Cheapest basic pay as you go rates: each network's SIM cards
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If you just want to pay as you go in the traditional way per minute, text and MB data, we've rated each network's SIMs to find the best value. Last updated: 5th October 2022.
In our pay as you go SIM guide
Few networks offer traditional Pay As You Go these days
✔ Networks now tend to only offer monthly bundles
In this guide we’ll go over the mobile networks that offer the best traditional Pay As You Go schemes. These networks let you top up with credit and pay for what you use out of that.
Only a handful of mobile networks still offer this kind of pay as you go scheme. Most networks have switched to only selling monthly bundles of mins, texts and data, many of which are just worse value than their pay monthly SIM deals.
If you often end up topping up once a month with £5 anyway, these options might be worth a look, despite being pay monthly:
Further down the page we’ve listed every mobile network that still let you Pay As You Go and have ranked them based on their prices per minute, text and MB of data and whether or not you can keep your credit after topping up again.
How each network compares
1st: 1pMobile have the cheapest Pay As You Go rates of all UK networks
What we like:
Simple and cheap tariff Coverage via EE’s 5G/4G/3G/2G Customer service over the phone
What we don't like:
£10 top up requirement every 4 months
1pMobile offer the cheapest pay as you go rates you’ll find in the UK. True to their name you’ll pay 1p per minute, text and MB of data rates, making the other networks’ rates seem expensive:
Signal on 1pMobile is provided by EE, meaning you get full access to EE’s fantastic network with them (check in your area here). And they offer more network features than you’d assume considering their low costs (see our review of them here).
Like full access to EE’s brilliant 5G, as well as WiFi calling and 4G calling features. It’s essentially the same network experience as being on EE directly, meaning you’re not getting an inferior product despite paying less.
However bear in mind that you’re required to top up with at least £10 of credit every four months, otherwise your SIM will be deactivated and you’ll lose all your credit. So long as you keep topping up, credit will never expire though.
Useful link: All other costs and charges on 1pMobile
2nd: ASDA Mobile offer the cheapest PAYG rates on Vodafone’s network
✔ The second cheapest rates of all UK networksOrder free SIM card
at mobile.asda.com
(opens in a new window)
What we like: Access to Vodafone’s 4G/3G/2G No required minimum top up Use up your credit in your own time
What we don't like: Rates are higher than on 1pMobile Recent price increase
ASDA Mobile have increased their standard Pay As You Go rates leaving 1pMobile as by far the cheaper option. But when you compare ASDA to the networks below their rates don’t seem too bad. And there’s no top up requirement like on 1pMobile:
Your credit won’t expire unless you use absolutely nothing for 180 days straight, and your account will be deactivated if you do nothing for 270 days (full rules here).
If you prefer Vodafone’s network over EE’s and you don’t want to have to top up every 3 months like you have to on 1pMobile then ASDA will be a better choice for you. But 1p are still the much better option for those looking for the cheapest rates.
Useful link: ASDA Mobile FAQs
3rd: Tesco Mobile have the cheapest PAYG rates on O2’s network
✔ Order "No Contract" then change to Triple CreditOrder a free SIM
at tescomobile.com
(opens in new window)
What we like: Great mix of coverage via O2’s network Use up credit in your own time Triple credit boost
What we don't like: Fairly expensive rates
Only two providers that use O2’s network still let you Pay As You Go in the traditional way. Tesco Mobile are one of them, while giffgaff are the other. These two actually share the exact same standard UK rates:
But Tesco’s scheme is a little bit complicated as you can either top up with £10, £15 or £20 to get a triple credit boost. For example, topping up with £10 will actually get you £30 of credit.
That effectively means their pay as you go tariff costs a third of the rates shown above, which is cheap. The problem is the bonus credit (the extra £20 in our example) must be used within a month, else it disappears.
Your regular credit will never expire as long as you do something that costs money at least every 180 days, like make a token call to someone. For us though, the Triple Credit tariff is too complicated to bother with.
Useful link: Tesco Mobile’s pay as you go rates
4th: giffgaff’s Pay As You Go tariffs add up quickly
✔ Earn £5 free credit when you first top up with £10 Use free credit offer
at giffgaff.com
(opens in a new window)
What we like: Calls to other giffgaff users can be free Use O2’s 5G/4G/3G/2G network SIMs can be delivered outside the UK
What we don't like: Relatively pricey
giffgaff largely focus themselves around selling monthly bundles of minutes, texts and data that they call “goodybags”. But they do still offer traditional pay as you go for more infrequent phone users:
Their rates are decent if you’re an infrequent phone user and only want to use your SIM for “emergencies”, but otherwise their rates can get expensive fast.
But your credit does last forever, you just need to use your SIM at least once every six months. Also, calls to other giffgaff users can actually be free so long as you top up every three months (otherwise you get charged at their standard rate) which can save a bit of credit.
Useful link: Check your coverage on giffgaff
5th: Lebara’s rates will also add up quickly
What we like: Full access to Vodafone’s network 5GB free data when you transfer your number
What we don't like: Rates are relatively pricey Have to make one chargeable action every 90 days
Lebara are the second cheapest provider who use Vodafone’s network for Pay As You Go rates. But that’s not really saying much as paying at their standard rates can add up very quickly:
We’d say you’re better off joining ASDA Mobile, who also use Vodafone’s network. But Lebara do get you access to Vodafone’s 5G network, unlike ASDA. You probably won’t want to use it for any data heavy activities on Pay As You Go, but it will help where you can get it.
You’ll also get 5GB free when you transfer your old number over to Lebara. That’s a handy boost for when you first sign up to Lebara, but in the long term you might be better off on a network with cheaper rates.
One thing you might take issue with is that you have to make a “chargeable action” every 90 days or you’ll lose your credit. That could be a deal breaker if you want to get through your data in your own time.
In all, we think most customers would just be better off joining on one of Lebara’s 1-month SIM only plans as you’ll get much better value for money. If you’re set on paying as you go, then Lebara aren’t terrible, but there are much better options.
6th: Three’s Pay As You Go rates have gone up
✔ The last main UK network to still let you pay as you goOrder a free SIM
at Three.co.uk
(opens in a new window)
What we like: Use your SIM once every 180 days to keep it active
What we don't like: Their rates have gone up
Three have changed their pay as you go tariff again. Before it was much simpler and cheaper, but now you’ll pay much more than you used to on a much more complicated tariff:
This means the cost of data has doubled on pay as you go, and the cost of calls has more than tripled. They’re now the priciest network that offer traditional pay as you go, but they’re the only main network to still offer it.
You can take a free SIM from their website here. While they only advertise their monthly bundles, they still let you top up your SIM and pay out of credit like you usually can. It’s a good idea to have a look at Three’s signal coverage where you live.
To keep your SIM active you have to make at least one chargeable action (such as making a call or sending a text) every 180 days. So long as you do that your credit will never expire, unless you cancel your SIM.
Useful link: See all payg rates on Three
7th: Lycamobile’s rates are very steep
✔ Data especially will get expensive very quicklySee their rates
at lycamobile.co.uk
(opens in new window)
What we like: Access O2’s 5G/4G/3G/2G network Credit lasts for a year
What we don't like: Very pricey pay as you go rates Data can get expensive very quickly Have to use your SIM every 90 days to keep it active
Lycamobile are a smaller provider who use O2’s network. They’re the priciest network on this list for Pay As You Go rates. Paying per min, text and MB of data will quickly eat through your credit:
Data is especially expensive (using 1GB would cost you over £10!) when compared to the networks above. Calls and texts are also pricey, but are actually cheaper than on some of the above networks.
Your credit lasts for a year on Lycamobile and you’ll have to make one chargeable action every 90 days to hold onto it. It’s not like on ASDA where you can hold onto your credit forever, but you do get a good amount of time to use it up.
That does mean you’ll have to keep using your credit quite often, meaning they’re not a great choice for infrequent users. And frequent users won’t like the high cost of their rates. Overall we just can’t see who this scheme appeals to.
Useful link: Lycamobile’s standard UK rates
O2 and Vodafone only offer Pay As You Go bundles these days
✖ No proper pay as you go on these networks
O2 once offered tariffs of 3p per call, 2p per text and 1p per MB that were almost the cheapest of all networks (only behind 1p). These days they only offer “Big Bundles”. though these do include data rollover.
Vodafone offer monthly bundles of minutes, texts and data and they do have a Pay As You Go scheme. But it costs you £1 per day to get unlimited mins, texts and 50MB of data. It’s not a particularly flexible option, but it’s there if you want it.
EE also only offer pay monthly bundles and no longer let you pay as you go. And finally, Virgin Mobile, BT Mobile and Sky Mobile don’t offer Pay As You Go schemes or monthly bundles, but each of them let you change your plan month to month.
So if you’re adamant about staying on traditional pay as you go, you’ll want to steer clear of these networks.