SMARTY vs EE: how the coverage, speeds and benefits compare

✔ EE’s network is bigger than SMARTY’s

EE own and run their own mobile network (they’re owned by BT). SMARTY were set up as a low-cost brand by Three, so they use their 3G/4G network to bring their customers signal.

For basic calls and texts, there’s not much of a difference between the networks. They’ve got similar amounts of the country covered. Our own experience says there’s more rural blackspots on SMARTY though.

EE definitely have an advantage for 4G data nationally. It’s better in smaller towns. And it’s much better rurally. If you travel around a lot EE is noticeably better. If you live in a big city, the difference is small.

It’s not a total slam dunk for EE. And if you have got good SMARTY coverage where you use your phone, that’s all that really matters (and you’ll benefit from cheaper prices). So check both network maps here.

Useful link: Read about SMARTY’s network improvements

✔ SMARTY now have 5G access

When looking at the number of locations covered by each, we can see SMARTY is ahead with 300+ towns and cities covered vs EE’s 160+ towns and cities. So SMARTY wins, right? Not quite.

While SMARTY might have more locations covered, we think this is because EE only declare a location covered when 50% of its area has 5G available. They could have far more locations and just haven’t declared them yet.

Having half a location’s area covered by 5G is pretty impressive. With SMARTY you might only get 5G on certain streets or popular areas. It’s best to use both networks’ coverage checkers to see how 5G coverage is in your area.

If you can get good 5G where you are then the national picture is less important. That’s why we think EE are the best network for 5G, even despite having fewer declared locations.

Useful link: EE’s 5G rollout news

✔ EE are still the champions of 4G speeds

In our SMARTY review we found no speed differences between them and their host Three, so it’s fair to use Opensignal’s average results of 25.2 Mbps for SMARTY and 44.0 Mbps for EE.

That’s a massive difference. For social media and internet browsing you won’t notice it all too much, but streaming HD video or downloading big files will go much more smoothly on EE vs SMARTY.

In our real life testing we found peak 4G speeds in the city centre between 70 - 110 Mbps and around 45 Mbps on SMARTY. EE did suffer a bit in rural areas, going down to between 8 - 15 Mbps while SMARTY stayed at 40 Mbps.

This all depends on your location. To be sure we recommend taking advantage of the 14 day returns period that all mobile customers are entitled to. Take out a SIM on both and see which one works better for you.

Useful link: SMARTY’s promise not to slow you down

✔ SMARTY’s 5G speeds can be much faster

While EE have the clear advantage for 4G speeds, SMARTY have an advantage for 5G speeds. Three claim to have the fastest 5G speeds in the UK and SMARTY get full access to these speeds.

Looking at independent network testers Opensignal and Speedtest by Ookla’s results we can see average 5G speeds on SMARTY between 103.9 Mbps and 221.8 Mbps while EE have speeds between 131.9 Mbps and 144.5 Mbps.

While there’s a bit more variation in SMARTY’s speeds, we think you’re currently more likely to get blistering fast 5G on SMARTY than on EE. If you’re downloading films or other big files you could notice the difference.

We still think 4G speeds are more important, however. You’ll be on 4G more often than on 5G, and for most people, having the fastest 5G speeds actually won’t make much of a difference. Still, 5G is a strength of SMARTY.

Useful link: SMARTY's traffic management policy

✔ Both EE and SMARTY have WiFi calling and 4G calling

Neither SMARTY or EE broadcast their call signal on optimal frequencies to get through building materials indoors, so they’re at a slight disadvantage to O2/Vodafone. So it’s good EE and SMARTY have extra help:

You’ll get WiFi calling and 4G calling as standard on EE’s pay monthly plans (not pay as you go or Flex though) and every SMARTY plan. And their schemes both support SMS texts too.

WiFi calling works by letting your phone connect to a mobile network in the usual way but via WiFi, instead of 2G/3G. That improves your indoor call signal. But it’s worth checking each network supports your phone.

EE’s list of supported devices is bigger than SMARTY’s here, which seems a little defensive and is way small than Three’s (we’ve had SMARTY WiFi calling work on a device not listed there, a Moto G 5G Plus).

Useful link: Our guide to the best WiFi calling networks

✔ EE get you free WiFi on the Underground

Despite being owned by BT, EE don’t actually make any real use of BT’s broadband expertise. We think it’d be good if you got access to BT WiFi as an EE customer but you don’t.

Free WiFi access from your mobile provider is a nice little extra only a few of them offer. It helps you stay connected in busy, hard to reach places for mobile signal. And it helps you stay in control of data usage.

EE take part in the free WiFi on the Underground scheme in London and the TFL network, meaning free and unlimited WiFi for pay monthly customers and pay as you go ones with an active bundle.

SMARTY don’t have anything to offer in this department, despite Three also taking part in the same scheme for London. It’s a premium network feature you don’t get on a budget network.

Useful link: Our free WiFi hotspots guide

✔ SMARTY’s built to be flexible on all plans

Three set up SMARTY to be an all SIM only provider, offering exclusively 1-month plans, with no contract or credit check. So how does that work?

You pay for you plan up front each month. You register a debit/credit card with SMARTY and if you choose your plan to renew automatically each month, it will be charged without you doing anything.

If you want to spend extra on things not included in your plan (like premium rate numbers, calling abroad, roaming etc), you top up with credit - just like old fashioned pay as you go. You’re then billed for that.

All of which means, there’s no credit check to join SMARTY. And it’s ultra flexible: you can choose to change plans each month, delay buying a plan if you don’t need it or leave altogether with no notice period.

Useful link: Our guide to the best roaming networks

✔ EE Flex plans offer a similar type of deal

It’s fair to say EE are mostly geared towards pay monthly contracts. But they do offer something called Flex plans, which are very similar to SMARTY: a sort of blend between pay monthly and pay as you go.

Like on SMARTY, they offer no credit check, no contract, plus the ability to change plans once a month if your needs change. They also include data rollover, where you‘ll keep unused data to use next month.

EE’s current Flex plans

Here’s how EE’s Flex compare with SMARTY on price

They’re usually the cheapest, most flexible way to join EE on a plan with a medium amount of data. But they do strip out some network features: you don’t get WiFi calling or 4G calling with Flex.

They also don’t support 5G. And the 4G is limited to a maximum of 60 Mbps (which is double the expected average on EE anyway). If you want a commitment-free way to join EE, Flex is it.

Useful link: Our full Flex plan review

✔ You can get some worldwide roaming on EE

For the most part, the standard roaming you get with EE’s pay monthly or pay as you go bundles is the same as practically every other network: use your UK minutes, texts and data in the EU for no extra cost.

But EE do have an option for some extended inclusive roaming in some further flung destinations. You get this with their Roam Further pass, which you can either buy or get included with your plan.

Those let you use your UK allowances in these five extra countries, which includes the USA. If you choose a more-premium Smart Plan, you can choose the pass as one of your included Smart benefits.

Current EE Smart plans

Choose the Roam Further pass with any of these SIM only plans:

Roaming is always 4G wherever it’s available. And everything just works automatically when you get abroad, which isn’t the same on SMARTY (read below).

Useful link: All roaming costs on EE

✔ SMARTY’s inclusive roaming is EU only

Roaming on SMARTY is a pretty standard affair. You’ll be able take your plan with you when you travel to any EU countries and not pay to use your regular minutes, texts and data.

Where you do have to be careful is to activate SMARTY’s roaming settings on your phone before you leave. They’ve got step-by-step instructions on how to do this here.

For our full SMARTY network review, we genuinely got stuck without data abroad, because we didn’t know about this in advance. So it’s a bit of a downside to SMARTY. But if you know in advance, you can sort it.

Otherwise, we’ve found you do spend more time on 3G abroad with SMARTY than EE. But that may be just the networks they’ve partnered with. For quick trips to the continent, it’s absolutely fine.

Useful link: SMARTY’s full roaming guide

✔ Free trials and premium add-ons with EE

As long as you join EE on pay monthly (not pay as you go or Flex), they’ll throw in some free trials to entertainment services for 3 to 6 months for nothing, which you can claim at any point.

The services include Apple Music, Britbox, BT Sport Ultimate and others and you can watch them as much as you like, as EE won’t charge you for the data. They do become payable after your trial is up though.

If you choose a Smart plan, you can also get one of these included for the length of your contract. Or choose other things like extra roaming or unlimited video data with loads of apps (see all choices here).

It’s worth saying the Smart plans do cost more on phone contracts and SIM only than their non-Smart equivalents. So definitely check you can’t just get those subscriptions cheaper separately.

Useful link: More about EE’s Smart plans

✔ Get money back for unused data on some plans

On EE’s pay as you go and Flex Plans, you get data rollover (keep unused data for next month). But some SMARTY’s plans take it one step further and pay back what the data cost to buy, as discount off next month.

On their data discount plans, each 1GB costs £1. For any you don’t use, SMARTY discount next month’s plan by that amount. So 500MB unused would be 50p or 2GB would be £2, calculated to the MB/penny.

SMARTY’s current data discount plans

This was SMARTY’s main benefit when they first launched. But they’ve now made it so only a few of their plans pay you back. They now have options with more data for similar prices that don’t pay you back.

But if one of them is right for you and your usage varies, it’s still a nice benefit that is unique to SMARTY and you can’t get on EE.

Useful link: Our review of SMARTY’s data discount