By You can now get a SIM-only deal for just £5 per month or less in the UK. Compare the best £5 SIM-only deals.
In the UK, the cost of getting a SIM-only deal has dropped rapidly over the past few years. This is due to heavy competition in the SIM-only mobile market.
Just a couple of years ago, it would have been unheard of to be able to use your mobile phone for less than £5 per month. However, there are now lots of SIM-only deals available for £5 per month or less, giving you unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and an allowance of 5G data.
In this article, we’ll look at the best £5 SIM-only deals in the UK, including the mobile networks that offer a suitable plan and the best deals currently available. We’ll also look at how you can transfer your phone number if you’re switching to one of the UK’s best £5 SIM-only plans.
| Recommended £5 Deal: | 20GB data for £2.39 on Lyca Mobile (no contract, £7.90pm after 3 months, with EE 5G coverage) |
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| All Providers: |
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| Best Long-Term Plan: | 5GB data for £4.50 on Lebara Mobile (12 month contract, use KEN3 voucher to get 3 months half price, uses Vodafone 5G) |
| Cheap ‘No Contract’ SIM: | 5GB data for £1.29 on Lyca Mobile (up to 3 months) (no contract, £5.90pm after 3 months, uses EE 5G coverage) |
| ‘Big Network’ SIM Deal: | 8GB data for £7 on Three (12 month contract, with 5G coverage) |
| Calls & Texts Only: |
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Best £5 SIM Only Deals
In the UK, it was once unheard of to be able to use your mobile phone for less than £5 per month. However, it’s now fairly commonplace due to the heavy competition in the SIM-only mobile market, with at least eight different networks currently offering a plan for £5 per month or less.
For your £5 per month payment, you can typically expect to get unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts, along with an allowance of data (which can be up to 20GB per month). This means the average person can comfortably use their mobile phone for not much more than you’d pay for a supermarket lunch deal.
At present, our recommended plan is Lyca Mobile’s 20GB SIM-only deal:
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Lyca Mobile
At present, Lyca Mobile is offering their 20GB SIM card for just £2.39 per month (new customers only, for up to three months). On this plan, you’ll also get unlimited UK minutes, 100 international minutes, and unlimited UK texts included. There’s no contract and no credit check required and you’ll get access to EE’s 4G and 5G network on your Lyca Mobile SIM. The main downside of Lyca Mobile’s 20GB plan is the fact the price will go up to £7.90 per month after the first three months. Therefore, if you were to keep this plan for six months, the average cost for comparison would be £5.15 per month. Of course, there’s no contract so you can change or cancel your plan at any time without penalty (e.g. if you like, you can move down to Lyca Mobile’s 5GB for £5 plan after the first three months). It’s also possible to switch to Lyca Mobile’s traditional Pay As You Go service, where there are no monthly fees for keeping your SIM card active. |
If you’re looking for a longer-term deal, you can get 5GB data for £4.50/month on Lebara. This is a 12-month contract, with the first 3 months half price when you use the KEN3 voucher code at checkout. With this discount applied, you’ll pay just £2.25 per month for the first 3 months. The average cost over a 12-month period would be £3.94 per month.
Other Mobile Networks
It’s also possible to get a £5 SIM-only deal on lots of other mobile networks.
The following table shows an overview of the networks you can choose from, along with the coverage that’s available on their SIMs:
| Mobile Network | SIM Only Deals From | Coverage Provider |
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| 1p Mobile | £4 per month (when paid as £48 per year) | Using EE coverage |
| ASDA Mobile | £4 per month | Using Vodafone coverage |
| Lebara Mobile | £4.50 per month | Using Vodafone coverage |
| Lyca Mobile | £5.90 per month | Using EE coverage |
| Talk Home | £5 per month | Using EE coverage |
| Talkmobile | £4.95 per month | Using Vodafone coverage |
| Three | £7 per month | Using Three coverage |
Compare £5 SIM Only Deals
In the table below, you can see a side-by-side comparison of all of the SIM-only deals currently available for £5 per month or less.
You can filter the list of SIM-only deals based on the amount of data included, based on the contract length, or based on the coverage you’ll get.
Showing 19 of 19 price plans that match your criteria
| Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost (may rise during contract) |
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 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 5GB | £0.01 for 3 months, then £5/month 12 months |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 4GB | £0.01 for 3 months, then £5/month 1 month |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 10GB | £0.99 for 3 months, then £8/month 12 months |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 8GB | £0.99 for 3 months, then £8/month 1 month |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 5GB | £1.00 for 4 months, then £5/month 1 month |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 5GB | £1.29 for 3 months, then £5.90/month 1 month |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 10GB | £1.49 for 3 months, then £5.90/month 1 month |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 15GB | £1.80 for 3 months, then £8.50/month 1 month |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 25GB | £1.99 for 3 months, then £10/month 12 months |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £1.99 for 3 months, then £10/month 1 month |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 20GB | £2.39 for 3 months, then £7.90/month 1 month |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 1GB | £2.90 1 month |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 10GB | £4.00 for 6 months, then £8/month 1 month |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | No data | £4.00 1 month |
 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 5GB | £4.50 12 months |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 4GB | £4.95 1 month |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 5GB | £5.00 1 month |
| 1,000 | 1,000 | 5GB | £5.00 1 month |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | 3GB | £5.00 1 month |
Note that some of the plans on Lyca Mobile have an introductory period where you’ll get a reduced price for the first 3-6 months. After the introductory period, the price of your plan may increase to more than £5 per month. However, there’s no contract so you can easily change or cancel your plan at any time if required.
Contents
£5 SIM Only Deals: By Provider
In the following section, we’ll look at each UK mobile network that offers SIM-only deals for £5 per month or less:
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1pMobile
Alongside the unlimited minutes and unlimited texts, you’ll get 500MB of data included each month. Further usage beyond the 500MB limit will cost you 1p/MB (equivalent to £10 per GB). On 1pMobile, you’ll get access to EE’s 4G & 5G network. As a special offer for readers of this website, you can enter VAKTT4GB as your voucher code at checkout to get an extra 4GB Data Boost for free on activation.
Tariff Information: 1p Mobile Website |
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ASDA Mobile
You can get ASDA Mobile’s entry-level talk & text plan with unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts for just £4 per month. However, there’s no data included on this deal (you’ll need to pay 10p/MB for any data you use). If you upgrade to their £5 SIM-only deal, you’ll get 3GB mobile data included. You’ll get access to Vodafone’s 4G network on this SIM-only deal from ASDA Mobile.
ASDA Mobile also offers 5G coverage on some of their plans. However, you’ll need to choose a SIM-only deal costing £10 per month or more to get access to 5G.
Tariff Information: ASDA Mobile Website |
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Lebara Mobile
Lebara Mobile’s £5 SIM-only deal will give you 1000 UK minutes, 100 international minutes, 1000 UK texts and 5GB data. There’s no contract and no credit check required on this deal. Alternatively, you can save 10% when you choose a 12-month plan, bringing the price of this plan down to just £4.50 per month. As a special offer for April 2024, you can get 3 months half price when you enter KEN3 as your voucher code at checkout. This makes it possible, for instance, to get the £5 SIM-only deal for just £2.50 per month for the first 3 months.
Over a 12-month period, the average cost works out to be £3.94/month on a 12-month contract. Alternatively, it’s £4.38 per month on the 1-month rolling plan.
For more information, see our guide to Lebara Mobile’s SIM-only deals. Tariff Information: Lebara Mobile website |
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Lyca Mobile
At present, the best deals are available when you sign up as a new Lyca Mobile customer. That’s because you can take advantage of their introductory offers, allowing you to get a Lyca Mobile SIM card for as little as £1.29/month. During April 2024, our recommended Lyca Mobile SIM card will give you 20GB data for £2.39. This plan is available with no contract and no credit check, and comes with a discounted price for the first six months. After the first three months, it will go up to £7.90 per month but you can switch to another plan if you like (e.g. to Lyca’s 5GB plan). The following table shows Lyca Mobile’s best SIM-only deals, available for £5 per month or less:
For more information, see our full guide to Lyca Mobile’s SIM-only deals.
Tariff Information: Lyca Mobile website |
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Talk Home MobileIn the UK, Talk Home Mobile offers SIM-only deals with access to EE’s 4G & 5G network. There’s no contract and no credit check required on Talk Home Mobile. The following table shows Talk Home’s latest SIM-only deals, available for £5 per month or less:
For more information, see our Talk Home Mobile review.
Tariff Information: Talk Home Website |
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TalkmobileTalkmobile is a low-cost sub-brand of Vodafone. They offer simple 5G-ready plans from just £4.95 per month. This will give you unlimited UK minutes, unlimited UK texts and 4GB data per month.
For more information, see our guide to Talkmobile’s exclusive SIM-only deals.
Tariff Information: Talkmobile Website |
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Three
With this £5 SIM-only deal from Three, you’ll get full access to their 5G network. You’ll also get access to the Three+ customer rewards app. This comes with a range of exclusive customer offers such as a £1 coffee at Caffè Nero each week.
For more information, see our full guide to Three’s SIM-only deals.
Tariff Information: Three SIM Only Deals |
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If you’re looking to get a low-cost SIM card mainly for calling and texting, 
In the UK, 
If you’re looking for a £5 SIM-only deal on a ‘big name’ mobile network, Three is currently offering 3GB data for £5 per month. This also comes with unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts included.Keeping Your Phone Number
If you’re switching mobile networks to take advantage of a cheaper SIM-only deal, it’s easy keeping your current phone number. Simply request a PAC Code from your old mobile network by texting PAC to 65075. You can then give this to your new mobile network once you’ve signed up.
For step-by-step instructions on how to transfer your phone number, please select your current mobile network, followed by the mobile network you’re joining:
More Information
For more information, see our guide to the UK’s best SIM-only deals. Alternatively, if you’re a very light mobile user looking for a plan where there’s no regular monthly fee, read our guide on the best Pay As You Go SIM cards for light usage.
Sal said:
Lyca really competitive prices but currently no wifi calling or VOLTE. I tried it but EE signal very poor where I live so had to leave.