Find the UK’s Best Value SIM-Only Deals: SIM-Only Tariffs Compared and Listed
June 6th, 2011
Most people save about £180/year by switching to a SIM-only contract. We list the tariffs from 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone.
A SIM-only tariff is a mobile phone contract that provides you with airtime but doesn’t come with an inclusive phone. With one of these SIM cards inside your existing phone, you could cut your monthly phone bill by around £15/month without losing any of your airtime. They’re ideal for customers upgrading from Pay As You Go and for Pay Monthly customers who have reached the end of their contract. SIM Only deals come with shorter contract lengths than traditional Pay Monthly contracts (either 1 month or 12 months).
If you’re a smartphone owner (iPhone, Android, etc), we’ve reviewed all of the UK’s top SIM-only smartphone tariffs in a separate article.
- If you’re switching network, see our guide to transferring your phone number with a PAC Code.
- If you’re unsure about whether your phone is locked, see our guide to determining whether your phone is locked and how you can unlock it.
- If you own a smartphone, see our guide to download limits and what terms such as “500MB” and “1GB” actually mean in reality.
- If you’re visiting the UK and bringing a phone from abroad, see our guide to using your cellphone in the UK.
SIM-Only Deal Finder
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About Ken
I'm a freelance writer specialising in mobile technology. I've been blogging at Ken's Tech Tips since 2005 with the aim of demystifying mobile technology for the rest of us.
Before writing about mobile technology, my background was in space & atmospheric physics. I have also worked in software development. Nowadays, I help companies to explain mobile technology to their customers. Please check out my portfolio or get in touch for more information. I'm also on Google+.









For anyone wanting an update on the above, see our Pay As You Go price comparison tool.
Ken
Shame giffgaff mobile’s goodybag’s can’t be included in the ‘SIM Only’ tariff list – their PAYG ‘bundle’ tariff that provides similar/ better value than the above
(Full disclosure by Ken: Claire works for Giffgaff)
Hi Claire,
Thanks for getting in touch. We'll look at including Giffgaff in our next update – the original brief was that we were developing a tool for people to compare SIM only tariffs. Seeing as Giffgaff's goodybags are quite similar to SIM-only tariffs (only differing in the way the payment is made), I think we can expand our remit to include these too.
That said, at the moment Tesco Mobile's deals (e.g. 500 minutes, unlimited texts, 500MB data for £10/month) seem to beat those being offered by Giffgaff.
For anybody who wants to find out more about Giffgaff Goodybags, we've produced a guide on them here.
Cheers
Ken
Thanks Ken! Completely understand the minefield of trying to compare the different tariffs. This tool is really clear and simple to use for folks to use, nice work!
Tesco’s new £10 SIMO deal does look good – great if you want a monthly rolling contract and don’t need free on-net calling.
I look forward to seeing how you blend SIMO and PAYG for the next version – not an easy task!
Cheers! Claire @ giffgaff