SMARTY is offering a £16 unlimited data SIM card in March 2024. There’s no contract, no credit check & 5G coverage.

In the UK, SMARTY Mobile is currently offering an unlimited data SIM card for just £16/month. This is a special offer that’s running in March 2024.

To get the £4/month discount, you’ll need to order through this special link. The plan gives you unlimited UK minutes, unlimited UK texts, and unlimited data for only £16 per month (reduced from the normal price of £20 per month).

SMARTY’s unlimited data plan is available on a one-month rolling basis, with no contract and no credit check required. You’ll get 4G & 5G coverage from the Three network.

Get unlimited data for £16 on SMARTY →

In this article, we’ll review SMARTY’s unlimited data SIM card. We’ll start by looking at what their £16 unlimited data plan includes, the download speeds available, and the monthly fair usage policy. We’ll also look at how SMARTY’s unlimited data plan compares to rival networks and the coverage available on SMARTY. Finally, we’ll look at how you can keep your current phone number when you move to the SMARTY network.

Monthly Price: £16 per month
Contract Length: No contract & no credit check
Special Offer: Save £4 per month on SMARTY’s unlimited data plan (valid during March 2024).
Fair Usage: Personal use only. No fair usage limit inside the UK.
Compatible With: Smartphones, tablets & mobile broadband devices
Coverage: 4G & 5G coverage from Three (check postcode)
(99% coverage on 4G, plus 60% coverage on 5G)

Unlimited Data on SMARTY

No Download Limits

In the UK, SMARTY is a low-cost mobile network that is owned and operated by Three. All of their SIM cards work on a one-month rolling basis, and customers can join SMARTY Mobile with no need for a contract or credit check.

SMARTY’s flagship plan is their £16 unlimited data SIM card. This gives you unlimited UK minutes, unlimited UK texts, and unlimited UK data. It’s normally £20 per month, but there’s a special £4 per month discount when you order through this special link:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly Cost
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
1 month

Get £5/month discount on Unlimited Data →

SMARTY’s unlimited data SIM card works on a Pay As You Go basis, so you can easily change or cancel your plan at any time. The £16 payment for your plan will be taken automatically from a registered credit csard or debit card. For any out-of-bundle usage (e.g. international or premium-rate calls), you can top-up a separate cash balance onto your SMARTY account.

4G & 5G Download Speeds

SMARTY’s unlimited data SIM card gives you access to 4G & 5G coverage from Three. The download speeds available on SMARTY are the same as those available on Three, with no speed restrictions or throttling in place on their service.

According to Three, they have the UK’s fastest 5G network. This is based on Ookla’s speed test data, which recorded a median download speed of 265Mbps on Three’s 5G network (H1 2023 data). In practice, download speeds will vary based on the time of day and based on your location (a maximum download speed of 1,000Mbps or 1Gbps can sometimes be obtained).

Fair Use Policy

SMARTY doesn’t have any speed restrictions or hidden fair usage limits for unlimited data in the UK. This is confirmed in their price guide:

With our Unlimited plan there’s no hidden ‘fair use policies’ within the UK, giving you all the access to the Internet you’d need without worrying about hefty bills and no data speed restrictions.

If you’re travelling in the EU you will be subject to our fair use limit of 12GB each month.

All our SMARTY plans must only be used for your personal and non-commercial use.

In the past, a fair usage limit of 1,000GB per month has been used to identify non-permitted commercial usage of the service. SMARTY has confirmed that this fair usage policy is no longer being applied.

If you’re using your SMARTY SIM card in another European country, a fair usage limit of 12GB per month applies on the plan.

Tethering & Personal Hotspot

You can share your unlimited data allowance with other devices through the tethering or personal hotspot feature on your phone. This is confirmed on the SMARTY website:

Tether without worrying
You can tether and hot-spot all of your data with no speed caps as long as you’re in the UK.

The use of tethering or personal hotspot can be a convenient way to get your other devices (including a laptop or tablet) connected to the internet.

SMARTY Mobile Broadband

You can use SMARTY’s unlimited data SIM card in other devices such as your tablet, mobile broadband dongle, mobile wi-fi hotspot or 4G router.

In fact, you can build your own 4G home broadband service by combining SMARTY’s unlimited data SIM card with an unlocked 4G broadband router. You’d then pay just £16/month for unlimited 4G broadband through your SMARTY SIM card.

One downside of using SMARTY for 4G home broadband is the lack of a publicly-accessible IP address. This is because SMARTY uses strict CGNAT technology, assigning you a private IP address that’s unable to accept incoming connections. This won’t make much of a difference for most online activities, but it can stop you from doing things like running a server, using certain P2P apps or playing some online multiplayer games.

If you’d like a publicly-accessible IP address, it’s better to get a SIM card from Three instead. On Three, you can get a public IP address when you use the 3internet APN. This service is not available to customers on SMARTY.

Comparison to Alternatives

In the UK, there are a number of other mobile networks that also offer an unlimited data plan.

At their current price of £16/month on a one-month rolling basis, SMARTY has one of the cheapest and most flexible unlimited data plans on the market.

The following table shows a comparison of SMARTY’s unlimited data plan to what is available on other UK networks:

NetworkMinutesTextsDataMonthly Cost
(may rise during contract)
SmartyUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
1 month
TalkmobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£16.00
1 month
ThreeUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£20.00
24 months
Lebara MobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£22.50
12 months
LycamobileUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£25.00
£9.99 for 6 months
1 month
giffgaffUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£25.00
18 months
VOXIUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£30.00
1 month
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
10Mbps max
£30.00
24 months
O2UnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£31.00
24 months
VodafoneUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited£35.00
12 months

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

Network & Coverage

4G & 5G Coverage from Three

On SMARTY’s unlimited data plan, you’ll get 4G & 5G coverage from Three’s mobile network in the UK. At the time of writing, this equates to 99.8% population coverage on 4G. There’s also 60% population coverage on 5G.

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) →

You’ll also have access to 4G Calling and Wi-Fi Calling if you have a compatible device on SMARTY.

Unfortunately, SMARTY doesn’t provide any 2G coverage. In addition, whilst there is some limited 3G coverage still available, this is due to be switched off in 2024. For this reason, it’s recommended that your mobile phone supports at least 4G technology.

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

International Coverage

If you’re travelling abroad to one of 35 European destinations, you can use up to 12GB of data abroad at no extra cost each month. You can also use the unlimited minutes and the unlimited texts from your SMARTY plan.

The following destinations are included within SMARTY’s European roaming offer:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Comoros & Mayotte, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland

If you’re travelling outside Europe, you’ll need to buy an “Out of plan” add-on. For instance, when you travel to the United States, you’ll pay 50p/minute, 20p/text and 10p/MB (equivalent to £100 per gigabyte). It isn’t possible to use your plan allowances when you travel outside Europe.

According to SMARTY’s website, you can only use your SIM card abroad for up to 60 days at a time. If you spend more than 60 consecutive days abroad, they may suspend your usage of the service.

For more information, see SMARTY’s web page on international roaming.

Keeping Your Phone Number

If you’d like to keep your current phone number when you join SMARTY Mobile, it’s a straightforward process to transfer it from your old mobile network.

Start by ordering your unlimited data SIM card from SMARTY’s website. To begin with, it will come with a temporary phone number assigned to it, allowing you to test out the service before moving your phone number over.

When you’re happy to move your phone number over, you’ll need to get a PAC Code from your old network. This is available through your mobile network’s website or app, or by texting PAC to 65075. You can then submit the PAC Code to SMARTY through your online dashboard. Once you’ve done that, your phone number transfer will normally take place on the next working day.

For step-by-step instructions on how to move your phone number to SMARTY, please select your current mobile 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 on transferring your phone number between networks, see our guide to using a PAC Code.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is SMARTY’s unlimited data SIM card?
SMARTY offers a £16 unlimited data SIM card in the UK. It gives you unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data, with no contract and no credit check required. SMARTY offers 4G and 5G coverage from the Three network.
What download speeds are available with unlimited data on SMARTY?
SMARTY offers 4G & 5G coverage. You can expect typical download speeds of around 20Mbps on 4G and around 200Mbps on 5G. However, this can vary substantially based on the time of day and your location.
Can I use a SMARTY SIM card for mobile broadband?
Yes. SMARTY has confirmed on their website that you can use their unlimited data SIM card in devices like your tablet, mobile broadband dongle, mobile wi-fi hotspot and 4G home broadband router.
Does SMARTY offer 5G coverage?
Yes. SMARTY now offers 5G coverage at no extra cost on all of their plans. Like their other forms of coverage, this is provided by Three.
How does SMARTY compare to Three for unlimited data?
On SMARTY, you’ll pay £16 for unlimited data on a one-month rolling contract.

On Three, you’ll pay £20 per month for unlimited data on a 24-month contract.

Can I keep my current phone number?
Yes. It’s a straightforward process to keep your current phone number. Ask your old mobile network to provide you with a PAC Code. You can get one through your mobile network’s website or app, or by texting PAC to 65075. Once you’ve ordered your SMARTY unlimited data SIM card, you can provide the PAC Code to SMARTY through your online account.

More Information

For more information on SMARTY’s unlimited data plan, please see their official website.

Your Comments 58 so far

We'd love to hear your thoughts and any questions you may have. So far, we've received 58 comments from readers. You can add your own comment here.

  • Gary Mackenzie said:

    Smarty have shutdown my SIM as I used 100gb of data a month and that is in breach of their rules.
    Their sims are not to be used as your only broadband source.

    why they sell a WiFi router and SIM package is beyond me, as that router is mains only

    • I came here to investigate that same use case: I can see in their T&Cs sections 5.15/5.16 they say it’s not for use as a permanent alternative to home broadband (assessed by regularly tethering more than 8 devices, not necessarily quantity of data). So, yes, selling a router package makes no sense for most people! *facepalm* 😉

  • I have set my old man up with a b311 & smarty SIM for his home broadband, his area has done away with cheap ADSL offers as it has gone fibre / digital – the prices are upwards on £26 a month.

    He gets great speeds – 50 down, 17up with smarty for £16 a month unlimited.

    so in a nutshell he’s getting much faster speeds than ADSL, £10 a month cheaper than a fibre deal and no contract – win win.

  • Christopher Pugh said:

    I have been having trouble getting both the app and the website to display my data usage. I told SMARTY in April and the problem is still not resolved. Yesterday, September 8, they said that the problesm had been sorted. It has not. I contacted them again today and was asked “Have you activated the SIM”, The SIM was activated nearly 2 years ago. On commenting adversely about the quality of customer service, I have not yet received a reply.

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