You can get an unlimited data plan from £16/month in the UK, allowing you to download as much as you like. Compare the best unlimited data SIM cards.
Whether you’re a heavy smartphone user or whether you just want the reassurance you’ll never run out of data, most UK mobile networks now offer an unlimited data plan so you can download as much as you like.
In total, there are currently 14 mobile networks that offer an unlimited data plan in the UK. Seven providers offer unlimited data on 5G, with a further seven providers offering unlimited data with 4G coverage. The cheapest unlimited data plans are available from £16/month.
In this article, we’ll compare the best value unlimited data plans in the UK. We’ll start with an overview of mobile networks with unlimited data. We’ll then look at the unlimited data plans on each mobile network in more detail, including any fair usage limits and restrictions that apply.
Unlimited Data Plans: | From £16/month |
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5G Unlimited Providers: | |
4G Unlimited Providers: |
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Exclusive Offer: | £18/month on Three (includes 5G at no extra cost & roaming in 71 destinations) |
Unlimited Data No Contract: |
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Overview of Unlimited Data Plans
Best Unlimited Data Plans
In the UK, there are currently fourteen mobile networks that offer an unlimited data plan.
The following table shows the cheapest unlimited data plans that are currently available on each network:
Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
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![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £16.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £18.00 12 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £20.00 1 month |
![]() | 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 |
![]() | 5,000 | 5,000 | Unlimited | £28.00 18 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £30.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £33.00 18 months |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £35.00 3 months half price 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £37.00 24 months |
In addition to the above, you can get unlimited data on BT Mobile for £20/month if you’re a BT fibre broadband customer with a BT Halo plan.
Coverage, Speeds & Limitations
When choosing an unlimited data SIM card, it’s also important to consider the coverage you’ll get on it, along with any fair usage limits or restrictions.
The following table shows a summary of this information for each UK network:
Mobile Network | Coverage Provider | Speed | Key Limits & Restrictions |
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BT Mobile | EE | 5G |
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EE | EE | 5G |
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giffgaff | O2 | 4G |
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iD Mobile | Three | 4G | |
Lebara Mobile | Vodafone | 4G | |
Lycamobile | O2 | 4G |
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O2 | O2 | 5G |
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SMARTY | Three | 4G | |
Superdrug Mobile | Three | 4G | |
Tesco Mobile | O2 | 5G |
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Three | Three | 5G | |
Virgin Mobile | EE | 4G |
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Vodafone | Vodafone | 5G |
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VOXI | Vodafone | 5G |
For further information about the unlimited data plans on each network, read on to learn more about unlimited data on each network.
Contents
Unlimited Data Plans: By Mobile Network
At present, you can get an unlimited data plan from 14 mobile networks in the UK. In the following section, we’ll look at the unlimited data plans on each network in more detail:
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BT Mobile
BT Halo is available from an extra £3/month above the cost of your normal BT Broadband plan and gives you access to home tech experts along with an upgraded BT Smart Hub 2 router and BT’s Keep Connected promise where they’ll send you a 4G Mini Hub if your broadband service goes down. You’ll also unlock the ability to buy the exclusive “No Limits” SIM card which gives you unlimited data with access to 5G on BT Mobile:
If you’re not already a BT Halo customer, you’ll need to sign up for Halo at the same time as ordering your No Limits SIM card. Be aware that you might need to extend your BT Broadband contract when upgrading to a plan with Halo. On BT’s unlimited data SIM card, there is no fair usage limit for the service. This is confirmed in BT’s help centre:
The only exception to this is when you’re travelling abroad to another European country that’s part of BT’s Roam Like Home offer. In these 47 European Roam Like Home destinations, you’ll only be able to use 50GB of data abroad at no extra cost. This information is summarised in the following table:
Source: BT Website: No Limits on Halo |
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EE
When you choose an unlimited data plan on EE, you’ll get either one Smart Benefit or three Smart Benefits included in the price. This gives you an inclusive subscription for the length of your contract to services like Apple Music, BT Sport Ultimate, BritBox, Amazon Prime Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade or the EE Roam Further Pass.
There are three key restrictions on EE’s unlimited data plans:
In addition, if you’re using the Data Gifting feature on an EE Family account, you’ll only be able to gift up to 100GB of data to other users on your plan (or 120GB if you’re on a 5G handset plan with unlimited data).
For more information, you can read our in-depth to unlimited data on EE. Source: EE Website |
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giffgaff
If you want unlimited data without any speed restrictions, you’ll need to choose the £35 golden goodybag on giffgaff. This gives you unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data without any speed restrictions. At present, this will give you 4G coverage from O2, but you’ll also get access to 5G when it launches on giffgaff.
On the £35 golden goodybag, there’s a fair usage policy of 650GB per month. In addition, giffgaff also says you shouldn’t tether your phone to more than 12 devices at the same time.
With Always-On data, you’ll get 4G download speeds on the first 80GB of data usage each month. After the first 80GB, your download speeds will reduce to a maximum of 384kbps between 8am and midnight each day. This is roughly equivalent to the speed of a basic 3G connection. It won’t stop you from browsing the internet or sending messages through your phone but things like online video streaming are unlikely to work at this speed. Customers travelling abroad to another European country can use up to 20GB of their unlimited data or Always-On plan each month. Beyond this, a surcharge of 0.36p/MB will be charged against your Pay As You Go balance on giffgaff.
For more information, see our guides to giffgaff’s golden goodybags and Always On data. Source: giffgaff Website |
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iD MobileiD Mobile is the own-brand mobile network from the Carphone Warehouse. Offering 3G & 4G coverage from Three, iD Mobile offers the following unlimited data plans from £16/month:
iD Mobile haven’t published a fair usage policy for their unlimited data plan, but their terms and conditions state the plan is for “personal use only”. You’ll need to undergo a credit check when joining the iD Mobile network.
Source: iD Mobile Terms and Conditions |
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Lebara Mobile
You’ll get 4G coverage from the Vodafone network when using a Lebara Mobile SIM card:
On Lebara Mobile, you’ll be able to get unlimited data on a one-month rolling basis. There are no credit checks required to join Lebara Mobile and you can also get £10 of free credit when you port in your existing phone number to the network. According to Lebara Mobile, there are no usage caps on their unlimited data service, with exceptions for fraudulent usage and their general terms and conditions:
If you’re using your Lebara Mobile SIM card abroad, it’s possible to use up to 16.6GB of data at no extra charge in Europe. You can also use up to 10GB of data abroad in India at no extra cost.
Source: Lebara Mobile Terms and Conditions |
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LycamobileOn Lycamobile, you can buy the UK Plan Unlimited bundle which costs £25 for 30 days of usage. This gives you unlimited UK minutes, unlimited UK texts and unlimited UK data, with 99% 4G coverage from O2’s network. You can benefit from an introductory price of £19/month when you order your bundle online, which is valid for the first 90 days. Alternatively, the bundle will cost you £30/month if you buy it elsewhere (e.g. by phone, by text message or in-store). As a cheaper alternative, there’s also a £20 Forever Data plan on Lycamobile. This gives you unlimited UK minutes, unlimited UK texts and Forever UK Data. On this plan, 4G speeds are only available on the first 9GB per month. Your download speeds will then be reduced to 128kbps for the remainder of the month (this is around 0.1Mbps, which is roughly equivalent to the speed of a 2G connection). On Lycamobile, the use of tethering and personal hotspot is not permitted. There’s more information in our Lycamobile review.
Source: Lycamobile Website |
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O2
This comes with 6 months of free Disney+ or a different O2 Extra of your choice (e.g. Amazon Prime Video). You’ll also get access to discounts and offers through the O2 Priority app. When choosing an unlimited data plan on O2, there are several fair usage limits worth being aware of. The most important is their 650GB per month fair usage limit. In addition, the use of tethering and personal hotspot is limited to a maximum of 12 devices. If you exceed these limits twice in any six-month period, O2 says they “reserve the right to transfer you to a more suitable plan”. O2’s terms and conditions also require the unlimited data SIM card to be used in a battery-powered device. This is intended to prevent the SIM card from being used in a 4G home broadband router:
If you’re travelling abroad to another European country, you can use up to 20GB of data abroad in O2 Europe Zone countries.
For more information, read our guide to O2’s unlimited data plans. Source: O2 Website: Unlimited Plan Terms |
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SMARTY
According to SMARTY, tethering and personal hotspot usage are included in the plan and there are no speed restrictions for using too much data. There is, however, a fair usage limit of 20GB per month when you’re using your mobile phone abroad in Europe. SMARTY offers 99% population coverage, using 3G and 4G coverage from Three.
The following table shows a summary of the key things to know about unlimited data on SMARTY:
For more information, see our SMARTY unlimited data review. Source: SMARTY Website: Unlimited Plan |
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Superdrug Mobile
The network, which offers 3G & 4G coverage from Three, will give you £20 back in Superdrug Health & Beautycard points when you sign up for Superdrug Mobile. This £20 sign-up bonus will essentially make your first month free as you’ll get the £20 back to spend on your next visit to Superdrug.
As a customer of Superdrug Mobile, you’ll also earn double Health & Beautycard points on all of your spending at Superdrug. On Superdrug Mobile, there are no fair usage limits or speed restrictions for unlimited data. However, they say commercial use isn’t permitted with them reserving the right to monitor your usage of the service:
For more information, see our Superdrug Mobile review. Source: Superdrug Mobile Terms and Conditions |
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Tesco MobileOn Tesco Mobile, it’s possible to get an unlimited data SIM card from £28/month. This comes with coverage from the O2 network, including access to 5G if you choose a 5G-ready SIM card. Tesco hasn’t set a fair usage limit on their unlimited data tariff. Instead, their terms and conditions simply state that you’re unable to use the service for commercial purposes, or for usage that adversely impacts the service of other customers or the Tesco Mobile network.
Tesco says on their website that you can use the unlimited data SIM card for personal use in mobile devices, but not in 4G home broadband routers.
Source: Tesco Mobile Terms and Conditions |
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Three
There are no fair usage limits for unlimited data in the UK. However, commercial usage of the service is not permitted:
A fair usage limit applies when you’re using your mobile phone abroad in a Go Roam country. You can use up to 20GB of data abroad in other European countries and up to 12GB of data abroad outside of Europe. The following table shows SIM-only plans with unlimited data from Three:
As well as getting an unlimited data SIM card, you can also buy a smartphone from Three with unlimited data on a contract. Three also offers an unlimited 4G home broadband service and 5G home broadband service.
Prior to September 2019, Three had a fair usage policy of 1,000GB per month (1TB) on their unlimited data plans. They’ve confirmed that this fair usage policy no longer applies on their plans:
Prior to October 2018, Three’s unlimited data plans also had a restriction on tethering. During the time period when this restriction was in place, it was only possible to use up to 30GB of data through tethering each month. This restriction has now been removed for all new and existing customers as a result of Ofcom’s net neutrality rules. For more information, see our guide to unlimited data on Three. Source: Three Help: What is unlimited data? |
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Virgin Mobile
According to Virgin, there are no restrictions on “tethering, throttling, speed restrictions or caps”. Download speeds of up to 85Mbps are available on Virgin Mobile, currently using 4G coverage from the EE network. In May 2020, Virgin Media announced their intention to merge with O2. Following the merger which is expected to complete in 2021, Virgin Mobile is expected to migrate their mobile service to use coverage from O2. If you’re using your Virgin Mobile unlimited data SIM card in Europe, a fair usage limit currently applies. This limit is 14.95GB per month on the 24-month plan and 16.61GB per month on the 12-month plan.
Source: Virgin Media Website |
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Vodafone
When choosing an unlimited data plan from Vodafone, you’ll need to decide on the maximum speed of your plan. The cheapest £22/month Unlimited Lite plan only gives you download speeds of up to 2Mbps. Meanwhile, the £22/month Unlimited plan is capped at 10Mbps download speeds and the £26/month Unlimited Max plan has uncapped 4G & 5G speeds. There’s no fair usage policy on Vodafone’s unlimited data allowance, except that it needs to be “for your personal and non-commercial use”. You can use up to 25GB of data each month when travelling abroad as part of Vodafone Global Roaming.
Vodafone’s unlimited data plans are also available on a 12-month contract or on a 30-day rolling contract.
For more information, read our Vodafone unlimited data review. Source: Vodafone Website |
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VOXI
On VOXI’s endless data plan, you’ll get 5G coverage from Vodafone. This gives you average download speeds of 150-200Mbps with 5G, or download speeds of 23-35Mbps if you’re connected to 4G. You’ll also get unlimited minutes and unlimited texts included on your plan.
According to their terms and conditions, VOXI says they “reserve the right to suspend or throttle the service if we have reason to believe that the SIM card is being used for commercial purposes, fraudulently or is having an adverse impact / damaging our network in any way”. The amount of data you can use abroad at no extra charge is limited to 25GB per month. There’s no need to undergo a credit check to join VOXI. The endless data plan works on a one-month rolling basis so you can change it or cancel it at any time.
Source: VOXI: Terms and Conditions |
Other Mobile Networks
If you’re unable to get an unlimited data plan from your network, it’s possible you might be able to choose a large allowance instead (e.g. 100GB of data per month). From the major networks, only the following currently do not offer an unlimited data plan:
- Plusnet Mobile offers up to 12GB of data. They’re a low-cost sub-brand within the BT & EE group so it’s unlikely they’ll offer unlimited data any time soon.
- Sky Mobile offers up to 50GB of data per month. Sky haven’t yet announced whether unlimited data will be available in the future on their network.
- Talkmobile offers up to 100GB of data. As a low-cost sub-brand of Vodafone, it’s unlikely we’ll see unlimited data from Talkmobile soon. Instead, you can get unlimited data from either Vodafone or VOXI.
Alternatives to Unlimited Data
In some cases, it might not actually be necessary to choose a plan with unlimited data. This is because the average mobile user in the UK only consumes around 3GB of data per month.
If you mainly want the reassurance that you’ll never run out of data, consider something like SMARTY’s 30GB plan. This will cost you £10 per month with no contract and no credit check, and it already has more than enough data for the average mobile user.
Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
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![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 30GB | £10.00 1 month |
Alternatively, if you just want unlimited data for use on certain applications, consider VOXI’s endless social media (from £10/month) and VOXI’s endless video (from £15/month). This will give you unlimited data for use in the following applications:
- Endless social media includes: Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Pinterest
- Endless video includes: YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, My5, TVPlayer, UKTV Play
Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
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![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 12GB & endless social | £10.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 15GB & endless social + endless video | £15.00 1 month |
![]() | Unlimited | Unlimited | 45GB & endless social + endless video | £20.00 1 month |
For more information, see our comparison of the best SIM-only deals in the UK.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which mobile networks offer unlimited data in the UK? | The following mobile networks currently offer unlimited data in the UK:
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What’s the best value unlimited data deal? | Normally, the best value unlimited data deals can be found on Three. They currently offer unlimited data for £18 per month. This gives you access to 5G coverage in 154 UK towns and cities, along with 99.8% population coverage on 4G. There are no fair usage limits for unlimited data on Three. |
Will I get 5G coverage with unlimited data? | |
Is there a fair usage policy on unlimited data? | It depends on the mobile network. Normally, it’s stated that unlimited data is for your personal use only. In addition, there are sometimes further limitations and restrictions which are detailed within this table. If you’re travelling abroad to another European country, there is normally a limit on how much data you can use. |
More Information
For more information about a specific unlimited data plan, please see the details on your mobile network’s website. We’ve also got in-depth guides to unlimited data on EE, giffgaff, iD Mobile, O2, SMARTY, Three and Vodafone.
If you’re looking for a wider range of deals, compare SIM-only plans including those without an unlimited data allowance.
Olivia Tanbury said:
HAPPY NEW YEAR Ken !! 🙂
Please allow me to bring to your attention a typo in the tabulated info under the ‘Coverage, Speeds & Limitations’ sub-heading for Vodafone.
The speed restrictions for Vodafone’s ‘Unlimited Lite’ plan is not 10Mbps, but rather 2Mbps.
You may verify the information direct from the horse’s mouth at:
https://www.vodafone.co.uk/unlimited-data-plans/
Ken replied:
Hi Olivia,
Happy New Year to you as well! Thank you so much for bringing this typo to my attention – I’ve amended it so it now says Lite is capped at 2Mbps. Much appreciated!
All the best for 2021,
Ken
TONY said:
Ken, you might want to add more information about the Vodafone NAT issue.
If you are gaming user on Xbox, PS4/5, or switch, etc, better stay away from Vodafone network.
Ken replied:
Hi Tony,
Great feedback, thank you! I’ve added a mention of this in my guide to 4G home broadband and it’s also discussed in a few guides e.g. to SMARTY’s unlimited data plans). It’s a shame that most mobile networks (except Three when you use their 3internet APN) provide CGNAT IP addresses, albeit, this only really affects anyone who’s using 4G for home broadband.
Ken
Andrew said:
Smarty have now reworded their FUP dropped any reference to a 1000GB cap in the latest version of their price guide.