Would you like to call, watch, and browse without a contract? The greatest pay-as-you-go SIM offers have been selected just for you.
Those who don’t want to commit to a long-term phone or SIM-only contract are best served by pay as you go SIM plans, especially if they have unpredictable monthly usage patterns or are concerned about future expenditures and possible price increases.
We’ve divided the top four pay as you go SIM offers into four categories below to make it easier for you to choose the right one for your needs: best overall, best with unlimited data, best budget choice, and best deal if speed is a priority.
This isn’t a comprehensive list; rather, it consists of deals that Expert Reviews’ seasoned SIM deal watchers have approved after weighing them against the competition.
Which cellphone network is the best choice for you?
Which mobile network should you join after looking through our list of the top pay as you go SIM offers? We’ve compiled a list of three of our favorites below to assist you in selecting the finest option for your requirements.
1. Smarty: The finest overall player
In the most recent Expert Reviews Mobile Network Awards, Smarty achieved best-in-class results and won the coveted Overall Winner title. The company that runs Three also runs this virtual network, which offers cheap SIM-only plans that give you a ton of bandwidth. Its big-data initiatives won’t cost the earth either.
In our user poll for the awards, more than 81% of respondents expressed satisfaction with Smarty’s customer service, and the company received some of the highest reliability marks. Additionally, over 92% of respondents stated they would suggest Smarty to friends or family. According to RootMetrics’ testing, Three’s network offers some of the fastest 5G speeds together with good 4G performance. Its median 5G download speed is estimated to be close to 200 Mbits/sec. With Three being one of just two networks to reach more than half of the UK’s population, 5G coverage is likewise getting better.
Smarty will remain the no-frills network to beat if it can continue to provide the same level of service as it expands.
2. Voxi: The greatest for streaming and social networking
Owned by Vodafone, Voxi is an affordable network with unique concepts. Its cheaper SIM-only offers are an amazing bargain because of its Unlimited benefits, which provide you unlimited bandwidth to use on the largest social networking platforms. Massive 98% of Voxi users responded favorably to the network’s value for money in our yearly poll, and almost 90% stated they would suggest it to others.
Although Three now holds the top spot in terms of performance, Vodafone’s 5G median download speed (130 Mbit/sec) and UK-wide median download speed (23.8 Mbit/sec) are still quite respectable. Above all, Voxi’s dependability scores were outstanding: 21% of its users informed us that the network was consistently fast enough for streaming video, and 55% said it was usually fast enough.
3. The greatest option for unlimited plans is iD Mobile.
If you want a two-year plan and want a lot of data, iD Mobile is still among the least expensive options for SIM-only deals. It further enhances the value of its plans by allowing you to carry over unused data to the following month.
Since Three serves as the host network for iD Mobile, you can expect strong 4G coverage, expanding 5G coverage, and generally respectable speeds—especially if you’re fortunate enough to have access to 5G. However, our poll and Ofcom’s study both show that there is room for improvement in customer support: just 29% of iD Mobile’s customers indicated to us that they were extremely satisfied on this score.