By Tesco Mobile offers 30-day ‘Pay as you go Essentials’ plans with no contract & no need for a credit check.
With Tesco Mobile’s new ‘Pay as you go Essentials’ plan, you can use your mobile phone with no contract & no need for a credit check. Plans start from just £5 for a 30-day bundle of data, minutes and texts. You’ll get 99% UK coverage, and inclusive EU roaming on your plan.
As a special offer for Christmas 2025, you can get £5 of Clubcard points when you sign up on Tesco’s 25GB Pay as you go Essentials plan. It’s the perfect choice for festive gifting as there’s no need to take out a contract in your own name, and you’ll get £5 back to spend on your groceries in the new year.
In this article, we’ll review Tesco Mobile’s Pay As You Go service, including all of the deals available and what’s included on each one. We’ll also look at the features included, and how you can keep your current phone number when you move to Tesco Mobile.
Contents
What is Pay as you Go Essentials?
In the UK, Tesco Mobile has launched their new range of ‘Pay as you go Essentials’ plans.
Starting from just £5, these are designed to be simple 30-day bundles that will allow you to use your mobile phone with no contract and with no need for a credit check.
| Network | Data | Monthly Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500MB data | £5.00 per month No contract | See deal |
| 10GB data | £10.00 per month No contract | See deal |
| 25GB data | £15.00 per month £5 reward card No contract | See deal |
| 50GB data | £20.00 per month No contract | See deal |
| 100GB data | £30.00 per month No contract | See deal |
Each plan lasts for 30 days, and can be set to renew automatically so you don’t need to remember to do it yourself. However, there’s no obligation to keep renewing – you can change or cancel your plan whenever you like.
What are the benefits?
- There’s no contract. Because there’s no need to sign up for a contract, it’s perfect for gifting this Christmas (e.g. if you’re buying a phone for your friends or your kids). All of the plans are flexible so can easily pause, change or cancel your plan at any time.
- There’s no credit check. It’s easy to sign up for these plans, without the need to provide lots of detailed information. You can easily top-up your SIM with any debit card or credit card to get started.
- You’ll get 99% population coverage. This is provided by O2’s 4G and 5G network across the UK.
- There are no EU roaming fees. You can use the minutes, texts and data from your plan at no extra cost in 48 Home from Home destinations.
- You’ll collect Clubcard points. You’ll earn 1 Clubcard point for every £1 that you spend on Tesco’s Pay as you go Essentials plan.
What are the drawbacks?
- Heavy users may prefer a Pay Monthly contract with more data. If you need lots of data for your phone, you might be better off getting a Pay Monthly contract from Tesco. For instance, it’s currently possible to get 30GB data for £11 on Tesco’s Pay Monthly SIMs (versus 25GB data for £15 on Pay As You Go). In addition, there are unlimited data plans available on Pay Monthly, whereas the Pay As You Go plans stop at 100GB per month.
- There’s a bigger upfront cost if you want a new phone. If you choose one of Tesco’s Pay Monthly plans, you’ll be able to get a new mobile phone with no upfront cost, or with a reduced upfront cost.
Tesco Mobile Pay As You Go Features
No Contract & No Credit Check
There’s no contract on Tesco Mobile’s ‘Pay as you go Essentials’ plan. This means you have ultimate flexibility to change, pause, or cancel your plan at any time. For instance, you can move upwards to get a plan with more data, downwards to save some money on your phone bill, or you can pause (e.g. if you’re travelling outside the UK).
Because there’s no credit check, it’s also fast and simple to sign up, as well as being open to everyone (e.g. as a SIM card for your kids).
Earn Clubcard Points
You’ll earn 1 Clubcard point for every £1 that you spend on Tesco’s Pay As You Go service. You can save these up to get a discount on your groceries, or you can convert them into Partner Vouchers to spend elsewhere (e.g. on days out).
As a special offer for Christmas 2025, you’ll get a ‘welcome bonus’ of £5 in Clubcard points when you sign up on Tesco’s 25GB Pay as you go Essentials deal.
No EU Roaming Fees
On Tesco Mobile, you’ll get inclusive EU roaming on your plan. This means you can use your UK minutes, texts and data at no extra cost when travelling in the following 48 ‘Home From Home’ destinations:
- Austria
- Azores
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Canary Islands
- Croatia
- Republic of Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- French Guiana
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Guadeloupe
- Guernsey
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Jersey
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Madeira
- Malta
- Martinique
- Mayotte
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Reunion
- Romania
- San Marino
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- St. Martin
- St. Barts
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Vatican City
99% Coverage From O2
On Tesco Mobile’s Pay As You Go service, you’ll have access to 99% network coverage, powered by the O2 network. In addition to their 4G coverage, you’ll also get access to 5G, as long as you’re using a 5G-ready phone in a 5G coverage area.
If you’d like to check the coverage in your area before you sign up, you can do this by entering your postcode on Tesco Mobile’s online coverage map:
Check Tesco Mobile Coverage (tescomobile.com) →
Keeping Your Phone Number
If you’re switching to Tesco Mobile from another UK mobile network, it’s a straightforward process transferring your phone number.
To start, you should get a PAC Code from your current mobile network. You can get one by contacting your current provider, or by texting PAC to 65075. Once you’ve done that, you can order your new phone or SIM card from the Tesco Mobile website.
Once your new Tesco Mobile phone or SIM card has arrived, text PORT to 23424. You can then follow the instructions provided and your phone number will be transferred over.
For step-by-step instructions on transferring your phone number to Tesco Mobile, please select your current mobile network from the drop-down menu below:
More Information
For more information about Tesco Mobile’s Pay as you go Essentials, please see their official website.
Rach said:
Will a Tesco rocket pack show me my itemised usage on pay as you go?
Bob bighat said:
Tesco mobile is to expensive
MR ROBERT JACKSON said:
I seem to be getting a reduced amount each time I check my tesco payg balance by about 20pence per day. I changed an old phone to a new Alcatel one on Wednesday.
I don’t have an any rocket deals in place
Ken replied:
Hi Robert,
Thanks for your comment. It sounds like the “mobile data” option might be switched on on your phone. This means if your handset has gone out of the range of Wi-Fi, it will connect to 3G or 4G and this will cost you 10p/MB. You can switch off mobile data within the Settings menu on your phone, which will stop your phone from connecting to 3G or 4G data.
Hope this helps,
Ken