The best pay-as-you-go SIM deals in 2024, based on our survey of mobile network customers and our in-depth reviews
We’ve picked out the best pay-as-you-go SIM deals for you, based on the results of Expert Reviews' annual survey of over 4,000 customers
The best pay-as-you-go SIM deals, or PAYG deals for short, from the country’s top mobile networks are perfect for people who don’t want to get tied into a long-term contract. You can cancel them whenever you like, helping you dodge the price rises, while serving up bags of 5G data. But which should you pick? I’m here to help.
To help you find the best pay-as-you-go SIM deal for your needs, I’ve used my years of bargain-hunting experience to round them up below. There’s something for everyone here and all of the recommendations are based on our in-depth reviews and the results of the annual Expert Reviews Mobile Network Awards, in which we ask over 4,000 mobile network customers about their experience. If a network didn’t get a positive write-up from us, I simply won’t include it on the list below.
Read on to find the offer that best fits your needs or scroll further down for my easy-to-understand buying guide and more information about why I select certain deals over others.
Best pay-as-you-go SIM deals: At a glance
| Best deal | Voxi | View deal at Voxi |
| Best unlimited deal | Smarty | View deal at Smarty |
| Best for calling abroad | Lebara | View deal at Lebara |
The best pay-as-you-go SIM deals you can buy in 2024
1. Voxi: The best pay-as-you-go SIM deal
Price: £15/mth | View deal at Voxi
Pros
Vodafone-powered mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Voxi was the worthy recipient of five stars out of five and an Expert Reviews Best Buy award in our in-depth Voxi review.
We sang the praises of its dazzling PAYG deals, commitment-free plans, rock-solid reliability and top-tier performance. That was backed up by Voxi taking home the overall winner of our annual Mobile Network Awards for the second year running, as well as scooping the Best Value (a joint win with Smarty) and Most Reliable gongs.
For just £15/mth on a rolling, one-month plan, you’ll get 105GB of 5G data (which is a huge increase on the normal allowance of 35GB) and unlimited usage of social media and music apps. That means you’ll be able to use Spotify, WhatsApp, Instagram, Apple Music, Snapchat, Facebook, X/Twitter and more without putting a dent in your 105GB allocation. I recommend getting in there quickly, though, as this deal likely won’t last for long.
Cons
Voxi is slightly more expensive than Smarty (below), and it charges £2.25 per day to unlock 20GB of roaming data in the EU.
Read our full Voxi review
2. Smarty: The best pay-as-you-go-deal with unlimited data
Price: £20/mth | View deal at Smarty
Pros
Smarty, an MVNO that uses Three’s network, finished as the runner-up in our Mobile Network Awards, as well as gaining five stars out of five and an Expert Reviews Recommended award in our most recent Smarty review.
In particular, we highlighted its cheap-data PAYG deals (such as the one I’m shining a light on here), excellent 5G performance, free EU roaming up to a fair use limit of 12GB and impressive customer service scores in our survey.
And this is my pick of its 30-day, rolling plan at the moment: unlimited 5G data for £20/mth, plus the usual unlimited UK texts and minutes. That’s by far the best unlimited pay-as-you-go SIM deal around.
Cons
As with all networks, the customer service satisfaction score has dropped since last year and Smarty doesn’t offer an eSIM.
Read our full Smarty review
3. Lebara: The best pay-as-you-go SIM deal for calling abroad
Price: £15/mth | View deal at Lebara
Pros
If you regularly call friends and family overseas, this is the pay-as-you-go SIM deal I recommend. For £15/mth on a rolling, 30-day plan, you’ll get 40GB of 5G-enabled data and 500 international minutes to over 50 countries around the world, including the EU, India, the US, Australia and China. What’s more, you’ll be able to use your 30GB data allocation when travelling in the EU or India, which makes Lebara, an MVNO that runs on Vodafone’s network, one of the most generous providers in this regard.
In our most recent Lebara review, we awarded it four stars out of five and an Expert Reviews Recommended award for its value for money and international minutes.
Cons
Disappointing customer service results, with just over 50% of those who responded to our survey saying they were satisfied with the level of customer service they received.
Read our full Lebara review
Why are other mobile networks not on the list?
A few big players are missing from the roundup above, but there’s a good reason I’ve left them out. The verdicts in our in-depth reviews or their results in the Expert Reviews Mobile Network Awards simply weren’t good enough for me to recommend their pay-as-you-go SIM deals here. Below, you’ll find a short list of the other major providers and why they didn’t make the cut above.
1. Three: Poor customer service
Despite posting good 5G performance and coverage results in our annual survey, Three only picked up three stars out of five in our full review. That was mainly because we couldn’t ignore its mediocre customer service feedback in our Mobile Network Awards, where only 56% of respondents said they were satisfied with the company’s support.
Read our full Three review
2. Vodafone: Lacklustre performance
Vodafone also received a middle-of-the-road three-star rating in our in-depth review. While its bundles and flexible plans caught the eye, it was let down by average performance scores, below-average customer service and EU roaming charges. You can get far better value for money with one of the mobile virtual mobile network operators listed above.
Read our full Vodafone review
3. O2: Let down by high prices
While there are things to like about O2’s offering, such as head-turning extras and free roaming in the EU up to a fair use limit of 25GB, the mobile network still received three stars out of five due to its speeds that lag behind the competition, sub-par customer service scores and high prices.
Read our full O2 review
How do I find the best pay-as-you-go SIM deals on the market?
As Expert Reviews’ deals editor, it’s my job to uncover the best offers that will save you money, provide a great service and be free of any irritating pitfalls. In this section, I’ve summarised some of the factors I bear in mind when hunting for deals and you can read more about the methodology in this dedicated article.
What is the mobile network like?
Expert Reviews by name, expert reviews by nature: we bring together experts in their fields to produce in-depth reviews based on their years of testing experience. That means every deal you see in the list above will be based on our most recent in-depth review, along with the results of the Expert Reviews Mobile Network Awards customer survey. If a mobile network isn’t as good as the others or we haven’t reviewed it, I won’t recommend one of its pay-as-you-go SIM deals.
Is there a price range?
At Expert Reviews, we realise that people have very different budgets and requirements, especially in the midst of a cost of living crisis. That means I’ll always ensure that there’s always a budget-friendly plan in the roundup, while including all of the other options from the same provider in handy tables.
Are there any hidden catches?
One of the great things about 30-day, pay as you go SIM deals is that you’re immune to mid-contract price increases. Unfortunately, these are now common, with many mobile networks taking the decision to hike costs by the Consumer Price Index rate of inflation plus an extra 3.9% every spring. With a pay as you go plan, however, you can simply jump ship whenever you like.
That said, I’ll still scour the small print for other hidden booby traps, such as capped download speeds (something that EE likes to do), and either make you aware of them in the mini reviews or not recommend the deal in the first place.
How to pick the best pay-as-you-go SIM deal for you
If you’ve perused my list of the best pay-as-you-go SIM deals, but aren’t sure where to begin, fret not: I’ve put together a short buying guide below to help you tackle the main hurdles with ease.
How much data do you need?
Nowadays, there’s a huge range of pay-as-you-go plans designed for different types of users. There are a few rules of thumb, though. If you mainly use your phone when connected to Wi-Fi and only do a bit of browsing or streaming on mobile data, then 20GB to 50GB should be enough.
Conversely, if you spend a lot of time on social media, scrolling through TikTok, watching Netflix and listening to Spotify, I would recommend stepping up to a 100GB or unlimited deal. These tend to be more cost-effective than the lower-data plans too.
Speaking of which, a data allowance under 10GB is unlikely to be enough for all but the most frugal users. It’s best to be generous with your allocation as you don’t want to pay through the nose if you exceed it.
How long should the contract be?
All of the PAYG deals above last for 30 days, which means you can be a lot more flexible about jumping ship to a better offer. That said, our list of the best SIM-only deals includes longer-term contracts that are much cheaper per month, although you should watch out for mid-contract price hikes as these are now far more common.
What speeds can you get?
The 5G rollout across the UK has continued apace and a large part of the country is now covered, although many of us still have to make do with 4G. To check what you can get in your neck of the woods, head over to Ofcom’s handy tool and type in your postcode.
Note that virtual mobile network operators (MVNOs) such as Voxi and Smarty run on one of the main four networks – in this case, Vodafone and Three respectively – so make sure to double-check the host network before signing up.
Will you be able to roam for free?
Free EU roaming is something of a luxury these days, with only a few mobile networks offering it – and even then only under a daily cap. Other networks will charge you a daily fee to access your allowance while on the continent and charges will increase steeply if you’re heading further afield.
It’s worth keeping an eye on our dedicated roundup of the best roaming SIM-only deals to get the most for your money.
