SMARTY vs giffgaff: which has the better network?

✔ Coverage is still better overall on giffgaff than SMARTY

Both giffgaff and SMARTY are owned by main UK networks that they rely on to provide signal. giffgaff use O2’s network for call (2G/3G) and data (4G/5G) signal while SMARTY use Three’s network.

For 4G, SMARTY hold a minor advantage. Their parents Three have massively improved 4G coverage and have now overtaken giffgaff’s, so you’re more likely to stay on 4G in more rural areas with SMARTY.

But giffgaff hold the advantage for 5G. You’ll get 5G in this long list of 3200+ UK towns and cities on giffgaff and in these 580+ locations on SMARTY. But coverage in their locations tends to be about equal.

Best current 5G SIM only deals on SMARTY and giffgaff

Finally, giffgaff still offer widespread 2G and 3G call signal, while SMARTY’s hosts are phasing out their 3G. It's worth knowing your phone will need to support 4G calling, else you won't be able to make calls on SMARTY.

Useful link: See giffgaff’s signal map | See SMARTY’s signal map

✔ Data speeds are faster on SMARTY than giffgaff

While giffgaff do provide better overall coverage, SMARTY are the clear winner when it comes to data speeds for both 4G and 5G. Our own testing and indepedent network testers back this up.

We got 4G speeds as high as 95 Mbps on giffgaff and 70 Mbps on SMARTY, but more often we sat around 15-20 Mbps on giffgaff and 30 Mbps on SMARTY, matching Opensignal’s results of 23.1 Mbps and 38 Mbps respectively.

Opensignal and Speedtest got typical 5G speeds of 208.9 Mbps and 260.22 Mbps on SMARTY’s hosts and speeds of 80.1 Mbps and 83.02 on giffgaff’s. Peak speeds sat at 680 Mbps on SMARTY and 226.14 Mbps on giffgaff.

Best 5G SIM only deals on giffgaff and SMARTY

SMARTY blow giffgaff out of the water when it comes to 5G data speeds and offer much healthier 4G speeds on top of that. As such SMARTY are the better choice for heavy data activities like gaming and file sharing.

Useful link: SMARTY's traffic management policy

✔ Extra network features are a bit better on giffgaff

With call signal slowly being removed on both providers, it’s more important that they offer good WiFi calling and 4G calling schemes as a replacement. Thankfully, both of them include these features on all plans.

Both have similar schemes that let you connect to texts and transfer calls from WiFi to 4G without them dropping. But SMARTY are able to support more devices as they get their scheme from Three directly.

Best SIM only plans with WiFi calling on SMARTY and giffgaff

You get access to free WiFi hotspots on both. But giffgaff give you access to 8000 of their hosts’ hotspots across the country, while SMARTY only offer free WiFi on the London Underground.

Finally, giffgaff let you join on an eSIM while SMARTY don’t. And they now let you join on one directly, so it’s a really convenient way of joining without having to wait for a physical SIM to arrive.

Useful link: Costs for going over data limit on SMARTY

✔ Inclusive EU roaming is better on SMARTY than giffgaff

Both giffgaff and SMARTY have kept their inclusive EU roaming in place, meaning you can roam in the EU at no added cost on both. You can roam in these 42 EU/EEA countries on SMARTY and in these 38 countries on giffgaff.

Best EU roaming plans on giffgaff and SMARTY

The main difference with SMARTY is that you can use 12GB of your allowance. That’s more than twice what giffgaff let you use. But you will have to turn on roaming manually before you leave (follow the instructions here).

That might be an issue if you’ve travelled abroad without turning it on beforehand, as you’ll then probably have to wait until you find some free WiFi to turn it on. This is what happened when we tested it out.

If you’re going outside the EU, you’ll have to top up and pay at their pricey rates. SMARTY’s rates are cheaper than giffgaff’s, but you’ll still spend a lot. Both networks are only good for short trips to the EU.

Useful link: SMARTY's full price guide

✔ Refer friends for rewards on giffgaff and more

You might not know that giffgaff actually offer what they call their “Payback scheme”. If you don’t know, it’s a reward scheme for getting your friends or family to join on giffgaff.

So if you know anyone who wants to join giffgaff, you can send them a special link to giffgaff’s site where they can buy their plan. If they get at least £10 credit or a £10+ plan you’ll both earn £5 free credit.

Best current SIM only plans on giffgaff

giffgaff also offer a range of 18-month contracts that you can join without having to pass a credit check. This can give you even better value per month, if you don’t mind joining for the long term.

Finally, giffgaff give you some special offers called “member perks” which take the form of free trials or reduced prices for these services. These can come in handy if you’ll use them, so they’re nice to have.

Useful link: Full details on giffgaff's recruiter scheme

✔ SMARTY offer discounts for families and more

SMARTY help their customers get better value on their already great value deals by offering 10% off any plans added to their account. They let you add up to 7 additional plans and get all of them discounted.

It works best for families and groups of close knit friends who trust each other, because the account holder is essentially in charge of the payment, adding and removal of plans.

SMARTY also have better customer service, via their online chat for help. On giffgaff, you end up relying on help of other members on forums. It’s much easier to get help on SMARTY than on giffgaff.

Best SIM only plans currently on SMARTY

And the cost of your plan won’t go up at all on SMARTY unless you’re on a temporary discount. giffgaff can hike up your plan’s price whenever on 1-month plans, while you’ll get the same low costs on SMARTY forever.

Useful link: Read SMARTY's help guide for more info

No credit checks to join SMARTY or giffgaff

If you have a poor credit history or if you’ve just turned 18 and don’t have a credit history, then these two are decent choices if you’ve been denied by O2 or by Three.

giffgaff and SMARTY both let you join their SIM only plans without having to pass a credit check. Usually a network will look up your credit history to see whether or not you’ve made payments on time in the past.

They do this because they need to make sure you can pay on time for your minutes, texts and data. But since you’re buying everything up front on SMARTY and giffgaff then if you can’t pay, you can’t get your plan.

All you need to join either network is a UK debit or credit card and enough money to pay for your plan and you’ll be able to join without issue.

Useful link: How billing works on SMARTY | How it works on giffgaff