Basic Pay As You Go SIMs: networks with cheapest rates
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Here are the networks with the cheapest traditional pay as you go SIMs, where you just top up with credit and pay for what you use. Last updated: 8th June 2023.
In our pay as you go SIM guide
Only a few networks offer traditional Pay As You Go now
✔ Monthly PAYG bundles are more common
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 few networks still let you pay as you go this way. Instead, most networks now prefer to offer monthly bundles of mins, texts and data, which are usually sold at a higher price than their pay monthly SIM plans.
If you usually top up with £5 credit each month anyway, then you might want to consider these options despite being pay monthly plans:
In this guide we’ve gone over every network that offer a traditional Pay As You Go scheme and ranked them on their costs per min, text and MB of data, and if they let you hold onto your credit for the maximum time.
How each network compares
1st: 1pMobile have by far the cheapest PAYG in the UK
What we like:
Cheap and easy to understand tariff 5G/4G/3G/2G coverage via EE’s network Over the phone customer service
What we don't like:
Minimum £10 top up 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:
They use EE’s network to provide signal, so you’ll get 3G/4G/5G in the same areas on 1p as you would on EE (check coverage here). And 1p include network features like WiFi calling too (read our full review here).
1p offer WiFi calling and 4G calling. It’s essentially the same network experience as being on EE directly, meaning you’re not getting an inferior product despite paying less.
The only downside is that you have to top up with at least £10 credit every four months, or else your SIM will be deactivated and your credit will disappear. But if you keep topping up, your credit won’t expire.
Useful link: All other costs and charges on 1pMobile
Joint 1st: Talk Home Mobile have cheap rates on EE
What we like: Uses EE’s 5G/4G/3G/2G network Cheap 1p tariffs
What we don't like: 90 day top-up requirement No WiFi/4G calling No over-the-phone customer service
Talk Home Mobile are another smaller provider on EE’s network that offer super cheap 1p per min, text and MB of data tariffs. You’ll also get 5G where available if you’re on a 5G-ready device.
After taking out a SIM with them you can top up with credit and Pay As You Go right away. They have the same 1p per minute, text and MB of data rates as 1pMobile, making them a brilliant choice for PAYG:
The main downside is that you’ll have to make a chargeable action (such as sending a text) and top up some credit every 90 days to keep your SIM active. Otherwise your SIM will be suspended and you’ll have to top up to reactivate it.
But you can top up with as little as £2.50 rather than £10 like on 1pMobile. Talk Home don’t have WiFi/4G calling though, and their customer service is a bit worse than 1p. But they’re the best alternative to joining 1pMobile on PAYG.
Useful link: Talk Home’s guide to their PAYG scheme
3rd: ASDA have the cheapest PAYG on Vodafone’s network
What we like: Signal via Vodafone’s 4G/3G/2G network No minimum top up requirement A long time to use up your credit
What we don't like: Still much higher rates than 1pMobile Tariffs have gone up in price
ASDA Mobile recently upped their PAYG 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:
You’ll only lose your credit if you don’t use your SIM at all for 180 days in a row. If you do nothing for 270 days straight, then your account will be deactivated (see their guide here).
ASDA are a decent alternative to 1pMobile if you’d prefer to be on Vodafone’s network rather than EE’s and if you’d rather not have to top up every 3 months. However, 1p are the best option if you want the cheapest rates.
Useful link: ASDA Mobile FAQs
4th: Tesco provide the cheapest PAYG rates on O2’s network
What we like: Excellent coverage via O2’s network Get through your credit at your own pace Your credit is tripled
What we don't like: Tariffs are fairly high
There are only two providers on O2’s network that let you Pay As You Go in the conventional way. Tesco are one of them and giffgaff are the other. The two actually have exactly the same UK tariffs:
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 that their PAYG rates can work out to a third of what’s shown above, which is cheap. But the bonus credit (like the extra £20 in our example) disappears if you don’t use it up within a month.
Your regular credit won’t 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
5th: giffgaff’s PAYG rates can get expensive quickly
✔ £5 free credit on your first £10 top upUse free credit offer
at giffgaff.com
(opens in a new window)
What we like: Call other giffgaff users for free Coverage via O2’s 5G/4G/3G/2G network They deliver SIMs outside the UK
What we don't like: Tariffs are higher than networks above
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:
Those rates are alright if you don’t use your phone often and just need a SIM for “emergencies”. But if you frequently use your phone your usage will add up fast.
Handily, 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.
And your credit lasts forever as long as you use your SIM at least once every six months. The downside is that their rates will add up fast compared to the networks above, hence why they’re this low down.
Useful link: Check your coverage on giffgaff
6th: Lebara’s rates will also add up quickly
What we like: Uses Vodafone’s 5G/4G/3G/2G network Get 5GB free for transferring your number to them
What we don't like: Rates are quite high Have to use some credit every 90 days
Lebara are the second provider on this list who use Vodafone’s network. But their tariffs are quite high, meaning your usage on Pay As You Go will add up quickly:
You do get 5GB free when you transfer your old number onto Lebara. It’s a nice boost for joining them, but once you’ve got through that you might be better off on a network with cheaper tariffs.
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.
You might be better off joining a 1-month SIM only deal on Lebara as they’re much better value for money. Or if you want to pay as you go on Vodafone’s network, we think ASDA are a better option (even without 5G).
7th: Three’s Pay As You Go rates are more expensive
What we like: Keep your SIM active by using it once every 180 days
What we don't like: Their tariffs are very high
Three are the only main network to let you Pay As You Go in the traditional way. But that doesn’t really matter considering their high tariffs mean they won’t be an appealing choice for most users:
The cost of calls and data has gone up massively over time, and they have the highest tariff for calls out of all these networks. So they’re only really good if you use your phone very infrequently.
You can take a free SIM from their website here. While they only advertise their monthly bundles you can still pay as you go the traditional way. It’s worth checking 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
8th: Lycamobile have high Pay As You Go rates
What we like: Coverage via O2’s 5G/4G/3G/2G network Hold onto your credit for up to a year
What we don't like: Tariffs are very high Data especially gets expensive fast Your SIM will deactivate if you don’t use it every 90 days
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 especially will add up very quickly (just 1GB would cost over £10!) when compared to the networks higher up the list. Their rates per min and text are also high, but not as high as some of the networks above.
Your credit lasts for a year on Lycamobile and you have to use your SIM every 90 days to hold onto it. It’s not like on ASDA where you can hold onto your credit forever, but it’s a good amount of time to use it up.
Infrequent users won’t like Lebara as you have to use your credit often to keep your SIM active. And frequent users will end up paying a lot with their high rates. So we can’t really see who would like this scheme.
Useful link: Lycamobile’s standard UK rates
O2 and Vodafone only offer Pay As You Go bundles these days
✖ No traditional PAYG on these networks
O2 offered a great tariff 3p per min, 2p per text and 1p per MB way back in the past, only behind 1pMobile on cost. But the only way to “Pay As You Go” is with their “Big Bundles”, which include data rollover.
Vodafone offer bundles of mins, texts and data. They do have a PAYG scheme, but it costs you £1 per day to get unlimited mins, texts and 50MB of data. It’s not a very flexible option, but it’s there if you want it.
EE don’t offer traditional PAYG, opting for monthly bundles instead. And finally, Virgin Mobile and Sky Mobile don’t offer Pay As You Go schemes or monthly bundles, but each of them let you change plans each month.
So if you’re sure you want a traditional Pay As You Go scheme, then you’ll want to stay away from these networks.