SMARTY Mobile offers low-cost SIM cards such as 14GB data for £8, 30GB data for £10 and unlimited data for £20.
In the UK, SMARTY is a low-cost mobile network, offering SIM-only deals with 4G coverage from Three.
The most popular SIM card plans on SMARTY claim to give you “all the data you need for less”. For instance, you can get 14GB data for £8/month (normally 10GB data), 30GB data for £10/month, 50GB data for £15/month or unlimited data for £20/month. Alternatively, choose from a range of data discount plans from £6/month.
See all SMARTY Mobile Offers →
In this article, we’ll review the SMARTY mobile network, including their SIM-only plans and the offers currently available on SMARTY. We’ll then compare SMARTY’s plans to those available on other mobile networks including giffgaff and VOXI. Finally, we’ll look at the coverage you can expect on SMARTY and how you can keep your current phone number when moving to the network.
Contents
SMARTY SIM Only Plans
In the UK, SMARTY Mobile offers two types of SIM-only plan:
- SIM cards with ‘all the data you need for less’ (from £8/month): The most popular SIM cards on SMARTY start from £8/month and give you significantly more data than what is available on other networks. For instance, you can currently get 14GB data for £8/month (this is increased from the normal amount of 10GB when you buy through this special link). Alternatively, you can get 30GB data for £10/month, 50GB data for £15/month or unlimited data for £20/month.
- SIM cards with a ‘data discount’ (from £6/month): If you’re a light mobile user, SMARTY offers data discount plans from £6/month. On these plans, you’ll get money back for data that you don’t use at a rate of £1 per gigabyte (GB).
The following table shows a summary of these plans from SMARTY Mobile:
14GB Data: | £8 per month (exclusive deal with 40% more data) |
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30GB Data: | £10 per month |
50GB Data: | £15 per month |
Unlimited Data: | £20 per month |
Data Discount: | From £6 per month (with £1 per GB unused data discount) |
Contract Length: | 1-month rolling (no credit check) |
Network Coverage: | 99% coverage from Three (3G & 4G) |
You can see all of the latest plans and offers on the SMARTY website.
14GB Plan
As a special offer for customers signing up before the 26th January 2021, SMARTY is currently offering an exclusive £8 per month deal which gives you 14GB of data. This is 40% more data than normal (you’ll usually only get 10GB when you sign up for this plan).
The 14GB plan also includes unlimited minutes and unlimited texts. It’s available on a 1-month rolling plan with no contact and no credit check required.
Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 14GB | £8.00 |
You won’t find this plan when you buy directly through SMARTY’s website – you’ll need to buy it through this link instead.
30GB Plan
SMARTY’s £10 plan comes with 30GB of data per month along with unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts. It’s available on a 1-month rolling basis with no credit check required, and with 3G & 4G speeds on the Three network.
At the £10 per month price point, SMARTY’s 30GB plan stands out from other networks in giving you much more data or the same price. On other networks, the most you’re normally able to get for £10 is 15GB of data (12GB if you want a one-month rolling plan). For instance, giffgaff only offers 9GB of data for the same price on their £10 golden goodybag.
Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 30GB | £10.00 |
50GB Plan
SMARTY’s £15 plan comes with 50GB of data per month. As previously, you’ll also get unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts included with this. You can also get it on a one-month rolling basis with no credit check required.
Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 50GB | £15.00 |
Unlimited Plan
At present, SMARTY’s unlimited data plan costs £20 per month.
SMARTY’s unlimited data plan gives you unlimited 4G data with no speed restrictions and a fair use policy of 1,000GB per month. Because it’s the cheapest way of getting unlimited data on a one-month rolling plan, this tends to be a popular choice for heavy smartphone users. You can also use it as an unlimited data SIM card in other devices like your tablet, mobile broadband dongle or 4G home broadband router.
Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £20.00 |
On SMARTY, there’s a fair use limit of 1,000GB per month inside the UK. In addition, when you’re travelling abroad to one of 35 European destinations, you’ll only be able to use up to 20GB of data abroad at no extra cost each month.
Data Discount Plans
For customers not needing as much data each month, SMARTY also offers Data Discount plans from £6/month.
On Data Discount plans, you’ll still get unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts. The inclusive data allowance, however, is much smaller: between 1GB per month on the £6 plan and 4GB per month on the £9 plan.
The twist with Data Discount plans is you’ll get money back for data that you don’t use. This is a discount on the following month’s plan, and it’s calculated at the rate of £1 per gigabyte. For instance, if you have the 2GB plan costing £7/month and you only use 0.8GB of data, the following month’s plan will be discounted to £5.80 (as you’ll get a discount of 1.2GB x £1 = £1.20
for data you didn’t use).
The following Data Discount plans are currently available from SMARTY Mobile:
Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1GB | £6.00 |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 2GB | £7.00 |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 3GB | £8.00 |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 4GB | £9.00 |
The unused data discount is calculated based on the number of megabytes you have remaining unused at the end of each month (1MB = 0.001GB). This means you’ll get a discount for the exact amount of data that you have unused.
In general, you’ll be better off using one of SMARTY’s newer price plans if you normally use more than 3GB of data per month. If you’re a light user needing less than 3GB of data per month, the data discount plans will allow you to benefit from a lower monthly price.
Pay As You Go Rates
All of SMARTY’s price plans include unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts. You’ll also get an inclusive allowance of 4G data (between 1GB per month and fully unlimited data).
For anything else that’s not included in your SMARTY plan allowance, you’ll need to top-up your SMARTY account with a cash add-on. This add-on can then be used to pay for your out-of-plan usage:
Calling Rates: | |
---|---|
Calls to UK landline & mobile | Included with base plan |
Calls to Voicemail | Included with base plan |
Calls to International Numbers | 3p/minute to £2/minute |
Calls to Special Rate Numbers | 3p/minute access charge + service charge from the company you’re calling |
Messaging Rates: | |
Text Message (SMS) | Included with base plan |
Picture Message (MMS) | Included with base plan |
Data Rates: | |
Mobile Data | £1/GB |
Prior to the 4th February 2020, SMARTY charged £1.25/GB for additional mobile data. This was reduced to £1/GB on the 4th February 2020.
It isn’t possible to use SMARTY on a purely Pay As You Go basis. This is because you’ll need to maintain an active plan at all times to be able to make and receive phone calls on your SIM card.
SMARTY Group Plans
You can get a 10% discount on all of SMARTY’s price plans by setting up a Group plan. There needs to be at least 2 SIM cards to create a group on SMARTY. Each person on the plan continues to have their own individual data allowance but all payments will be made from one account. You’ll also be able to manage all of the SIM cards from one login.
You can have up to 8 members in your SMARTY Group, which can include friends, family members or additional SIM cards for yourself (e.g. a data SIM for your tablet, dongle or router). It’s possible to start a Group as long as you’re aged 18 or over and as long as you’re happy to pay for all of the plans.
SMARTY Plan | Standard Price | Group Plan Price |
---|---|---|
1GB Data Discount Plan | £6/month | £5.40/month |
2GB Data Discount Plan | £7/month | £6.30/month |
3GB Data Discount Plan | £8/month | £7.20/month |
4GB Data Discount Plan | £9/month | £8.10/month |
30GB Plan | £10/month | £9/month |
50GB Plan | £15/month | £13.50/month |
Unlimited Plan | £20/month | £18/month |
Each member of your group can choose a different price plan. For instance, if one person has the 30GB plan and another person has the unlimited plan, you’d pay a total of £27/month (£9 for the 30GB plan plus £18 for the unlimited plan).
If you’ve chosen a Data Discount plan, the 10% group plan discount is applied after the Unused Data Discount. For instance, in the scenario for a customer using 0.8GB of data, you’d normally pay £5.80/month. This would be discounted by 10% to £5.22 per month.
For more information, see the page about Group Plans on SMARTY’s website.
Comparison to Alternatives
£5 per month plans
In the £5 to £9 price range, SMARTY offers a choice of four data discount plans (1GB for £6, 2GB for £7, 3GB for £8 and 4GB for £9). All four plans come with unlimited minutes and texts, plus a discount for unused data at the rate of £1 per GB.
The data discount plans provide reasonable value for lighter mobile users, but there are some cheaper alternatives available elsewhere. This is particularly the case if you’re willing to sign up for a longer contract (e.g. some of the 12-month contracts in this price range offer more data for a lower monthly price):
Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1GB | £5.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1GB | £5.00 1 month |
![]() | 600 | Unlimited | 1GB | £5.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 4GB | £6.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 4GB | £6.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 4GB | £6.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1GB | £6.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1GB | £6.00 24 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 500MB | £6.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 6GB | £7.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 3GB | £7.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 3GB | £7.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 2GB | £7.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 14GB | £8.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 12GB | £8.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 12GB | £8.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 12GB | £8.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 10GB | £8.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 8GB | £8.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 3GB | £8.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 2GB | £8.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1GB | £8.00 12 months |
To show you the most relevant plans, 15 similar but more expensive plans have been hidden. Tap here to show them. |
£10 per month plans
SMARTY offers a 30GB SIM-only plan at the £10 per month price point. This gives you a much larger data allowance than what is available on other mobile networks. It’s also available on a 1-month rolling basis, so gives you a lot more flexibility than on other networks:
Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 30GB | £10.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 15GB | £10.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 14GB | £10.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 12GB | £10.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 12GB | £10.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 9GB | £10.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 8GB | £10.00 24 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 6GB | £10.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 250MB | £13.00 12 months |
£15 per month plans
For £15 per month, SMARTY is currently offering a 50GB SIM-only plan. This gives you unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 50GB of 4G data on a one-month rolling plan.
The following table compares SMARTY’s £15 plan to what is available on other networks:
Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 50GB | £15.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 50GB | £15.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 30GB | £15.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 30GB | £15.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 25GB | £15.00 18 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 15GB | £15.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 15GB | £15.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £16.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1GB | £16.00 12 months |
£20 per month plans
SMARTY has a £20 unlimited data plan giving you unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data.
The following table compares SMARTY’s unlimited data plan to what is available on rival mobile networks:
Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £16.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £16.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £20.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited 2Mbps max | £22.00 24 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited 10Mbps max | £22.00 24 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Always-On | £25.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £26.00 24 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £30.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £30.00 6 months half price 18 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £37.00 24 months |
For more information, see our full guide to unlimited data plans in the UK.
Handsets
SMARTY is a SIM-only mobile network, so you’ll need to provide your own unlocked phone to use with the service. You can use any compatible 3G or 4G smartphone, including your existing mobile phone or one that you’ve purchased SIM-free.
If you’re planning to use your existing smartphone, it might be necessary for you to first unlock it before using it on SMARTY. For more information, see our step-by-step guides to unlocking an iPhone and unlocking a Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
If you’re looking to buy a new unlocked smartphone, there are a number of online retailers where you can buy a SIM-free smartphone.
Network & Coverage
3G & 4G Coverage from Three
SMARTY is a low-cost sub-brand of Three. As Three provides the underlying coverage for SMARTY, customers will receive the exact same coverage they would on Three.
At the time of writing, SMARTY offers 98.7% population coverage on 3G and 99.8% population coverage on 4G. You can check the coverage in your area by entering your postcode on SMARTY’s online coverage map:
Check SMARTY Coverage Map (smarty.co.uk) →
Like Three and the other mobile networks that use coverage from Three, SMARTY doesn’t provide any 2G coverage. This means a SMARTY SIM card won’t work in a 2G-only phone. You may also have limited functionality when using a SMARTY SIM card in some dual-SIM phones where the second SIM card slot is restricted to 2G.
Wi-Fi Calling and 4G Calling aren’t currently available to customers on SMARTY. However, SMARTY have said on their website that Wi-Fi Calling will be launching soon.
For more information, see our in-depth guide to the coverage on SMARTY.
5G Coverage
At present, 5G coverage isn’t available to customers on SMARTY. They’ve said that 5G will be launching soon but the current focus is on upgrading 3G and 4G coverage.
If you have a 5G-ready phone and would like a 5G SIM-only deal, consider getting a SIM card from Three instead.
On Three, you’ll get access to 5G at no extra cost, with 5G coverage available in all of the following towns and cities:
Now Live | 154 towns and cities are live on Three 5G (January 2021) Aberdeen, Abingdon-on-Thames, Adlington, Aldershot, Aldridge, Balloch, Barnsley, Barrow-in-Furness, Basildon, Bath, Bedford, Belfast, Billericay, Billingham, Birkenhead, Birmingham, Blackburn, Blackpool, Borehamwood, Bournemouth, Bradford, Brighton, Brimington, Bristol, Bromsgrove, Brookmans Park, Broughton Astley, Burton upon Trent, Cannock, Cardiff, Castlereagh, Chatham, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Chesham, Christleton, Clayton-le-Woods, Clifton, Colchester, Copmanthorpe, Corringham, Coventry, Crawley, Crook, Cullingworth, Danderhall, Denholme, Derby, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Dundee, East Kilbride, Edinburgh, Ellesmere Port, Exmouth, Glasgow, Gorebridge, Grays, Greenock, Grimsby, Guildford, Hamilton, Hartley, Heanor, Heathcote, Hedge End, Hemel Hempstead, Hertford, Heswall, Horley, Horwich, Huddersfield, Hull, Huntingdon, Inchinnan, Ingleby Barwick, Ipswich, Irlam, Iver, Kings Hill, Kings Langley, Kirkheaton, Leeds, Leicester, Leyland, Lincoln, Liverpool, London, Lower Stondon, Luton, Maidenhead, Maidstone, Manchester, Mansfield, Marlow Bottom, Milton Keynes, Motherwell, Neston, Newcastle, Newhall, Newport, Newquay, Newton Aycliffe, Newton-le-Willows, Newtownabbey, Normanton, Northampton, Nottingham, Nuneaton, Ottershaw, Oxford, Peterborough, Plymouth, Porthcawl, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Redcar, Royston Yorkshire, Sheffield, Shelly Green, Slough, South Heighton, South Normanton, Southampton, Southend-on-Sea, Southport, St Albans, St Blazey, St Columb Road, Stevenage, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Sunninghill, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Swadlincote, Swindon, Tamworth, Telford, Thornaby-on-Tees, Wakefield, Walton-on-Thames, Warrington, Washington, Westhoughton, Weybridge, Wickford, Wigan, Winterbourne, Worcester, Worksop, Writtle, York |
For more information, see our guide to 5G coverage in the UK.
Tethering & Personal Hotspot
Tethering or personal hotspot refers to the process of sharing your smartphone’s internet connection with another device (e.g. with your laptop or tablet). It’s useful for getting a mobile broadband connection on the go: for instance, sending e-mails on your laptop or watching YouTube videos on your tablet.
SMARTY allows the use of both tethering and portable hotspot. This is confirmed in the SMARTY help centre:
You’re entitled to use your data however you like, no matter which of the SMARTY plans you’re on, so you can tether and use your phone as a mobile hot spot with your full allowance if you want to.
The only exception to this is the Unlimited plan and if you’re roaming outside of the UK, where you’ll be limited to 20GB.
You can also use your SMARTY SIM card inside a data-only device such as your tablet, mobile broadband dongle and 4G broadband router. This is confirmed on SMARTY’s website.
International Roaming
On SMARTY, it’s possible to use your mobile phone abroad through international roaming.
Within Europe, you can use your SMARTY plan allowances at no extra cost. However, on price plans with more than 20GB of data, European roaming is capped at a maximum of 20GB per month.
Outside of Europe, you’ll need to top-up your account with a cash add-on before you depart. You’ll then pay SMARTY’s international roaming rates.
Between September 2017 and July 2018, international roaming was not available to customers on SMARTY. If you joined the SMARTY network before July 2018, you’ll need to make a change to your mobile phone settings to use your SIM card abroad.
Keeping Your Phone Number
If you’d like to keep your current phone number when moving to SMARTY, it’s a straightforward process to transfer it from your old mobile network.
To do so, start off by ordering a SIM card from SMARTY.
Once you’ve done this, ask your old network to provide you with a PAC Code. This can be obtained through your old mobile network’s website or app, or by texting PAC to 65075. Once you’ve done this, you’ll normally receive your PAC Code within 60 seconds of your request.
When your new SIM card from SMARTY arrives in the post, pop it inside your mobile phone and activate the service. To start with, it will come with a temporary phone number assigned to it, allowing you to test out SMARTY’s service before moving your phone number over.
Once you’re happy to continue, you can log in to your SMARTY account dashboard to provide your PAC Code and to have your phone number moved over.
For step-by-step instructions on how to move your phone number to SMARTY Mobile, please select your current network from the drop-down menu below:
For more information about transferring your phone number between networks, see our guide to using a PAC Code.
Frequently Asked Questions
What SIM-only deals are currently available from SMARTY Mobile? | SMARTY currently offers a choice of eight SIM-only deals. Their most popular SIM cards claim to give you “all the data you need for less”. You can get 14GB of data for £8/month, 30GB of data for £10/month, 50GB of data for £15/month or unlimited data for £20/month. Alternatively, you can get one of SMARTY’s data discount plans from £6/month. |
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What’s the difference between SMARTY’s new plans and their old data discount plans? | On SMARTY’s latest price plans, you’ll get a lot more data for your money (e.g. 14GB data for £8). On the older data discount plans, you’ll get a smaller allowance of data (e.g. 3GB data for £8). You will, however, get a discount for unused data at the rate of £1 per gigabyte. Typically, you’ll be better off choosing one of the newer price plans if you use more than 3GB of data per month. |
Is it possible to get unlimited data on SMARTY? | Yes. SMARTY offers unlimited data for £20/month. It’s available on a one-month rolling basis with no credit check required. You’ll also get unlimited minutes and unlimited texts included in the price. |
How does SMARTY compare to giffgaff and VOXI? | On SMARTY, you’ll get a lot more data than you would on giffgaff or VOXI. For instance, you can get 30GB of data for £10/month on SMARTY. This compares to 9GB of data on giffgaff and 12GB of data on VOXI. SMARTY uses coverage from Three, whereas giffgaff uses coverage from O2 and VOXI uses coverage from Vodafone. |
What coverage will I get on SMARTY? | On SMARTY, you’ll get 3G & 4G coverage from Three. This covers around 99.8% of the UK population, but it’s worth checking the coverage in your area on SMARTY’s website. |
Does SMARTY offer 5G coverage? | No. SMARTY doesn’t currently offer any 5G coverage. According to their website, they’re currently focussed on upgrading their 3G and 4G services. If you need access to 5G, consider getting a SIM-only deal from Three instead. |
Can I keep my current phone number? | Yes. It’s a straightforward process to keep your current phone number. Ask your existing mobile network to provide you with a PAC Code. You can get one free of charge through your mobile network’s app or website, or by texting PAC to 65075. This PAC Code should be provided to SMARTY once you’ve activated your SIM card. |
More Information
For more information, please see the official SMARTY Mobile website.
PaulD said:
I changed to Smarty’s unlimited plan when it was on offer at £15 per month. I have a message from Smarty’s customer service confirming this. Yet for the past two months, they have incorrectly renewed this package at £20 per month. I opened my first account with them within their first three weeks of operation and there has been a very noticeable decline in their interest in providing decent customer service. They’ve lost me as a customer.
Christopher Pugh said:
Hi Ken, I joined Smarty in September. I bought a SIM card and top-up at a Paypoint because I don’t like using my payment card over the internet. Setting up my account and 30GB data plan was easy and I have found the network performance satisfactory and consistent. I topped up again at a Paypoint to renew my plan when it expired. I received a reminder email telling me to go to my dashboard to renew. Doing so did not allow me to do this. A message said “Just crunching the numbers. Hang tight”. I reported this on web chat. I was told that, although I had a cash balance, I would need to register a payment card before I could use my credit balance. I stated the Smarty terms and my dissatisfaction. Later, my dashboard allowed me to use my credit balance, without registering a card. The webchat team apologised for the incorrect information given. I felt that they were genuinely keen to help. Despite this problem, I think that Smarty gives very good value for money. I do not regret choosing them.
I also bought a Huawei B311-221 router, which you have reviewed in the past. I have found this reasonably priced device very satisfactory for my needs.
Jack P said:
I use SMARTY for a few years and I’m super satisfied, mainly because I have unlimited calls and the same Data limit in all EU countries.
I ordered SIM and got it after 2 days. It works perfectly. Coverage and Internet speed is really fine. I’ve been using it in many European countries – no problem with roaming and internet.