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Compare phone contracts and SIM only deals without making it complicated. One question decides which board you need.
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Phone deal, or SIM only?
They are two different purchases that happen to share a network. Deciding which one you are making is most of the work.
A phone deal
- You pay for the handset through the monthly price.
- Usually 24 or 36 months, sometimes with money upfront.
- The real cost is the monthly price, the upfront payment and any stated rises, added up over the whole term.
- Worth comparing when you wanted a new phone anyway.
SIM only
- Your phone stays; only the SIM and the bill change.
- From 30-day rolling plans to 24-month contracts.
- Your number moves with you, by text, in a day.
- The handset is already paid for, so the whole bill is the airtime.
A rule of thumb we stand behind: if your handset is paid off and still works, SIM only is usually the answer. If you were going to buy a new phone anyway, compare the phone deal against buying the handset outright with a SIM beside it, on the whole-contract cost, not the monthly.
The sums, for 8 popular phones today
Right now the contract works out cheaper for all 8.
| Phone | Cheaper way | Buy it outright | Plus SIM only, 2 years | Outright total | Cheapest contract, 2 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone Duo256GB, 15GB data | Contract, by £107.20 | £1,999 | £144 | £2,143 | £2,035.80 |
| iPhone 18 Pro256GB, 15GB data | Contract, by £97.20 | £1,199 | £144 | £1,343 | £1,245.80 |
| iPhone 18 Pro Max256GB, 10GB data | Contract, by £77.44 | £1,299 | £120 | £1,419 | £1,341.56 |
| iPhone Air256GB, 15GB data | Contract, by £381.20 | £1,099 | £144 | £1,243 | £861.80 |
| iPhone 17256GB, 15GB data | Contract, by £153.20 | £899 | £144 | £1,043 | £889.80 |
| iPhone 17e256GB, 15GB data | Contract, by £73.20 | £699 | £144 | £843 | £769.80 |
| iPhone 16128GB, 25GB data | Contract, by £277.44 | £799 | £168 | £967 | £689.56 |
| Samsung Galaxy S26256GB, 10GB data | Contract, by £129.44 | £709 | £120 | £829 | £699.56 |
How we work it out: the maker’s own UK store price (read 10 November) for the storage the cheapest 24 month contract comes with, plus the cheapest 24 month SIM only plan with at least that contract’s data, against that contract. Upfront costs and every stated price rise are counted, cashback is not taken off, and paying for the phone with credit is not counted. Deals checked 11 November 2026. Each phone’s page has every contract, and William’s guide to buying outright or on contract works the same sums on unlimited data.
Popular phone deals
The phones people look up most. Each page compares every contract for it, lowest whole-contract cost first.
The usual reasons people switch
Each of these lands on the right board with the right question already asked.
- A lower bill this month →Keep the phone, swap the SIM, keep the number.
- Unlimited data →Only worth it if you regularly pass 100GB. Most people don’t.
- A 30-day plan you can leave any month →Flexibility usually costs a pound or two over a contract.
- Vodafone SIM only deals →Set on Vodafone? Our guide covers the April price rises, the speed caps and how Vodafone compares with EE, Three and O2.
- O2 SIM only deals →Set on O2? Our guide covers the April price rise on every plan, what O2 Priority and Volt are worth, and how O2 compares with giffgaff, EE and Three.
- Lebara SIM only deals →Set on Lebara? Our guide covers the international minutes on every plan, EU roaming, eSIM and how Lebara compares with Smarty, VOXI, Lycamobile and Vodafone.
- Three SIM only deals →Set on Three? Our guide covers the price rises on its fixed plans, rolling plans with no credit check, which plans include roaming, and how Three compares with O2, Vodafone and EE.
- Lycamobile SIM only deals →Set on Lycamobile? Our guide covers the plans and prices, EE's coverage, what Which? and Trustpilot say, roaming in the EU and India, and how Lyca compares with Rewild, iD Mobile and giffgaff.
- Spusu SIM only deals →Set on Spusu? Our guide covers the plans and prices, EE's coverage, what Trustpilot says, the price freeze to 2027, EU roaming, and how Spusu compares with Lyca Mobile, SMARTY and Three.
- Smarty SIM only deals →Set on Smarty? Our guide covers the plans and prices, the network now shared with Vodafone, EU roaming, customer service with no phone line, the credit check, and keeping your number.
- iD Mobile SIM only deals →Set on iD Mobile? Our guide covers the fixed-price promise, roaming in 50 destinations, Three’s coverage, customer service and Ofcom’s complaints figures, switching with a PAC, and how it compares with Three, SMARTY and O2.
- A new handset, priced honestly →The phone first, then the contracts available for it.
- Black Friday phone deals →Each phone’s price against our own nightly record, so a real drop shows.
A monthly price is not the price.
A mobile contract is the monthly price, the upfront payment and any rises the provider has scheduled, added up over the whole term. That is the number the boards will lead with.
When every part is stated, MoneyHQ shows the whole-contract figure, rises included. A 24-month contract can cross two annual rises; the arithmetic has to include both.
When a rise is a formula, inflation plus a margin, no one can state the future number today. We show the provider’s own wording and calculate nothing.
A missing figure stays missing. An unstated upfront cost is not free, and an unstated rise is not a promise the price holds.
The brand and the masts are different companies.
Many mobile brands rent space on one of the UK’s four mast networks. Same masts, same coverage, different price.
Sets the price, the allowance, the contract and the customer service. This is who bills you.
Owns the masts your phone actually connects to. Two brands on the same host network get you the same signal.
Where a brand states its host network, the card says so. Where it does not, the card says nothing rather than guessing.
Most contracts get more expensive in April.
Providers state rises three ways, and only two of them can honestly become arithmetic.
A specific new price from a specific point in the contract. That can be added up, and we will.
A fixed amount or percentage each year from a stated date. Also arithmetic, applied as many times as it lands in your term.
Inflation plus a margin. Nobody knows next April’s inflation figure, so we show the wording and refuse to invent the number.
Most people’s fastest saving in this category is keeping the phone and switching the SIM. The masts stay the same; the price doesn’t. A new handset is a purchase decision, not a savings one, and the boards treat it that way: the phone you want first, then the honest cost of getting it.
Know what you’re buying.
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