Which networks offer unlimited data?

Table of Contents Best unlimited data SIM deals Networks offering unlimited data EE O2 Three Vodafone Asda Mobile BT Mobile GiffGaff iD Mobile Lebara Mobile Lycamobile Smarty Tesco Mobile VOXI Virgin Mobile What about the other UK networks? Frequently Asked Questions

Unlimited data is currently available on 14 networks in the UK, which include BT Mobile, EE, GiffGaff, iD Mobile, Lebara Mobile, Lycamobile, O2, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone, Asda Mobile and VOXI.

Unlimited data is great because you never need to worry about overspending or running out of data as you endlessly use up loads of the stuff.  However, different networks have different restrictions and unique selling points, so it’s worth getting fully up to speed before choosing an unlimited data plan.

Best unlimited data SIM deals

We have hand-picked the best value unlimited data SIM deals available on the market right now. We've only included deals with no speed restrictions and the majority also come with 5G included.

Best Unlimited Data SIM deals (September 2021)

Three	12 Month Plan Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	£16 a month View Deal
5G plan with no speed restrictions
iD Mobile	12 Month Plan Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	£16 a month View Deal
5G plan with no speed restrictions
Smarty	1 Month Plan Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	£16 a month View Deal
4G plan with no speed restrictions
Vodafone	24 Month Plan Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	£15 a month £30 6 months half price View Deal
5G plan with no speed restrictions
O2	12 Month Plan Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	£33 a month View Deal
5G plan with no speed restrictions

Networks offering unlimited data

EE

Overview

Pros	Cons
Great coverage and speeds	Premium prices
5G included and no speed restrictions	Long contract durations
Data sharing and Smart Benefits

EE offers unlimited data plans on SIM Only and with Pay Monthly phones.

Currently the network offers three unlimited data SIM plans, which are on 24-month contracts. All plans come with 5G data, and unlimited minutes and texts, with the main difference between them being whether you get zero, 1 or 3 Smart Benefits included.

Smart Benefits currently available to choose from on the plan that comes with 1 benefit are Apple Music, Netflix, BT Sport Ultimate, and a Roam Abroad Pass (which lets you roam for free outside Europe, and removes the £2 daily European roaming charge once EE adds it in 2022), while the plan with 3 benefits (designed for iPhone customers) has the options of Apple TV Plus and Apple Arcade in place of Netflix.

EE Pay Monthly plans
Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	24 Month Plan Includes 5G data + 1 Smart Benefit	£40 a month View Deal
	24 Month Plan Includes 5G data + 3 Smart Benefits	£41 a month View Deal
All plans include roaming in Europe and unlimited tethering

Those who have multiple plans on their account can also gift up to 100GB of data per month to another EE plan (or 120GB if you have a Smart handset plan), which is good for those with children who run out of data.

There is a small premium to pay for choosing EE, but the network offers higher average speeds and has more widespread coverage than its rivals. There are some slight fair usage terms though, which you can see in the chart at the end of this article.

• Related Reading: EE Coverage and Network Review

O2

Overview

Pros	Cons
5G included and no speed restrictions	Premium prices
Shorter contract lengths available

O2 was the last of the major networks to begin offering unlimited data, but unlimited data is now available on SIM Only and Pay Monthly handset plans.

There are no speed restrictions and all of O2's unlimited plans come with 5G data included.

O2 Pay Monthly plans
Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	24 Month Plan	£25 a month View Deal
	12 Month Plan	£33 a month View Deal
	1 Month Plan	£36 a month View Deal
Both plans include 5G, roaming in Europe and unlimited tethering

Free data roaming in Europe has a 25GB limit per month, however some plans also let you roam further afield. Plans also include unlimited tethering, so you can share internet with other devices over a personal hotspot.

O2’s fair usage policy states that you shouldn’t use 650GB of data twice within a six month period, or regularly tether 12 or more devices.

• Related reading: O2 Coverage and Network Review

Three

Overview

Pros	Cons
Great value plans	Coverage not as widespread as some networks
5G included and no speed restrictions
Shorter contract lengths and PAYG plans available

Three offers truly unlimited data on SIM Only, Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go phone plans, as well as unlimited Mobile Broadband plans.

There are no speed restrictions on Three's unlimited data plans, and you can tether as much data as you like. All plans are also 5G ready at no extra cost, so you can enjoy superfast speeds when 5G comes to your area.

Three Pay Monthly plans
Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	12 Month Plan	£16 a month View Deal
	24 Month Plan	£10 a month £20 First 6 months half price View Deal
	1 Month Plan	£24 a month View Deal
Three Pay As You Go plans
Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	Pay As You Go Lasts for 30 days	£35 View Deal
	Pay As You Go Lasts for 90 days	£90 View Deal
All plans include 5G at no extra cost, Worldwide roaming in 71 destinations and unlimited tethering

Data roaming also comes at no extra cost on all plans and covers 71 worldwide destinations in Europe and beyond. Free data roaming on Three is limited to 12GB though, above which you’ll be charged £3 per gigabyte.

Beyond these roaming restrictions there is currently no fair usage policy for unlimited data on Three. The network used to mention a 1000GB monthly soft cap (which is still far more than most people would ever use), but reference to this has been removed.

• Related reading: Three Coverage and Network Review

Vodafone

Overview

Pros	Cons
5G plans available	Speed restrictions on plans other than Unlimited Max
Shorter contract lengths and PAYG plans available	Premium pricing for Unlimited Max plans
Option to add Entertainment Bundles

Vodafone also offers unlimited data SIM Only and phone plans including the option for unlimited 5G data.

A choice of 3 plan types are available, each of which offers different maximum download speeds.

Unlimited Lite plans offer max download speeds of 2Mbps (fast enough to browse and stream music), Unlimited plans offer speeds up to 10Mbps (fast enough to stream HD video), and Unlimited Max plans offer the maximum available speeds with no restrictions, and in reality are the only ones able to benefit from 5G speeds.

Vodafone Unlimited Lite plans Max download speed 2Mbps
Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	24 Month Plan	£11 a month £22 6 months half price View Deal
	12 Month Plan	£24 a month View Deal
	1 Month Plan	£36 a month View Deal
Vodafone Unlimited plans Max download speed 10Mbps
Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	24 Month Plan	£13 a month £26 6 months half price View Deal
	12 Month Plan	£28 a month View Deal
	1 Month Plan	£40 a month View Deal
Vodafone Unlimited Max plans 5G plans at maximum speeds
Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	24 Month Plan	£15 a month £30 6 months half price View Deal
	12 Month Plan	£33 a month View Deal
	1 Month Plan	£37 a month View Deal
Vodafone Pay As You Go plans
Pay As You Go Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	Pay As You Go Lasts for 30 days	£40 View Deal
All plans include 5G, roaming Europe and unlimited tethering

Tethering is included and you can use up to 25GB of data per month when roaming in 51 European countries (though in most cases you’ll still have to pay a £1 or £2 daily fee to use your allowances abroad). On plans with ‘Xtra’ in the name though roaming is free, and plans with ‘4 Xtra benefits’ also let you roam for free in additional locations, for 83 in total.

There is also the option to add an Entertainment bundle to the 12 or 24-month Unlimited and Unlimited Max plans for an extra £7 per month, which gives you a choice of a subscription to Amazon Prime, Spotify Premium, or YouTube Premium for the duration of the contract. Entertainment packages are also available on Pay Monthly with a handset.

Vodafone now also has an unlimited Pay As You Go plan. It’s a 5G plan that comes with roaming in 51 European countries (with a 25GB monthly roaming limit), and you will also get VeryMe Rewards – which include things like free movie rentals and tasty treats.

• Related Reading: Vodafone Coverage and Network Review

Asda Mobile

Overview

Pros	Cons
Flexible Pay As You Go plans	Speed restrictions on all plans
Uses Vodafone network
5G included

Asda Mobile launched unlimited data plans later than most, but they’re available now, alongside 5G speeds using Vodafone’s infrastructure.

At the time of writing the network sells three different unlimited data 30-day SIM Only plans, and while they all let you use 5G signals, only the one listed at ‘150Mbps’ will offer 5G speeds – the other two options are slower, and even the top option is presumably capped, since 5G is capable of higher speeds than 150Mbps.

Asda Mobile also allows tethering and free roaming in much of Europe, but there aren’t any handset plans – you can only go SIM Only or pay as you go.

• Related reading: Asda Mobile Review and Coverage

Asda Pay As You Go plans
Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	Pay As You Go	£20 2Mbps max speeds View Deal
		£25 10Mpbs max speeds View Deal
		£30 150Mbps max speeds View Deal
Includes roaming in Europe and unlimited tethering

BT Mobile

Overview

Pros	Cons
Great coverage and speeds	Only available to BT Halo customers
5G included and no speed restrictions
BT Wi-Fi hotspots included

BT Mobile, which shares a network with EE, is offering an unlimited data SIM plan, but only to BT Halo customers (previously called BT Plus).

The plan is available on a 12-month contract and includes unlimited minutes and texts. It also includes free roaming in Europe (up to 50GB) and tethering. As part of the package you also get access to BT’s network of Wi-Fi hotspots. The plan also includes 5G.

BT Pay Monthly plans (for BT Halo customers only)
Unlimited data Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts	12 Month Plan	£25 a month View Deal
Includes 5G, unlimited home phone plan worth £12, roaming in Europe and unlimited tethering

• Related reading: BT Mobile Review and Coverage

Giffgaff

Overview

Pros	Cons
Uses O2 network	Speed restrictions after 80GB usage on 4G plan
5G plans available
Flexible Pay As You Go plans

Giffgaff, which use O2's network, offers an unlimited data goodybag (add-on) with 4G data, or a golden goodybag (add-on) with unlimited 5G data included. They can both be purchased on SIM Only or with a mobile phone.

There are some restrictions with the 4G plan, with only the first 80GB of use per month being at full 4G speeds. After that, speeds are capped at 384kbps between 8am and midnight, which is quite slow. You can tether, but the same speed restrictions apply.

The 5G plan has no such speed restrictions, but there is a fair usage policy stating that you should use under 650GB of data a month, and shouldn’t tether with 12 or more devices at once.

Giffgaff Pay As You Go plans
Unlimited data Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts	4G Plan * speeds restricted after 80GB use	£25 a month View Deal
	5G Plan	£35 a month View Deal
Includes roaming in Europe and unlimited tethering

Free roaming meanwhile is fully capped at 20GB per month on both plans and the only way to use your data beyond Europe is to pay for the roaming data separately.

• Related reading: GiffGaff Review and Coverage

iD Mobile

Overview

Pros	Cons
Uses Three network	Coverage not as widespread as some networks
5G data included and no speed restrictions
Shorter contract lengths available

iD Mobile, which uses the Three network and is owned by Dixons Carphone, now offers an unlimited data plan on a 1 or 12-month SIM Only contract, or as part of a 24-month handset plan.

Roaming abroad in 50 European countries is included and you can also tether as much data as you like. When roaming there’s a fair usage policy which states that if you spend more time abroad in a 4-month period than in the UK you may be asked to prove you have strong ties to the UK.

iD Mobile Pay Monthly plans
Unlimited data Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts	24 Month Plan	£16 a month View Deal
	12 Month Plan	£16 a month View Deal
	1 Month Plan	£20 a month View Deal
All plans include 5G, roaming in Europe and unlimited tethering

Like Three's unlimited plans, iD Mobile's unlimited plan is 5G ready, so you will  be able to enjoy 5G speeds. At the current time iD Mobile does not specify a fair usage policy with regards to data usage in the UK.

• Related reading: iD Mobile Review and Coverage

Lebara Mobile

Overview

Pros	Cons
Uses Vodafone network and now has 5G	A little more expensive than you might expect
International calling to 41 countries included
Short contract durations

Lebara (which runs off Vodafone’s infrastructure) offers a 30-day SIM Only plan that comes with unlimited 5G data, minutes, and texts.

The network additionally lets you roam for free across the EU and use your data to tether, but the big selling point is you also get either 100 or unlimited minutes of international calling to 41 countries, including Australia, United States, Canada, India, New Zealand, China and many more.

Lebara Pay Monthly plans
Unlimited data Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts + 100 international minutes	1 Month Plan	£25 a month View Deal
Unlimited data Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts + Unlimited international minutes	1 Month Plan	£30 a month View Deal
Includes 5G, roaming in Europe and unlimited tethering

• Related reading: Lebara Mobile Review and Coverage

Lycamobile

Overview

Pros	Cons
Uses O2 Network	5G speeds not available
International calling included
Pay As You Go plans

Lycamobile, which uses O2's network, has launched unlimited data plans, and these also give you unlimited minutes and texts.

One of these plans gives you unlimited data at 4G speeds, while one does the same while also giving you unlimited international minutes to dozens of locations. You can tether on Lycamobile too, and you can roam within the EU at no extra cost – though there’s a 20GB cap when doing that.

Lycamobile Pay Monthly plans
Unlimited data Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts + 100 international minutes	Pay As You Go	£25 a month View Deal
Unlimited data Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts + Unlimited international minutes	Pay As You Go	£30 a month View Deal

• Related reading: Lycamobile Review and Coverage

Smarty

Overview

Pros	Cons
Uses Three network	5G speeds not available
Great value 1 month plan	Coverage not as widespread as some networks
No speed restrictions

Smarty, which uses Three's network, offers a great value unlimited data SIM plan which comes with no speed or tethering restrictions. 

Smarty's unlimited plan is a 1-month rolling plan that comes with 4G included, but you will not currently get access to 5G as you would on Three – though this is planned to happen in the future.

Smarty Pay Monthly plans
Unlimited data Unlimited mins Unlimited texts	1 Month Plan	£16 a month View Deal
Includes roaming in Europe and unlimited tethering

Currently, Smarty only offers SIM only plans, so no unlimited Pay Monthly phones or Mobile Broadband plans are available.

Data roaming is limited to 12GB per month and you can only roam for free across the EU, which is another key difference with Three's plans, as these include free roaming in a number of places further afield too.

• Related Reading: Smarty Mobile Review and Coverage

Tesco Mobile

Overview

Pros	Cons
Uses O2 network	Long contract durations
5G plans available with no speed restrictions	Prices not significantly lower than O2

Tesco Mobile, which uses O2's network, offers unlimited data on both SIM Only and Pay Monthly, and on both 4G and 5G plans (but at the time of writing 5G doesn’t come as standard, so make sure you’re on a 5G plan if you want it).

The plans are available in 12 or 18-month varieties on SIM Only, or variable lengths with a handset. You can also roam for free in Europe and tether.

Tesco Pay Monthly plans
Unlimited 4G data Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts	18 Month Plan	£27.50 a month View Deal
Unlimited 5G data Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts	18 Month Plan	£30 a month View Deal
Includes roaming in Europe and tethering

• Related reading: Tesco Mobile Review and Coverage

Virgin Mobile

Overview

Pros	Cons
Uses Vodafone network
5G included and no speed restrictions

Virgin Mobile, which uses Vodafone's network, also offers unlimited data, and while this used to only be available to customers of other Virgin products, it’s now available to everyone at the time of writing.

It’s also truly unlimited, includes 5G and comes in at a competitive price, whether you opt for a 12 or 24-month plan.

Virgin Pay Monthly plans
Unlimited data Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts	12 Month Plan	£28 a month View Deal
	24 Month Plan	£25 a month View Deal
Includes 5G, roaming in Europe and unlimited tethering

You also get unlimited data for tethering – or at least, according to a customer service agent we spoke to you do, however at the time of writing there is no confirmation of this on Virgin Mobile’s website.

However, unlimited data is not available on mobile broadband plans. There are also restrictions when roaming. This cap changes though, so for an up to date figure, use Virgin Mobile’s fair use calculator.

• Related reading: Virgin Mobile Review and Coverage

VOXI

Overview

Pros	Cons
Uses Vodafone network	Only slightly more affordable than Vodafone
5G included and no speed restrictions
Short contract duration

VOXI, which is a network run and owned by Vodafone, is now offering a 5G unlimited data plan that’s been branded Endless Data.

Importantly, VOXI's unlimited data plan comes with 5G as standard and has no speed restrictions. Tethering is also included so you can share data over a personal hotspot, and you also get free roaming in Europe (up to 20GB per month).

Overall, VOXI's unlimited data plan is a slightly more affordable alternative to Vodafone, and it comes with ultimate flexibility, as there is no contract, meaning you can leave at any time.

VOXI Pay Monthly plans
Unlimited data Unlimited minutes Unlimited texts	1 Month Plan	£30 a month View Deal
Includes 5G, roaming in Europe and unlimited tethering

• Related reading: VOXI Network and Coverage Review

What about the other UK networks?

The other UK networks currently do not offer unlimited data. However, many do have high data limits which you can see in the table below.

UK Networks Maximum Data Allowances

Operator	Max data	Tethering	Roaming
FreedomPop	4GB	4GB	N/A
Plusnet Mobile	17GB	17GB	15GB
Sky Mobile	60GB	60GB	60GB
Talkmobile	100GB	100GB	100GB

FreedomPop

FreedomPop has a range of SIM Only plans offering up to 4GB of data. You can use this data to tether if you also subscribe to its Premier service.

The network doesn’t currently offer any Pay Monthly, Pay As You Go or mobile broadband plans, and you can’t roam on any of its current plans. All plans come with 4G speeds as standard.

Plusnet Mobile

Plusnet Mobile only has SIM Only plans and these come with up to 17GB of data (though it tops out at 15GB if you’re not a Plusnet broadband customer) at the time of writing.

However, Plusnet regularly changes its plans, so there’s every chance these figures will be out of date by the time you read this – check with Plusnet direct for the latest available allowances.

You can use any or all of this data for tethering and up to 15GB for free roaming. 4G is included as standard, but there’s no 5G.

Sky Mobile

Sky Mobile offers both Pay Monthly and SIM Only plans and these include up to 60GB of monthly data. You can use as much of this as you want for tethering or roaming. Sky Mobile also supports 5G.

Talkmobile

Talkmobile offers SIM Only plans with up to 100GB of data, and you can use this to tether and roam.

Frequently Asked Questions