Listicle · 4 picks
Updated May 2026. Six supermarket chains sell prepaid SIM cards in Germany at the same price point: 25 GB for €8.99/4w. The differences come down to which network. LIDL Connect runs on Vodafone with the strongest 5G in cities; ALDI TALK runs on O2 with continue-surfing after the cap; NORMA connect, KAUFLAND MOBIL, ja! mobil, and Penny Mobil all run on Telekom for the best rural and alpine coverage. Pick by where you shop and where you live.
Vodafone-network 5G at €8.99/4w. Includes "Unlimited on Demand" top-up mechanic and first-eSIM-swap-free. Why: LIDL is the only supermarket brand with both a free eSIM swap and the Unlimited on Demand re-top-up mechanic.
Telekom-network 5G at the same €8.99/4w. Same price, but Telekom signal in rural areas where Vodafone and O2 drop. Why: Pick this over LIDL if you spend any time outside major cities.
O2-network at €8.99/4w. Strong in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich. Why: Annual pack option is the cheapest entry-level annual SIM in Germany.
100 GB at €18.99/4w on Vodafone. Plus an Unlimited on Demand version that re-tops 1 GB endlessly. Why: Most data per Euro at the higher tier. LIDL's Unlimited on Demand is uniquely useful for variable users.
| Brand | Network | Sold at | 25 GB price | Distinctive feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIDL Connect | Vodafone | LIDL stores | €8.99/4w | Unlimited on Demand, free first eSIM swap |
| ALDI TALK | O2/Telefónica | ALDI stores | €8.99/4w | Cheapest annual pack at €69.99 for 60 GB |
| NORMA connect | Telekom | NORMA stores | €8.99/4w | Cheapest D-Netz, Switzerland in zone 1 |
| KAUFLAND MOBIL | Telekom | Kaufland stores | €8.99/4w | Half-year pack: 25 GB for €29.99/6mo |
| ja! mobil | Telekom | REWE stores | €8.99/4w | REWE-branded; eSIM available after first SIM |
| Penny Mobil | Telekom | PENNY stores | €8.99/4w | PENNY-branded; same congstar stack as ja! |
We score every supermarket-brand prepaid SIM on four dimensions: annualised cost (4-week tariffs renew 13 times/year), data per euro, host network, and in-store activation friction. Prices verified May 13, 2026 against the brands' in-store rate cards at LIDL, ALDI Süd, REWE, PENNY, NORMA and Kaufland.
Network varies by brand. LIDL Connect uses Vodafone, ALDI TALK uses O2, and NORMA, KAUFLAND, ja!, Penny all use Telekom. For rural and alpine coverage, the Telekom-network brands win. For dense city use, all three networks are fine. Berlin reaches 99.97% 5G on all networks.
Not quite. Same headline price, same data allowance, but different networks (which matters for coverage) and different extras (LIDL has Unlimited on Demand, KAUFLAND has a half-year pack, ALDI has annual packs). The fact that congstar services back ja! mobil and Penny Mobil is largely invisible to consumers.
Telekom sells wholesale capacity to MVNOs as a business. congstar is Telekom's in-house MVNO and resells under multiple supermarket flags: ja! mobil (REWE), Penny Mobil, plus the NORMA connect and KAUFLAND MOBIL arrangements. All use Telekom cells; speed caps and brand-specific extras differ.
LIDL Connect sells eSIM directly with first swap free. ja! mobil and Penny Mobil eSIM activation requires a one-time SMS code from an already-active SIM — awkward for new customers. KAUFLAND, NORMA: physical SIM verified; eSIM availability not fully confirmed in source material.