For most individuals shopping for a brand new telephone, it is sensible to get it on contract.
Not solely does this get you an allowance of calls, texts and information every month, it breaks down the price of an costly gadget into extra manageable month-to-month funds.
However to do that, you’ll normally should decide to 24- or 36 months. A SIM-only plan is normally works out cheaper in the long term, although you’ll have to purchase the telephone outright.
And whereas multi-year contracts can be found, that is the place you’ll discover a vary of plans that allow you to cancel at any time. Most of those are one-month rolling contracts, however some are true Pay As You Go (PAYG) plans that allow you to add an allowance of calls, texts and information with out ever committing to a contract.
For many smartphone homeowners, one in all these might be the way in which to go. Listed below are the most effective choices within the UK throughout all the most important networks.
Greatest Pay As You Go telephone networks within the UK
There are technically solely 4 telephone networks within the UK, all of which supply PAYG contracts of some description:
That would go down to 3, if the proposed Vodafone and Three merger goes via.
However there are a great deal of Cellular Digital Community Operators (MVNOs), or ‘piggybackers’ as they’re typically identified. They lease the community house from one of many 4 above, however supply their very own contracts and extra perks.
Study extra in our separate information to piggyback telephone networks.
Listed below are all of the piggybackers which supply one-month rolling and PAYG contracts:
- EE – 1pMobile, Lycamobile, Your Co-op, Ecotalk, Zevvle, RWG Cellular
- O2 – Giffgaff, Tesco Cellular
- Three – iD Cellular, Smarty, FreedomPop, Sincere Cellular, Superdrug Cellular
- Vodafone – Voxi, Asda Cellular, Lebara Cellular, RWG Cellular
For detailed details about every of the suppliers talked about on this part, see our full greatest UK telephone networks information. Under, you’ll discover an outline of the most effective PAYG contract provides from the 4 networks and their essential piggybackers.
Solely the info allowance is specified for the suppliers beneath as all of them supply limitless minutes and limitless texts.
Pay As You Go offers on EE community
- EE – Six month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £18 per 30 days for 2GB of 5G information. Most cost-effective plans restricted to 10Gbps speeds, no PAYG
- 1pMobile – 4 month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £7.50 per 30 days for 4GB of knowledge. 200GB of knowledge prices £20 per 30 days. PAYG prices 1p per minute, 1p per textual content, 1p per MB
- Lycamobile – 4 month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £5 per 30 days for 5GB of knowledge. PAYG plans begin at £5 per 30 days for 5GB of knowledge
- Your Co-op – 4 month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £11 per 30 days for 3GB of knowledge. No PAYG plans
- Ecotalk – 5 month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £8 per 30 days for 1GB of knowledge. No PAYG plans
- RWG Cellular – 5 month-to-month rolling plans beginning at £4 per 30 days for 5G of knowledge. No PAYG plans
Pay As You Go offers on O2 community
- O2 – 5 month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £20 per 30 days for 1GB of knowledge. No PAYG plans
- Giffgaff – Eight month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £6 per 30 days for 2GB of knowledge. PAYG plans begin at £6 per 30 days for 1GB of knowledge
- Tesco Cellular – Month-to-month rolling plan prices £30 per 30 days for limitless information. PAYG plans begin at £10 per 30 days for 10GB of knowledge
Pay As You Go offers on Three community
- Three – 4 month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £19 per 30 days for 4GB of knowledge. PAYG plans begin at £10 per 30 days for 15GB of knowledge, or one-time information packs from £10 per 30 days for 10GB of knowledge
- iD Cellular – 10 month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £6 per 30 days for 5GB of knowledge. PAYG plans from £6 per 30 days for 1GB of knowledge
- Smarty – 8 month-to-month rolling plans beginning at £6 per 30 days for 5GB of knowledge. Information solely plans from £5 per 30 days for 2GB of knowledge, or information low cost plans (get a refund for unused information) from £6 per 30 days for 1GB of knowledge
- Sincere Cellular – Three month-to-month rolling plans from £13.50 per 30 days for 4GB of knowledge. No PAYG plans
- Superdrug Cellular – 4 month-to-month rolling plans from £10 per 30 days for 5GB of knowledge. No PAYG plans
Pay As You Go offers on Vodafone community
- Vodafone – 5 month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £25 per 30 days for 2GB of knowledge. PAYG plans begin at £10 for 21GB of knowledge, data-only SIMs from £15 per 30 days for 4GB
- Voxi – 5 month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £10 per 30 days for 30GB of knowledge, not less than limitless social media with all choices. No PAYG plans
- Asda Cellular – 10 month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £5 per 30 days for 3GB of knowledge. No PAYG plans, however limitless information from £20 per 30 days (restricted to 2Mbps)
- Lebara Cellular – Six month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £5 for 5GB of knowledge. No PAYG plans
- Talkmobile – Six month-to-month rolling plans, beginning at £6.95 per 30 days for 6GB of knowledge. No PAYG plans
What’s the distinction between a contract and Pay As You Go?
If you signal as much as a full contract with a cell community you’re normally agreeing to stay in that deal for not less than a yr, however presumably two or three. In return for this loyalty, you’ll typically get a telephone without spending a dime (or at a low value) however in actuality you’re spreading the price of that handset throughout the length of your contract.
For lots of people, this common month-to-month cost is okay as a result of it means they will transfer to a brand new telephone each couple of years. However there are drawbacks, as present prospects can discover that they don’t get nearly as good a deal as new ones and leaving a contract early generally is a very costly enterprise as you’ll normally must pay up the steadiness in a single go.
The choice, after all, is to purchase a telephone outright and simply get the SIM from the cell community. That’s what Pay As You Go or month-to-month rolling packages are all about.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Because the title suggests, you’re not tied right into a prolonged contract – if you want, you’ll be able to cease utilizing the SIM on the finish of the month with none penalty fees. Because of the short-term nature of the plans you might discover that costs for information, texts and name minutes are larger than these on conventional plans, however most individuals go for deal which has an allowance of inclusive information, minutes and texts so that they by no means must pay the usual charges.
Many PAYG offers supply the identical form of options as month-to-month contracts, which suggests issues equivalent to information roaming will nonetheless work in different international locations and you may share your information with different units by utilizing your telephone as a Wi-Fi hotspot.
PAYG works greatest if you have already got a telephone to make use of, as this retains down the prices of including a brand new one to the tariff. For those who bought your gadget as a part of a earlier contract with a community supplier, be sure that it isn’t locked to that community. However since December 2021, all telephones have been offered unlocked anyway.