Trying to find the perfect SIM solely offers generally is a complicated course of as a result of every cell community guarantees a spread of information limits and further goodies. However fret not: we have sifted by every of their affords to create a listing of the perfect offers within the UK this October.
As you may see from our at-a-glance record under, offers begin from lower than £10/mth, however in case you’re prepared to stretch your finances slightly, you may profit from extra information and different perks. Spending extra additionally typically ends in higher worth for cash, however in case you do not use a lot information, you may nonetheless simply discover a whole lot that will not break the financial institution. On common, a £10 SIM solely deal will get you round 10GB of information, which is sufficient for almost all of customers.
With so many cell service suppliers to select from, you are sure to discover a deal that fits you by way of worth, information, and pace. Beneath our at-a-glance record, you may discover our in-depth number of the perfect SIM solely offers in ten completely different classes. After this, you may discover our information on how to decide on the perfect SIM solely deal for you.
Greatest SIM solely offers: At a look
- Greatest finances SIM solely deal: Smarty
- Greatest SIM solely deal for social media: Voxi
- Greatest SIM solely deal for pace: EE
The very best SIM solely offers this October
1. Smarty: The very best finances SIM solely offers
Value: 4GB for £6/mth, 50GB for £10/mth and limitless information for £20/mth | Purchase now from Smarty
The 4GB for £6/mth deal from Smarty is the most affordable one out there on the time of writing and a fantastic providing in case you’re primarily at dwelling and solely use your smartphone sparingly. However the cell community hasn’t completed there: it is also providing 50GB of information for £10/mth, which is beautiful worth for cash, and limitless information for £20/mth.
Key particulars – Contract size: 30 days; 5G-ready: No; Freebies: Unrestricted UK tethering
Purchase now from Smarty
2. Voxi: The very best SIM solely deal for social media and streaming
Value: 30GB for £15/mth and 100GB for £20/mth | Purchase now from Voxi
Most of us use our cell information to browse social media web sites or entry streaming providers akin to YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Voxi has a superb resolution as a result of it affords free social media looking and streaming service utilization. Its community is supplied by Vodafone to make sure dependable 4G or 5G protection. In addition to the 30GB for £15/mth deal, you too can choose up a whopping 100GB for £20/mth.
Key particulars – Contract size: 30 days; 5G-ready: Sure; Freebies: Limitless video streaming and social media
Purchase now from Voxi
3. Three: The very best SIM solely deal for limitless information
Value: Limitless information for £12/mth for six months (then £24/mth) | Purchase now from Three
This beautiful SIM-only deal from Three will get you all-you-can-use 5G information, minutes and texts for a rock-bottom £12/mth for the primary six months of a two-year plan. The value will then rise to £24/mth, however you are still saving a wholesome £72 over the course of the 24 months. If that wasn’t sufficient, you may additionally get a £100 present card in case you’re new to the community.
Key particulars – Contract size: 24 months; 5G-ready: Sure; Freebies: Private hotspot and Go Roam Across the World
Purchase now from Three
4. EE: The very best SIM solely deal for pace
Value: 125GB for £23/mth | Purchase now from EE
EE has constantly been voted the perfect cell community within the UK. You possibly can presently seize a hefty 125GB of month-to-month information from EE for £23/mth as a part of the supplier’s 5G plan. For most individuals, that is nearly as good as limitless information since you’ll be hard-pressed to make use of up that a lot information except you stream content material every single day outdoors the confines of Wi-Fi.
This contract additionally permits you to share information with your loved ones, so in case you’ve bought children who guzzle down information faster than you do, merely switch information between every cellphone for no extra value. It offers you entry to EE’s vary of good advantages, permitting you to decide on between a free Apple Music subscription, BT Sport, a limiteless video streaming information move and free-roaming overseas.
Key particulars – Contract size: 24 months; 5G-ready: Sure; Freebies: Superfast 5G
Purchase now from EE
5. BT Cell: The very best SIM solely deal for BT Sport
Value: 40GB for £20/mth | Purchase now from BT
This deal contains 40GB of information, limitless minutes and texts for £20/mth on a two-year contract, whereas BT may even throw in its BT Sport app, that means you may stream your whole favorite sports activities on the go. The app alone is value £10/mth, making this a tremendous deal if you wish to watch BT Sport.
Key particulars – Contract size: 24 months; 5G-ready: No; Freebies: BT Sport app (value £10/mth)
Purchase now from BT
6. Vodafone: The very best SIM-only deal for 5G speeds
Value: Limitless 5G information for £25/mth (was £32/mth) | Purchase now from Vodafone
Vodafone has among the finest choices with regards to quick 5G: this limitless 5G information deal normally prices £32/mth, however you may presently get it for simply £25/mth. With this contract, the community guarantees to provide the quickest out there information connection, permitting you to make HD video calls, stream music in top quality and obtain or replace apps on the go with none hassle.
Key particulars – Contract size: 24 months; 5G-ready: Sure
Purchase now from Vodafone
7. Lebara Cell: The very best SIM-only deal at no cost calling overseas
Value: 30GB for £20/mth | Purchase now from Lebara
When you have family and friends residing overseas, this deal from Lebara (which runs on Vodafone’s community) is an effective way to keep up a correspondence with them. Not solely is it contract-free, however you get limitless worldwide minutes free to over 40 nations, masking the US, Australia and a big portion of Europe and Asia.
Key particulars – Contract size: 30 days; 5G-ready: No; Freebies: Limitless worldwide minutes to 41 nations
Purchase now from Lebara Cell
8. Sky Cell: The very best SIM-only deal for Sky clients
Value: 50GB for £15/mth | Purchase now from Sky
Sky TV is taken into account to be among the finest UK TV service suppliers. Its fundamental packages begin at £25/mth, however this provides you entry to the complete gamut of channels. The advantage of selecting Sky Cell is which you can stream Sky content material in your cell with out consuming into your month-to-month information allowance and any unused information routinely rolls over to the following month. You can too share your information with as much as seven SIMs, so in case you’re operating out of information and your children have some left (or vice versa), you may transfer information about to save lots of you shopping for extra.
Key particulars – Contract size: 12 months; 5G-ready: Sure; Freebies: Limitless streaming on Sky apps, unused information is rolled over
Purchase now from Sky Cell
9. Giffgaff: The very best SIM-only deal for college students
Value: 15GB information for £10/mth | Purchase now from Giffgaff
College students are at all times wanting to economize in no matter manner they’ll, so you may be delighted to search out this discount month-to-month Goodybag from Giffgaff. It will get you 15GB of information and limitless texts and minutes– excellent for if you’re out and about in lectures or if you fancy checking in with your loved ones again dwelling. Higher nonetheless, you may get £5 bonus credit score.
Key particulars – Contract size: 30 days; 5G-ready: No; Freebies: £5 bonus credit score
Purchase now from Giffgaff
10. iD Cell: The very best SIM-only deal for rollover information
Value: 100GB information for £14/mth | Purchase now from iD Cell
The secret right here is first rate information packages at low costs, and with this £14/mth for 100GB deal, iD Cell actually hits the mark. If that wasn’t sufficient, iD Cell additionally affords information rollovers on all contracts, that means that any spare information you do not dissipate in a month merely rolls over into the following month at no further cost.
Key particulars – Contract size: 12 months; 5G-ready: Sure; Freebies: Information rollover
Purchase now from iD Cell
How to decide on the perfect SIM solely deal for you
What’s a SIM solely deal?
A SIM card is the small chip that you simply insert into your cellphone to inform it who you’re and what cell phone plan you’re on. It stands for subscriber id module and is used to authenticate the person’s data, together with a particular quantity that identifies the cellphone on the community.
Because the title suggests, a SIM solely plan covers the price of the SIM – and, subsequently, the price of being on the community – however not the cellphone it slots into. Which means you’ll want to supply your personal handset, whether or not that’s a case of shopping for it outright or utilizing a beforehand owned smartphone.
As you’re solely paying for the SIM (and whichever advantages you would possibly get in your specified plan), these contracts are usually considerably inexpensive than their cellphone counterparts. This is smart, given that you simply’re not paying off the value of the handset along with the community prices.
Pay month-to-month or pay as you go?
On this information, we’ll be masking month-to-month SIM-only contracts, but it surely’s value mentioning the choice: pay as you go. With these plans, there’s usually no contract and also you’re not tied right into a given time interval with the community supplier. As a substitute, you get a certain quantity of minutes, texts and information, and if you run out you may prime up your SIM card by selecting to pay a set payment.
We’d advocate a pay-as-you-go plan in case you don’t suppose you’ll be utilizing your cellphone a lot, a minimum of not a lot that you simply’ll often undergo the allotted minutes, texts and information inside a month. When you do, you gained’t essentially be saving any cash over a month-to-month plan. Basically, the good thing about a pay-as-you-go plan is flexibility – not being tied to month-to-month funds for 12 or 24 months. However that profit falls away if you find yourself making month-to-month funds anyway, in all probability for a smaller information allowance.
What to look out for when shopping for a SIM-only deal
Information choices
There are SIM-only offers with limits on minutes and texts, however today many plans are usually limitless in these regards. As a substitute, the crux of a contract is its information providing. How a lot information do you get entry to every month? Does the plan have a restrict on its information pace?
With the primary query, one key factor to contemplate is how a lot information you really need on a month-to-month foundation. An infinite information plan would possibly convey peace of thoughts that you simply gained’t run out of web juice, but it surely won’t be essentially the most cost-effective selection in case you truly use lower than 30GB.
We’ve got some tips about judging the quantity of information you want, however a very good place to begin is to see how a lot information you presently use, which will be simply completed both through your community supplier or your cellphone. You are able to do this on an iPhone by going to Settings | Mobile or Settings | Cell Information. On Android, go to Settings | Community and Web | Information Utilization. See what you presently burn by in a month and use this as a yardstick for judging what your future information wants may be.
When it comes to information speeds, that is an easy-to-miss issue that may have a big effect in your general expertise. Vodafone, for instance, has a trio of limitless information plans, however the lowest tier (Limitless Lite) has a most obtain pace of solely 2MB/sec. So whereas it won’t have a cap on general information utilization, that is primarily a cap on the pace you may hope to realize when utilizing your cellphone. As some extent of reference, Netflix recommends a minimal obtain pace of 3MB/sec for HD streaming.
Contract size and lifelong value
In addition to information, the following factor you’ll be maintaining a tally of is the size of the contract you’re signing as much as. Some final 24 months, whereas others solely final 12. When you suppose you’ve discovered a very good deal, it’s possible you’ll wish to contemplate locking it in for an extended time frame. Alternatively, in case you like the flexibleness of having the ability to change suppliers, a shorter plan could also be for you. Bear in mind, because you’re not paying off the price of a handset, your contract will solely be paying for the minutes, texts and information plan you’ve picked.
The lifetime value is the entire quantity you’d spend over the contract size, and it may be an effective way to guage the brutal actuality of whether or not or not you’re saving cash. Take a couple of minutes to plot out the quantity you’d spend throughout the 12 or 24 months for various plans, and evaluate the outcomes. Some SIM-only contracts may be half worth for the primary six months, for instance. That’s nice, apart from when the month-to-month value skyrockets after that interval. Does it even out ultimately, or do you truly find yourself spending extra?
One other essential factor to contemplate is the price of the handset. This can very a lot rely in your specific state of affairs, however in case you’re shopping for a cellphone outright you’ll wish to consider that value when calculating the lifetime complete. In a nutshell: is the price of the handset plus the lifetime value of the SIM-only contract cheaper or dearer than the lifetime value of a month-to-month cellphone contract?
Advantages and freebies
Lastly, some suppliers will dangle bonuses to attempt to tempt you into sure contracts. Generally these will be good offers, however typically they are going to be a tactic to persuade you right into a dearer contract. That’s to not say it is best to keep away from a tantalising freebie – simply take a look at it by the lens of your lifetime value.
EE, for instance, affords various “Good Advantages” as a part of choose contracts. These vary from entry to Apple TV+ or BT Sports activities Final, to bonus “free” roaming locations. Are these belongings you would truly wish to purchase in any other case? Taking the freebies out of the image, would you go for the contract with out them? Added extras would possibly sweeten an already whole lot, however simply bear in mind to have a look at them critically as a part of an general steadiness of prices.
