For most people buying a new phone, it makes sense to get it on contract.
Not only does this allow you to get an allowance of calls, texts and data each month, but it breaks down the cost of an expensive device into more manageable monthly payments.
But to do this, you will generally have to commit to 24 or 36 months. A SIM-only plan is usually cheaper in the long run, although you’ll have to buy the phone outright.
And while multi-year contracts are available, you’ll find a range of plans here that allow you to cancel at any time. Most of these are one-month rolling contracts, but some are true Pay As You Go (PAYG) plans that allow you to add an allowance of calls, texts and data without ever committing to contract.
For most smartphone owners, one of these is probably the way to go. Here are the best options in the UK on all the major networks.
Best Pay As You Go phone networks in the UK
There are technically only four phone networks in the UK, all of which offer PAYG contracts of some nature:
This figure could drop to three if the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three comes to fruition.
But there are many mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), or “piggybackers,” as they are often called. They rent network space from one of the four above, but offer their own additional contracts and benefits.
Learn more in our separate guide to overlay phone networks.
Here are all the piggyback operators that offer rolling month contracts and PAYG:
- EE – 1pMobile, Lycamobile, your cooperative, Ecotalk, Zevvle, RWG Mobile
- O2 – Giffgaff, Tesco Mobile
- Three – iD Mobile, Smarty, FreedomPop, Honest Mobile, Superdrug Mobile
- Vodafone – Voxi, Asda Mobile, Lebara Mobile, RWG Mobile
For detailed information on each of the providers mentioned in this section, check out our complete guide to the best phone networks in the UK. Below you will find an overview of the best PAYG contract offers from the four networks and their main supporters.
Only the data limit is specified for the providers below, as they all offer unlimited minutes and texts.
Pay As You Go offers on the EE network
- EE – Six rolling monthly plans, starting from £18 per month for 2GB of 5G data. Cheapest plans limited to 10Gbps speeds, no PAYG
- 1pMobile – Four rolling monthly plans, starting from £7.50 per month for 4GB data. 200GB of data costs £20 per month. PAYG costs 1p per minute, 1p per SMS, 1p per MB
- Lycamobile – Four rolling monthly plans, starting from £5 per month for 5GB of data. PAYG plans start at £5 per month for 5GB of data
- Your Co-op – Four rolling monthly plans, starting from £11 per month for 3GB of data. No pay-as-you-go packages
- Ecotalk – Five rolling monthly plans, starting from £8 per month for 1GB of data. No pay-as-you-go packages
- RWG Mobile – Five rolling monthly plans from £4 per month for 5G data. No pay-as-you-go packages
Pay As You Go offers on the O2 network
- O2 – Five rolling monthly plans, starting at £20 per month for 1GB of data. No pay-as-you-go packages
- Giffgaff – Eight rolling monthly plans, starting from £6 per month for 2GB of data. PAYG plans start at £6 per month for 1GB of data
- Tesco Mobile – Rolling monthly plan costs £30 per month for unlimited data. PAYG plans start at £10 per month for 10GB of data
Pay As You Go offers on the Three network
- Three to four rolling monthly plans, starting at £19 per month for 4GB of data. PAYG plans start at £10 per month for 15GB of data, or single data packs start at £10 per month for 10GB of data
- iD Mobile – 10 rolling monthly plans, starting from £6 per month for 5GB data. PAYG plans from £6 per month for 1GB data
- Smarty – 8 rolling monthly plans from £6 per month for 5GB data. Data only plans from £5 per month for 2GB data, or data discount plans (get money back for unused data) from £6 per month for 1GB data
- Honest Mobile – Three rolling monthly plans from £13.50 per month for 4GB data. No pay-as-you-go packages
- Superdrug Mobile – Four rolling monthly plans from £10 per month for 5GB data. No pay-as-you-go packages
Pay As You Go offers on the Vodafone network
- Vodafone – Five rolling monthly plans, starting from £25 per month for 2GB of data. PAYG plans start at £10 for 21GB data, data-only SIM cards start at £15 per month for 4GB
- Voxi – Five rolling monthly plans, starting at £10 per month for 30GB data, at least unlimited social media with all the options. No pay-as-you-go packages
- Asda Mobile – 10 rolling monthly plans, from £5 per month for 3GB data. No PAYG plans, but unlimited data from £20 per month (limited to 2 Mbps)
- Lebara Mobile – Six rolling monthly plans, starting from £5 for 5GB of data. No pay-as-you-go packages
- Talkmobile – Six rolling monthly plans, starting from £6.95 per month for 6GB of data. No pay-as-you-go packages
What is the difference between a contract and Pay As You Go?
When you sign up for a full contract with a mobile network, you generally agree to stay in that agreement for at least a year, but possibly two or three. In exchange for this loyalty, you’ll often receive a free (or low-cost) phone, but in reality you’re spreading the cost of that device over the life of your contract.
For many people, this regular monthly payment is fine because it means they can upgrade to a new phone every couple of years. But there are downsides as existing customers may find that they are not getting as good a deal as new ones and terminating a contract early can be a very expensive affair as you will usually have to pay the balance in one go. times.
The alternative, of course, is to buy a phone and simply get the mobile network SIM card. This is what Pay As You Go or rolling monthly plans are for.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
As the name suggests, you are not tied to a long-term contract: if you wish, you can stop using the SIM card at the end of the month without any penalty. Due to the short-term nature of the plans, you may find that prices for data, texts and calling minutes are higher than traditional plans, but most people opt for a deal that includes data, minutes and SMS included so you never have to pay standard rates.
Many PAYG deals offer the same sort of features as monthly contracts, meaning things like data roaming will still work in other countries and you’ll be able to share your data with other devices using your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot.
PAYG works best if you already have a phone to use, as this reduces the costs of adding a new phone to the tariff. If you purchased your device under a previous contract with a network provider, make sure it is not locked to that network. But since December 2021, all phones are sold unlocked anyway.
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