No credit check SIM only deals: options for bad credit history

Boshhh Mobile: SIMs that can help you rebuild credit

Most deals on this page are simply pre-paid SIM only plans that skip the need for a credit check. But one downside is they won’t actually help you build up credit, so you’re no more likely to be accepted for contracts in future.

There is one alternative to this. Boshhh Mobile is a new network using EE that offer 12-month SIM only plans with no credit check, which actively help you improve your credit score. They do this in a couple of ways:

First, when you buy a SIM from Boshhh, they’ll set up a credit agreement (a mini loan) for the cost of the plan and tell the credit agency Equifax. When you pay on time each month, you’ll build up a history of payments.

Secondly, they’ll pay for you to have access to your Equifax credit file and send you ongoing tips to improve your credit score. Provided you don’t do anything else to damage your record, you should be able to improve your record.

Current Boshhh Mobile SIMs

We would say though that Boshhh’s plans do cost more than alternatives, so you’re paying a premium to try and improve your score. We can’t guarantee it will work either. And if you can’t afford the plan, do not buy it. You don’t want to create more problems.

Useful link: How Boshhh Mobile works

Talkmobile are cheap and may help you build credit

Talkmobile are one of the cheapest providers on Vodafone’s network and actually let you set up a direct debit with them, while not requiring you to pass a credit check (there’s only an ID check).

You will have to log some details with them, just to let them know who you are. Putting in false or incorrect details will get you rejected. But if you put in the correct details you can join without issue.

And they now offer much more in terms of features. They’ve got 5G data, they offer WiFi calling and 4G calling, and their deals are great value.

Current best Talkmobile SIM only plans

The advantage of setting up a direct debit is that if you keep up with payments, then you should build your credit score. That makes Talkmobile a good stepping stone for joining a contract with another network later.

Useful link: Talkmobile’s terms and conditions

Lyca Mobile also include international mins on most plans

Lyca Mobile largely market themselves as a low-cost network offering flexible deals with no contracts or credit checks to worry about. But they also offer some nice benefits with their plans as well.

You’ll get a different number of inclusive international mins depending on your plan (check countries here). Their cheapest doesn’t include any, while some higher end plans get you unlimited international mins:

Lyca Mobile’s best SIM only deals for September

This is handy if you’ve got friends or relatives abroad you call on a regular basis. And you can use your SIM abroad in these 42 EU/EEA destinations at no extra cost on all plans

Lyca Mobile provide full access to EE’s 5G network on every plan, but don’t get access to all of EE’s 4G masts. Still, you get a great overall mix of coverage and some nice benefits at low costs with Lyca Mobile.

Useful link: Our full Lyca Mobile review

SMARTY: best value choice for deals with no credit checks

In our eyes, SMARTY are one of the best options for joining on a SIM only plan with no credit checks. They’re a sub-brand of Three (check signal here) and offer these kinds of deals at market-leading prices.

SMARTY’s best SIM only plans this September

You pay for your monthly allowance of minutes, texts and data up front, by registering a UK debit or credit card (read full details here). To do anything that would cost extra, you buy credit or an add-on.

What’s great about SMARTY vs joining one of the larger networks is that you don’t pay a premium price for these kinds of deals and you get the features you’d expect like WiFi calling and 5G.

Useful link: Read our full SMARTY review here

1pMobile are a great way to join EE with no credit check

If you want to get onto EE's quality network without passing a credit check, you could take one of EE's own pay as you go SIMs. But these work out unfavourable vs going with 1pMobile.

1pMobile offer some great 1-month deals on EE’s full 5G network (check signal here), with extra features like WiFi calling included. There’s a good range of data plans at great value prices:

1pMobile's September range of SIMs

You can set your plan to renew itself automatically or buy manually each month. Or you can top up with credit and pay at their 1p per minute, text and MB of data rates, if you want a break from paying per month.

Useful link: Read our full 1pMobile review

Talk Home offer great value plans with no credit checks

Talk Home Mobile are another great option if you’re looking to join EE's network without having to pass a credit check. All their plans are sold as 1-month deals with no contracts.

They offer full access to EE’s 5G network (check coverage with EE’s map here) but you do miss out on a few extra network features like WiFi calling. Still they offer a wide range of data plans on great value deals:

Talk Home Mobile's September range of SIMs

You can set your plan to auto-renew itself or take your plan manually month-to-month. But if you prefer to pay as you go, Talk Home are a great choice with their rates of just 1p per min, text and MB of data.

Useful link: Our full Talk Home Mobile review

VOXI provide extra benefits and great value on their plans

VOXI were established by Vodafone as a lower-cost alternative to their network. Their SIM only deals all come on 1-month plans. They don’t have the lowest prices, but they include some nice benefits with their plans.

There are no credit checks on their plans, as you’re paying for everything up front. Keep in mind their phone contracts do require you to pass a credit check, like any other network.

All plans include Unlimited Social Media, letting you use these social media apps without eating up your data. And some plans include Unlimited Music/Video, which lets you stream these apps without using up your data allowance.

VOXI’s SIM only plans for September

You also get all the benefits of being on the Vodafone network, even 5G access. And you get network features like 4G calling and WiFi calling too. VOXI offer brilliant value for their SIM only deals.

Useful link: See VOXI’s home page for more details

giffgaff offer low-cost and flexible SIM only plans

You don’t need to pass a credit check to join on a 1-month deal with giffgaff and the same goes for their longer 18-month contracts. But you do need to pass a credit check to join on a phone contract.

They’re almost always the cheapest way to get onto the reliable O2 network, and get the same 5G, 4G, 3G and 2G coverage as their host (see coverage here), without needing good credit history.

giffgaff’s current best SIMs

Their Pay As You Go rates can get expensive fairly quickly, but it’s still an option. You will get much better value out of their “goodybags” which is what they call their monthly bundles of mins, texts and data.

By using our SIM only comparison tool, you can see that giffgaff regularly work out as one of the cheapest networks. You can get £5 free credit on your first £10 top up if you join them via the link here.

Useful link: See giffgaff's SIM plans and get free credit

ASDA offer great value deals with no credit checks

ASDA Mobile are a smaller provider on Vodafone’s network and offer great value on 1-month SIM only deals. You pay for your mins, texts and data up front so there are no credit checks to pass to join on these.

September's best ASDA Mobile SIM only plans

They also let you top up with credit and pay per min, text and MB of data you use. But they have increased their rates to the point where we think most people would be better off on a pay monthly plan:

15p per minute + 10p per text + 10p per MB data = £0 a month (0‑month contract)
See full deal

ASDA offer some nice benefits on top of being great value. With them you get the same 5G/4G/3G/2G coverage as Vodafone, you get WiFi calling and also inclusive EU roaming - all with no credit checking.

While their pay as you go rates are very cheap, it’s still better overall value to get one of their SIM only plans. Bear in mind they have three different unlimited data plans, each having a different speed cap (check here).

Useful link: Our guide to the cheapest pay as you go networks

Lebara’s main selling point is their cheap international calls, but they’ve made some changes to their network that make them worthwhile even if you’re just using them in the UK.

Their 1-month SIM only deals are paid for up front, meaning you don’t need to pass a credit check to get one. Or if you prefer they offer 12-month contracts that you actually don’t need to pass a credit check to join.

Lebara’s best SIM only plans this September

Their international minutes benefit is still useful if you have relatives or friends abroad that you call on a regular basis (see the list of countries here).

On any Lebara plan you get full access to Vodafone’s 5G/4G/3G/2G network. They’re a great value choice for those who want to join without having to pass a credit check.

Useful link: All Lebara SIM only plans

iD Mobile offer monthly bundles with no credit checks

iD Mobile offer good value SIM only contracts, but you need to pass a credit check to get one. You can join on a PAYG monthly bundle instead to avoid these checks, but these are worse value than their contracts.

iD’s pay as you go bundles for September

With these you also get WiFi calling and 4G calling and inclusive EU roaming as standard.

However, you don’t get their data rollover benefit on their monthly bundles. So at the end of each month the mins, texts and data you didn’t use will expire, which can be frustrating considering you paid for it.

But, they’re definitely not a bad choice if you want a decent value bundle without having to pass a credit check.

Useful link: See iD Mobile's PAYG SIMs

Tesco Mobile have monthly bundles and traditional PAYG

While Tesco Mobile’s pay monthly SIM only contracts will require you to pass a credit check, they do offer pay as you go SIMs and monthly bundles paid up front that won’t require a credit check.

We don’t rate either method highly. Their monthly “Rocket Pack” bundles are more expensive than giffgaff’s “goodybags” and their Pay As You Go “Triple Credit” scheme isn’t great since their tariffs are so high.

Tesco Mobile’s best no credit check SIMs

But you get some nice benefits for joining Tesco Mobile. You can collect points on your monthly bill and Tesco shopping with your Clubcard. You can then turn these points into vouchers for money off your bill or shopping.

Unfortunately you don’t benefit from their Family Perks, you don’t get WiFi calling or 4G calling or data rollover. We think Tesco are more focused around their SIM only contracts.

Useful link: Tesco Mobile’s pay as you go bundles

Honest have 1-month and 12-month plans and no credit checks

Honest Mobile market themselves as the UK’s only carbon negative network. They’re a little pricier than some networks, but you won’t have to pass a credit check to get on any of their SIM only plans.

They sell both 1-month and longer 12-month contracts that give you better value for your plan. Their 1-month contracts offer more flexibility to leave or switch plans. On either plan your bill goes down over time.

Current best Honest Mobile deals

You get an extra 5% off every year you’re with Honest, for a maximum of 30% off after 6 years. You can also use the promo code “simsherpa” at the checkout to get 50% off your first month.

They use Three’s network for signal, meaning you’ll get great 5G coverage and speeds. And they include WiFi calling and 4G calling. They’re not as good value as some networks, but they’re still a great choice.

Useful link: Honest Mobile’s FAQ page

Three offer good value on monthly bundles

Even if you’ve been rejected for a Three contract for credit reasons, you can still join them on one of their monthly bundles. Or you can take a free SIM, top up with credit and pay for your usage that way.

They used to have a really generous pay as you go tariff, but now it’s not really great value:

35p per minute + 15p per text + 10p per MB data = £0 a month (0‑month contract)
See full deal

If you want to join on a traditional Pay As You Go scheme then there are better value options out there. But Three are a decent choice for monthly bundles. And you still get access to their Three+ rewards scheme.

Three’s current no credit check SIMs

We’d argue networks like SMARTY and iD are better value these days. Three have pulled a lot of their best benefits, so you’re not missing out on much going with a cheaper network.

Useful link: Three's no credit check SIM only plans

O2 include data rollover on select monthly bundles

Like Three, O2 have shifted focus away from traditional pay as you go. They actually don’t let you pay as you go anymore at all, but they do offer monthly bundles if you’ve failed a credit check with them.

These are better value than what you get on other main networks, but worse value than their SIM only contracts. You do get the benefits of being an O2 customer, such as access to their great Priority rewards scheme.

O2's best SIMs with no credit checks

And you get data rollover on some bundles. This lets you hold onto the data you didn’t get through at the end of month to use for your next. Their pay monthly users don’t get it. Just make sure to renew your plan.

So with that, and the rest of O2’s nice benefits, we think this is a pretty decent option if you’ve failed a credit check but still want to be on O2.

Useful link: O2 SIMs with no credit check

Vodafone include data rollover with their monthly bundles

You’ll need to pass a credit check on any of Vodafone’s pay monthly SIM only plans. But if you’ve failed a credit check with them, there are still ways of getting onto their network.

They offer lots of Pay As You Go bundles. These give you access to Vodafone’s VeryMe rewards scheme while also including data rollover. So you get another chance to use the data you paid for if you renew your plan.

Vodafone no credit check SIMs in September

You can Pay As You Go by letting your bundle run out without renewing it. But instead of topping up, you pay £1 a day for unlimited mins, texts and 50MB data. You can only be charged for a day if you use your SIM.

Useful link: Vodafone's SIMs with no credit check

EE include data rollover on their PAYG bundles

EE have the most widespread 4G network and also have excellent 5G coverage and speeds. If you’ve been rejected for a contract with them there’s still a way of joining them without having to pass a credit check.

They have a few monthly bundles to choose from that get you the same network features as being a pay monthly customer. But you also get data rollover, letting you keep your unused data for a month.

EE’s no credit check SIMs

That’s handy considering EE’s bundles are on the higher end in terms of price, so you can make the most of what you paid for. And you get some free data boosts for taking the same bundle each month.

And EE give you 10% off your monthly bundle if you let it auto-renew rather than taking it out manually. So, EE’s bundles might be expensive, but they give you a little extra to add a bit of value.

Useful link: EE's no credit check SIM only plans

No need to pass a credit check if you pay up front

The reason mobile networks run a credit check on pay monthly SIM only contracts is that they let customers pay for extra things like roaming, international minutes or premium services at the end of the month.

The mobile networks see the risk of potentially letting customers wrack up huge bills that they can’t or won’t pay. That’s why they look to check your history of paying bills, before deciding whether to accept you.

But there is a way round this. Most networks offer SIMs where you pay for a plan up front each month, and if you want to do anything else that would cost money, you have to top up with credit first.

By paying for your plan up front, there’s no risk to the network that you won’t pay them. So they don’t need to run a credit check. And you get the convenience of a monthly deal. It’s win win.

Useful link: Compare this type of plan above

How these kinds of plans work

When you click on any of the deals above, you'll be taken to the mobile network's website, where you can buy a SIM with a monthly bundle of minutes, texts and data that lasts a month at a time.

All you have to do is register a debit or credit card (or Paypal account) with the network, and your plan’s cost will be taken from that. You can set your plan to auto-renew or buy it manually each month.

You won't be able to do anything else on the SIM that would cost extra, without first topping up with credit or buying an add-on for data/calls etc. So it means it's hard to accidentally overspend.

If you let your plan renew itself, then it works basically the same as being on a contract, just that you can have a bad credit score and still be accepted for one of these kinds of plans.

Useful link: Find a deal that works for you

Who this type of deal is suitable for…

These kinds of SIM only plans are great for users with bad credit history. If you’re young, you’ve just come to the UK or have been refused for a SIM only contract in the past, then these are a good choice.

But they're not just for bad credit, more and more networks are starting to offer all their SIM only deals on this basis, just because people like the simple, flexible nature of the plans.

The four main UK networks (Three, Vodafone, O2 and EE) all offer no credit check SIMs. But to find the best value deals with no credit checks have a look at our rankings for each network below.

Useful link: Find the best-priced deals here