spusu vs EE: are 4G/5G coverage and data speeds the same?

We have taken out an EE SIM card and a spusu in identical Android phone models to test for real if there are any signal differences between spusu and EE. Our general findings say there’s not.

Our tests found identical signal strength and identical bands used in all the places we did spot checks. Band 20 4G doesn’t work on some EE-based MVNOs but it does work on spusu. Their map shows as much too.

Same 5G locations as EE

Band 20 4G works

Mobile signal constantly fluctuates on any network and between phones but our readings definitely showed no built in advantage or disadvantage for either in terms of signal strength.

It means if you are looking to switch from EE to spusu, you can do so safely in the knowledge you’re not going to get worse UK signal for calls, 4G data and conventional 5G.

See our exclusive spusu SIM only plans

The only coverage difference between EE and spusu comes with the brand new 5G standalone technology, which EE are branding as 5G+.

This is the purpose-built, proper 5G technology, which is a lot more efficient and consistent than other 5G that has been built on top of existing 4G infrastructure.

In typical EE fashion though, the 5G+ feature is limited to only the top-most SIM only plans, starting at the £35+ mark. You’ll need a higher end phone built in the last couple of years too. And the locations are currently extremely limited.

But if your concern is whether you will get the exact same experience as being on a top-whack EE plan with spusu, then the answer is “technically no”. Is it the same as most EE customers? Yes.

We have also speed tested our two SIM cards from EE and spusu independently and against each other head in identical phones. This found some interesting results:

Firstly, we think it’s true to say there are no upper speed caps on spusu vs EE. The top speeds we experienced on spusu were in the same range of 300 Mbps as our EE SIM.

Get a fast 5G SIM only plan on spusu

But when we tested both SIMs at the same time, we did find the EE SIM seemed to get priority. The spusu SIM card would slow down more than the EE one, when competing for the same connection.

Less bandwidth than EE SIM

Full speed when no EE

So in busy places, it’s possible you could find slower speeds on spusu due to this. But we think your general experience will be very similar to EE, even if not completely identical.

In the above, we used a top-whack, uncapped unlimited data EE SIM plan to compare against spusu. But that’s not really representative of what the average new EE customer will get nowadays.

Unfortunately, EE apply speed caps to the vast majority of their plans. Their cheapest pay monthly SIMs have a 3G-style 10 Mbps cap. Pay as you go it’s 25 Mbps. Mid-range SIMs have a healthy 100 Mbps.

So if you do happen to often be somewhere where data speeds would exceed, that you could actually find spusu are the faster than EE – harsh given the seismic price difference between them.

WiFi calling on both networks works basically the same. You can make/take calls and send/receive texts over WiFi (useful if your indoor signal’s not great). Read our full WiFi calling guide here.

Our tests on both found that you can switch between WiFi and 4G/5G without the call dropping too. Audio is HD quality on both too. spusu perhaps support fewer older devices, so be sure to check their list here.

eSIM is great on both too. On both EE and spusu, it fulfils the promise of letting you sign up and be active on their network within minutes. On spusu, eSIM is only intended for phones rather than smartwatches.

Join instantly on the eSIM only plans

spusu have developed these features themselves, rather than using EE’s technologies off the shelf. So it’s impressive that they work just as well in our experience.

Main networks are almost always first to new and more niche advanced network features. And EE do support a few more things than spusu, which you might find useful.

RCS messaging is gaining popularity of late. This enhances conventional text messaging with things like read and delivery reports, imaging, group chats, without using apps like WhatsApp. EE support it, spusu don’t.

spusu also don’t support short codes. That’s when you text a short number like text votes on TV. EE do support these, so it’s another difference worth knowing. Only EE out of the two have visual voicemail.

Call forwarding also works a bit differently on both. If your phone is off on EE or completely unreachable due to signal, call forwarding will still work. On spusu, your phone has to be on still to redirect.

EU roaming is a premium feature on EE. None of their standard plans include it. On SIM only, you either have to take a Plus or All Rounder plan, which start around £36 a month or buy daily passes at £2+ a day.

With spusu on the other hand, all their plans include EU roaming as standard. You can use 500 minutes, 500 texts and a proportion of UK data in all these countries, without paying extra.

Get free EU roaming with all these SIMs

How much data does depend on which plan you choose. Typically, it’s between 20% and 60% of your regular data allowance. All their plans make it nice and clear what you get.

It is a marvel that it’s all the cheaper, virtual operators in the UK that include EU roaming still. And yet the more “premium” networks like EE don’t include it as standard (apart from O2).

If you want to travel further afield, spusu aren’t really designed for it. Their pay per MB/minute/text rates get expensive pretty fast. Only EE out of the two offer any inclusive worldwide roaming.

And for that you’ll need to take a Full Works plan starting from the £40+ a month mark. These include the additional destinations USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.

Travel eSIMs are an ever more popular option for roaming in non-EU countries. These are temporary plans you add to your phone, letting you roam much more cheaply than EE or spusu offer.

In the end, if you’re only going for a week or two, it doesn’t make a huge amount of sense to pay for a big monthly plan every single month, rather than just when you go away.

Perhaps it’s because of their size but getting in touch with EE is horrendous in our experience. If you ring them up, you can’t just talk to someone, you go through options and then they’ll call you back much later.

spusu on the other hand, despite being a low cost network, have customer service you can call for free. Whenever we’ve done it, they’ve picked up almost immediately. And they’re clearly UK agents.

We also think spusu are much better for flexibility. You’re only ever committed to 1-month plans, so you can quit with no notice or change deals if your needs change. Their overspending caps are very flexible too.

Get a flexible 1-month plan on spusu

One other little perk worth mentioning on spusu is their inclusive international minutes. If you have friends and family in the EU, you can make 500 minutes of calls and 500 texts to them every month, on any plan!

Like a lot of the main premium networks, EE are set up to appeal to customers who want a big package with lots of different things with it.

If you’re already paying for Netflix elsewhere for example, taking one of EE’s higher end plans that includes it can reduce the effective cost of your monthly mobile bill.

EE are also good for families. Not only do you get a discount for having multiple plans with them, but you can also do some clever stuff like gifting data to other people if they’ve run out.

And they also have an interesting feature for if you do run out of data. All their pay monthly plans include “Stay Connected Data“. It’s basically unlimited 3G speed data to help you out in emergencies, so you never truly run out.