Unlimited data plans allow you to download as much as you like, with always on data. We compare unlimited data plans from EE, giffgaff, SMARTY, Three, Virgin and VOXI.
Whether you’re a heavy smartphone user or whether you just want the reassurance of never running out of data, several UK mobile networks now offer an unlimited data plan. This allows you to download as much as you like without worrying about your data limit.
At present, it’s possible to get an unlimited data plan from giffgaff, SMARTY, Three or Virgin Mobile in the UK. With all of these plans, you can stop worrying about how many gigabytes you’re using and you’ll never run out of data again in the middle of the month.
As a cheaper alternative to unlimited data plans, you can also consider a zero-rated data plan that gives you unlimited data for use on certain services. These are available in the form of EE’s Swappable Benefits, Three’s Go Binge, Virgin Mobile’s Data-Free Messaging and VOXI’s Monthly Passes.
In this article, we’ll review and compare your options for an unlimited mobile data plan in the UK.
Contents
Overview of Unlimited Data Plans
Unlimited Data Plans
In the UK, there are currently four mobile networks offering an unlimited data plan:
| Mobile Network | Unlimited Data Plan | Limitations & Restrictions |
|---|---|---|
| giffgaff | Always-On Data | 4G speeds are only available on the first 20GB per month. After this, speeds are restricted to 384kbit/s between 8am-midnight. |
| SMARTY | Unlimited Data | A fair usage policy of 1000GB per month applies. |
| Three | All-You-Can-Eat Data | A fair usage policy of 1000GB per month applies. |
| Virgin Mobile | Unlimited Data | Only available to Virgin Media TV and Broadband customers. |
giffgaff offers 4G coverage from O2, whilst Virgin Mobile offers 4G coverage from EE. SMARTY is a low-cost sub-brand of Three, which offers 99% population coverage on 4G (see their online coverage checker here).
Usually, Three has the cheapest available SIM card with unlimited data in the UK. Prices typically start from around £20/month, but can vary depending on the length of contract you sign up for.
If you want extra flexibility, consider giffgaff’s £25 goodybag or SMARTY’s £25 unlimited plan, both of which are available on a 30-day rolling basis.
The following table shows a list of unlimited data plans that are currently available for purchase:
| Network | Minutes | Texts | Internet | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £20.00 24 months |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £22.00 12 months |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Always-On | £25.00 1 month |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £25.00 1 month |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £26.00 1 month |
 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | £27.00 12 months |
Zero-Rated Data Plans
As an alternative to unlimited data plans, you can also choose a zero-rated data plan. This gives you unlimited data, but only for use on selected services:
| Mobile Network | Zero-Rated Data Plan | Services Included |
|---|---|---|
| EE | Swappable Benefits | Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, MTV Play, TV Player and BT Sport (Video Data Pass). Apple Music, Deezer and Tidal (Music Data Pass). |
| Three | Go Binge | Netflix, Snapchat, Apple Music, TV Player, Deezer and Soundcloud. |
| Virgin Mobile | Data-Free Messaging | WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Twitter. |
| VOXI | VOXI Endless Passes | Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Viber and Facebook Messenger. Video and music providers available at extra cost. |
Through the rest of this article, we’ll review each of the unlimited and zero-rated data plans in more detail.
Unlimited Data Plans
At present, unlimited data plans are available in the UK from giffgaff, SMARTY, Three and Virgin Mobile:
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giffgaff
With Always-On data, you’ll only get 4G download speeds on the first 20GB of data usage each month. After this, your speeds will drop down to standard 3G (384kbps) between 8am and midnight each day. This may stop you from doing things like streaming music or video from the internet, but it shouldn’t prevent you from browsing the internet or using messaging services. Because of the speed reduction after the first 384kbps, giffgaff’s Always On data plan may not be suitable for very heavy data users. However, it’s a potential option if you’re mainly looking for peace of mind, and is available on a one-month rolling basis with no credit check required. Source: giffgaff Website |
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SMARTY
According to SMARTY, tethering is included in the plan and there are no speed restrictions for using too much data. There is, however, a usage cap of 1,000GB per month, along with a fair usage policy of 19GB per month when you’re travelling in Europe:
SMARTY offers 99% population coverage, using 3G and 4G coverage from Three.
Source: SMARTY Blog Post |
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Three
The main restriction on Three’s unlimited data plan is a fair usage policy of 1,000GB (1TB) per month. According to Three:
There’s also a fair usage limit when you’re using your mobile phone abroad in a Go Roam country. This is currently set to 12GB outside Europe and 19GB inside Europe (15GB on Pay As You Go). The following table shows SIM-only plans with unlimited data from Three:
It’s also possible to buy a new smartphone on a 24-month contract with unlimited data included. Prior to October 2018, Three’s unlimited data plans had a restriction on tethering. When this applied, it was only possible to use up to 30GB of tethering each month. This restriction has now been removed for all new and existing customers as a result of Ofcom’s net neutrality rules. 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 70Mbps are available on Virgin Mobile using 4G coverage from the EE network. Source: Virgin Media Website |
giffgaff is a 
On Three, unlimited data with 4G download speeds is available on the flagship 
On Virgin Mobile, Besides giffgaff, SMARTY, Three and Virgin Mobile, other UK mobile networks do not currently offer an unlimited data plan. However, you might be able to get a very large data allowance (for instance, EE offers up to 100GB of data each month on their EE Smart price plans).
Zero-Rated Data Plans
Zero-rated data plans give you unlimited data, but only for use on selected apps and services. This can make them a cheaper alternative to unlimited data plans:
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EE Swappable Benefits
The following passes can be selected as a swappable benefit to give you unlimited zero-rated data on EE:
The following EE 5G Smart SIMs include two swappable benefits:
If you’ve already used up your inclusive swappable benefits, you can add the Video Data Pass for an extra £8.99/month and the Music Data Pass for an extra £7.99/month. See our full review of the EE Smart Plan for more information. Source: EE: Swappable Benefits for EE Smart |
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Three Go Binge
For more information, please read our full review of the Go Binge service. Source: Three Website: About Go Binge |
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Virgin Mobile Data-Free Messaging
The following table shows 4G plans from Virgin Mobile with data-free messaging:
Source: Virgin Mobile: Data-Free Messaging |
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VOXI Endless Passes
You can add a VOXI Video Pass for £7/month, giving you zero-rated data for use on Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, DisneyLife, My5, TVPlayer and UKTV Play. Alternatively, the VOXI Music Pass is available for £5/month, giving you zero-rated data for use on Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, Deezer, Amazon Music Unlimited, Amazon Prime Music, SoundCloud, Primordial Radio and Napster. The following table shows 30-day rolling plans on VOXI with inclusive endless social data:
Source: VOXI Plans: VOXI Passes |
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Customers choosing an 
Three offers an inclusive service called 
On Virgin Mobile, 
Occasionally, other mobile networks may choose to zero-rate selected apps and services on a promotional basis. For instance, EE offers zero-rated data for Apple Music during the six month free trial available on all EE Pay Monthly plans.
More Information
For more information on specific unlimited data plans, please see the giffgaff, SMARTY, Three and Virgin Mobile websites. For more information about zero-rated data offers, see the EE, Three, Virgin Mobile and VOXI websites.
Craig said:
Any thoughts Ken, on using an unlimited data plan as a sort of proxy for WiFi? Maybe using a dedicated MiFi device or even a phone as a hotspot… If say one wants the flexibility, not being tied into a long broadband contract etc? Speed of connection 4G mobile data vs. Broadband Wifi? What do you think?
Ken replied:
Hi Craig,
Many thanks for your comment. Typically, you’ll be able to use an unlimited data plan through tethering or portable hotspot on your other devices (e.g. your laptop or tablet). However, speeds are slowed down after the first 9GB/month on giffgaff and tethering is limited to 30GB/month on Three. Therefore, these tariffs might not be a very good replacement for your normal home broadband/wi-fi service.
There are some mobile broadband tariffs designed for use in the home – for instance, Three’s HomeFi which gives you 40GB of data for £24/month or Relish which gives you unlimited data from £20/month if you’re living in Central London. Both of these can be a good replacement for home broadband if you’re in an area with good coverage & if the data allowance is enough for you.
Ken
Aj said:
Three have now increased the add-on’s price from £15 to £20 unfortunately.
queelster said:
I noticed today that ID network have stop doing unlimited unless its a typo ob the Carphone warehouse site now dropped to 10gb for £20
Ken replied:
Hey there,
A massive thank you for the heads up about the iD Mobile offer. We’ve now removed it from this page as they’ve dropped the tariff down to 10GB per month.
Thanks again,
Ken