SIM-only deals can save you money on your phone bill every month. Compare the UK’s best value SIM-only deals.
In the UK, there are currently more than 20 different mobile networks offering SIM-only deals.
Switching to a SIM-only deal can be a good way to save money on your phone bill as you’ll get a low-cost SIM card with inclusive minutes, texts and mobile data. You can also keep your existing phone number when you switch to a SIM-only deal.
In this article, we’ll review and compare the UK’s best value SIM-only deals. This includes SIM-only deals from big name mobile networks such as EE, O2, Three and Vodafone. We’ll also look at lower-cost providers including giffgaff, iD Mobile, SMARTY and VOXI.
Contents
SIM Only Deals: By Type
There are a couple of different types of SIM-only deal, depending on the features you’re looking for. For instance, you might be looking for an unlimited data plan or a Pay As You Go SIM card.
Select the type of the SIM card you’re looking for to see a more detailed comparison of available SIM-only deals:
Get a SIM-only deal without limits on how much you can download.
Available from £15/month
Get a SIM-only deal for £5/month or less, with calls, texts & data.
Available for under £5/month
Get a flexible SIM-only deal that you can change or cancel any time.
Available from 99p/month
Get a SIM-only deal for £5/month or less, with calls, texts & data.
Available from £2.90/month
SIM cards with no contract & credit check. Just pay for what you use.
Available with no monthly fee
Get an eSIM for your phone & use dual-SIM on an iPhone, Samsung or Pixel.
Available from £5/month
Use your SIM card in a tablet, dongle or mobile broadband router? For the most part, it should be possible to get a regular SIM-only deal, but there are a couple of exceptions. See our guide to tablet and mobile broadband SIM cards for more information.
SIM Only Deals: By Coverage Provider
Another useful way to filter SIM-only deals is by looking at the network coverage provider they’re using. On many networks, you’ll get the exact same coverage as they share the same underlying network and mobile masts.
Select a coverage provider to see a more detailed comparison of available SIM-only plans:
Including 1pMobile, IQ Mobile, Lyca Mobile & Talk Home.
Available from £4.25/month
Want to check coverage at your address? Simply enter your postcode on the following coverage maps to see the coverage where you are:
Compare All SIM Only Deals
If you’d like to compare all of the available SIM-only deals, you can use the following interactive comparison tool.
Start by choosing how much data you want on your SIM-only plan. You can also filter down by maximum contract length and the mobile networks you’d be happy to consider:
Scroll through the full list of price plans to see the currently available deals that match your criteria. If you’re unsure how much data you want on your plan, see our guide to mobile download limits.
SIM Only Deal Providers
At present, there are over 20 different UK mobile networks offering SIM-only plans. The following table shows a list of major providers, and any additional benefits you’ll get when joining their service.
Mobile Network | Plans From | Coverage Provider | Key Features |
---|---|---|---|
ASDA Mobile | £4/month | Vodafone |
|
EE | EE |
|
|
giffgaff | £6/month | O2 |
|
Honest Mobile | £12.15/month | Three |
|
iD Mobile | £6/month | Three | |
IQ Mobile | £7/month | EE | |
Lebara Mobile | £4.50/month | Vodafone |
|
Lyca Mobile | £5/month | EE |
|
O2 | £5/month | O2 |
|
Sky Mobile | £10/month | O2 |
|
SMARTY | £6/month | Three |
|
spusu | £2.90/month | EE | |
Talk Home | £5/month | EE |
|
Talkmobile | £4.95/month | Vodafone | |
Tesco Mobile | £7.50/month | O2 | |
Three | £5/month | Three |
|
Virgin Mobile | £6/month | O2 | |
Vodafone | £7/month | Vodafone |
|
VOXI | £10/month | Vodafone |
|
Useful Resources
Switching to a SIM-only deal? The following resources will help you to transfer your phone number, to figure out how much data you need each month, and more.
It's easy to keep your phone number when you change networks. Find out how.
The average user consumes around 3GB data per month, but this can vary substantially.
Find out how download speeds compare, and what speeds you actually need.
Find out how mobile phone credit checks work and discover ‘no credit check’ deals.
You can also read our in-depth mobile network reviews for more information about specific SIM-only deal providers.
tim said:
I know this is an old thread but does anyone know of any payg or 1 monthly providers that allow you to pay the bill early? Smarty lets me top up in a shop and they use that cash for the bill, any others that can do that? Thank you.
Melissa said:
Hi Ken,
Please help. Is there any sim contract in the world that does not include any data? I need a mobile phone set up with absolutely no possibility of internet access. So ideally would be a large old fashion sim (not micro sim) for an old style Nokia phone, with only calls and texts. Thanks.
Ken replied:
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, you can go for ASDA Mobile’s £4 deal which gives you unlimited minutes & unlimited texts with no data. Alternatively, consider a Pay As You Go SIM for light users. All of those networks will give you an old fashioned Standard SIM card (the only one I’d avoid would be Three as they don’t support 2G phones on their network).
Hope this helps,
Ken
Miss S M Maltby said:
Hi Ken
Some months back I purchased a brand new SIM free Samsung Galaxy A20e with a view to switching from my present Samsung Galaxy J3 model – (purchased from EE and presently use on a pay-as-u-go basis) – believing my J3 SIM card would fit the A20e model – wrong!
So now I’m thinking of arranging a SIM only contract with another provider but wonder whether I have to purchase a mobile ‘phone from them before going forward?
Ken replied:
Hi there,
Thanks for your comment. No, there’s no need to buy a mobile phone from the other provider. You can simply order a SIM-only deal (like one of those listed above) and that SIM card can slot inside your SIM-free Galaxy A20e.
Hope this helps!
Ken