South Africa’s prepaid mobile market in numbers
South Africa had 96.5 million reported prepaid mobile subscriptions in September 2025, about 82.3% of the reported mobile total. Reported prepaid subscriptions fell by 984,901 from September 2024, even as the combined prepaid and postpaid total rose by 503,317. These counts describe subscriptions. The number of people using prepaid and the amount they spent are different measures. ICASA 2026 State of the ICT Sector report, Graph 30, page 50
By Freepaid · Published
The numbers behind the change
All counts below are from ICASA’s Graph 30 and refer to 30 September of the given year. Freepaid calculated the prepaid share by dividing the reported prepaid count by the total and multiplying by 100.
| Year | Prepaid subscriptions | Postpaid subscriptions | Total mobile subscriptions | Prepaid share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 86,816,228 | 16,351,297 | 103,167,525 | 84.15% |
| 2022 | 89,297,294 | 17,502,864 | 106,800,158 | 83.61% |
| 2023 | 90,019,248 | 18,681,372 | 108,700,620 | 82.81% |
| 2024 | 97,505,576 | 19,307,445 | 116,813,021 | 83.47% |
| 2025 | 96,520,675 | 20,795,663 | 117,316,338 | 82.27% |
The prepaid share fell by 1.20 percentage points between 2024 and 2025. The prepaid count fell by about 1.01% over the same interval. Postpaid subscriptions increased by 1,488,218, which more than offset the decline in prepaid. In 2025, reported prepaid subscriptions were still 9.70 million higher than in 2021. The table supports both observations. It tracks totals at annual cut-offs, so it cannot show how many individual customers switched plans. ICASA 2026 State of the ICT Sector report, Graph 30, page 50
How to read the subscription counts
ICASA says some operators used SIMs that had not been disconnected within a 90-day window as a proxy for prepaid activity. That can produce a higher count than the stricter three-month active definition. ICASA also includes top-up bundles and machine-to-machine subscriptions in the postpaid series in this graph. Use the graph’s definitions when comparing years, and check the methodology before comparing these figures with a different report. ICASA methodology note below Graph 30, page 50
Household internet access answers a different question
Statistics South Africa’s 2025 General Household Survey reported that 78.9% of households could access the internet using mobile devices. The estimate was 76.4% for rural households and 82.1% for urban households, a difference of 5.7 percentage points. The survey table reports metropolitan households separately. This household measure includes mobile internet access and uses a different denominator from ICASA’s subscription counts. Statistics South Africa, General Household Survey 2025, Table 14.3 and page 57
For a business deciding how to distribute airtime or data, these figures give national context. The buying decision still depends on which networks and devices recipients use, which product they need and how the buyer can verify delivery. A campaign needs its own eligibility and fulfilment records. A retailer needs local demand and the actual cost of the sale.
Sources
The subscription counts come from ICASA’s March 2026 State of the ICT Sector report (Graph 30). Freepaid used those counts to calculate the prepaid share and year-on-year changes. Household internet access figures come from Statistics South Africa’s 2025 General Household Survey (Table 14.3).
Last source check · 3 November 2026.
See also our figures on five years of prepaid mobile revenue and household internet access by province.