Find out the minimum top-up on each UK network and the available methods for topping up your handset.
In the UK, when you get a Pay As You Go SIM card, the top-up policy might differ depending on your mobile network. For instance, while most mobile networks allow you to top-up £5 each time, some mobile networks will require you to top-up a minimum of £10. On different mobile networks, the available methods for topping up your phone can also differ: for instance, only some mobile networks will allow you to top-up at a cashpoint.
In this article, we’ll review and compare the top-up policy on Pay As You Go networks in the UK. We’ll look at the minimum top-up amount on each UK network and we’ll discuss the available methods for actually topping up your handset. You can use this article in conjunction with our guide to the best value Pay As You Go SIM cards. You may also find it useful to see our price comparison of Pay As You Go networks and our in-depth guide to Pay As You Go inactivity and credit expiry.
Overview of Minimum Top-Up & Available Top-Up Methods
The following table gives a quick overview of the minimum top-up on each UK mobile network. We’ve also listed the available methods for topping up your handset:
For more information, please click the name of the mobile network for further details on how to top up your handset.
- If you’re topping up either by phone, by text or online, you’ll normally need a UK-registered credit card or debit card. Mastercard and Visa are universally accepted, with support for American Express being limited to some networks. Some, but not all, mobile networks will allow you to top-up using a card that’s registered outside the UK.
- If you’re topping up with an electronic top-up card or top-up voucher, you can normally go to any retailer displaying the green top-up logo. This will include most UK supermarkets and convenience stores. You can also top-up at mobile phone stores and at your nearest branch of the Post Office. This is the best way of topping-up if you’d like to top-up with cash.
- If you’re topping up at a cashpoint (ATM), you’ll need a UK-registered debit card or cash card. You should check to see whether your mobile network will accept a card from your bank (some mobile networks will only accept a card from certain banks).
Pay As You Go: Top-Up Policy By Network
 |
1pMobile
On 1pMobile, the minimum top-up is £10 each time. Importantly, there is also a minimum requirement for you to top-up at least once every 120 days (if you don’t do this, your account will be closed).
- Online: At present, the only way to top-up on 1pMobile is online through the 1pMobile website. It’s possible also to set up an “automatic top-up” for each time your balance drops below £2 or each time your account hasn’t been topped up for 120 days. Unfortunately, there are no other top-up methods currently available on 1pMobile.
Source: 1p Mobile Help Pages: Top-Ups
Tariff Information: 1pMobile Website |
 |
ASDA Mobile
On ASDA Mobile, the minimum top-up is just £1 if you top-up via phone or text message. If you’re topping up in store by buying a voucher, the minimum top-up is £5.
- By phone: You can top up by calling 2732, and registering your credit card or debit card details.
- By text: You can top up by SMS text message once a credit card or debit card has been registered to your account. To do so, text TOP UP to 2732 and follow the instructions.
- Electronic top-up card: You can order a free electronic top-up card from the ASDA Mobile website. Once you have this, you can top up in any shop where you see the top-up logo.
- Top-up voucher: If you don’t have an electronic top-up card, you can buy a voucher code at ASDA or anywhere where you see the top-up logo.
For more information, please see the ASDA Mobile website. You can also read their FAQs about topping up your handset.
Source: ASDA Mobile: Topping Up
Tariff Information: ASDA Mobile Website |
 |
EE
On EE, there is a minimum top-up of £5 each time.
- By phone: You can top-up by calling 150 and choosing the option to top-up.
- By text: You can top up by SMS text message once a credit card or debit card has been registered to your account. To do so, send a text message to 150 with CR followed by the last four digits of your registered card number and then the amount you want to top-up by.
- Online: You can top-up through the My EE website (registration required). You can also top-up through the My EE app.
- Electronic top-up card: You’ll normally be given an electronic top-up card along with your Pay As You Go handset or SIM card. You can use this to top-up anywhere you see the green top-up logo.
- Top-up voucher: If you can’t find your electronic top-up card, you can also buy an EE voucher code.
- Cashpoint (ATM): You can top up at most ATMs and cashpoints supporting this feature. You can either choose the EE/Orange or EE/T-Mobile options (both will work for an EE Pay As You Go customer).
Source: EE Help Article: Ways To Top-Up
Tariff Information: EE Website |
 |
giffgaff
On giffgaff, there’s a minimum top-up of £10 each time.
- Online: The recommended way of topping up on giffgaff is through their official website. You’ll need to log in to your giffgaff account (if you can’t remember the details, you can follow the instructions here to recover your username and password).
- Top-up voucher: giffgaff doesn’t offer electronic top-up cards. For this reason, if you aren’t able to top-up online, the only other option is buying a giffgaff top-up voucher. You can do this anywhere you see the green top-up logo (if you aren’t able to find a giffgaff option, you can also use a voucher code for O2).
Source: giffgaff Knowledge Base: Guide to Top-Up
Tariff Information: giffgaff Website |
 |
iD Mobile
On iD Mobile, you can make a minimum top-up of £5 each time:
Source: iD Mobile: Pay As You Go FAQs
Tariff Information: iD Mobile Website |
 |
Lebara Mobile
On Lebara Mobile, you can make a minimum top-up of £5:
- By phone: You can top-up by calling 5588 and selecting option 1 followed by option 1.
- Online: You can top-up online through the Lebara Mobile website.
- Top-up voucher: You can buy a Lebara Mobile top-up voucher anywhere you see the green top-up logo.
- Cashpoint (ATM): Customers with a HSBC UK debit card can top-up at a HSBC cash machine. The minimum top-up is £10 through a cash machine.
Source: Lebara Mobile: How to Top-Up
Tariff Information: Lebara Mobile Website |
 |
Lycamobile
Lycamobile has a minimum top-up of £5 each time. There are three ways to top-up your SIM card:
- By phone: You can top-up your Lycamobile handset by calling 07404 000 321.
- Online: You can top-up your account online through the Lycamobile website.
- Top-up voucher: You can also buy a Lycamobile top-up voucher wherever you see the green top-up logo.
Source: Lycamobile: Users Guide
Tariff Information: Lycamobile Website |
 |
O2
On O2, there’s a minimum top-up of £10. You can top-up your handset in one of five ways:
- By phone: You can top-up by calling 4444 and by following the voice prompt instructions.
- Online: You can top-up through O2’s web top-up service. There’s no need to register for an account (all you need to enter is the mobile number and the amount you want to top-up by).
- Electronic top-up card: You’ll normally receive an electronic top-up card along with your O2 Pay As You Go handset or SIM card. You can use this card to top-up your account anywhere you see the green top-up logo.
- Top-up voucher: If you don’t have your electronic top-up card, you can buy an O2 top-up voucher code.
- Cashpoint (ATM): You can top up at any UK cash machine with the green top-up logo.
Source: O2 Top-up
Tariff Information: O2 Website |
 |
Tesco Mobile
On Tesco Mobile, there’s a minimum top-up of £10 each time.
- By phone: You can top-up by calling 4444 and by following the instructions.
- Online: You can top-up online at topup.tescomobile.com. You’ll need to register for an account before topping up online.
- Electronic top-up card: You should normally receive an electronic top-up card along with your Tesco Mobile handset or SIM card. You can use this top-up card to top-up your account anywhere you see the green top-up logo.
- Top-up voucher: You can buy a Tesco Mobile top-up voucher code from Tesco stores in the UK.
- Cashpoint (ATM): You can top up at any UK cash machine showing the green top-up logo.
Source: Tesco Mobile Help: Topping-Up
Tariff Information: Tesco Mobile Website |
 |
Three
On Three, there is a minimum top-up of £5 but this is only available for online top-ups. For all other methods of topping up on Three, a minimum top-up of £10 will apply.
- By phone: You can top-up by calling 444, or by calling Three Customer Services on 333.
- Online: You can top-up via Three’s web top-up service. There’s no need to register for this service. To save time in the future, you can alternatively top-up through your My3 account (registration required but this will allow you to save your card details for the future)
- Top-up voucher: You can buy a Three top-up voucher code anywhere you see the green top-up logo.
- Cashpoint (ATM): You can top-up at a Barclays or HSBC cash machine if you have a debit card that’s been issued from one of six UK banks (Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide, Coventry, Yorkshire and Clydesdale).
Source: Three Pay As You Go: How to Top-Up
Tariff Information: Three Website |
 |
Virgin Mobile
On Virgin Mobile Pay As You Go, you can top-up a minimum of £5 each time. Top-ups can be made through any one of the six following methods:
- By phone: You can top-up by calling 789 from your Virgin Mobile handset.
- By text: You can top up by SMS text message if a credit card or debit card has been registered to your account. To top-up, send a text message to 789222 with the amount you’d like to top-up by followed by the last four digits of your registered card number and then the three-digit security code of the back of your card.
- Online: You can top-up through the Virgin Mobile website (registration required).
- Electronic top-up card: You should have been given an electronic top-up card with your Virgin Mobile handset or SIM card. You can use this to top-up anywhere you see the green top-up logo.
- Top-up voucher: If you can’t find your electronic top-up card, you can buy a Virgin Mobile top-up voucher code at any location where you see the green top-up logo.
- Cashpoint (ATM): You can top up at UK cash machines supporting the feature providing you have a bank card from one of the following institutions: Natwest, RBS, Lloyds TSB, Allied Irish Bank, Nationwide, Co-op Bank, HSBC or Barclays.
Source: Virgin Media: Top up your Pay As You Go mobile
Tariff Information: Virgin Media Website |
 |
Vodafone
On Vodafone, you can make a minimum top-up of £5 each time on a Pay As You Go account.
- By phone: You can top-up by calling 2345 on your Vodafone handset.
- By text: If you have a registered credit card or debit card, you can also top up by SMS text message. To do this, send a text message to 2345 saying TOPUP followed by the the amount you’d like to top-up by and then the last four digits of your registered card number.
- Online: You can top-up through the Vodafone website (no registration is required for this service). You can also top-up your account through the My Vodafone app.
- Electronic top-up card: You can pick up a Vodafone electronic top-up card from larger Vodafone stores. You can then use this card at any location with the green top-up logo to easily top-up your handset.
- Top-up voucher: You can buy a Vodafone top-up voucher code at any location showing the green top-up logo.
- Cashpoint (ATM): You can top up at any UK cash machine supporting the feature.
Source: Vodafone Support: How can I top-up my phone?
Tariff Information: Vodafone Website |
More Information
For more information on the best Pay As You Go deals, see our guide to the UK’s free Pay As You Go SIM card offers. When choosing a network, you may also find it useful to see our Pay As You Go price comparison article. Occasional users should also see our guide to Pay As You Go inactivity and credit expiry.
Sal said:
Looks like Asda Mobile top up by text is now minimum £5. I tried today & got a reply saying please choose an amount from £5.
welcometopoland replied:
Yep. Greed everywhere. If you just want to make 1-2 calls a month, you must waste 5 quid on any network. They are pushing people onto the monthly plans.
Pierre Rupert said:
Virgin pay as you go have told me that in January 2022 they will cease to have Pay as go . Unfortunately my phone is locked to Virgin , so I either get it unlocked or buy another phone . For sure it won’t be anything connected to Virgin ..//
phil said:
Hi Ken
Thanks for a fantastically-informative web site.
Re Asda Mobile, I’ve just registered a card with a £1 top up. So in theory, I suppose you could keep registering new cards to do £1 top-ups. Lot of hassle, though, of course!
phil replied:
Further development. If you actually call 2732 and speak to an agent, it IS POSSIBLE to top up by £1 on an already registered card. I’ve just done it. 🙂