SMARTY Mobile offers low-cost SIM cards such as 4GB data for £5, 12GB data for £7 and unlimited data for £16.

In the UK, SMARTY is a low-cost mobile network, offering SIM-only deals with 4G & 5G coverage from Three.

With its focus on simple one-month rolling Pay As You Go plans, SMARTY claims to give you “all the data you need for less”. At present, you can get a SMARTY SIM card with 4GB data for £5/month or 12GB data for £7/month. For heavy users, there’s 50GB data for £10/month and unlimited data for £16/month.

See all SMARTY Mobile Offers →

In this article, we’ll review the SMARTY mobile network, including their latest SIM-only plans and offers available on SMARTY. We’ll also compare SMARTY’s price plans to those available on other mobile networks like giffgaff. Finally, we’ll look at the coverage on SMARTY and how you can keep your current phone number when moving to the network.

SMARTY SIM Only Plans

In the UK, SMARTY Mobile currently offers SIM-only deals from £5 per month. Claiming to give you ‘all the data you need for less’, the plans range from 4GB data for £5/month up to fully unlimited data for £16/month.

The following table shows the plans currently available from SMARTY Mobile:

4GB Data: £5 per month
(exclusive offer, normally £6 per month)
8GB Data: £7 per month
12GB Data: £7 per month
(exclusive offer, normally £8 per month)
50GB Data: £10 per month
(special offer, normally 30GB for £10)
Unlimited Data: £16 per month
(exclusive offer, normally £20 per month)
Calls & Texts: Unlimited minutes and texts on all plans
Contract Length: 1-month rolling plan (no credit check)
Network Coverage:

You can see all of the latest plans and offers on the SMARTY website.

4GB Plan

As a special offer for September 2022, SMARTY is offering 4GB data for £5. This is reduced from the normal price of £6 when you order through this link. This 4GB plan also includes unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts.

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited4GB£5.00
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited2GB£5.00

You won’t find this offer if you buy directly on SMARTY’s website – you’ll need to buy it through this link to get it for £5 per month. If you go directly to SMARTY’s website, you’ll pay £6 per month.

8GB Plan

For £7 per month, you can get 8GB of data per month on SMARTY.

This 8GB data plan is available without the need for a contract or credit check. You’ll also get inclusive minutes and texts, like on SMARTY’s other SIM-only plans.

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited8GB£7.00

SMARTY also offers a £7 per month data discount plan with 2GB data.

12GB Plan

As a special offer for September 2022, SMARTY is offering 12GB data for £7 per month (reduced from the normal price of £8 per month). This is a good alternative to the 30GB data plan which has historically been very popular amongst customers on SMARTY.

The 12GB plan is available on a one-month rolling basis with no contract and no credit check, and you’ll get unlimited minutes and unlimited texts included with it.

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited12GB£7.00

SMARTY also offers a £8 per month data discount plan with 3GB of data.

50GB Plan

SMARTY is currently offering 50GB data for £10 per month. This has been increased from the normal allowance of 30GB per month. Compared to other mobile networks, you’ll generally get a lot more data for £10 per month on SMARTY.

On this 50GB plan, you’ll also get unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts included. It’s available on a 1-month rolling basis with no credit check required, and with 4G & 5G speeds on the Three network.

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited50GB£10.00

For comparison, giffgaff only offers 15GB data for the same price on their £10 golden goodybag.

Unlimited Plan

As a special offer for September 2022, SMARTY is offering their unlimited data plan for just £16 per month. This is only available when you sign up through this link.

SMARTY’s unlimited data plan gives you unlimited data with 5G speeds and no hidden fair usage limits. Because it’s one of the cheapest ways of getting unlimited data on a one-month rolling plan in the UK, 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.

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00

In the past, there was a fair usage limit of 1,000GB per month on SMARTY which was used to identify non-permitted commercial usage of the service. This fair usage limit is no longer in place. However, if you’re travelling abroad to one of 35 European destinations, you’ll only be able to use up to 12GB of data abroad at no extra cost each month.

Pay As You Go Rates

Except from on SMARTY’s Data Only plans, you’ll get unlimited UK minutes and unlimited UK texts included in your monthly payment. You’ll also get an inclusive allowance of mobile 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. The cash 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 (Voice & Data Discount plans)
10p/minute (Data Only plans)
Calls to Voicemail Included with base plan (excluding Data Only)
Calls to International Numbers 19p/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 (Voice & Data Discount plans)
10p/text (Data Only plans)
Picture Message (MMS) Included with base plan (Voice & Data Discount plans)
40p/message (Data Only plans)
Data Rates:
Mobile Data £1/GB

It isn’t possible to use SMARTY on a pure Pay As You Go basis. This is because you’ll need to maintain an active plan at all times to maintain access to their network.

Data Only & Money Back Plans

Aside from SMARTY’s regular price plans (which are sometimes referred to as “Voice plans”), there are two other types of plan available on SMARTY:

  • Data Only plans: SMARTY offers Data Only plans such as 2GB data for £5, 15GB data for £9, 40GB data for £13 and 100GB data for £17. You won’t get any inclusive minutes or texts on a Data Only plan. In most cases, we’d recommend choosing one of the regular plans instead as you’ll get a lot more data for your money that way. You’ll also get unlimited UK minutes and texts included on the regular plans.
  • Money Back plans: On SMARTY’s Money Back plans, you’ll get £1 back for each GB of unused data. Although this sounds like an good feature, it’s less useful in practice as you’ll pay for your plan. For instance, you’ll pay £6 for their 1GB Money Back data plan. In contrast, you can get 4GB data for £5 when you sign up on a regular plan.

SMARTY also offers a 10% discount when you set up a Group with multiple SMARTY SIM cards.

Comparison to Alternatives

£5 per month plans

For £5 per month, SMARTY currently offers a hidden price plan with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 4GB data. This can be upgraded to 12GB of data for £7 per month.

Around the same price point, you’ll normally get a smaller allowance of data on other networks. However, it can be worth considering a Vodafone Basics plan if you want 4G coverage from a big-name network. Alternatively, Three also has some very good SIM-only deals which will give you access to 5G coverage on their network.

The following table shows comparable SIM-only deals:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
TalkmobileUnlimitedUnlimited4GB£4.95
1 month
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited4GB£5.00
1 month
Three200Unlimited2GB£5.00
12 months
iD MobileUnlimitedUnlimited5GB£6.00
1 month
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited4GB£6.00
12 months
giffgaffUnlimitedUnlimited3GB£8.00
1 month

£10 per month plans

For £10 per month, you can get SMARTY’s 50GB SIM-only plan. Compared to other mobile networks like giffgaff, it’s a much larger allowance of data for the same price. You’ll also get it on a one-month rolling basis, giving you lots more flexibility compared to the plans on other networks.

The following table shows a list of comparable SIM cards at this price point:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
iD MobileUnlimitedUnlimited60GB£10.00
12 months
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimited50GB£10.00
1 month
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimited40GB£10.00
12 months
VOXIUnlimitedUnlimited30GB£10.00
1 month
TalkmobileUnlimitedUnlimited30GB£10.00
1 month
giffgaffUnlimitedUnlimited15GB£10.00
1 month
Plusnet MobileUnlimitedUnlimited15GB£10.00
£20 reward card
12 months
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited8GB£10.00
6 months half price
24 months

£15 per month plans

For £15 per month, SMARTY normally offers a 50GB SIM-only plan. However, you’re currently able to get this for just £10 per month as part of a special offer from SMARTY.

The following table compares SMARTY’s £15 plan to what is available on other networks:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimited100GB£12.00
12 months
iD MobileUnlimitedUnlimited100GB£12.00
12 months
TalkmobileUnlimitedUnlimited200GB£14.95
1 month
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
1 month
EEUnlimitedUnlimited125GB£18.00
12 months

£20 per month plans

SMARTY has a £16 unlimited data plan giving you unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data with 5G speeds.

The following table compares SMARTY’s unlimited data plan to what is available on rival mobile networks:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly
Cost
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
1 month
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
24 months
Virgin MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£20.00
1 month
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£22.50
12 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
2Mbps max		£23.00
24 months
giffgaffUnlimitedUnlimitedAlways-On£25.00
1 month
Tesco MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£25.00
24 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
10Mbps max		£27.00
24 months
EEUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£28.00
24 months
VOXIUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
1 month
O2UnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
24 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£32.00
24 months

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

Handsets

As SMARTY is a SIM-only mobile network, you’ll need to provide your own unlocked phone to use with the service. You can use any compatible 3G, 4G or 5G phone, 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 you can use it on SMARTY. For more information, see our step-by-step guides to unlocking an iPhone and unlocking a Samsung Galaxy phone.

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 & 5G Coverage from Three

Smarty Coverage Map

SMARTY is the low-cost sub-brand of Three. As Three provides all of the underlying coverage for SMARTY, customers will receive the same coverage as customers on Three.

At the time of writing, SMARTY offers 98.7% population coverage on 3G and 99.8% population coverage on 4G. You’ll also get 5G coverage in more than 300 UK towns and cities if you’re using a compatible 5G device.

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 other mobile networks that use coverage from Three, SMARTY doesn’t provide any 2G coverage. This means a SMARTY SIM card will not work in a 2G-only phone. You may also experience limited functionality when using a SMARTY SIM card in some dual-SIM phones if the second SIM card slot is restricted to 2G coverage.

On SMARTY, you can now access 4G Calling and Wi-Fi Calling as long as you have a compatible mobile phone.

For more information, see our guide to SMARTY’s mobile network coverage.

Wi-Fi Calling & 4G Calling

Both Wi-Fi Calling and 4G Calling are available on SMARTY if you’re using a compatible mobile phone.

With Wi-Fi Calling, you’re able to make and receive phone calls on SMARTY using a Wi-Fi connection. This helps you to stay connected in places where a traditional mobile signal isn’t available (e.g. in buildings with thick walls and in rural locations with poor coverage).

With 4G Calling (also known as VoLTE), you can make and receive phone calls using a 4G connection. This allows you to benefit from HD-quality voice calls. You’ll also benefit from faster download speeds whilst you’re on a call.

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.

You can also use your SMARTY SIM card inside a data-only device such as your tablet, mobile broadband dongle and 4G broadband router.

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 12GB of data, European roaming is capped at a maximum of 12GB per month.

If you’re travelling outside Europe, you’ll be required to top-up your account with a cash add-on before you depart. You’ll then pay SMARTY’s international roaming rates.

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 that, 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. You should 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. This will allow you to test out SMARTY’s service before you move your phone number over.

Once you’re happy to continue, you can log in to your SMARTY account dashboard to submit 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:

PAC Code Finder: Transfer Your Phone Number to Smarty

Select your current mobile network:

  More Options

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 the following SIM-only deals for your mobile phone:
  • £5 plan: 4GB data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts (reduced from £6).
  • £7 plan: 8GB data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts.
  • £7 plan: 12GB data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts (reduced from £8).
  • £10 plan: 50GB data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts (normally 30GB).
  • £15 plan: 50GB data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts.
  • £16 plan: Unlimited data, unlimited minutes & unlimited texts (reduced from £20).
Is it possible to get unlimited data on SMARTY?
Yes. SMARTY offers unlimited data for £16/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.
What are data discount plans on SMARTY?
Prior to March 2021, SMARTY offered a range of data discount plans on their mobile network (e.g. 1GB data for £6/month, 2GB data for £7/month and 3GB data for £8/month). You’d get a discount on the following month’s bill at the rate of £1 per GB for any data that you don’t use.

Nowadays, SMARTY’s newer price plans offer much better value. This is even without the data discount feature. For instance, you can get 4GB data for £5/month on the new plans.
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 50GB of data for £10/month on SMARTY. This compares to 15GB of data on giffgaff and 30GB 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 4G & 5G 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?
Yes. SMARTY now offers 5G at no extra cost on all of their plans. You can check the availability of 5G in your area.
Can I keep my current phone number?
Yes. It’s a straightforward process to keep your current phone number. Ask your current 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 given to SMARTY once you’ve activated your SIM card.

More Information

For more information, please see the official SMARTY Mobile website.

Your Comments 137 so far

We'd love to hear your thoughts and any questions you may have. So far, we've received 137 comments from readers. You can add your own comment here.

  • Miles said:

    I changed from GIffgaff to Smarty but unfortunatley most of the time my unlocked iphone only registers on the 3G network instead of 4G. The 4gb data allowance will be somewhat useless on the slow 3G network.

  • JP said:

    Bought a cheap Huawei mifi router which came with smarty SIM, this was for reliable internet at a static caravan up near Carlisle where the site provided internet is like 1990s dial up (unsuitable for streaming).
    After reading the smarty reviews I was dubious of the speeds, I can get a signal on three at the site (around 2/3 bars out of 5).
    I set the router & SIM up at home first, got unlimited £18 per month. Once at the caravan I switched the router on with smarty SIM card inserted, connected my phone and did a speed test which gave very a impressive 12mb down ,2 up.
    Over past few days the network has performed brilliantly, I’ve been doing regular speed tests and the speeds have been constant, this is a very rural area and I can only assume there’s a low amount of users, at home (Manchester) I noticed quite a dip in speeds in busy peek times.
    The router has been constant streaming whilst I’ve been up here and I’ve had no buffering whatsoever.
    This router and network have been the perfect solution, no contract, pay month by month, half the price of EE, the list goes on and on.
    I’m a very satisfied customer.

  • Sean said:

    Just to let you know, it looks as if Vodafone has amended some of the deals in your tables and reduced them considerably:

    £5 per month plans
    – the Vodafone £6 per month link takes you to an offer that’s for 500MB, not 4GB

    £10 per month plans
    – the Vodafone £10 per month link goes to an offer for 3GB, not 14GB

    £15 per month plans
    – the Vodafone £15 per month link goes to a 25GB plan, not 30GB

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Sean,
      Thanks for this! Unfortunately, Vodafone’s checkout flow is rather confusing. Take the £6 plan for instance – that used to have a base amount of 500MB data. However, they offer three inclusive data add-ons with it (2GB + 500MB + 1GB = 3.5GB) to give a total of 4GB data per month. These add-ons are only listed when you scroll down to the bottom of the page.
      Ken

      • Sean replied:

        Ah, my mistake and my apologies. I’m surprised Vodafone would make it as confusing as that, since it makes their offer appear less generous than it really is to the casual shopper who is quickly scanning for the best deals.

        • Ken replied:

          Hi Sean,
          Agreed – it’s very confusing! That’s tripped me up on quite a few times as well. I’ll feed back the confusing checkout page to them so they can hopefully make it clearer in the future.
          Thanks again,
          Ken

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