You can get a 5G Pay As You Go SIM card from £5/month with no contract and no credit check required.

If you’re using a 5G-ready phone in the UK, you’ll also need a 5G-ready plan to take advantage of the faster speeds available. At present, there are nine UK mobile networks offering 5G Pay As You Go plans. These allow you to get connected on your mobile from £5/month with no contract and no credit check.

In this article, we’ll review and compare the UK’s best value 5G Pay As You Go plans. We’ll start with an overview of our recommended networks, before looking at the plans available on each mobile network in more detail.

5G Pay As You Go Plans: From £5/month
Recommended Deal: 60GB data for £10 on SMARTY Pay As You Go
(with no contract, no credit check & 5G coverage from Three)
With EE Coverage:
With O2 Coverage:
With Three Coverage:
With Vodafone Coverage:

5G Pay As You Go Deals

At present, SMARTY and giffgaff are our recommended providers if you’re looking for a 5G-ready Pay As You Go plan.

SMARTY

If you’re looking for a cheap 5G-ready Pay As You Go plan with no contract and no credit check, SMARTY currently offers some of the UK’s best value plans.

At present, you can get 5GB data for £5, 15GB data for £7, 60GB data for £10 and unlimited data for £16 on SMARTY.

All of SMARTY’s Pay As You Go plans include unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts. You’ll also get 5G coverage (powered by Three’s 5G network), inclusive EU roaming and the promise of no annual price rises.

Get SMARTY SIM card (Free) →

giffgaff

giffgaff is another highly popular choice if you’re looking for a Pay As You Go network with 5G.

The most popular 5G-ready plan is giffgaff’s £10 golden goodybag. This comes with 15GB of data, unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts. Heavy data users can upgrade this to 30GB data for £15 and 100GB data for £20.

As a giffgaff member, you’ll get access to O2’s 4G & 5G network.

Get giffgaff SIM card (Free) →

Compare 5G Pay As You Go Deals

At present, there are nine UK mobile networks offering 5G coverage on Pay As You Go.

The following table shows a list of 5G Pay As You Go providers, the starting price on each network and the coverage provider it uses:

Mobile Network 5G Plans From Coverage Provider
1p Mobile 1p/minute, 1p/text & 1p/MB EE
ASDA Mobile £10/month Vodafone
giffgaff £6/month O2
Lebara Mobile £5/month Vodafone
Lycamobile £5/month O2
SMARTY £5/month Three
Three £10/month Three
Vodafone £30/month Vodafone
VOXI £10/month Vodafone

Unfortunately, it isn’t currently possible to get 5G coverage if you’re using a Pay As You Go plan from EE, O2, Tesco Mobile or Vectone Mobile. Instead, you can consider getting 5G from one of the networks listed above. For instance, giffgaff can give you access to O2’s 5G network.

5G Pay As You Go Bundles: By Network

In the following section, we’ll look at the 5G Pay As You Go plans on each mobile network in more detail.

1p Mobile

If you’re looking for a traditional Pay As You Go plan with 4G & 5G coverage from EE, you can get a 1p Mobile SIM card with no regular monthly charges.

On 1pMobile, you’ll pay just 1p/minute, 1p/text and 1p/MB. There are no regular monthly charges for keeping your SIM card active but you’ll need to top-up your SIM card with at least £10 of credit every 120 days.

If you’re a heavy data user, you can buy a 30-day boost. For instance, you can get 2GB data for £6, 10GB data for £10 and 50GB data for £15. This may be cheaper than paying the 1p/MB rate (which works out as £10 per GB).

Plans From Data Plans Network

1p/minute
1p/text
1p/MB

1p/MB

5G coverage
(powered by EE)

For more information, see our 1p Mobile review.

ASDA Mobile

On ASDA Mobile, you’ll get access to Vodafone’s 5G network on Pay As You Go plans from £10/month. This is available with no contract and no credit check, allowing you to change or cancel your plan at any time.

The following table shows ASDA Mobile’s 5G Pay As You Go plans:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimited15GB£10.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimited25GB£15.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimited50GB£20.00

You can also choose from a range of 5G-ready unlimited data plans on ASDA Pay As You Go. However, the £20 and £25 plans have a speed limit in place so you won’t be able to get the full benefits of 5G coverage unless you choose the £30 plan.

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
2Mbps max
£20.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
10Mbps max
£22.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
150Mbps max
£24.00

If you choose an ASDA Mobile SIM card costing less than £10 per month, you’ll only have access to Vodafone’s 3G and 4G networks.

Plans From Data Plans Network

£10/month

15GB to unlimited

5G coverage
(powered by Vodafone)
5G coverage is only available on plans from £10/month.
Speed restrictions apply on the £20 and £25 unlimited data plans.

For more information, see our ASDA Mobile unlimited data review.

giffgaff

On giffgaff, you’ll get access to 4G & 5G coverage from O2 on all goodybag plans from £6 per month.

For the best value usage, consider getting a golden goodybag from £10 per month. This will give you a larger data allowance when you set your bundle to recur automatically:

TariffMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
£6 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited2GB£6.00
£8 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited5GB£8.00
£10 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited20GB£10.00
£12 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited26GB£12.00
£15 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited35GB£15.00
£20 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited100GB£20.00
£25 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited100GB£25.00
£35 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£35.00

If you’re happy with having a smaller allowance of data, you’ll also get 5G coverage on giffgaff’s regular goodybags from £6 per month:

TariffMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
£6 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited1GB£6.00
£8 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited4GB£8.00
£10 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited15GB£10.00
£12 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited25GB£12.00
£15 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited30GB£15.00
£20 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited80GB£20.00
£25 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited80GB£25.00
£35 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited150GB£35.00

With regular goodybags, there’s no obligation to set your goodybag to recur automatically. In addition, you can buy a regular goodybag from a top-up voucher or from your Pay As You Go credit.

Plans From Data Plans Network

£6/month

2GB to unlimited

5G coverage
(powered by O2)
The £25 Always-On goodybag has a speed reduction to 384kbps (0.4Mbps) after 80GB per month.

For more information, see our giffgaff review. You can also read our guide to golden goodybags on giffgaff.

Lebara Mobile

In the UK, Lebara Mobile offers 5G-ready Pay As You Go plans from £5/month with no contract and no credit check.

On Lebara, you’ll get 4G & 5G coverage from the Vodafone network. You’ll also get an inclusive allowance of UK minutes, UK texts and international minutes for calling 42 destinations.

At present, Lebara Mobile offers the following 5G Pay As You Go plans:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly Cost
Lebara Mobile1,000
+100 intl.
1,0005GB£2.50
for 3 months, then £5/month
Lebara MobileUnlimited
+100 intl.
Unlimited8GB£3.50
for 3 months, then £7/month
Lebara MobileUnlimited
+100 intl.
Unlimited15GB£4.50
for 3 months, then £9/month
Lebara MobileUnlimited
+100 intl.
Unlimited20GB£5.00
for 3 months, then £10/month
Lebara MobileUnlimited
+unltd intl.
Unlimited30GB£7.50
for 3 months, then £15/month
Lebara MobileUnlimited
+unltd intl.
Unlimited30GB£10.00
for 3 months, then £20/month
Lebara MobileUnlimited
+100 intl.
UnlimitedUnlimited£12.50
for 3 months, then £25/month
Lebara MobileUnlimited
+unltd intl.
UnlimitedUnlimited£15.00
for 3 months, then £30/month

As a special offer for March 2024, you can get 3 months half price on all of Lebara’s standard Pay As You Go plans. To get this, you’ll need to enter the KEN3 voucher code at checkout.

In addition, you can get a further 10% discount when you sign up for a 12-month plan on Lebara. This would involve a 12 month commitment but you’ll benefit from a fixed monthly price and there’s still no credit check required.

Plans From Data Plans Network

£5/month

5GB to unlimited

5G coverage
(powered by Vodafone)

For more information, see our guide to Lebara Mobile’s SIM-only deals.

Lycamobile

If you’re using a 5G-ready Android device, you’ll now be able to access 5G on the Pay As You Go plans from Lycamobile. This is powered by O2’s 5G network.

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
Lycamobile
UK Plan Smart
1,000
+100 intl.
1,0005GB£5.00
Lycamobile
All In One 10
Unlimited
+200 intl.
Unlimited6GB£9.90
Lycamobile
National Plus
Unlimited
+100 intl.
Unlimited20GB£10.00
Lycamobile
National Plan Extra
Unlimited
+100 intl.
Unlimited30GB£12.00
Lycamobile
UK Plan Super Extra
Unlimited
+100 intl.
Unlimited50GB£15.00
Lycamobile
All In One Plus 15
Unlimited
+unltd intl.
Unlimited30GB£15.00
Lycamobile
UK Plan Mega Plus
Unlimited
+100 intl.
Unlimited100GB£20.00
Lycamobile
All In One Plus 20
Unlimited
+unltd intl.
Unlimited30GB£20.00
Lycamobile
UK Plan Unlimited
Unlimited
+100 intl.
UnlimitedUnlimited£25.00
Lycamobile
UK Plan Unlimited Plus
Unlimited
+unltd intl.
UnlimitedUnlimited£30.00

Unfortunately, Lycamobile’s 5G service is not currently available to customers with an iPhone.

Plans From Data Plans Network

£5/month

5GB to unlimited

5G coverage
(powered by O2)
Lycamobile’s 5G service is not currently available on Apple iOS devices.

For more information, you can read our Lycamobile review.

SMARTY

In the UK, SMARTY is a low-cost sub-brand of Three. They offer one-month rolling plans from £5 per month with no contract and no credit check. You’ll get 4G & 5G coverage from Three.

Some of the most popular Pay As You Go plans available on SMARTY include 5GB data for £5, 15GB data for £7, 60GB data for £10 and unlimited data for £16.

The following table shows SMARTY’s best Pay As You Go plans:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly Cost
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited5GB£5.00
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited6GB£6.00
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited15GB£7.00
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited16GB£8.00
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited60GB£10.00
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited100GB£12.00
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited180GB£15.00
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
Plans From Data Plans Network

£5/month

5GB to unlimited

5G coverage
(powered by Three)

For more information, see our SMARTY mobile review.

Three

In the UK, Three offers 5G at no extra cost on all of their Pay As You Go plans. These are available from £10/month:

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

Unfortunately, Three charges a lot more for their Pay As You Go plans, compared to their Pay Monthly SIM cards. For instance, you can get 30GB data for £8 and unlimited data for £20 on a Pay Monthly contract with Three.

Alternatively, SMARTY offers unlimited data for £16 with no contract, no credit check & 5G coverage from Three.

Plans From Data Plans Network

£10/month

3GB to unlimited

5G coverage
(powered by Three)

For more information, see our guide to Three’s 5G network and Three’s Pay As You Go plans.

Vodafone

In the UK, Vodafone offers 5G-ready Big Value Bundles from £30/month on a Pay As You Go basis. This is available with no contract and no credit check.

This following table shows Vodafone’s 5G-ready Pay As You Go plans:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited100GB£30.00
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£40.00

If you choose a Vodafone Big Value Bundle costing less than £30/month, you’ll only have access to Vodafone’s 3G and 4G networks on it.

In general, we wouldn’t recommend choosing Vodafone if you’re looking for a 5G-ready Pay As You Go plan. This is because it’s comparatively expensive and there are much cheaper options available elsewhere. For instance, both ASDA Mobile and Lebara Mobile offer much cheaper plans with access to 5G coverage on the Vodafone network.

Plans From Data Plans Network

£30/month

3GB to unlimited

5G coverage
(powered by Vodafone)

For more information, see our guide to Vodafone’s Pay As You Go bundles.

VOXI

VOXI is a low-cost sub-brand of Vodafone. They currently offer 5G-ready plans from £10/month with no contract and no credit check.

On VOXI, you’re getting 5G coverage from the Vodafone network so you’ll be able to get 5G coverage in the same places as customers on Vodafone.

The following table shows VOXI’s 5G-ready Pay As You Go plans:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly Cost
VOXIUnlimitedUnlimited30GB
Unlimited Social
£10.00
VOXIUnlimitedUnlimited20GB
Unlimited Social
Unlimited Music
£12.00
VOXIUnlimitedUnlimited90GB
Unlimited Social
Unlimited Music
Unlimited Video
£15.00
VOXIUnlimitedUnlimited100GB
Unlimited Social
Unlimited Music
Unlimited Video
£20.00
VOXIUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00

VOXI’s endless social media gives you unlimited usage of Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook Messenger without eating into your regular data allowance.

VOXI’s endless video gives you unlimited usage of TikTok, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, My5, TVPlayer and UKTV Play without eating into your normal data allowance.

Plans From Data Plans Network

£10/month

30GB to unlimited

5G coverage
(powered by Vodafone)

For more information, see our guide to 5G on VOXI and our in-depth VOXI review.

Other Mobile Networks

On the other Pay As You Go mobile networks, it isn’t currently possible to get 5G coverage:

More Information

For more information, you can also read our in-depth guides to 5G coverage in the UK and 5G SIM-only deals. We’ve also got a full comparison of the UK’s best Pay As You Go SIM cards.

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