Giffgaff monthly rolling plans (previously Golden Goodybags)

Giffgaff has rebranded its plans, changing the confusingly named ‘Golden Goodybags’ to more straightforward ‘monthly rolling plans’. But even with that rebrand you might be wondering how these plans differ from a Pay As You Go plan (previously called ‘Goodybags’).

So to cut through the confusion, you’ll find an explanation of Giffgaff’s monthly rolling plans below, along with a look at how they differ from other plans the network offers.

What’s the difference between a monthly rolling plan and a Pay As You Go plan?

The main difference is that you get more data for the same amount of money with a monthly rolling plan.

So why wouldn’t everyone want one of these? Well, while you can change or cancel the plan at any time, it will automatically recur each month if you don’t.

Pay As You Go plans on the other hand won’t automatically renew.

Note that there’s also 18-month SIM Only plans, which sometimes give you even better prices than monthly rolling plans, and still allow you to change your plan monthly, but don’t allow you to cancel for 18 months.

Whichever type of plan you choose though you’ll get 5G at no extra cost.

What monthly rolling plans are available?

At the time of writing, Giffgaff offers eight monthly rolling plans, with prices starting from just £6 per month.

All Giffgaff’s monthly rolling plans come with 5G alongside unlimited minutes and texts, so the price difference is just for your data allowance.

For the £6 you get 2GB of data, but there are also 5GB, 20GB, 26GB, 35GB, 100GB, and unlimited data options – the last of which being the most expensive at £35.

Additionally, there’s a £25 ‘100GB Always On’ monthly rolling plan, which gives you 100GB of data at full speed, then reduces your speeds to 384kbps from 8am to Midnight until the next month.

How do I get a monthly rolling plan?

Monthly rolling plans are available on a 1-month SIM Only plan, or alongside a smartphone on Pay Monthly. So they’re a lot like Giffgaff’s Pay As You Go plans in that sense. However as noted above, one difference is that you have to set monthly rolling plans to recur – meaning you’ll automatically get a new one each month until you change or cancel your plan.

You can order monthly rolling plans from Giffgaff’s site, just like Pay As You Go plans, or use the links above to go direct to the monthly rolling plan you want.

Do I need a monthly rolling plan to get 5G?

No, when monthly rolling plans first launched they were the only way to get 5G on Giffgaff, but these days all of Giffgaff’s plans include 5G.

Can I tether with a monthly rolling plan?

Yes, and the only real limit is your data allowance, meaning that if you have a monthly rolling plan with unlimited data you can use an unlimited amount for tethering. That said, Giffgaff’s fair usage policy states that you shouldn’t use 650GB or more twice within a 6-month period, and you shouldn’t regularly tether 12 or more devices.

Can I get a monthly rolling plan with a new phone?

Yes, monthly rolling plans are available both on SIM Only and alongside a handset.

Note that while you can buy phones themselves on contract (or spread the cost anyway), the monthly rolling plans you get with them can still be changed or cancelled at any time.

What else is there to know about monthly rolling plans?

It’s worth noting that Giffgaff offers free roaming in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Martinique, Mayotte, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Ukraine, on all of its plans.

However, you can only use up to 5GB of data for roaming each month.

Frequently asked questions