You can get a SIM Only Deal that’s compatible with eSIM from £5/month in the UK. We compare eSIM-only deals.

If you have a mobile phone that supports eSIM technology, you can get an eSIM-ready SIM only deal from just £5/month. This will allow you to use the eSIM functionality on your phone, including the dual-SIM capabilities of an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel smartphone.

In this article, we’ll compare the eSIM-ready SIM Only deals currently available in the UK. We’ll also look at how you can setup the eSIM on your phone as this currently still requires an extra step to move your plan onto eSIM.

Best eSIM Ready Plan

In the UK, it can be useful having an eSIM for your mobile phone. Having an eSIM will allow you to access the dual-SIM functionality on newer iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones. For instance, you might be able to have two phone numbers and two plans on your phone at the same time (e.g. having both your work phone number and your personal phone number on the same device).

With eSIM, you can also benefit from greater flexibility and lower prices when you travel abroad. This is because the eSIM may give you cheaper international roaming than on your regular SIM card.

At present, Three is our recommended network if you’re looking for a SIM-only plan that’s compatible with eSIM:

Three

If you’re looking for a good value eSIM-ready plan, our current recommendation would be to get a SIM card from Three. They offer 5G coverage at no extra cost on all of their eSIMs, along with inclusive roaming in 71 destinations.

At present, you can get a Pay Monthly SIM card from Three for as little as £5/month. This can be transferred to an eSIM after you receive it.

Three’s £8/month SIM card with 12GB of data is a highly-popular choice. Alternatively, for the ultimate 5G eSIM experience, get Three’s £16 unlimited data SIM card. This gives you unlimited data on a eSIM with no fair usage limits.

Get Three SIM with Unlimited Data on 5G →

Note that eSIM support is currently still limited on UK networks. Many mobile networks are still yet to offer eSIM functionality and those that have it only offer eSIM on a selection of plans at present (normally only on their Pay Monthly phone and SIM plans). In some cases, certain functionality might not be available on eSIM (e.g. the eSIMs on O2 are currently unable to access 5G coverage).

Compare SIM Only Deals with eSIM

At present, you can buy an eSIM-ready plan from EE, O2, Three and Vodafone.

The following table shows a list of these eSIM-ready plans. You can use the filters to narrow down the list of available options.

How much data do you want on your plan each month?

How long are you willing to commit for on a contract?

Which networks would you be happy to take a plan from?

Showing 72 of 72 price plans that match your criteria

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited1GB£5.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited1GB£5.00
12 months
Three600Unlimited1GB£5.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited4GB£6.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited3GB£6.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited12GB£8.00
12 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimited10GB£8.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited8GB£8.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited8GB£8.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited8GB£9.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited4GB£9.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited4GB£9.00
24 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited12GB£10.00
12 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimited10GB£10.00
18 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited8GB£10.00
12 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimited5GB£10.00
18 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited1GB£11.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited30GB£12.00
12 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimited15GB£12.00
18 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited12GB£12.00
12 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimited10GB£12.00
18 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimited2GB£12.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited1GB£12.00
12 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimited250MB£13.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited12GB£14.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited12GB£14.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited30GB£15.00
12 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimited25GB£15.00
18 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited5GB£15.00
24 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimited5GB£15.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited5GB£16.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited4GB£16.00
1 month
EEUnlimitedUnlimited1GB£16.00
12 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimited10GB£17.00
12 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimited100GB£18.00
18 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited100GB£18.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited30GB£18.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited30GB£18.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£19.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£19.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited12GB£19.00
1 month
EEUnlimitedUnlimited3GB£19.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
10Mbps max		£20.00
24 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimited150GB£20.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited100GB£20.00
12 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimited100GB£20.00
24 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited1GB£20.00
1 month
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited20GB£21.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
2Mbps max		£22.00
24 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimited20GB£22.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£23.00
24 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimited200GB£23.00
24 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£24.00
1 month
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
2Mbps max		£24.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited30GB£24.00
1 month
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited5GB£24.00
1 month
EEUnlimitedUnlimited200GB£25.00
24 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimited40GB£25.00
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£26.00
1 month
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
10Mbps max		£28.00
12 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimited100GB£29.00
24 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited20GB£29.00
1 month
O2UnlimitedUnlimited250GB£30.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
2Mbps max		£32.00
1 month
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£33.00
12 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£33.00
18 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£35.00
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
10Mbps max		£36.00
1 month
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£37.00
24 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£41.00
1 month
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£41.00
24 months

In all cases, you’ll initially be sent a plastic SIM card in the post. You’ll then need to exchange your plastic SIM card for an eSIM.

How To Order & Set Up An eSIM

Unfortunately, it isn’t currently possible to order an eSIM directly from the UK networks. This is partly for security reasons (so they can verify your address) and partly because of how their internal systems are set up.

At present, you’ll always be sent a plastic SIM card to begin with, but you can exchange this for an eSIM as soon as you get it.

You can follow the steps below to get yourself an eSIM:

  1. Start by ordering your new SIM-only deal. Make sure it’s an eSIM-ready plan before you order it.
  2. A plastic SIM card will be sent to you in the post. Put this SIM card inside your mobile phone to activate the new plan.
  3. You can now transfer your plan onto an eSIM. You can normally request a replacement eSIM pack online, at a local store or by calling the customer services team. In some cases, you might need to wait for an eSIM to be dispatched. It can also take up to 24 hours for your plan to moved to eSIM.
  4. Scan the QR code for the eSIM when you get it. Once your plan has been moved to an eSIM, you’ll be given a QR code (quick response barcode) to scan on your mobile phone. This will install the eSIM on it.

In the future, when the technology improves, it should be possible to sign up for a plan and to receive it on an eSIM straight away. This would make it a lot faster and more convenient switching to another network, though several issues still need to be resolved before that is able to happen (e.g. preventing fraud and validating your address if the eSIM is issued online).

More Information

For more information, see our in-depth guide to eSIM on UK mobile networks. It has further information about how eSIMs work and has a list of eSIM-ready phones.

Your Comments 2 so far

We'd love to hear your thoughts and any questions you may have. So far, we've received 2 comments from readers. You can add your own comment here.

  • Paul said:

    Three do not do eSim in the UK. I have been talking to there Customer service department for over a month about an eSim and despite advertising them they are not in a position to issue them they tell me.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Paul,
      Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, Three only launched eSIM support on their network very recently. I believe you still need to go into a Three retail store to get an eSIM pack (though the lockdown in England might mean you’ll need to wait until stores re-open in December). Furthermore, only certain stores have stock of eSIM packs at the moment. I believe they started rolling it out in stores in the North of England in October, so hopefully we’ll see it more widely soon, including online and on their customer services line.
      Ken

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