Every major SA network offers discounted data that works only between midnight and 5am. Most people buy it, use a fraction of it, and let the rest expire. Here's how to actually squeeze every MB out of your night bundle.
Plug your phone in at night, enable auto-updates, and set Netflix/Spotify to download overnight. You can effectively double your monthly data without spending an extra rand.
| Network | Product name | Hours | How to get it |
|---|---|---|---|
Telkom |
Night Surfer | 00:00 – 05:00 | Included free in most data bundles |
Vodacom |
Night Owl | 00:00 – 05:00 | Add-on purchase via MyVodacom app |
MTN |
Night Express | 00:00 – 05:00 | Separate bundle purchase |
Cell C |
Night Express | 00:00 – 05:00 | Separate bundle purchase |
Telkom's Night Surfer is the standout — it's automatically included in every standard data bundle at no extra charge. A R199 Telkom bundle gives you 5GB anytime + 5GB Night Surfer. That's effectively 10GB for R199.
Set your streaming apps to download content on a schedule. In Netflix, go to Downloads → Smart Downloads — it will automatically download the next episode of whatever you're watching once your Wi-Fi or overnight data kicks in. Showmax has a similar download option.
A typical 45-minute TV episode at standard quality uses about 700MB–1GB. You can easily load up a week's worth of evening viewing in a single night.
On Android: Settings → Apps → Google Play Store → Settings → Auto-update apps → Over any network. Then apps update silently overnight without eating your day data. iOS users can enable background app refresh similarly in Settings.
Open Spotify and select your most-played playlists. Hit the download toggle on each one. Spotify will download them in the background — at roughly 50MB per hour of music at normal quality, you can download 100 hours of music in a single night without using 5GB.
Google Photos and iCloud both let you set backups to happen only when charging. Plug your phone in overnight and let your entire camera roll back up to the cloud — without touching your daytime bundle.
Create a nightly routine: plug in your phone at bedtime, open your streaming app to trigger pending downloads, and let overnight data work while you sleep. This alone can save you R100–R200/month on data.
Telkom wins clearly — Night Surfer data is included free in their bundles. You don't have to think about it or buy it separately. For every other network, night data is an add-on you have to actively purchase and manage.
If you're already on Vodacom or MTN, the night add-ons can still be good value, especially for heavy users. But if you're switching networks and price is a priority, Telkom's bundled night data is a meaningful advantage.
Compare all networks on cost per GB — including bundles with night data factored in.
See the full comparison →