With budgets under increasing pressure and phone contracts becoming more expensive, is now the right time to switch to SIM-only?
The new Google Pixel 8 starts at £47.91 per month with O2. The iPhone 15 is £53.99 per month. Both on a 36 month plan.
Who can afford that right now?
Is now a good time to leave flagship phones behind and go for a cheaper deal?
Going SIM-only
A SIM-only deal is where you only pay the network for monthly use and not a phone.
You can PAYG (pay as you go) and not pay a monthly fee, but won’t get inclusive calls, texts and data.
You can pay monthly with no contract and get inclusive calls, texts and data.
The choice is yours.
Either way, rather than paying £50 per month for 30GB of data, you could be paying £5-15 per month. Go the pay monthly option and that will include unlimited calls and texts with a data allowance.
The downside of SIM-only is the fact you have to provide your own handset.
That can be a problem if you like to have the latest phone or need to keep up with your friends. But that’s the only downside.
Technology is such now that each new version of a phone is an incremental improvement on the last. Gone are the days where you get some amazing new technology that changes the game completely.
Plus, those flagship features on the Google Pixel 8 will begin appearing on lower priced phones in a few months.
How much cheaper is SIM-only?
If you are tempted to go SIM-only, how much will you save?
Let’s use a direct comparison so you can see exactly how much you could save.
- Google Pixel 8 with 30GB of data for £47.91 per month over 36 months with O2.
- SIM-only with 30GB of data for £14.99 per month over 24 months with O2.
But O2 doesn’t offer the savings available with other carriers. I just chose them as a mainstream example.
Go SIM-only with iD Mobile and you’ll pay £10 per month for 70GB with a rolling monthly contract.
3 does a 120GB SIM-only deal for £12 per month over 12 months. Smarty is offering unlimited data with no contract for £16 per month.
That’s how much you could save!
Don’t worry about never having heard of iD Mobile or Smarty. All mobile providers use the same networks provided by Vodafone, O2, Three and EE.
For example, iD Mobile and Smarty use the Three network.
The downside of switching
As I said at the top, the downside to switching to SIM-only is that you need to have or buy your own phone.
If you’re into the latest releases, that could be expensive or make SIM-only a no-go.
If you want to keep your existing phone, don’t mind buying a used phone or want to pay cash, you’re in luck.
There are dozens of decent SIM free phones you can buy. Some will be expensive, some really won’t be.
Either way, you’ll own the phone outright and won’t have to pay extra on a phone contract for as long as you use it.
Is switching to a SIM-only phone worth it?
Yes, switching to a SIM-only phone is worth it as long as you don’t want the latest phone.
You could pay £200 for a decent phone and as little as £5 per month for a SIM with unlimited calls, texts and decent data limits.
Compare that to the £53.99 per month for the iPhone 15 and it’s a no brainer if you’re trying to save money!
Plus, you’re not tied into a 36 month contract with SIM-only like you are with a standard phone contract.
Most use rolling monthly contracts that require just 30 days’ notice. Go old school PAYG and you have no ties and no contracts.
Compare SIM-free offers, make sure you have a phone to use and enjoy the same freedom as everyone else while paying a lot less for it!
