If you buy airtime, data or electricity for your business in bulk, SIMcloud and Prepaid24 Enterprise will both do it. The question is what it costs you each month, and how the buying fits into your day.
The biggest difference is the fee. Prepaid24 Enterprise adds a service fee to each order. SIMcloud charges no fee on airtime, no fee on data and no fee on vouchers, and no monthly fee of any kind. The only fee we charge is a small one on prepaid electricity, capped at R10 a purchase.
Below is a straight comparison, including the places where Prepaid24 is the stronger choice.
Side by side
| SIMcloud | Prepaid24 Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee on airtime | R0. Sold at face value. | Service fee per order. Standard rate 7.5%, lower for higher volumes. |
| Fee on data | R0. You pay the bundle price. | Service fee per order, as above. |
| Fee on vouchers | R0. You pay the voucher value. | Service fee per order, as above. |
| Fee on electricity | About 2.9% of the purchase, never more than R10. | Service fee per order, as above. |
| Monthly, setup or admin fees | None. | The Enterprise terms list a monthly platform fee set by the fee schedule or account agreement. The first calendar month is advertised as free. |
| How you pay | Fund a wallet, then buy from it whenever you like. | One payment per order, with a pro-forma invoice if you need sign-off first. |
| How fast | Recharges go out immediately, day or night. Failed ones are reversed automatically. | Bulk orders are processed within the hour. |
| Bulk orders | Upload a CSV with mixed networks in one batch. | Up to 10,000 meters or numbers in one order. |
| What you can buy | Airtime, data, bulk SMS, prepaid electricity, digital vouchers. | Prepaid electricity, airtime, data, online vouchers. |
| Invoices | A tax invoice for every transaction. | A VAT invoice for every order. |
| Automation | Open API documentation you can build against today. | We could not find public API documentation on their enterprise site. |
| Electricity coverage | Most South African meters. Check yours here. | Every South African municipality, according to their site. |
What SIMcloud charges, in full
This is the whole list. There is nothing else.
- Airtime: no fee. It is sold at face value, from R2 to R999. Send R100 and R100 leaves your wallet.
- Data: no fee. You pay the bundle price on our public price list.
- Vouchers: no fee. A R500 digital voucher costs R500.
- Electricity: a small service fee, capped at R10. See the exact sums below.
- Monthly fee: none. No subscription, no setup cost, no admin fee, no minimum spend.
The electricity fee, to the rand
We would rather show you the sum than hide it. On prepaid electricity the fee is the purchase amount × 3 ÷ 103, rounded down to a whole rand, and it can never be more than R10. It comes out of the amount you enter, so the total you pay stays the same.
| You pay | SIMcloud fee | Goes to electricity |
|---|---|---|
| R100 | R2 | R98 |
| R150 | R4 | R146 |
| R300 | R8 | R292 |
| R500 | R10 | R490 |
| R1,000 | R10 | R990 |
| R5,000 | R10 | R4,990 |
Because of the cap, the bigger the purchase, the smaller the fee becomes as a share. On R1,000 it is 1%. On R5,000 it is 0.2%.
What the difference means in rands
Prepaid24 Enterprise says it charges a service fee per order, based on your volume and product mix, with a standard fee of 7.5%. Here is that standard rate next to ours on a few typical purchases.
| Purchase | SIMcloud fee | Fee at 7.5% |
|---|---|---|
| R50,000 of airtime | R0 | R3,750 |
| R20,000 of data bundles | R0 | R1,500 |
| R10,000 of vouchers | R0 | R750 |
| One R1,000 electricity token | R10 | R75 |
A business sending R50,000 of airtime every month would pay R45,000 a year in fees at 7.5%, and nothing with SIMcloud. Larger buyers may get a lower rate from Prepaid24, so ask for yours in writing and run the same sum.
Wallet or pay per order?
This comes down to how your finance team likes to work.
If every purchase must be approved against a document before money moves, paying per order with a pro-forma invoice is a natural fit, and Prepaid24 does that well.
If you recharge often, at odd hours, or want your own software to place orders, a wallet is easier. The money is already there, so nothing waits for a payment to clear. You just need to keep it topped up ahead of your busy days.
Choose SIMcloud if
- You buy airtime, data or vouchers. With no fee on any of them, your whole budget reaches the people you are sending to.
- You buy electricity in larger amounts. The fee stops at R10 a purchase, however big the token.
- You do not want a monthly bill. There is no subscription and no minimum. If you send nothing, you pay nothing.
- You recharge more than once a month. Send to a list or top up a single number in seconds.
- You want it automated. Use the API, or let an AI assistant place orders through our MCP server.
- You also send SMS. Bulk SMS runs from the same wallet.
- You are not sure which network a number is on. The network lookup tells you before you send a network-specific bundle.
Choose Prepaid24 Enterprise if
- Electricity is your main purchase and your meters are spread across many municipalities.
- You want to pay per order against a pro-forma invoice.
- You place very large single orders, up to 10,000 meters or numbers.
- You want a consultant to help with uploads during office hours.
See the difference on your own numbers
You do not have to take anyone’s word for it. Take last month’s purchases and price them on both.
- Write down what you bought and what you paid in fees.
- Look up the same airtime and data on our price list.
- Open a free SIMcloud account and send one small recharge to your own phone.
- Check the tax invoice and the report you get back.
It takes a few minutes and costs you the price of one recharge. If you would like help moving a list across, WhatsApp us on 074 707 7000.
Quick answers
Does SIMcloud charge a service fee on airtime, data or vouchers?
No. There is no fee on airtime, data or vouchers, and no monthly, setup or admin fee.
What is SIMcloud’s fee on prepaid electricity?
The purchase amount × 3 ÷ 103, rounded down to a whole rand and capped at R10. For example, R150 carries a R4 fee and R500 or more carries R10.
What does Prepaid24 Enterprise charge?
Their site gives a standard service fee of 7.5% per order, lower for higher volumes, with the first calendar month free.
Are SIMcloud and Prepaid24 related?
No. SIMcloud is run by Freepaid (Pty) Ltd. Prepaid24 Enterprise is run by Prepaid24 (Pty) Ltd.
Can I use both?
Yes. Nothing stops you using one for electricity and the other for airtime, data and automated recharges.
What we say about Prepaid24 Enterprise is taken from prepaid24enterprise.co.za, November 2026. Ask them for the rate that applies to you.