyte anywhere in the table.

MTN's best weekly value is its biggest AWUF plan, and even that costs nearly a third more per gigabyte, a gap you'll feel fast if a new series lands on your phone every weekend.

Monthly plans tell the same story. On Glo, the monthly AWUF bundle costs about two-thirds of what the regular 10GB plan costs, and it gives you slightly more data. That's a real saving. Just check how much of it is night data before you pay.

Planning a big top-up? AidaPay caps each Glo AWUF purchase at ₦5,000, which still covers the biggest weekly bundle in the table.

Why some Glo data only works after midnight

You buy a fat bundle on Sunday. By Tuesday afternoon your phone says the data is finished, yet a couple of gigabytes sit there untouched, waiting for midnight. That's Glo's night data, and many bundles bought on Glo's own channels come in two parts. Main data works at any hour. Night data works only from midnight to 5am.

Daily Trust's report on Glo's revised bundles made the split easy to see with the weekly ₦1,000 plan. More than half of its 3.7GB total was night data. If you browse in the evening after work, that part is close to useless, because you'd have to stay up past midnight just to use what you paid for.

The Glo AWUF weekly plan in our table has exactly that total. Our catalogue doesn't say whether it carries a night split, and we won't guess. If it does, your daytime cost per gigabyte more than doubles.

Checking takes a minute. From the Glo line, dial Glo's data balance code and read the reply; the code is in our guide to Glo USSD codes for checking main and night data. If the reply shows a night allowance, save big downloads and app updates for after midnight. To find a Glo plan without night data, run this check on a small bundle before you commit to a big one.

Is Glo better than MTN? Signal and 100 million lines

On price, often yes. On signal, it depends on your street. If your calls drop every time you walk into the kitchen, cheap gigabytes won't fix that.

MTN had 100.86 million active lines in July, according to NCC figures that Arise News reported in September. That's just over half of every active line in Nigeria. Glo had 23.63 million, or about one line in eight.

Market share still won't tell you how the signal behaves where you live. MTN has bad days too. Legit.ng reported on 5 October that MTN had started crediting airtime to customers in areas with poor network quality between February and April this year, following directives from the NCC and the FCCPC. So don't read the bigger number as a promise. What counts is how many bars your own phone shows in your bedroom, at your desk and along the road home.

Light users get more small options on MTN. Its weekly transfer plans start at 500MB, which suits a phone that mostly runs WhatsApp.

Test Glo before you spend big on it. The cheapest Glo plan in the catalogue costs ₦90 and lasts two weeks. You get ₦1.42 of that back as cashback. Load it on a spare SIM, make one video call at home and another at work, and let the screen make the decision for you.

Which network suits the way you use data?

Most MTN vs Glo data decisions come down to your week, not to the smallest number in the table.

Students on a tight budget in a Glo-strong area should start with Glo's ₦440 monthly gigabyte. When that won't last the month, step up to the AWUF 2.6GB monthly plan.

Heavy streamers and downloaders belong on Glo's weekly AWUF bundles, from 10GB upward. Check the night share first.

For workers who need calls, hotspot and travel data to simply work, MTN is the safer bet. Its monthly 2GB and 3GB plans are the sensible picks. With a dual-SIM phone you can split the job: Glo for big downloads and weekend streaming, MTN as the always-on line for WhatsApp, calls and bank alerts. Small shops running a hotspot or a POS should follow the signal and pick whichever network holds steady at the counter, even when each gigabyte costs a bit more.

Not sure which group you're in? Look at last month. If your data ran out before the month did, you're a heavier user than you think, and the bigger bundles will save you money.

How to buy MTN or Glo data for another number on AidaPay

You can buy for your own line or a family member's from the same wallet.

1. Open the AidaPay app and fund your wallet if it's low.
2. Tap Data on the home screen.
3. Pick the network: MTN, MTN AWUF, GLO or Glo AWUF.
4. Choose the plan. The price and validity show before you pay.
5. Enter the phone number, for example 0805XXXXXXX.
6. Confirm with your PIN.

Cashback lands in your wallet once the data arrives. On an MTN line with a transfer plan, dial *323*4# to confirm the data landed. On a Glo line, use the balance code in our Glo USSD guide.

Data not showing yet? Start with the number you typed and check it digit by digit, then make sure you picked the right network for that line. Wait a few minutes before you check the balance again, and look at the transaction in your app history before buying a second time, because a repeat purchase won't fix a wrong number.

With a dual-SIM phone, run the cheap Glo test this week, once at home and once at work. Until Glo proves itself where you live, keep MTN as your main line.

Frequently asked questions

Published 8 October 2026. Prices and codes change - if you spot one that has moved, tell us and we will fix it.