Vodafone phone contracts: how they work and compare prices

You can join on a Vodafone contract via other retailers

If you want the best phone deal possible, it's worth knowing you could get a Vodafone phone contract at a lower price than direct by joining via a third party reseller. They buy phones in bulk and as such can offer better deals.

Resellers who offer Vodafone contracts include Fonehouse, buymobiles.net, Metrofone, Carphone Warehouse and others. They all offer traditional 24-month contracts, instead of finance based contracts like Vodafone.

You get all the same benefits as you would by joining Vodafone directly (see more below). And you can even take a premium Xtras plan if you want to get inclusive roaming in these 83 EU and worldwide destinations.

While they lack the flexibility of Vodafone’s EVO contracts (see below), they’re a brilliant option if you’re just looking for better value. Further down we go into the types of contract you can get on Vodafone directly.

Useful link: Our guide to joining Carphone Warehouse

Joining Vodafone directly gives you a more flexibility

Unlike the resellers above, Vodafone offer their phones on flexible finance-based contracts. These split your phone payment and usage plan (mins, texts, data) into separate bills that make up your monthly payment.

You can pay off your phone at any point to upgrade to a new one. You don’t need to wait until your contract is up. And with their EVO plans, you can set a contract between 12 - 36 months to suit your budget.

No matter what, the overall cost of your phone stays the same. You will have to stay on your usage contract for the full 24 months, however, and there’s no way to move to a cheaper plan during your contract.

The choice between joining Vodafone directly vs joining a reseller comes down to whether you want more flexibility in setting up your plan or a better price on your phone. It really comes down to preference.

Useful link: Vodafone’s guide to their EVO plans

There are some technical things worth knowing about

To join any Vodafone phone contract you’ll have to pass a credit check. This is where they look at your history of keeping up with payments to decide whether or not you’d be a reliable customer.

We don’t have any insider information, so we can’t say exactly how strict they are. But because Vodafone are paying for your phone with the expectation that you’ll pay them back, we think they’ll be quite strict.

If you want to leave Vodafone in the middle of an EVO contract you’ll have to pay off the rest of your loan as well as an early termination fee for your usage contract. You can see how they calculate the cost here.

Vodafone will send you your phone by DPD within 1 working day if you order before 10pm. You can see all the details about deliveries on weekends and holidays in their guide here.

Finally, if you’re switching to Vodafone from another network and want to keep your number you can request a PAC from your old provider and give it to Vodafone whenever. They’ll then port your number over for you.

Useful link: What to do if you fail a credit check on Vodafone

Excellent mobile signal, good 5G and other nice benefits

Vodafone own the network they use to provide signal for calls (3G/2G) and data (4G/5G). They have the joint-largest network for calls and also provide typically excellent 4G coverage in urban and rural areas.

They currently have 5G live in 150+ UK towns and cities. They’re a bit behind other networks and their coverage in these locations is below average. But it’s still an improvement to their network if you can get it.

Opensignal measured typical 4G data speeds of 25.9 Mbps, but we got up to 110+ Mbps in our tests. Opensignal and Speedtest measured typical 5G speeds between 100.6 Mbps - 146.19 Mbps and peaks up to 315.35 Mbps.

Vodafone offer typically high speeds in urban areas and slow speeds rurally, so whether they’re right for you depends on your location. They also have a good WiFi calling scheme and let you join on an eSIM right away.

Useful link: Our full review of Vodafone’s network and benefits