By Three offers Pay As You Go ‘Data Packs’ with inclusive roaming in 71 destinations, 5G coverage, and Three+ rewards. You can get 100GB for £13.50 with no contract this summer.
In the UK, Three offers Pay As You Go Data Packs that allow you to use your mobile phone with no contract and no credit check. All of their Pay As You Go plans come with inclusive roaming in 71 worldwide destinations, plus 5G coverage on what they claim is “the UK’s fastest 5G network”. You’ll also get exclusive Three+ customer rewards, plus discounts of up to 10% for setting your plan to renew automatically.
In this article, we’ll review Three’s Pay As You Go service, including all of their Data Pack bundles and the features that you’ll get on them. We’ll also look at the coverage available and how you can keep your current phone number when switching to the deals.
| Prices From: | £10 per month |
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| Best Pay As You Go Deals: | |
| Benefits: |
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| Coverage: | 4G & 5G coverage from Three (check postcode) |
Contents
Data Pack Bundles
In the UK, Three offers ‘Data Pack’ bundles that are available on a Pay As You Go basis, with no contract, no credit check, and no long-term commitments. As well as letting you change your plan whenever you like, it comes with inclusive roaming in 71 destinations as well as exclusive offers in the Three+ app. This can save you money when you shop, eat and travel this summer.
The following table shows Three’s Data Pack bundles:
| Network | Data | Monthly Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15GB data | £10.00 per month No contract | See deal |
| 100GB data | £13.50 per month No contract | See deal |
| 200GB data | £18.00 per month No contract | See deal |
| Unlimited data | £31.50 per month No contract | See deal |
The prices shown in the table above include auto-renew savings. These are available when you set your Data Pack to automatically renew. If you’d like to buy a one-off Data Pack without the auto-renew feature, reduced allowances and higher prices may apply (e.g. you’ll be able to get 10GB data for £10, 75GB data for £15, 150GB data for £20, and unlimited data for £35 per month).
It’s also possible to buy a 3-month unlimited data pack for £90. This will cost you the equivalent of £30 per month, allowing you to save some money when you pay for three months upfront.
Three Pay As You Go Features
Inclusive Roaming
In our opinion, one of the biggest benefits of getting a Pay As You Go SIM card from Three is the fact that you’ll be able to use it at no extra cost in 71 worldwide destinations. This includes most European countries, as well as destinations further afield like the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Singapore, and more.
If you’re planning to travel abroad this summer, it’s a benefit that can save you significant amounts of money. For instance, on the other major UK networks, you’ll sometimes need to pay up to £2.47 per day to use your phone in Europe, and often around £7 per day to use it further afield (e.g. in the USA). With the inclusive Go Roam offer, you can therefore save between £17 and £49 over a one-week trip abroad.
With Go Roam, you’re able to use your UK allowances at no extra cost when you’re abroad. This includes calling and texting other UK phone numbers, and your mobile data (up to 12GB per month).
Three+ Rewards
Another way to save money with your Three Pay As You Go SIM card is by downloading their exclusive Three+ rewards app. This gives you a range of offers and discounts at high-street brands like Cineworld, Caffè Nero, Uber Eats, Zizzi, and Nike.
As an example of some of the offers currently available, you’re able to get a barista-made drink for just £1 at Caffè Nero each week. There are also £3 cinema tickets from Cineworld and £5 classic pizzas from Zizzi. This can save you a fair bit of money whenever you go out.
Alongside the offers and discounts, the Three+ app offers pre-sale tickets for various festivals, gigs and events across the UK. For instance, in the past, they’ve offered early access tickets to Live Nation festivals including Reading & Leeds, Latitude, the Isle of Wight festival, and more.
5G Ready Plans
All of Three’s Pay As You Go plans come with access to their 5G network, which covers more than 60% of the UK’s population. As long as you’re using a 5G-ready phone in Three’s 5G coverage area, this will allow you to access faster download speeds, compared to 4G.
According to the latest Ookla speed test data, Three claims to have the UK’s fastest 5G network. This is based on their 5G network having a median download speed of 226Mbps (Q3-Q4 2024). This compares to a median 5G download speed of 142Mbps on Vodafone, 95Mbps on EE, and 70Mbps on O2.
Another benefit is that Three gives their Pay As You Go customers complete access to their 5G network, without speed restrictions or slowdowns. This differs from some of the other major Pay As You Go networks, where speed limits may apply to Pay As You Go plans.
No Contract & No Credit Check
There’s no contract on Three’s Pay As You Go service. Instead, you can simply pay for it on a month-by-month basis, a bit like how you’d pay for other subscriptions like Spotify and Netflix. You also have the flexibility to change or cancel your plan each month. This is because there are no long-term commitments.
Because it’s a prepaid product, there’s also no chance of running up unexpected bills. In addition, there’s no credit check required. Instead, you get a hassle-free sign-up process and they’ll send out a new SIM card to you free of charge. It’s also open to everyone, including under-18s and new arrivals to the UK.
Auto-Renew Bonus
For convenience, there’s an auto-renew feature that you can use with your Three Pay As You Go Data Pack. With auto-renew, you’ll be able to save your payment details in your Three account. At the end of each month, Three will automatically renew the Data Pack for you, using the saved payment details. This saves you the hassle of needing to remember to manually renew your plan. Equally, it doesn’t tie you in to a long-term contract as you’re able to switch off the auto-renewal at any time.
As an added bonus for using the auto-renew feature, you’re able to get some extra data, plus savings of up to 10%. The following table shows the auto-renew bonuses available:
| Standard 1-month Data Pack | Auto-Renew Data Pack with Bonus |
|---|---|
| £10 for 10GB | £10 for 15GB (5GB extra data) |
| £15 for 75GB | £13.50 for 100GB (save 10% & get 25GB extra data) |
| £20 for 150GB | £18 for 200GB (save 10% & get 50GB extra data) |
| £35 for unlimited data | £31.50 for unlimited (save 10%) |
Coverage
On Three’s Pay As You Go service, you’ll get access to both their 4G and 5G networks.
According to Three, they offer 4G coverage to 99% of the UK’s population, plus 5G coverage to more than 60% of the UK’s population. To see the coverage available where you live, you can enter your postcode on their website.
Check Three Coverage (three.co.uk) →
Some of the other major UK networks only offer 4G coverage to Pay As You Go customers. In addition, download speed limits may also apply on Pay As You Go. In contrast, Three offers 5G coverage to their Pay As You Go customers, with access to their fastest available speeds at no extra cost.
If you’re using a compatible device, you’ll be able to use Wi-Fi Calling and 4G Calling on Three Pay As You Go.
Keeping Your Phone Number
If you’re switching to Three’s Pay As You Go service, it’s a straightforward process to keep your current phone number.
To start off, order your new Pay As You Go SIM card from Three’s website. Once you’ve done that, you can get a PAC Code from your current network. This is available through your mobile network’s website or app, or by texting PAC to 65075.
When your new Pay As You Go SIM card arrives from Three, you’ll be able to fill out this form on their website. Once you’ve done that, your phone number transfer will be scheduled, normally for the next working day.
For step-by-step instructions on how to transfer your phone number to Three, please select your current mobile network from the drop-down menu below:
More Information
For more information about Three’s Pay As You Go service, please see Three’s official website.
Ken said:
Hi all,
Just a quick note to let you know that the article above has been updated for Three’s new Pay As You Go plans. The comments below refer to their older Pay As You Go plans (from 2022 and before).
Ken
Ken said:
Although 3 have increased their PAYG rates from 12th July, if you have a Data Reward sim to get the 200mb free every month, you will still pay 3p for calls, 2p for texts and 1p for data. I have just checked this on my phone.
Mike replied:
This only applies to existing customers. I have checked my sim card in my mobile broadband router and I am still receiving the 200mb data a month. It is no longer available to new customers. You can still buy a pre-pay data sim with the 321 rates for £10. Without the 200mb entitlement it is not worth it.
RWG Wales offer a SIM only deal (piggybacking on EE). You buy a sim card pre-loaded with £15 and you get 750mb of data, 100 minutes and 100 texts free every month. If you go over your allowance it is 5p/min 5p/text and 1p/MB. Ideal for those who use their phone occasionally.
Miles said:
Three have just hiked up their payg prices to 35p per minute a far cry from the 3/2/1 tariff that was so popular and really drove down the price of using a mobile. If you want three coverage Smarty £5/mth is the way to go.