Best basic Pay As You Go SIMs: low usage & cheapest rates

On this page, we talk you through your options if all you want is a simple PAYG SIM, which lets you top up and use your credit to make calls per minute, pay per text and per MB data. There are two main types of deal:

If you actually want to regularly use your pay as you go SIM, we’d recommend looking at our section on the cheapest basic PAYG rates.

Or see the best low usage SIMs here. These are great if you’re buying for an elderly parent or first-time SIM for a child. They are also options for “emergency” back up phones or things alarms or GPS trackers.

Are you better off on pay monthly?

None of the options on this page are contracts or monthly bundles (though those can provide lower spend for some people in the long-run). This is proper classic pay as you go, with top-ups and credit.

If you’re someone who is actually planning to use their SIM on a pay as you go basis, you’ll find 1pMobile on the EE network have the cheapest basic rates in the country, at just 1p:

1p per minute + 1p per text + 1p per MB data = £0 a month (0‑month contract)
See full deal

We’re generally big fans of 1p. They have excellent coverage and speeds through the full EE network. They have extras like WiFi calling to keep you connected. And you can use those 1p rates in the EU too.

But we mean it when we say you have to want to use the SIM. There is a minimum top-up requirement of £10 every 60 days. That effectively means you’re paying £5 a month to keep the SIM active.

You won’t lose credit if you don’t use it, as long as you keep topping up. But at £5 a month, you could be better off on pay monthly, either with 1pMobile themselves. Or with an alternative provider.

See 1p’s pay monthly options

We think giffgaff have the best traditional pay as you go option, if you’re essentially looking for a SIM you can buy, put in a phone or device and almost forget about.

You’ll need to buy a first top up when you join. But after that, all you have to do to keep your SIM active is use it once every six months for something that costs credit. So send a text, make a short phone call etc.

Do that and your original top-up will never expire, making giffgaff best for ultra low usage, like emergency backup phones, alarms or gate entry systems. Use our invite page to get £5 free credit when you top up £10.

25p per minute + 10p per text + 10p per MB data = £0 a month (0‑month contract)
See full deal

The basic pay as you go rates aren’t the cheapest on the market (see 1pMobile for this). But all other UK mobile networks on this page have some minimum top-up requirements you might not like.

And it’s also worth noting that giffgaff are a good network to be on. Their coverage is joint best in the UK. They’re particularly good for things like indoor calls and texts, if that’s where your SIM will be used.

Another good low-usage option on a main network is Three. To keep your SIM card active, just do something that eats into your credit once every 180 days (send a text etc), via the mobile network, not WiFi.

Top up with cash online and that won’t expire. If you use vouchers or any other method, you will have to check the small print on them, as there can be expiry dates on those – so be careful.

Three’s basic PAYG rates are more expensive than giffgaff though, for when your SIM is in use:

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

There are cheaper options on this page but those don’t come with this nice long minimum usage period and lack of credit expiry. Three are also a big name major network, with WiFi calling and reliable 4G/5G.

We also think ASDA Mobile on Vodafone’s network are a good choice if you plan to use your SIM only occasionally. For a start, the basic pay as you go rates are cheaper than Three and giffgaff above:

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

And then their terms and conditions about keeping your SIM card active are some of the most generous. Essentially you have to both top up and use your SIM for something chargeable every 180 days.

The minimum top up is £5. So it’s essentially £5 every 180 days to keep your SIM active. And send at least one text in that period. If you don’t there’s a sliding scale of periods, after which ASDA suspend your SIM.

If you want a PAYG SIM that is there when you need it and doesn’t rip you off when you do actually use it, we think ASDA have arguably the best mix of low prices and long flexibility.

If the reason you’re reading this guide is you want a SIM for something like a remote alarm or any case where you don’t want to have to go physically make calls to keep it active, there are other options:

More and more networks are offering “pre-loaded” SIMs. These are a SIM cards where you pay for a large chunk of usage up front. We’re talking one or two years’ worth of usage, not monthly bundles.

Mozillion on EE are one of them. You can buy one of their 12-month or 24-month pre-loaded SIMs here and it will stay active that whole time, no matter how much or little you use it.

Yes you have a large upfront cost. But you can get a SIM sorted for a long period and then not have to maintain it or think about it every few months like with options above.

They can also work out quite reasonably. At the time of writing, Mozillion’s cheapest works out to the equivalent of £3 a month.

Above are our main choices for if you either want just the cheapest rates or want a SIM that you’ll barely use. But there are other options in between if none of the above hits exactly what you’re looking for.

Lebara make you do something that costs money at least once every 90 days. Their pay as you go rates are medium in cost:

25p per minute + 19p per text + 9p per MB data = £0 a month (0‑month contract)
See full deal

On Lyca Mobile you’ll have to use something every 90 days too and also your credit can expire. Their rates are more expensive too.

23p per minute + 23p per text + 15p per MB data = £0 a month (0‑month contract)
See full deal