spusu review 2024: how we've found the EE-based network

Coverage is excellent but spusu have some network issues

spusu use the EE network for signal. From our tests side-by-side with an EE SIM, we’re confident signal on spusu is identical to their hosts. That means you’ll benefit from everything that’s good about EE on spusu:

You’ll get joint best 4G data coverage, not just in urban areas but also out in rural areas and on transport routes. And 5G in 1000+ UK locations with good coverage within those places. Check your local 4G/5G here.

The weakness on spusu can be the signal used for calls. You do get 4G calling on spusu but with EE switching off 3G, you can end up relying on 2G for calls. And indoor call signal on spusu can suffer as a result.

Our real life coverage tests

For historical reasons, some networks on EE don’t have access to all their masts. Band 20 is used in the countryside for long-distance 4G coverage and in cities to boost capacity. Some networks lack this.

We tried it out on spusu and found that they get access to all of EE’s masts, which includes the Band 20 ones:

Generally speaking, we'd say the 3G switch off is affecting all EE-based networks. Where you once would get bumped down to a perfectly usable 3G signal in rural areas, you now often linger on a very poor 4G connection. It's not unique to spusu.

While spusu use EE’s masts, they use their own technology for everything else that makes a network work. We often found signal was fine but calls weren’t getting through. People report not receiving bank SMS codes.

It can all knock your confidence as a spusu customer, so affects our score here. For a much slicker experience on EE, see our 1pMobile review.

Useful link: Providers that use EE's network

4G data speeds are impressive but 5G is beatable

spusu say that there are no speed limits on their network. From our own tests, we’re happy to vouch for that. Being on EE is certainly a good thing for their 4G speeds, as the results of our real life tests show.

Our real life data speed tests

While it’d be possible to test our spusu SIM in every inch of the country, we did manage to check speeds in known areas to compare how spusu performed vs EE directly and just in general.

There’s definitely no speed cap. We were able to get this reading over a 4G+ connection with our spusu SIM:

That’s essentially the best theoretical speed you can even get over 4G.

We found impressive 4G speeds of 110 Mbps in central areas on spusu, but 6 or 7 Mbps rurally. More often we’d sit at a 30-40 Mbps in residential areas. Opensignal’s result of 45.9 Mbps puts them as the UK’s fastest.

We do find there’s a lot of "5G" around on EE-based networks that offers no real upgrade on speeds vs 4G though. Opensignal and Speedtest put typical 5G speeds at 96.8 Mbps - 119.21 Mbps. That’s only third best.

Blended together, we’d still say spusu are the joint-best choice for anyone that values fast data speeds from their mobile SIM. Low prices certainly don’t make an inferior speed experience here.

Useful link: Read spusu’s FAQs page for more information

WiFi calling is decent but still feels a bit unfinished

WiFi calling and 4G calling let your phone continue to make/take calls, even when conventional mobile signal is poor. spusu offer both WiFi calling and 4G calling on all plans.

spusu’s best current offers

We had no problems getting either feature to work. But we would say that the audio quality of calls wasn’t particularly great. Our call also dropped when we moved from WiFi to 4G. Other networks support this.

It is worth checking your phone is on their list of supported devices up front too, if you know you will rely on the technology. We think spusu are using their own custom technology instead of EE’s off the shelf.

Their list of supported devices is growing but it’s still shorter than others. If yours is supported, the feature is perfectly usable though not world-beating. If not, you might be better off looking at 1pMobile on EE.

Useful link: Our full guide to WiFi calling

eSIM is the best of spusu’s extra network features

You can either join spusu on a physical SIM, or an eSIM. This is where you scan a QR code after buying your plan and installing your SIM to your phone right away. We’ve done both and found eSIM very slick.

Join instantly on these plans

You can tether your data signal to other devices on any spusu plan. We asked their chat agent who confirmed there are no speed limits while tethering and you can use up to your entire allowance for it.

Call forwarding comes on every spusu plan too, letting you divert incoming calls to another line if you don’t want to be disturbed. We set this up really easily in their useful app and it worked immediately.

spusu don’t support visual voicemail that usually lets you sort through your voicemails one at a time. And you don’t get exclusive WiFi hotspots for joining spusu. But overall they offer some nice extra network features.

Useful link: Read spusu’s FAQs page for more information

Inclusive EU roaming is great to have on all their plans

Unlike their host network EE, spusu let you use any of their plans in these 38 EU/EEA destinations at no added cost. We’ve physically tested this and everything carried on working very nicely indeed.

Many providers have removed EU roaming, so it's handy to go on a trip and not worry about wracking up bills for calls, texts and data. There is a fair usage policy on data though after which you will have to pay.

Each plan has different limits (check their plans here). But the amounts are pretty generous compared to some networks. If you need to use more, their Travel plans let you use your whole data allowance.

Roaming beyond the EU will get expensive on spusu though (see their rates). Really and truly, it's only premium networks that tend to offer any worldwide roaming, so that's not reduced spusu's rating here.

Useful link: See spusu’s guide to their roaming

There are a good number of other handy benefits on spusu

If you tend to worry about accidentally spending more than you want, you’ll be quite happy with spusu. They have the most customisable spending cap scheme around, helping you spend only as much as you want.

You set a general cap between £0 - £100 in increments, which stops any services that would push you over that. But you can also set individual caps on particular activities like data, roaming, international mins.

spusu have also extended their no price increase promise until 2026, so the cost of your plan won’t go up while you’re on it. The price hikes on other networks can be huge, so customers will love this peace of mind.

Stuff you get on other networks but not spusu

spusu don't do anything clever with free data for certain activities. VOXI's free unlimited data for social media, music and video is very popular for example.

You also don’t get data rollover, which typically lets you keep your leftover data for another month. Sky Mobile’s scheme is even better, as they let you bank your rolled over data for up to 3 years!

While we like their inclusive EU calls, if you call beyond the EU or run out of inclusive international minutes then you’ll have to pay at these rates to call abroad, which can get expensive quickly.

It would also be helpful if spusu offered discounts or added benefits for families and groups like these providers do. These reward you for adding multiple plans onto your account.

All spusu plans also include 500 minutes to EU numbers. Plenty of people will likely never use that but you neveer know. We can see small business owners getting use out of it.

And spusu have said that they will bring in some more benefits in the future, so it’s a good idea to come back to this page now and again. As it stands, we like the small, but handy bundle of benefits spusu offer.

Useful link: spusu’s guide to their spending caps

They offer great flexibility on their plans

spusu offer all their plans on flexible 1-month deals without needing you to sign up to a contract. That leaves you free to change your plan up or down month to month as you need or leave spusu entirely whenever.

This means that you can save money by taking a plan that suits you. You shouldn’t be paying for a plan that gives you way more data than you need or having to pay for extra data because your plan is too small.

And this means you don’t need to pass a credit check to take a spusu plan as you pay for your plan up front rather than signing up to a pay monthly contract. So they don’t have to worry about you missing payments.

In all, spusu are a great choice if you’ve been rejected by EE for a contract or if you’ve been burned due to being stuck on a long contract on a plan that didn’t suit your budget.

Useful link: See their full range of SIM only plans