You can get an unlimited data plan from £15/month, allowing you to download as much as you like. Compare the UK’s best unlimited data SIM cards.
Whether you’re a heavy smartphone user or whether you just want the reassurance that you’ll never run out of data, most UK mobile networks now offer an unlimited data plan so you can download as much as you like.
In total, there are currently 15 mobile networks that offer an unlimited data plan in the UK. Most of them offer 5G coverage at no extra cost. The cheapest unlimited data plans start from £15/month.
In this article, we’ll compare the best value unlimited data plans in the UK. We’ll start with an overview of the mobile networks with unlimited data. We’ll then look at the unlimited data plans on each mobile network in more detail, including any fair usage limits or restrictions that apply.
Unlimited Data Plans: | From £15/month |
---|---|
With EE Coverage: |
|
With O2 Coverage: | |
With Three Coverage: |
|
With Vodafone Coverage: |
|
Exclusive Offer: | £12.50/month for unlimited data on Lebara (use the KEN3 voucher code to get 3 months half price, reverts to £25/month) |
Unlimited Data No Contract: | £16/month for unlimited data on SMARTY (with no contract & 5G coverage from Three) |
Overview of Unlimited Data Plans
Best Unlimited Data Plans
In the UK, there are currently fifteen mobile networks that offer an unlimited data plan.
The following table shows the cheapest unlimited data plans that are currently available on each network:
Network | Data | Monthly Cost | |
---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited data | £15.00 per month 1 month contract | See deal |
| Unlimited data | £16.00 per month 1 month contract | See deal |
| Unlimited data | £16.00 per month 1 month rolling | See deal |
| Unlimited data | £18.00 per month 3 months free 24 month contract | See deal |
| Unlimited data | £20.00 per month 24 month contract Monthly cost will rise each April by RPI inflation plus 3.9% | See deal |
| Unlimited data 2Mbps max speed | £20.00 per month 1 month rolling | See deal |
| Unlimited data | £22.00 per month 24 month contract Monthly cost will rise each April by £1.50 | See deal |
| Unlimited data | £22.50 per month 12 month contract Monthly cost will drop by 5% each year | See deal |
| Unlimited data | £22.50 per month 3 months half price 12 month contract | See deal |
| Unlimited data | £25.00 per month 24 month contract Monthly cost will rise each April by CPI inflation plus 3.9% | See deal |
| Unlimited data | £25.00 per month 18 month contract | See deal |
| Unlimited data 10Mbps max speed | £30.00 per month 24 month contract Monthly cost will rise each April by £1.80 | See deal |
| Unlimited data | £35.00 per month 12 month contract | See deal |
| Unlimited data | £35.00 per month 1 month rolling | See deal |
Coverage, Speeds & Limitations
When choosing an unlimited data SIM card, it’s important to consider the coverage you’ll get on it, along with any fair usage limits or restrictions.
The following table shows a summary of this information for each UK network:
Mobile Network | Coverage Provider | Speed | Key Limits & Restrictions |
---|---|---|---|
ASDA Mobile | Vodafone | 5G |
|
EE | EE | 5G |
|
giffgaff | O2 | 5G |
|
Honest Mobile | Three | 5G |
|
iD Mobile | Three | 5G | |
Lebara Mobile | Vodafone | 5G | |
Lyca Mobile | EE | 5G |
|
O2 | O2 | 5G |
|
Sky Mobile | O2 | 5G | |
SMARTY | Three | 5G | |
Talkmobile | Vodafone | 5G | |
Tesco Mobile | O2 | 5G |
|
Three | Three | 5G | |
Vodafone | Vodafone | 5G |
|
VOXI | Vodafone | 5G |
For further information about the unlimited data plans on each network, read on to learn more about unlimited data on each network.
Contents
Unlimited Data Plans: By Mobile Network
At present, you can get an unlimited data plan from 15 UK mobile networks. In the following section, we’ll look at the unlimited data plans on each mobile network in more detail:
ASDA MobileAt present, ASDA Mobile is offering a choice of unlimited data SIM cards from £20 per month. You’ll get access to 4G & 5G coverage from Vodafone. You can choose from three unlimited data plans, with a range of download speeds between 2Mbps and 150Mbps:
ASDA Mobile’s unlimited data plans are shown in the following table:
All of these plans are available on a Pay As You Go basis (with no contract), or on a Pay Monthly contract (where you commit for either 12 months or 24 months). When you choose a contract, you’ll be able to get some of your monthly bill back in your Asda Rewards Cashpot.
For more information, see our ASDA Mobile unlimited data review. Source: ASDA Mobile Unlimited Data Plan |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EEOn EE, you can get unlimited data from £27 per month (reduced to just £10 per month if you have an eligible EE home broadband plan). The download speeds and features available will depend on the type of plan you choose. The cheapest way to get unlimited data on EE is to get one of their No Frills unlimited data plans from £30 per month. This will have a maximum download speed of 10Mbps (roughly equivalent to a basic 4G connection):
For download speeds of up to 100Mbps, and the ability to gift up to 100GB of spare data to another EE SIM card on your account, you can upgrade to an EE Essentials unlimited data plan from £32 per month:
Meanwhile, if you’re looking for uncapped download speeds and Inclusive Extras on your plan, choose one of EE’s All Rounder or Full Works SIM cards. With All Rounder, you can choose to have one Inclusive Extra for the lifetime of your plan. Options include Apple Music, Netflix, the Roam Abroad Pass, TNT Sports on discovery+, the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, or Microsoft 365 Personal. Depending on the option you choose, this Inclusive Extra is worth up to £25 per month.
EE’s Full Works plans come with three Inclusive Extras such as Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, TNT Sports Ultimate on discovery+, and the Roam Abroad Pass:
There are three key restrictions worth being aware on EE’s unlimited data plans:
If you’re using the Data Gifting feature on an EE Family account, you’ll be able to gift up to 100GB of data to other users on your plan (or 120GB if you’re on a 5G handset plan with unlimited data). The Data Gifting feature is not available on the No Frills plan.
For more information, read our EE unlimited data review. Source: EE Website |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
giffgaffIn the UK, giffgaff offers 4G & 5G coverage from O2, with a choice of one-month rolling plans and 18-month contracts. There’s no credit check required on giffgaff. For unlimited data without any speed restrictions, the best value option is giffgaff's £25 per month contract. This gives you unlimited UK data at 5G speeds, along with unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts. If you’re looking for more flexibility, there’s also a one-month rolling plan, though you’ll need to pay £35 per month for this.
On giffgaff’s unlimited data plans, there’s a fair use limit of 650GB per month. In addition, giffgaff says you shouldn’t tether your phone to more than 12 devices at the same time. Always-On data Another option is to get an Always-On data plan from giffgaff. With Always-On data, you’ll get a full-speed data allowance that’s either 80GB or 100GB per month. If the full-speed data allowance is used up, your download speeds will drop to a maximum of 384kbps between 8am and midnight each day (about 0.4Mbps). This is roughly equivalent to the speed of a basic 3G connection. It won’t stop you from browsing the internet or sending messages through WhatsApp. However, online video streaming is unlikely to work at this speed.
If you’re travelling abroad to another European country, you’ll be able to use up to 5GB of data at no extra cost each month. Beyond this, a surcharge of 10p/MB will be charged against your Pay As You Go balance.
For more information, see our guide to unlimited data on giffgaff. Source: giffgaff Website |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Honest MobileIf you’re looking for unlimited data on an “ethical mobile network”, Honest Mobile offers unlimited data plans from £22.50/month. According to Honest, they’ll remove twice the carbon footprint of your smartphone, making them a carbon negative mobile network. Honest Mobile offers 4G & 5G coverage from Three on the following unlimited data plans:
In the UK, there’s a 650GB per month fair use limit, above which your service will be “limited to 3G speeds”. You’ll also get 5 days of inclusive EU roaming per trip (up to a maximum of 20GB data per month).
For more information, read our Honest Mobile review. Source: Honest Mobile Plan Terms |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
iD MobileiD Mobile is the own-brand mobile network from the Carphone Warehouse. They offer 4G & 5G coverage from Three. At present, iD Mobile offers the following unlimited data plans from £15/month:
iD Mobile haven’t published a fair usage policy for their unlimited data plan, but their terms and conditions say the plan is for “personal use only”. You’ll need to undergo a credit check when you join the iD Mobile network.
Source: iD Mobile Terms and Conditions |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lebara MobileOn Lebara Mobile, it’s currently possible to get unlimited 5G data for just £12.50 per month for 3 months (or just £11.25 per month when you sign up for 12 months). The most popular and most flexible option is Lebara’s £25 unlimited data SIM. This comes on a one-month rolling basis, with no contract and no credit check required. You’ll also get unlimited UK minutes, unlimited UK texts, and 100 international minutes to 42 countries. As there’s no contract, you can change or cancel your plan at any time. As an exclusive offer for our readers in November 2024, you can get 3 months half price when you order through this link, entering KEN3 as your voucher code at checkout. This will allow you to get the £25 unlimited data SIM for just £12.50 per month for 3 months.
For even bigger savings, you can sign up to Lebara on a 12-month plan. This will give you a further 10% off, bringing the price down to as little as £11.25 per month for 3 months (then £22.50 per month thereafter).
As before, you’ll need to enter KEN3 as your voucher code at checkout to get the 3 months half price. According to Lebara Mobile, there are no usage caps on their unlimited data service, with exceptions for fraudulent usage and their general terms and conditions:
If you’re using your Lebara Mobile SIM card abroad in Europe or India, you can use up to 30GB data per month at no extra cost. If you use the entire 30GB allowance, you can choose to renew your plan early to get a fresh 30GB allowance. Alternatively, you can buy a 5GB roaming bolt-on for £10.
For more information, see our Lebara Mobile unlimited data review. Source: Lebara Mobile Terms and Conditions |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lyca MobileOn Lyca Mobile, it’s currently possible to get unlimited data from £15/month for 3 months,
There’s a fair use limit of 450GB per month in the UK, above which the speed of your service will reduce to 128Kbps. You can use up to 35GB data per month at no extra cost when you’re travelling abroad in the EU. You’ll get access to 4G & 5G coverage from EE. For more information, see our guide to unlimited data on Lyca Mobile.
Source: Lyca Mobile Website |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
O2O2 offers unlimited data on a range of Pay Monthly SIM cards and handsets. At present, you can get an O2 unlimited data SIM card from £20/month, with the lowest prices being available when you choose a 24-month plan:
You’ll get up to 3 months Apple Music included, along with 3 months of a different O2 Extra of your choice (such as Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, or Amazon Music). Meanwhile, if you upgrade to a more expensive ‘Unlimited Plus’ plan, you’ll get up to 6 months of Apple Music included, along with 6 months of another O2 Extra. On O2’s unlimited data plan, there are several fair usage limits worth being aware of. The most important is their 650GB per month fair usage limit. In addition, the use of tethering and personal hotspot is limited to a maximum of 12 devices. If you exceed these limits twice in any six-month period, O2 says they “reserve the right to transfer you to a more suitable plan”. O2’s terms and conditions also require you to use their unlimited data SIM card inside a battery-powered mobile device. This is intended to prevent you from using the SIM card for 4G home broadband or 5G home broadband:
If you’re travelling abroad to another European country, you can use up to 25GB of data abroad in O2 Europe Zone countries. In addition, if you’re a Virgin Media customer or if you choose an Unlimited Plus plan, you’ll be able to use your SIM card abroad in a further 27 O2 Travel Inclusive Zone countries at no extra cost (this is subject to speed restrictions after the first 150MB of general data usage each day, or after the first 50MB of streaming data usage each day).
For more information, read our guide to O2’s unlimited data plans. Source: O2 Website: Unlimited Plan Terms |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sky MobileOn Sky Mobile, it’s currently possible to get an unlimited data plan for £35 per month. This will give you access to O2’s 4G and 5G network.
According to Sky, their unlimited data plan is for “personal use only”. Their terms and conditions state that your usage of the plan “should not exceed that reasonably expected of a reasonable person using the Sky Mobile services for personal purposes as a consumer”. The data rollover feature (Sky Piggybank) is not available on Sky Mobile’s unlimited data plan.
Source: Sky Mobile Terms and Conditions |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SMARTYSMARTY is a low cost sub-brand of Three. They currently offer unlimited data for £16 on a one-month rolling basis (this is a special offer that runs until the 4th November 2024). On SMARTY, you’ll get unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited 5G data. You can also use the unlimited data SIM card in other devices like your tablet, dongle or mobile broadband router. According to SMARTY, tethering and personal hotspot usage is included in the plan and there are no speed restrictions for using too much data. There is, however, a fair use limit of 12GB per month when you’re using your SMARTY SIM card abroad in Europe. SMARTY offers 99% population coverage, using 4G and 5G coverage from Three.
This offer ends on the 4th November 2024. However, you’re able to benefit from the reduced price for up to 15 months, as long as you sign up to the deal before that date. The following table shows a summary of the key things to know about unlimited data on SMARTY:
For more information, see our SMARTY unlimited data review. Source: SMARTY Website: Unlimited Plan |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TalkmobileTalkmobile is a low-cost sub-brand of Vodafone. As a special offer, they’re currently offering unlimited 5G data for just £16 per month on a one-month rolling basis. You’ll get access to Vodafone’s 5G network with their fastest available speeds.
According to their terms and conditions, Talkmobile says the plan “is for personal use only and cannot be used for commercial or business purposes”. However, beyond that, there are no hidden limits on how much data you can use.
Source: Talkmobile: Terms and Conditions |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tesco MobileOn Tesco Mobile, it’s currently possible to get an unlimited data SIM card from £25/month. This comes with access to 4G & 5G coverage on the O2 network. The following table shows Tesco Mobile’s unlimited data SIM cards:
Tesco hasn’t set a fair usage limit for their unlimited data plan. Instead, their terms and conditions simply state that you’re unable to use the service for commercial purposes, or for usage that adversely impacts other customers on Tesco Mobile. Tesco says on their website that you can use the unlimited data SIM card for personal use in mobile devices, but not in 4G home broadband routers.
For more information, see our guide to Tesco Mobile unlimited data plans. Source: Tesco Mobile Terms and Conditions |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ThreeOn Three, you can get “truly unlimited data” from £22 per month when you order through this link. There are no fair usage limits for unlimited data inside the UK. You’ll also get 5G coverage with no speed restrictions. However, commercial usage of the service is not permitted:
The following table shows the best SIM-only plans from Three with unlimited data:
The cheapest way to get unlimited data on Three is through their £22 unlimited data SIM card deal. This is available exclusively when you order through this link. It’s a hidden deal so you won’t find it if you look directly on Three’s website. Most customers choose one of Three’s Lite plans as this will give you unlimited data for the lowest possible price. For an extra £5 per month, you can upgrade to an Unlimited Value plan which gives you Paramount+ for the first half of your plan, and 14 daily Go Roam passes each year. The Unlimited Complete plan costs £10 per month extra. It comes with Paramount+ for the entire duration of your plan, plus 28 daily Go Roam passes per year. As well as getting an unlimited data SIM card, you can also buy a smartphone from Three with unlimited data on a contract. Three also offers unlimited 4G home broadband and unlimited 5G home broadband.
Prior to September 2019, Three had a fair usage policy of 1,000GB per month (1TB) on their unlimited data plans. They’ve confirmed that this fair usage policy no longer applies on their plans:
For more information, see our guide to unlimited data on Three. Source: Three Help: What is unlimited data? |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VodafoneVodafone offers a selection of unlimited data plans from £30/month. This gives you access to both their 4G & 5G networks. When you choose a Vodafone unlimited data plan, you’ll need to decide between three different speeds:
In the past, Vodafone has also sold Unlimited Lite plans with a maximum download speed of 2Mbps. There’s no fair usage policy on Vodafone’s unlimited data allowance, except that it needs to be “for your personal and non-commercial use”.
If you choose a Euro Roam or Global Roam plan, you’ll be able to use up to 25GB data per month when travelling abroad as part of Vodafone Global Roaming.
For more information, read our Vodafone unlimited data review. Source: Vodafone Website |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VOXIVOXI is the youth-orientated sub-brand of Vodafone. At present, they’re offering unlimited 5G data for £35/month, with no contract and no need for a credit check. On VOXI’s unlimited data plan, you’ll get access to 5G coverage from Vodafone. You’ll also get unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts.
According to their terms and conditions, VOXI says they “reserve the right to suspend or throttle the service if we have reason to believe that the SIM card is being used for commercial purposes, fraudulently or is having an adverse impact / damaging our network in any way”.
Source: VOXI: Terms and Conditions |
Alternatives to Unlimited Data
In some cases, it might not actually be necessary to choose a plan with unlimited data. This is because the average UK mobile user only consumes around 10GB of data per month.
If you mainly want the reassurance that you’ll never run out of data, consider something like SMARTY's 60GB plan. This will cost you £10 per month with no contract and no credit check. It already has more than enough data for the average user.
Network | Data | Monthly Cost | |
---|---|---|---|
Offer ends 3rd Dec | 60GB data | £8.00 per month 1 month rolling | See deal |
Alternatively, if you just want unlimited data for use on certain apps, consider VOXI’s unlimited social media (from £10/month), unlimited music (from £12/month), or unlimited video (from £15/month). This will give you unlimited data for use in the following applications:
- Unlimited social media includes: Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook Messenger & Pinterest
- Unlimited music includes: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, TIDAL, Deezer, Napster & Primordial Radio
- Unlimited video includes: TikTok, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video & My5
Network | Data | Monthly Cost | |
---|---|---|---|
| 45GB data Unlimited Social Media | £10.00 per month 1 month rolling | See deal |
Offer ends 28th Nov | 75GB data Unlimited Social Media Unlimited Music | £12.00 per month 1 month rolling | See deal |
| 105GB data Unlimited Social Media Unlimited Music Unlimited Video | £15.00 per month 1 month rolling | See deal |
Offer ends 28th Nov | 300GB data Unlimited Social Media Unlimited Music Unlimited Video | £20.00 per month 1 month rolling | See deal |
For more information, see our comparison of the best SIM-only deals in the UK.
More Information
For more information about a specific unlimited data plan, please see the details on your mobile network’s website. We’ve also got in-depth guides to unlimited data on ASDA Mobile, EE, giffgaff, iD Mobile, Lebara Mobile, Lyca Mobile, O2, SMARTY, Three and Vodafone.
If you’re looking for a wider range of deals, compare SIM-only plans including those without an unlimited data allowance.
Shaun McDonald said:
1p mobile now have unlimited plans for £25 per month.
Ken said:
Hi all,
Just a quick note to let you know that I’ve updated the above piece, with some of the key changes being:
Let me know if you have any questions!
Ken
sly said:
How do carriers enforce this 12 device limit? I run proxmox which currently has 3 VMs up taking local addresses with another 3 inactive and potential for dozens more. I consider this one device.
I’m already at dot 45 for local addresses, and was at dot twenty something before Proxmox. How long before devices are forgotten? Do they mean 12 devices *simultaneously*?
sly