giffgaff is a low-cost mobile network with goodybag bundles from £6/month, or Pay As You Go with no monthly fee.

In the UK, giffgaff is a low-cost sub-brand of O2. They offer flexible Pay As You Go plans with no contract and no need for a credit check.

On giffgaff, you can get a one-month goodybag bundle from £6 (e.g. there’s 2GB data for £6, 5GB data for £8 and 20GB data for £10). Alternatively, there’s a traditional Pay As You Go plan with no need to top-up your SIM card every month. All of giffgaff’s plans come with 4G and 5G coverage from O2.

In this article, we’ll review the giffgaff mobile network. We’ll start by looking at their goodybag plans, including the golden goodybags and regular goodybags. We’ll also look at giffgaff’s Pay As You Go plan where there’s no need to top-up every month. We’ll also cover some of the other features of giffgaff, along with the coverage available and how to keep your current phone number.

Get a giffgaff SIM Card (Free) →

Prices From: £6 per month
Best Deal: 20GB data for £10 (£10 golden goodybag)
Giffgaff Bundles:

Golden goodybags come with more data when you set your bundle to recur.
Regular Goodybags:

Regular goodybags can also be purchased manually from Pay As You Go credit.
Extra Data: 1GB extra data from your third goodybag onwards
(available on £10+ goodybag plans)
Pay As You Go Rates: 25p/minute
10p/text
10p/MB
Coverage:
  • 5G coverage in 750+ UK towns & cities (requires 5G phone)
  • 99% population coverage on 2G, 3G & 4G (powered by O2)

Bundles & Plans

On giffgaff, there are two ways to pay for your usage:

  • Get a one-month goodybag with inclusive minutes, texts & mobile data. This is normally the best value option for regular mobile users. You can buy a one-month goodybag bundle from £6. This will give you unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and an allowance of mobile data.
  • Just Pay As You Go at 25p/minute, 10p/text and 10p/MB. If you’re a light mobile user who’d normally spend less than £6/month, you can use giffgaff on a traditional Pay As You Go basis with no need to top-up every month. Your Pay As You Go credit won’t expire providing you use your SIM card for a chargeable activity at least once every 6 months.

If you like, it’s possible to combine the two different ways of paying for your usage. For instance, you can decide to buy a goodybag only in the months where you’re using your phone enough. In other months where you don’t need to use your mobile phone, you can downgrade to a cheaper plan or to regular Pay As You Go. This flexibility can come in handy (e.g. if you spend part of the year abroad in another country).

Golden Goodybags

For most people, getting a one-month goodybag is the best value way to use giffgaff. Starting from £6 per month, a goodybag will give you unlimited UK minutes, unlimited UK texts and an allowance of mobile data.

For the largest allowance of data, choose one of the following golden goodybags:

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
+ Always On		£25.00
£35 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£35.00

To buy a golden goodybag, you’ll need to switch on the “recurring goodybag” setting inside your giffgaff account. With this setting switched on, your goodybag bundle will renew automatically. However, you can choose to switch this off at any time so you’re not tied in to a contract. It isn’t possible to manually purchase a golden goodybag from a giffgaff top-up voucher.

Regular Goodybags

If you’re happy with a smaller allowance of data, you can choose a regular goodybag bundle instead:

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
+ Always On		£25.00
£35 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited150GB£35.00

With regular goodybags, there’s no obligation to have the “recurring goodybag” setting switched on inside your giffgaff account. It’s also possible to buy a regular goodybag from a top-up voucher or from your Pay As You Go credit.

Goodybag Bundles Compared

The following table shows a side-by-side comparison of giffgaff’s golden goodybags and regular goodybags:

Golden Goodybags Regular Goodybags
Prices From: £6 per month £6 per month
Contract Length: No contract – cancel anytime No contract – cancel anytime
Data Allowances
£6 per month: 2GB data 1GB data
£8 per month: 5GB data 4GB data
£10 per month: 20GB data 15GB data
£12 per month: 26GB data 25GB data
£15 per month: 35GB data 30GB data
£20 per month: 100GB data 80GB data
£25 per month: 100GB + Always On data 80GB + Always On data
£35 per month: Unlimited data 150GB data
Goodybag Features
5G Coverage: ✔ ✔
2G, 3G & 4G Coverage: ✔ 99% coverage ✔ 99% coverage
Purchase Method:
  • Recurring purchase (from saved card details)
  • Recurring purchase (from saved card details)
  • Manual purchase (from top-up voucher or credit)

On the goodybags costing £10, £12, £15 and £20 per month, you’ll get 1GB of extra data from your third goodybag purchase onwards.

Pay As You Go Plan

If you don’t want to buy a monthly goodybag bundle, you can use giffgaff on a pure Pay As You Go basis instead.

With this option, there are no regular monthly charges and no requirements to top-up your SIM card every month. Instead, you’ll only pay when you actually use your mobile phone. This will be at the rates of 25p/minute, 10p/text and 10p/MB.

giffgaff’s standard Pay As You Go rates are as follows:

Calling Rates:
Voice Calls 25p/minute to other networks (free to giffgaff)†
Calls to Voicemail 8p/call
Messaging Rates:
Text Message (SMS) 10p to other networks (free to giffgaff)†
Picture Message (MMS) 30p
Internet Rates:
Mobile Data 10p/MB

† You’ll get free calls, texts and video calls to other giffgaff members providing you top up at least once every three months. Free giffgaff-to-giffgaff calls can last for up to 60 minutes (though you can hang up and re-dial after one hour).

If you’re a regular mobile user, you’ll normally be better off buying a goodybag bundle. For instance, using £6 of credit at the normal Pay As You Go rates would give you only 24 minutes or 60MB of mobile data. Meanwhile, the cheapest £6 per month golden goodybag bundle gives you unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 2GB of data.

For light users spending less than £6 per month, giffgaff’s Pay As You Go plan can work out to be a cheaper option than buying a one-month goodybag. For more information, see our comparison of Pay As You Go rates in the UK. You can also read our guide on SIM cards for light users.

Giffgaff Features

Flexible Goodybags & No Credit Check

All of giffgaff’s goodybag bundles are flexible and you can therefore change your plan from month-to-month. You can also decide to renew your bundle early (e.g. in case you need more data).

To help you make sure you’re on the best value plan, giffgaff will send you a personalised best plan advice email at the end of each month. This will summarise your usage over the past month. It will then tell you the best value plan for your usage, even if it will cost you less money.

Another benefit of giffgaff is the fact it works on a pre-paid basis. As there’s no credit facility available on the SIM card, it isn’t possible to run up a large unexpected bill. In addition, there’s no need to undergo a credit check. This makes it suitable for under-18s and for people who are new to the UK.

Fixed UK Prices For 2022 & 2023

According to giffgaff, all of their UK prices are fixed until the end of 2023. giffgaff says this “applies to all Pay As You Go, goodybags, existing products and all UK rates only until 31 Dec 2023. Excludes international rates and roaming.”

For more information, see our blog post on giffgaff’s fixed UK prices.

Inclusive EU Roaming

On giffgaff, you can use your goodybag allowances at no extra cost (up to 5GB per month) when you travel to 37 European destinations. This includes in popular tourist destinations such as Spain, Italy, France, Portugal and more.

giffgaff’s inclusive European roaming has a fair use limit of 5GB data per month. For most users, this should be more than enough. According to Ofcom, the average UK mobile user consumes about 4.5GB data per month. This is equivalent to around 1GB data if you’re going abroad for a week. If you go over the 5GB per month limit, you’ll pay an extra 10p/MB.

1GB of Extra Data

From your third month onwards, you’ll get 1GB of additional data on giffgaff’s goodybags costing £10, £12, £15 and £20 per month.

On the golden goodybags, this will increase your data allowance as follows:

TariffMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
£10 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited21GB
20GB		£10.00
£12 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited27GB
26GB		£12.00
£15 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited36GB
35GB		£15.00
£20 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited101GB
100GB		£20.00

Meanwhile, if you’re using a regular goodybag, the 1GB of extra data will increase your allowance as follows:

TariffMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
£10 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited16GB
15GB		£10.00
£12 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited26GB
25GB		£12.00
£15 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited31GB
30GB		£15.00
£20 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited81GB
80GB		£20.00

The 1GB of extra data is not available on the £6 or £8 goodybags. It also doesn’t apply to the £25 and £35 goodybags with unlimited data.

Unlimited Data Plans

On giffgaff, there’s a £35 golden goodybag plan with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data.

TariffMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
£35 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£35.00
1 month

This plan comes with access to O2’s 5G network, with no speed restrictions. However, there’s a fair usage policy of 650GB per month. In addition, giffgaff says you shouldn’t tether your phone to more than 12 devices at the same time.

For a lower-cost alternative, you can choose a £25 goodybag with Always On data. There’s the £25 golden goodybag with 100GB of full-speed data, and the regular £25 goodybag with 80GB of full-speed of data.  Once you’ve used up your full-speed data allowance, your download speeds will be reduced to a maximum of 384kbps between 8am and midnight (equivalent to a basic 3G connection).

TariffMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
£25 Golden GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited100GB
+ Always On		£25.00
1 month
£25 GoodybagUnlimitedUnlimited80GB
+ Always On		£25.00
1 month

For more information, see our full guide to unlimited data plans in the UK.

Online Community Support

As a low-cost mobile network, giffgaff doesn’t offer any in-store or telephone support. Instead, all customer support is handled online through one of following three options:

  1. Knowledge Base. giffgaff provides an online self-service portal with answers to frequently asked questions.
  2. Community Forums. For general questions that don’t require someone to look specifically at your account, giffgaff has an online community where questions can be asked around the clock. According to the giffgaff, the average response time is 90 seconds for questions posted in their online community. giffgaff members are incentivised to answer questions from each other so they can earn Payback reward points.
  3. Ask an Agent. For questions that relate specifically to your account, giffgaff provides an e-mail support service known as ‘Ask an Agent’. Common reasons to contact a giffgaff agent might be account-related issues, balance queries or payment-related questions. It can take up to 24 hours to receive a response from a giffgaff agent.

Payback Rewards

You can earn £5 for each person you introduce to giffgaff.

giffgaff operates a Payback rewards scheme. This gives you the opportunity to earn cash or free credit by introducing your friends to giffgaff or by posting in their online community.

Members will earn £5 for each friend they introduce to giffgaff (your friend must activate their SIM card and top-up by at least £10 for you to qualify for the bonus). If you introduce more than 15 people to giffgaff, you’ll move to the Super Recruiter programme where you can earn up to £22 per introduction (this is subject to volume and your friends topping up their SIM card three times).

In giffgaff’s online community, you can earn payback for answering support questions and for contributing ideas to the network. The exact formula used to calculate payback is described in a forum post here.

Accumulated Payback is sent out to members twice per year in June and December. To qualify, you’ll need to have used your phone at least once in the three months before this. You can elect to have the Payback added to your giffgaff credit or you can have it paid out through PayPal (subject to a £10 minimum). You can also donate your Payback to charity (in which case, it’ll be matched by an equivalent donation from giffgaff).

Comparison To Alternatives

£6 per month bundles

At present, giffgaff’s cheapest goodybag costs £6 per month. It gives you unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 2GB of data.

Around this price point, you can also get a flexible one-month rolling plan from other networks like Lebara Mobile (uses coverage from Vodafone) and SMARTY Mobile (uses coverage from Three). The following table shows a side-by-side comparison of these plans:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimited4GB£6.00
giffgaffUnlimitedUnlimited2GB£6.00

£8 per month bundles

giffgaff’s £8 per month golden goodybag bundle gives you unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 5GB of data.

The following table compares giffgaff’s £8 goodybag to similar one-month rolling plans on other networks:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited12GB£7.00
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimited8GB£7.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimited5GB£7.00
giffgaffUnlimitedUnlimited5GB£8.00

£10 per month bundles

At the £10 per month price point, giffgaff’s best value deal is their £10 golden goodybag plan. This gives you 20GB of data along with unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts. Alternatively, their regular £10 goodybag gives you 15GB of data per month.

The following table compares giffgaff’s £10 golden goodybag to the flexible £10 per month plans on other mobile networks like SMARTY, VOXI and Lebara Mobile.

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited60GB£10.00
giffgaffUnlimitedUnlimited20GB£10.00
VOXIUnlimitedUnlimited15GB£10.00
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimited15GB£10.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimited12GB£10.00

£15 per month bundles

For £15 per month, giffgaff offers unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 35GB of data. This compares against other mobile networks as follows:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
VOXIUnlimitedUnlimited60GB£15.00
giffgaffUnlimitedUnlimited35GB£15.00
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimited30GB£15.00
ASDA MobileUnlimitedUnlimited25GB£15.00
£9 for 3 months
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited3GB£16.00
EEUnlimitedUnlimited1GB£16.00

£20 per month bundles

For £20 per month, giffgaff offers unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 100GB of data. This compares to other mobile networks as follows:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
VOXIUnlimitedUnlimited200GB£20.00
giffgaffUnlimitedUnlimited100GB£20.00
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimited30GB£20.00
O21,000Unlimited1GB£20.00
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited12GB£22.00
EEUnlimitedUnlimited5GB£22.00

£25 per month bundles

For unlimited data on giffgaff, you can choose the £25 golden goodybag with 100GB + Always On data. Alternatively, there’s the £35 golden goodybag which gives you unlimited data at up to 5G speeds.

If you’re looking for an unlimited data plan with no contract, you can also consider the following alternatives:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
Superdrug MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£20.00
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£25.00
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£25.00
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£35.00
VOXIUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£35.00
giffgaffUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£35.00
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£40.00

Alternatively, if you’re willing to sign up for a contract, a larger range of unlimited data plans are available.

Handsets

There are two ways to join the giffgaff network.

Most people simply decide to order a free giffgaff SIM card. This will slot inside your existing unlocked smartphone, or inside a SIM-free phone that you’ve purchased elsewhere (e.g. from another mobile phone retailer).

If you want a new mobile phone, you can also buy one directly from giffgaff. There’s a wide range of unlocked phones available including the latest devices from Apple, Samsung, Google and Nokia. You can buy this with a one-off payment, or the cost of the phone can be split up over 24 months (this will involve taking out a loan with Klarna).

Credit Expiry

On giffgaff, your Pay As You Go credit won’t expire providing your SIM card remains active. To keep it active, you’ll just need to make a phone call, send a text message, access the internet or top up your phone at least once every six months. This is stated in clauses 13.3 and 13.4 of the giffgaff terms and conditions.

If you convert your Pay As You Go credit into a goodybag bundle, the allowances on your goodybag will expire after one calendar month.

For more information, see our full guide to credit expiry on UK mobile networks.

Network & Coverage

giffgaff uses O2 as their network coverage provider, so members will get the same coverage as customers on O2.

At the time of writing, giffgaff offers 99% population coverage on 2G, 3G and 4G. In addition, if you’re using a 5G-ready phone, you’ll get access to O2’s 5G network in 750 UK towns and cities.

Before joining, we’d recommend double-checking the coverage in your area. You can do this by entering your postcode on giffgaff’s online coverage map:

Check giffgaff Coverage (giffgaff.com) →

For more information, see our full guide to O2’s network and coverage. Alternatively, there’s more information in our overview of mobile coverage in the UK.

Keeping Your Phone Number

It’s a straightforward process to transfer your existing phone number to giffgaff.

If you’re changing from another mobile network to giffgaff, it’s a straightforward process to keep your current phone number.

Start by ordering your new SIM card from the giffgaff website. Once you’ve done that, you can request a PAC Code from your old network. This can normally be obtained through your mobile network’s website or app, or by texting PAC to 65075.

After activating your new giffgaff SIM card, you can log in to fill out this form on giffgaff’s website. Once you’ve done that, your phone number transfer will normally be scheduled for the next working day. This is providing you submit your PAC Code before 3pm.

Until your mobile phone number moves to giffgaff, you’ll continue receiving coverage on your old network. Please be aware that it isn’t possible to transfer credit from your old mobile network to giffgaff. For this reason, you should try to use it up before your phone number moves over.

For a step-by-step guide on transferring your phone number to giffgaff, please select your current mobile network from the drop-down menu below:

PAC Code Finder: Transfer Your Phone Number to giffgaff

Select your current mobile network:

  More Options

Frequently Asked Questions

What are giffgaff’s goodybags prices?
giffgaff currently offers a choice of seven goodybag bundles:
  • £6 goodybag: 1GB data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts.
  • £8 goodybag: 4GB data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts.
  • £10 goodybag: 15GB data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts.
  • £12 goodybag: 25GB data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts.
  • £15 goodybag: 35GB data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts.
  • £20 goodybag: 80GB data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts.
  • £25 goodybag: 80GB + Always On data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts.
  • £35 goodybag: 150GB data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts.

In addition, there are seven golden goodybags:

All goodybag allowances last for one month.
Can I use giffgaff on Pay As You Go without topping up every month?
Yes, it’s possible to use giffgaff on a traditional Pay As You Go basis without the need to top up your phone every month. You’ll pay 25p/minute, 10p/text and 10p/MB for using mobile data if you don’t have an active goodybag on your account. In order to keep your giffgaff SIM card active, you’ll need to make a chargeable activity at least once every six months.
What are giffgaff’s Pay As You Go rates?
giffgaff charge 25p/minute, 10p/text and 10p/MB on Pay As You Go. You can also make international phone calls from 2p/minute and you can send international texts for 8p each. See our comparison of Pay As You Go rates in the UK.
Do I need a credit check to join giffgaff?
No. There’s no need to undergo a credit check when you join giffgaff. This is because it works on a Pay As You Go basis. The ability to sign up without needing a credit check makes it ideal for under-18s and for people who are new to the UK.
Is it possible to get unlimited data on giffgaff?
Yes. It’s possible to get unlimited data with 5G on giffgaff’s £35 golden goodybag.

Alternatively, you can get the £25 goodybags with Always-On data if you’re looking for a cheaper option. This will give you unlimited downloads at full speed on a certain amount of data each month (100GB on the £25 golden goodybag and 80GB on the regular £25 goodybag). Once you’ve used your full-speed allowance, your maximum download speeds will be reduced to 384kbps between 8am and midnight.
What coverage will I get on giffgaff?
giffgaff offers 99% population coverage using O2’s 2G, 3G and 4G mobile networks. This means you can get a giffgaff mobile signal in the same places you can get a signal from O2. 5G coverage is also available to giffgaff customers using a 5G-ready phone.
Can I keep my current phone number?
Yes. It’s a straightforward process to keep your current phone number. Simply ask your current mobile network to provide you with a PAC Code. This can be obtained through your mobile network’s website or app, or by texting PAC to 65075. After activating your new giffgaff SIM card, you can provide the PAC Code to them through your giffgaff account area.

More Information

For more information, please see giffgaff’s official website. You can also order a free SIM card from giffgaff.com.

Your Comments 95 so far

We'd love to hear your thoughts and any questions you may have. So far, we've received 95 comments from readers. You can add your own comment here.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Jessica,
      Yes, you can simply use your Pay As You Go credit to buy a goodybay (excluding golden goodybags which can only be purchased from a new card payment).
      Hope this helps!
      Ken

  • Liam said:

    Hi, I’m moving abroad and would like to switch my number to a PAYG GiffGaff (sending a text every six months or so). When I visit home (the U.K.), would it be possible to convert to a Goodybag which includes data for the period of my stay, then revert back to pure PAYG when I go back abroad?

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