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We take you through the UK networks with free EU roaming still and compare fair usage policies and inclusive worldwide travel options. Last updated: 17th March 2023.
✖ EU roaming isn’t included with every network
There was a time when every UK mobile network offered free EU roaming with all their plans. And some even included worldwide destinations on top. Those days have been disappearing fast.
All but one of the main UK networks has dropped inclusive roaming in the EU. And we suspect the virtual operators that use them will start to follow suit as their contracts with their host networks get renewed.
But a few are clinging on - with a few restrictions on how much you can roam. In this guide, we rate the best networks for EU roaming, according to the most generous fair usage policies.
And if you want to go further afield to worldwide destinations, including the USA, we’ve ranked the best worldwide roaming networks, according to cost and what you get for the money.
Click on one of the network logos to see what we think of their roaming scheme
What we like:
Every plan includes EU roaming SIM only plans are great value Inclusive international calls work while roaming 5G works abroad
What we don't like:
30GB fair usage policy
Lebara make it to the top of our list thanks to offering inclusive roaming in these 42 EU/EEA destinations on plans that are already some of the cheapest on the market.
But they’re not number one just for their low costs. While abroad you can use 30GB of your UK allowance. That’s absolutely loads, especially considering most users won’t get through that in a month at home.
Heavy data-users may end up going over that limit. In that case Lebara let you take a data bolt-on of 5GB for £10 or £3 for 1GB to tide you over until your next month. Or you can pay as you go at Lebara’s UK rates.
You can also use the inclusive international minutes you get on your Lebara plan while roaming in the EU. That means you can make calls to these 42 destinations at no added cost even while roaming.
Useful link: Our full Lebara network review
What we like: Use your plan in the EU at no extra cost Comes on every plan Use more data abroad than some networks You can get 5G while roaming
What we don't like: 25GB fair usage limit Deals aren’t great value in the first place
O2 are the only main UK network to offer inclusive EU roaming as standard and have made it a big part of their marketing. You can use your regular allowance of mins, texts and data in these EU destinations.
Calls and texts to the UK while roaming come out of your regular UK allowance. And calls to EU numbers are also inclusive while you’re roaming. And you can get 5G abroad where it’s available.
While you’re in the EU you can use up to 25GB of your data allowance. We doubt most users will get through that in a short trip, but if you do then O2 offer some data add-ons. But these are quite pricey.
Overall if you don’t mind the extra cost of O2’s plans then you’ll find that they’re an excellent network for EU roaming. They’re also one of our favourites for worldwide roaming which you can see further down.
Useful link: Read O2's full roaming guide
What we like: EU roaming included on every plan Plans are cheap in the first place Cheap data add-ons
What we don't like: 12GB data limit abroad No 5G abroad Have to turn on roaming manually
Unlike their hosts Three, SMARTY have kept their EU roaming in place. You can still roam in their 34 covered EU/EEA destinations without being charged extra. But there’s a limit to how much data you can use abroad:
You will be limited to 12GB while there, but that should be more than enough for a short trip. SMARTY offer great value data-add ons if you run out. And calls to any EU country are also inclusive while there.
Unlike the networks above, you won’t get 5G while you’re abroad on SMARTY. But we don’t see this as a massive loss as 4G is more than good enough for looking at maps or browsing restaurants and tourist attractions.
Make sure you turn on roaming manually before going abroad (see their guide here). We arrived in the EU with our SMARTY SIM with no connection and no way to turn roaming on, without going on WiFi.
Useful link: All benefits to SMARTY's roaming
What we like: Inclusive EU roaming on all plans Good value SIM only plans in the first place Same cheap 1p rates in the EU
What we don't like: 4G data only abroad 14GB data limit while abroad
1pMobile may market themselves as the cheapest Pay As You Go network, but they also have a range of SIM only plans. You get roaming in 46 EU/EEA countries included on all of these great value deals.
While abroad on their SIM only plans, you’re limited to 14GB of your allowance, which is more than most people will end up even at home. But if you do go over that, 1p have some good value data add-ons.
If you’re on Pay As You Go you’ll get the same 1p tariff in their EU destinations as in the UK. And there’s no limit to how much data you can use abroad. They’re definitely the best network for roaming PAYG.
If you don’t mind missing out on 5G abroad and won’t use lots of data while roaming in the EU, 1p are a great value choice on PAYG and on pay monthly.
Useful link: See all the info regarding their tariffs
What we like: EU roaming on every plan Low cost plans in the first place
What we don't like: 15GB data cap while abroad 5G not included
Plusnet are one of the providers that piggyback off EE’s network and actually offer a much better roaming scheme than their hosts. You can use your UK allowance of mins, texts and data in these EU countries.
Where there are some limits is if you’ve bought a really big data plan from Plusnet. According to their data usage policy here, you can’t use more than 15GB data while you’re abroad.
Most of Plusnet’s plans are smaller than 15GB in the first place and we think most users won’t get through that much data on a short trip anyway. Calls to EU numbers while roaming are also included.
Plusnet don’t include 5G at all, so obviously there’s no way to get 5G abroad. Overall, it’s a pretty standard scheme, but we like that it’s included on such cheap plans.
Useful link: All roaming costs on Plusnet Mobile
✔ No limits on your UK allowance abroadSee all roaming prices
at broadband.yourcoop.coop
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What we like: Get EU roaming on every deal No fair usage limits while abroad
What we don't like: Plans are costly in the first place Extra data gets expensive fast 5G not included
Co-op Mobile are a virtual provider on EE’s network, but unlike their hosts they still include EU roaming. It costs nothing extra to use any of Co-op Mobile’s plans in the EU.
What makes them unique is that they’re the only network that let you use your entire data allowance abroad at no extra cost. You can use your regular allowance in these EU destinations.
Calls and texts to other UK and EU numbers are included while roaming. But if you go over your allowance while abroad you’ll have to pay as you go at their steep roaming rates (see their rates here).
But Co-op don’t offer unlimited data plans so you can’t get unlimited data abroad. And Co-op’s plans aren’t great value anyway. If you don’t mind the cost they’re a good choice, but there are better options.
What we like: Roam in lots of EU countries Roaming included on all plans
What we don't like: No way to add extra data while roaming 20GB fair usage limit while roaming Calls to EU numbers aren’t inclusive
Honest Mobile are a smaller network that still include roaming in these 44 EU/EEA destinations as standard. And you can use up to 20GB abroad, which is pretty good. So why are Honest so low in our rankings?
Well, while calls to UK numbers while calling are inclusive, calls to EU numbers are charged at 7p per minute. That can get expensive quickly, which isn’t great considering Honest’s plans are already pricey.
Also if you run out of data abroad there’s no way to add more until your next month. That means you can end up with no access to data. We don’t think many users will hit that limit, but it can be frustrating if you do.
Every Honest Mobile SIM deal includes EU roaming. Here are their best current deals:
Despite the downsides we think Honest have a decent EU roaming scheme overall. The data limit is flexible enough for most users and it’s included on every plan. But it’s up to you whether the higher cost of their plans is worth it.
Useful link: See their current SIM only plans
✔ Inclusive roaming in 36 EU countriesSee costs per country
at mobile.asda.com
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What we like: EU roaming on all their great value plans Get 5G abroad Good value data add-ons PAYG in the EU at the same UK rates
What we don't like: 5GB data cap while abroad Roaming turned off by default
ASDA Mobile are a small provider on Vodafone’s network that provide EU roaming on all their great value deals and access to 5G while abroad. And you get the same PAYG rates in the EU as you do at home.
You can use your allowance like home in these 36 EU countries, but you’ll be limited to 5GB of your data allowance. That will start to feel restrictive, even if you only use an average amount of data a month.
Another downside is that you’ll have to turn on roaming before you leave (follow their instructions here). If you go abroad without doing this you’ll end up with no way to turn it on until you find some free WiFi.
We think ASDA are a good value choice for short trips abroad if you don’t mind the more restrictive fair usage policy. However, larger data users will prefer the networks above.
Useful link: See ASDA Mobile’s best SIM only deals
What we like: Every plan includes EU roaming Great value plans in the first place Calls to other EU countries included
What we don't like: Restrictive 5GB data cap while roaming No data add-ons No 5G abroad
giffgaff are another smaller, low-cost provider that include EU roaming on all of their plans, letting you use your allowance of calls, texts and data in the EU.
The main downside is that you’ll be capped at just 5GB while abroad. If you go over that you’ll have to pay extra per MB of data as giffgaff don’t offer any data add-ons. It’s best to keep an eye on your usage.
Calls to UK and EU numbers are still included while roaming. And considering most of their plans offer unlimited minutes you won’t have to worry about that. And PAYG rates are the same in the EU as in the UK.
giffgaff are a good value choice for users who don’t get through a lot of data. But if you know you’ll get through 5GB on your holiday then we think you’ll prefer some of the networks above.
Useful link: Get £5 free credit when you join giffgaff
What we like: EU roaming included as standard SIM only and phone deals are good value Calls and texts to EU numbers are included
What we don't like: All their plans have data caps
While many of the larger networks have removed EU roaming, Virgin Mobile have kept their scheme in place. You can use your allowance in the EU at no extra cost and call/text EU numbers for free while roaming.
The reason Virgin are so low on this list is their complicated fair usage policy. Virgin cap all of their plans while abroad. Use their calculator here to see how much data you can use abroad with your plan.
Ultimately their fair usage policy is a lose-lose situation. If you’re on a large plan you can only use a smaller percentage of your allowance, while restrictions on smaller data plans can feel very tight.
If you won’t use much data on your trip then that won’t be too much of a problem. But if you travel often, for long periods or are a heavy data user then you can end up incurring extra charges.
Useful link: See Virgin's roaming information hub
What we like: EU roaming included on all plans 5 extra non-EU countries included Low cost plans Calls to EU countries included while roaming
What we don't like: Data caps on all their plans Calls to some roaming destinations not included
iD are a fantastic network for cheap 1-month SIM only contracts. Despite their low costs they include EU roaming in loads of popular EU countries at no extra cost, helping you get the most out of your deal.
But iD’s Open Data Policy limits the amount of data you can use while roaming on their plans depending on the cost of your plan. The more you pay per month the more data you can use abroad.
It’s one of the trade offs for having such low-cost plans. It shouldn’t be a big problem on larger data plans, but these restrictions definitely affect users on smaller plans more heavily. If you’re not careful with your data you could incur additional charges.
iD also include roaming in four extra non-EU countries. This is nice, but these aren’t exactly popular destinations. And calls to these countries aren’t included. Overall, iD’s EU roaming is alright for the cost.
Useful link: iD's full guide to roaming with them
What we like: EU roaming included on all plans Low-cost plans in the first place Use inclusive international mins while roaming Calls to EU numbers are inclusive
What we don't like: All plans have data caps
You can roam abroad in these 32 EU destinations on any Lycamobile SIM only or phone deal. But your data allowance will be restricted while you’re there, no matter which plan you’re on.
Lycamobile are similar to the networks above in that they limit how much data you can use while roaming based on the plan you take. Each plan has a different data cap which is shown in the checkout before purchase.
There’s no method to working out how much of your allowance you can use. But the bigger your data allowance the higher your limit. Going over that means you’ll have to top up with credit and pay their roaming rates.
Lycamobile don’t offer inclusive worldwide roaming. They’re a low-cost choice, but you're getting a lacklustre roaming scheme as a trade-off. Big data users especially will prefer some of the networks above.
Useful link: Our full review of Lycamobile
What we like: EU roaming in 51 countries 5G available abroad
What we don't like: Only inclusive on premium plans Pay a daily rate to roam on most plans Plans are expensive in the first place 25GB fair usage policy
Vodafone only include EU roaming on their more expensive “Xtras” plans. These let you use up to 25GB of your data allowance in the EU, as well as your regular minutes to EU numbers.
But their regular pay monthly deals don’t include it. That means you’ll either have to pay £2 per day to roam in the EU or take an EU roaming pass which cost £8 for 8 days or £15 for 15 days.
This makes them worse for roaming than the smaller brands like Talkmobile, Virgin and ASDA that piggyback off Vodafone’s network for signal. All of these networks include EU roaming (but VOXI don’t).
These days you can use their Basics SIM plans abroad at the same daily rate as their regular plans. Still, EU roaming is a premium experience on Vodafone, but is still better than going with the networks below.
Useful link: Vodafone's full guide to roaming costs
What we like: Lots of EU and worldwide countries included Qualifying plans cheaper than some networks
What we don't like: Not every plan offers inclusive EU roaming Pay a daily rate to roam on most plans 12GB data limit even when you’re paying to roam Limits on how many days a year you can roam
As standard, you don’t get EU roaming included with Three’s pay monthly plans. You’ll need to buy a £2 daily roaming pass while abroad, to access your normal minutes, texts and data (up to 12GB per month).
But Three have introduced some new tiers of plans, which do include EU and worldwide roaming. The plans give you a set number of daily roaming passes, which you can then use whenever you like throughout the year.
Plus plans include 14 daily roaming passes per year on a 12-month contract or 28 passes per year on a 24-month contract. On a Premium contract you get 28 passes a year on a 12-month contract and 56 on a 24-month contract.
These deals let you roam in the EU with different numbers of daily roaming passes. Check here before taking your plan.
Useful link: Our guide to Three’s plan tiers
✖ Pay per day to roam on these networks
Talkmobile have recently removed inclusive EU roaming, meaning they join the growing list of networks that don’t let you roam in the EU without paying extra. Instead you have to pay time-limited passes to roam.
EE, Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile and VOXI all offer daily EU roaming passes of £2 per day. Tesco Mobile and VOXI do have longer passes that are slightly better value per day (£8 for 8 days, £15 for 15 days).
If you take a Talkmobile plan after 14th March 2023, instead of using your UK allowance abroad, you’ll have to buy a “Euro Holiday Booster”. This gives you 15GB of data for 1 day, 8 days or 15 days (see prices here).
Both Three and EE let you use their PAYG monthly bundles in the EU at no extra cost. And if you’re using traditional pay as you go with Three you’ll pay out of credit at these rates. You can’t pay as you go on Sky.
You can get EE’s Roam Abroad passes included as a Smart Benefit on their Smart Plans (or buy it separately) which includes EU roaming. And Talkmobile still have inclusive roaming in Ireland and these other countries.
In terms of data caps, VOXI let you use up to 20GB of your data and EE let you use a sizeable 50GB while roaming. Sky and Tesco Mobile still let you use your entire allowance abroad.
Tesco used to offer EU roaming with no fair usage policy. At least they haven’t introduced a new fair usage limit, so there’s that. And calls to EU numbers while roaming are included on each network.
What we like: 83 worldwide and EU destinations included 5G available abroad
What we don't like: Only included on priciest Xtras plan 25GB data cap while abroad Expensive daily rate on non-qualifying plans Extra data is expensive
Vodafone are one of the last networks to offer inclusive worldwide roaming as part of your actual plan. Most plans include no roaming at all but they do have a premium option to choose:
Take one of their Unlimited 3x Xtras plans and you’ll be able to use your regular minutes, texts and loads of data abroad in an astonishing list of 83 countries around the world, without paying extra while you’re there:
These are the only plans that offer you inclusive worldwide roaming:
Given the higher cost of the plan, it is really for travellers who know they’ll go beyond the EU quite often. You’ll be able to use up to 25GB of your regular allowance abroad per month.
On any other plan you’ll have to pay £6 a day to travel in their worldwide destinations. That’s still generally cheaper than topping up and paying as you go, but it can get expensive fast.
Useful link: Vodafone's full guide to roaming costs
What we like: Included on Premium and Plus plans Use your allowance beyond the EU
What we don't like: 12GB fair usage policy Roaming rates on regular plans are expensive Some key worldwide destinations missing
You can now get inclusive worldwide roaming on Three’s Premium and Plus plans, which are more expensive versions of their regular SIM only plans. This comes in the form of a yearly allowance of daily roaming passes.
While abroad you can use 12GB of your regular UK allowance. That’s pretty good considering that data usage on most other networks beyond the EU is very expensive.
You get 14 daily roaming passes a year on a Premium 12-month contract and 28 a year on a 24-month contract. On a Plus plan you get 28 daily passes a year on a 12-month contract and 56 a year on a 24-month contract.
This does mean you’re limited in how often you can roam. And Three don’t include some popular destinations such as India. These two things hold Three back from first place, but it’s still better than the ones below.
Useful link: Three's latest info to Go Roam
What we like: A good number of worldwide countries included Technically unlimited data while abroad
What we don't like: Small allowances while roaming You only get it on higher-end deals Some popular destinations missing
O2 are a great network for EU roaming and a good network for worldwide roaming as well. Their Travel Inclusive Zone extra lets you roam in these 27 worldwide destinations.
You don't get it automatically (unless you have Virgin Media and take a Volt plan). But on pay monthly over 30GB, you can choose Travel Inclusive under the mobile services section of O2 Extras when you check out.
You get 120 mins, 120 texts and 150MB of full-speed data to use every day you roam in their included locations. If you use up that data you technically get unlimited data, but you’ll only get sub-2G speeds.
If you're a massive data user, this scheme won’t be ideal. But it’s good for avoiding huge extra charges if you only need to do a few things on your phone. You can also buy the pass if your plan doesn't include it.
Useful link: Read O2's full roaming guide
What we like: Lots of popular worldwide countries included No limits on your data allowance abroad The lowest standard worldwide roaming rate
What we don't like: A few popular countries missing No inclusive roaming on any plans
While Sky got rid of their EU roaming a while ago, they also made a change to their worldwide roaming making it a lot cheaper to go beyond the EU on Sky than it used to be.
You now have to pay £2 a day for their Roaming Passport Plus that lets you use your entire UK allowance in these 54 EU and worldwide destinations. Before the change it was £6 a day for their non-EU destinations.
While there you can use up to your entire allowance of calls, texts and data. For going anywhere else you’ll have to pay per min, text and MB of data you use at some hefty rates (read their guide here).
Sky have by far the cheapest rates for going beyond the EU. But there’s still no way to get inclusive worldwide roaming or any add-ons to reduce the price. Not a bad choice, but not the best.
Useful link: Read Sky Mobile's page on roaming
What we like: Roaming passes offer better value than daily rate Roam in lots of worldwide countries
What we don't like: Roaming passes are temporary Small allowances for roaming No access to “Unlimited” benefits abroad
Typically, smaller networks don’t tend to offer any way to roam beyond the EU without paying per min, text and MB of data you use. But VOXI are the exception to this, offering worldwide data passes:
You can either take an 8-day data pass for £15 or a 15-day pass for £25. These get you a limited number of minutes, texts and MBs of data depending on which pass you take in these worldwide destinations.
That’s good value when compared to what you’d pay on some networks. But the allowances you get with these passes are small. We also don’t like that they’re time-limited as you might not use everything you pay for.
But the flexibility you get in being able to buy these passes whenever, the long list of destinations and the decent value that they offer means that VOXI are a decent choice for worldwide roaming.
Useful link: VOXI’s worldwide roaming passes
What we like: Lots of popular destinations included
What we don't like: You only get it as an extra add-on Only potentially included on Smart plans
EE offer three different ways to use your allowance beyond the EU. You either pay for every min, text and MB of data on your bill, take a Travel Data Pass or use their Roam Abroad extra.
If you’re on one of EE’s Smart plans you can get their Roam Abroad pass as a Smart Benefit. This lets you roam in EE’s EU destinations and five worldwide destinations (USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand).
Their data passes are daily fees you pay to get a small data allowance. The daily cost and size of your data allowance depends per location. These cover a lot of locations and are better value than paying as you go.
You will be limited to 50GB of your allowance, but that’s more than enough for most users. So you shouldn’t have to worry about incurring extra charges. EE’s worldwide roaming is decent overall.
Useful link: All other roaming costs on EE
What we like: Roam in India on any plan at no added cost
What we don't like: Just the one non-EU destination included Rates for other worldwide countries are steep
On top of Lebara's inclusive EU roaming destinations, they also include roaming in India on all plans. You get the same 30GB fair use policy and you don’t have to jump through any hoops to roam in India.
Lebara use Vodafone’s network in India. So you should get good quality signal and data speeds while there (but no 5G as of yet), but we haven’t tested this in real life.
You can roam in India on any Lebara SIM only plan. Here are their best current deals:
The reason Lebara find themselves this far down is because that’s the only inclusive worldwide roaming you’ll get. There are no other destinations or any worldwide roaming add-ons for going beyond the EU or India.
If you go to a destination not included in Lebara’s roaming you’ll pay some very steep rates for your usage. Lebara are probably the best network for going to India, but beyond that there are better choices above.
Useful link: Our review of Lebara
Finally we come to the networks that don’t include worldwide roaming destinations or offer any roaming passes. Instead you’ll have to top up and pay per min, text and MB of data beyond the EU on these networks:
We used each networks’ rates in the USA as a benchmark to compare them against each other. We compared the cost per minute, per text and finally per MB of data:
1pMobile - 10p per min, 5p per text and 2p per MB
Co-op Mobile - 8p per min, 4p per text and 10p per MB
SMARTY - 50p per min, 20p per text and 10p per MB
Talkmobile - £1.01 per min, 35p per text and 10p per MB
ASDA - 75p per min, 10p per text and 20p per MB
giffgaff - £1 per min, 30p per text and 20p per MB
iD Mobile - £1.68 per min, 42p per text and 30p per MB
Honest Mobile - 30p per min, 9p per text and £3 per MB
Tesco Mobile - 89p per min, 40p per text and £5 per MB
Virgin Mobile - £2 per min, 50p per text and £5 per MB
Plusnet Mobile - £1.30 per min, 40p per text and £6 per MB
This shows that 1pMobile and Co-op Mobile have the best rates for worldwide roaming. But even then your usage will get expensive fast. Using 1GB of data in the USA on Plusnet costs £6000, while it costs £20 on 1p.
You can’t sit by the pool and stream Netflix on any of these networks without incurring some serious charges. But if you hardly use data at all, then 1pMobile, Talkmobile and SMARTY are decent choices; the rest are unusably expensive.
The only one of these network we think could introduce some sort of worldwide roaming scheme would be Virgin. If they did so it could make them an excellent choice for roaming in the EU and beyond.
But in the end, most people don’t regularly go on holiday beyond the EU anyway. It’s not a priority for networks to bring in worldwide roaming schemes.
In any case, most users will care more about EU roaming which most of these networks offer anyway. But it’s still nice to have worldwide roaming so it’d be great if any of these networks started offering it.
Useful link: 1pMobile’s roaming costs
O2 come out as the clear winner when judging each network on both their EU roaming and worldwide roaming schemes combined. It’s interesting because they don’t have the best of either schemes individually, but overall they’re definitely strongest.
Tesco Mobile might let you use as much data as you want in the EU, but they don’t offer worldwide roaming passes. O2 do limit you to 25GB, but that’s more than enough for most users and they let you roam worldwide on slightly pricier plans.
Vodafone might have the stronger worldwide roaming as your data isn’t speed capped like on O2. But Vodafone’s roaming is only on their expensive plans. O2 offer EU roaming for free as standard and you can get a travel pass on most O2 plans.
In the end, if you’re a bit of a globetrotter and want to hop from Austria to Australia, the UK to the USA or from Croatia to Canada then O2 won’t put you out of pocket like some networks would. Just keep an eye on your data usage.
Useful link: O2’s guide to their International Travel Bolt-on
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