Three offers Pay As You Go bundles such as 12GB data for £10 and 40GB for £15. You’ll get inclusive roaming in 71 destinations, and Three+ rewards.

If you’re looking to get a SIM card from Three with no contract and no need for a credit check, they currently offer a range of Pay As You Go bundles from £10 per month. For instance, you can get 12GB data for £10, 40GB data for £15, or 80GB data for £20.

All of Three’s Pay As You Go bundles will give you 5G coverage, along with roaming in 71 destinations and access to Three+ rewards. Although there are cheaper alternatives that will give you more data for the same price (e.g. SMARTY offers 60GB data for £10), we think the inclusion of Go Roam is a major benefit on Three Pay As You Go. This means, for instance, you can use your mobile phone at no extra cost when you travel in the USA.

In this article, we’ll review Three’s Pay As You Go service, including the bundles available and how to get them. We’ll also look at some of the included features such as Go Roam and Three+, along with the coverage available and how you can keep your current phone number.

Plans From: £10 per month
Data Pack Bundles:
Pay As You Go Rates: 35p/minute, 15p/text and 10p/MB
Benefits:
  • Access to Three’s 5G network with no contract & no credit check.
  • Inclusive roaming in 71 destinations, including the EU, USA, Australia & more.
  • Three+ app with weekly discounts (e.g. Cineworld & Caffè Nero).
Drawbacks:
  • Not the cheapest: some other networks offer more data for the same price.
  • Three’s network coverage can be poor in some areas.
Coverage: 4G & 5G coverage (check your postcode)

Three Pay As You Go Bundles

In the UK, Three currently offers a range of Pay As You Go bundles, with no contract and no need for a credit check. Also known as Data Pack bundles, they’re available on a one-month rolling basis, so you can change or cancel your plan at any time.

The following table shows Three’s Data Pack bundles:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited12GB£10.00
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited40GB£15.00
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited80GB£20.00
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£35.00

To get their headline data allowances, you’ll need to enable the auto-renew feature. With this, your Data Pack bundle will renew automatically each month, with the payment for it taken from your registered bank card. It’s convenient as it can save you time, and you’re still able to pause or cancel the auto-renewal whenever you like.

If you don’t activate the auto-renew feature, reduced data allowances will apply. At present, you’ll get 10GB data for £10, 30GB data for £15, and 60GB data for £20 without auto-renew.

If you don’t have an active Pay As You Go bundle on your account, you’ll pay 35p per minute, 15p per text and 10p per MB. You’ll need to make a chargeable activity at least once every 180 days to keep your SIM card active.

Three Pay As You Go Features

Go Roam

In our opinion, the inclusive Go Roam feature is one of the biggest benefits of Three’s Pay As You Go service.

With Go Roam, you’ll be able to use your mobile phone at no extra cost in 71 destinations. This includes most European countries, as well as other destinations further afield (including the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and more).

On Three’s Pay Monthly plans, you’ll normally pay extra for this benefit (£2 per day in Europe and £5 per day outside Europe). It can therefore save you quite a lot of money as a Pay As You Go customer (e.g. about £35 if you’re travelling to the USA for one week).

You’ll be able to use up to 12GB data per month when abroad in a Go Roam destination. In addition, there are fair usage policies that apply, to prevent you from using the service abroad for extended amounts of time. Personal hotspot is only available when you’re travelling in Europe and isn’t available in Go Roam destinations outside Europe.

Three+ Rewards

As a Three Pay As You Go customer, you’ll get access to their Three+ rewards app. This gives you weekly discounts and offers such as a £1 coffee from Caffè Nero each week, and £3 cinema tickets from Cineworld. There’s also early access to pre-sale tickets for events and festivals including Reading & Leeds.

To get access to the Three+ rewards, you’ll need to have topped up your Pay As You Go account with at least £10 of credit in the last 90 days.

No Contract & No Credit Check

There’s no contract on Three’s Pay As You Go service. You can simply order a free Pay As You Go SIM card and top it up as needed to pay for your bundle. In addition, there’s no credit check required. This means it’s open to everyone (including under-18s and visitors to the UK).

To get the largest data allowances on your Data Pack bundle, you’ll need to enable the ‘Auto-renew’ setting. This requires you to save your bank card details inside your Three account. A new bundle will then be purchased automatically each month, as soon as the previous one expires. You can cancel the automatic renewal at any time, so it doesn’t tie you in to a contract.

If you’re willing to sign up for a contract, you can also consider Three’s Pay Monthly SIM cards for a larger amount of data. At the moment, there are deals available such as 8GB data for £7, 30GB data for £8, and 120GB data for £12. In general, you’ll get better value for money on these plans, though you’ll need to sign up for a contract and there’s a credit check required. In addition, there’s a daily charge for Go Roam on Three’s Pay Monthly plans.

Coverage

On Three’s Pay As You Go service, you’ll have access to both their 4G and 5G networks across the UK.

According to Three, they offer 4G coverage to about 99% of the UK’s population, and 5G coverage to about 61% of the population. You can enter your postcode on their website to see the coverage available where you live.

Check Three Coverage (three.co.uk) →

One of the key benefits of Three’s Pay As You Go service is the fact that you’re able to access their 5G network without a contract. In contrast, if you’re a Pay As You Go customer on EE or O2, you’re restricted to 4G coverage.

In general, Three’s 5G network can give you very good speeds. For instance, Three is the UK’s fastest 5G network, according to a RootMetrics analysis, with an average download speed of 202Mbps (H1 2023). On the other hand, the availability of their 5G network is more limited compared to rivals. When you take the limited availability into account, their average download speed is more like 35Mbps (blended across 4G and 5G). On this measure, EE’s network is faster overall, with an average download speed of 65Mbps.

Having said that, mobile coverage is ultimately a very personal experience and varies significantly based on where you’re located. For this reason, it’s worth checking the coverage map for your area before you buy.

Keeping Your Phone Number

If you’re switching to Three’s Pay As You Go service, it’s a straightforward process to keep your current phone number.

To start off, order your new Pay As You Go SIM card from Three’s website. Once you’ve done that, you can request a PAC Code from your current network. This is available through your mobile network’s website or app, or by texting PAC to 65075. Your PAC Code will authorise the transfer of your phone number to Three.

Once your Pay As You Go SIM card has arrived from Three, you’ll be able to fill out this form on their website. Once you’ve done that, your phone number transfer will be scheduled (normally for the next working day).

For step-by-step instructions on how to transfer a phone number to Three, please select your current mobile network from the drop-down menu below:

PAC Code Finder: Transfer Your Phone Number to Three

Select your current mobile network:

  More Options

For more information about transferring a phone number between networks, see our guide to keeping your phone number.

More Information

For more information about Three’s Pay As You Go service, please see Three’s official website.

Your Comments 131 so far

We'd love to hear your thoughts and any questions you may have. So far, we've received 131 comments from readers. You can add your own comment here.

  • Although 3 have increased their PAYG rates from 12th July, if you have a Data Reward sim to get the 200mb free every month, you will still pay 3p for calls, 2p for texts and 1p for data. I have just checked this on my phone.

    • This only applies to existing customers. I have checked my sim card in my mobile broadband router and I am still receiving the 200mb data a month. It is no longer available to new customers. You can still buy a pre-pay data sim with the 321 rates for £10. Without the 200mb entitlement it is not worth it.

      RWG Wales offer a SIM only deal (piggybacking on EE). You buy a sim card pre-loaded with £15 and you get 750mb of data, 100 minutes and 100 texts free every month. If you go over your allowance it is 5p/min 5p/text and 1p/MB. Ideal for those who use their phone occasionally.

  • Three have just hiked up their payg prices to 35p per minute a far cry from the 3/2/1 tariff that was so popular and really drove down the price of using a mobile. If you want three coverage Smarty £5/mth is the way to go.

  • Three are to increase prices again! From July 12th the price of a call will increase from 10p/minute to 35p/minute, texts will increase from 10p/text to 15p/text & data per MB will increase from 5p to 10p.

    If you do not like the increase I suggest adding a bundle or moving to one of their pay monthly contracts or moving to another network 🙂

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