Mobile Contract Berlin
Finding the right mobile contract in Berlin can be a difficult thing.
But with our help you will find the best mobile phone contract for your needs.
Here are the most important things to consider before signing up with a mobile phone provider in Berlin for up to 24 months:
- Do you need a mobile flat, because you are calling a lot of people?
- How much mobile data do you need each month?
- Do you need a new Smartphone or can you still use your current one?
- What company do your friends have? Basic contracts only offer flatrates to German landline calls and within the same provider.
- Do you want to sign up for a contract or do you prefer the more flexible but also more expensive prepaid cards?
Most mobile phone providers offer both contracts and prepaid options. Moneywise you will always do better with a contract.
Even if you are not sure if you are going stay in Berlin for good or only for a short period of time.
As long as you can provide proof (Abmeldung) that you leave Germany you can end every contract even before the usual duration of 24 months.
Comparison Best German Mobile Phone Providers
1&1 Internet* | Deutsche Telekom* | Tarifhaus | O2 Mobile Contract* | |
Mobile network quality | Great D-Netz Medium Telefonica | Great D-Netz quality | Great D-Netz Medium Telefonica | Medium Telefonica |
LTE (fast mobile internet) | Yes Up to 500MBit/s | Yes Up to 500MBit/s | Yes Up to 50MBit/s | Yes Up to 300MBit/s |
Best deal | LTE M 10GB | MagentaMobil S 20GB | Sim.de Allnet Flat 10 GB | o2 Mobile M Flex 25 GB |
Monthly price best deal | 9,99€ first 6 months 24,99€ afterwards Setup 19,90€ | 39,95€/month Setup 39,95€ EU + UK and CH roaming | 6,99€/month 0€ Setup fee But only Telefonica network | 29,99€ /month Setup 0€ |
Flatrate best deal | Yes Phone calls in Germany and EU-wide | Yes Phone calls in Germany and EU-wide + Switzerland & UK SMS flat | Yes Phone calls in Germany and EU-wide SMS flat | Yes Phone calls in Germany and EU-wide SMS flat |
Contract duration | 24 months | 24 months | 24 months | 24 months |
1&1 Mobile Contract*
1&1 is a very good combination of very good network coverage (using the same network as Deutsche Telekom) and fair prices.
One of the main advantages of 1&1 is that LTE coverage is exceptionally good in Berlin.
If you use a lot of mobile data then 1&1 is probably your best choice in Berlin right now.
All of their contracts come with All-net-flatrates for German landlines, SMS within Germany and up to 100GB of mobile data with LTE speed.
Yes, that’s right. 100GB!
Don’t ask us how you can use that much data in one month but it is always good to have some extra GBs lying around in our opinion.
However if you are a normal internet user and connect your phone most of the time with your home WLAN then we would probably recommend the LTE M option with 10 GB as the best value deal.
So right now our personal favorite for the best mobile phone provider in Germany is for sure 1&1 Internet*.
Deutsche Telekom*
It is true that Deutsche Telekom is a bit more expensive than other German phone providers, but in return you get the best network coverage in Germany.
Especially within notorious areas in Berlin such as Eberswalder Strasse, where you have 0 signal for example with O2, Telekom is your best choice.
And furthermore if you are travelling a lot within Germany for work, especially along the highways, Telekom should be your Number 1 choice for a mobile phone provider.
Furthermore Telekom offers very fast mobile internet with their LTE options.
You can stream and surf almost anywhere with up to 300MBit/s and 4G coverage.
Deutsche Telekom used to be owned by the German Government but has been running as a public company for many years now.
Deutsche Telekom also has lots of shops locations throughout Berlin, where you can go if you have any problems that cannot be solved online.
It also should be mentioned that Telekom offers some cool add-ons either for a few euros a month or included in your contract, such as StreamOn Music or StreamOn Social&Chat.
That means that all mobile data that you use e.g. for chatting on Whatsapp or being on Facebook is not taken off your monthly mobile data quota.
All in all if you don’t mind paying a bit more than with another provider we strongly recommend to sign up with Deutsche Telekom.
In return you will have the best network coverage in Germany.
Plus Deutsche Telekom* has some pretty cool deals such as StreamOn Social or Music.
O2 Mobile Contract*
o2 will be your best pick if you live in the middle of Berlin and preferably not in an Altbauwohnung with very thick walls.
Why? Because outside of Berlin and within some older buildings you may have sometimes difficulties to get a decent signal with an O2 Mobile Contract*.
But don’t worry, it sounds worse than it acually is.
O2 is definitely a very good choice for your mobile phone provider in Berlin, especially as o2 is offering cheaper deals than Deutsche Telekom.
Another big advantage of signing up with o2 is that they now offer the choice of either signing up for 24 months as usual or to be more flexible and only sign up for 1 month.
This flexibility is very helpful if you are still unsure whether you are going to live in Berlin or just stay here for some time.
So give O2 Mobile Contract* a try if you want to have good network coverage and even better prices.
Tarifhaus
Recently started in Germany Tarifhaus is a great choice for all that are looking for a fair compromise of good price and very good network quality.
But the main difference to other similarily good contracts is that Tarifhaus offers 6 months instead of 24 months contracts, which only renews itself for 3 months.
Furthermore you get with 8GB per month enough mobile data for music streaming and browsing on the go.
Thanks to the new EU law this also applies for all countries within the EU.
Oh and if you use your phone nowadays also for some calls all contracts have a flatrate included for calls within Germany!
As you can see Tarifhaus is a great new competitor on the German phone provider market and is well worth its money.
Prepaid Cards
Prepaid Cards are your best choice if you do not want to sign up for the 24 month contracts that German phone companies usually offer.
Prepaid cards do not charge a monthly fee, but you should be aware that the rates for calls, internet and SMS are slightly higher than the ones on a monthly contract.
To get your Prepaid Card you just need to provide your details, such as name, address, etc. and then you can use it in any unlocked phone.
If you don’t have a mobile phone yet, you might need to pay full price for one, as the only way to get it subsidised by the network provider is by signing up for a 24 month contract.
If you want to avoid paying full price for your new mobile phone check out sites like Ebay, where you can always find some good bargains.
All major mobile companies offer prepaid cards that vary in price and service. Make sure you know what you need most, e.g. mobile internet, cheap calls, or free SMS, and then choose from the many offers available.
- o2 o Prepaid (Prepaid SIM called Loop)
- BASE (BASE Prepaid)
- Telekom Prepaid (Prepaid called Xtra)
If you are considering going for a prepaid card rather than a 24 months fixed contract continue reading about the best prepaid cards in Berlin.
New rules for contracts from 1st of December 2021 onwards
Good news for all new contracts, no matter if mobile contracts, your gym subscriptions or anything else.
All contracts with 24 months duration now can only be automatically renewed for 1 month (instead of the 12 months like before).
This way, in case you forget to cancel at least 3 months before the expiration of your contract, you will not be locked in another year.
*Since I love to keep my website as up-to-date as possible for you awesome readers, my content may contain affiliate links. All the links in this post marked with ‘*’ are such affiliate links. Even though I might receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you, all opinions on my website remain my own.
Now that you have taken care of your mobile contract, your internet contract and your cable contract it is time to find yourself a job in Berlin.
If you already have a job in Berlin then you can check out where to spend your money on the best food in one of our places on our Top 10 Best things to eat in Berlin list.