Best SIM Only plans with roaming

Not so long ago you were basically guaranteed to be able to roam across the EU at no extra cost, but with Brexit, that all changed.

Now the roaming situation is more of a wild west, with some networks making it inclusive as standard, others only offering it on select plans, and others still making you pay – with prices varying from network to network.

On top of that, there’s the variable roaming limits that have always been a consideration, and if you want to roam beyond the EU then your network and plan options become a lot more limited, as not many offer this.

So below, we’ve highlighted some of the best SIM Only plans for roaming, starting with plans that are ideal for European roaming, and followed by ones that you should consider if you want to roam globally.

Best SIM Only plans for European roaming

Below you’ll find our picks of the best networks and SIM plans for European roaming. There are many networks that offer European roaming at no extra cost still, so we’ve exclusively selected these, and even then, we’ve limited it to networks which aren’t too restrictive with their roaming fair usage policies.

You can see an overview of these networks at a glance in the table below, followed by more details.

Network	EU roaming cost	Roaming destinations	Fair use limits
O2	Inclusive	48+	25GB
Tesco Mobile	Inclusive	48	Use more in UK than abroad
iD Mobile	Inclusive	50	30GB
Lebara	Inclusive	37	30GB
Lyca Mobile	Inclusive	30+	Variable
Spusu	Inclusive	36	Variable

O2

O2 is the only one of the big four networks that offers free European roaming as standard on all of its plans.

This roaming covers 48 countries, with a respectable fair usage data limit of 25GB.

Some plans also include roaming further afield, and we’ll talk about some of those in the global roaming section of this article, but if you’re just interested in European roaming, then we’d suggest one of O2’s ‘Classic’ plans.

These give you O2 roaming, plus a free extra for up to three months, with options including a Disney+ Standard Plan, Amazon Prime, Audible, Amazon Music Unlimited, and Cafeyn.

You also get to choose from a selection of data allowances (up to unlimited), and you’ll get unlimited minutes and texts. These Classic SIM plans can be had on a 1-month, 12-month, or 24-month contract.

Tesco Mobile

Tesco Mobile is a standout choice for European roaming because not only is this included on all plans at no extra cost, but Tesco Mobile doesn’t have any real fair usage limits, other than that you should use your phone more in the UK than abroad.

So if you’re a heavy data user, then getting something like one of Tesco Mobile’s 100GB or unlimited data plans could be a great roaming choice.

The network offers this free roaming in 48 destinations, however one big caveat is that the network is only currently promising no roaming fees until 2025, so next year it remains to be seen whether this will remain free – and if not, how much it will cost.

iD Mobile

iD Mobile is another network that offers roaming as standard on all of its plans. You can roam at no extra cost in 50 destinations, which the network proudly claims is more than any other network allows across all plans (which is to say, some allow roaming in more places but only on select plans).

These roaming locations are mostly places in Europe, but there’s also the likes of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, which are split between Europe and Asia.

The network has a 30GB roaming limit, and a wide selection of SIM Only plans, any of which would be suitable for European roaming – though we’d suggest one with a data limit of at least 30GB, so you can make the most of its roaming.

Lebara

Lebara similarly allows customers of all plans to roam across the EU (in 36 destinations), but interestingly it also allows roaming in India, which is rare.

In all cases, you’re limited to 30GB of data per month when roaming (or your standard data allowance, whichever is lower).

It’s worth noting that Lebara’s plans also come with international minutes, so you can call abroad from the UK.

In any case, to make full use of that 30GB roaming limit, we’d recommend Lebara’s 40GB SIM Only plan.

Lyca Mobile

From a roaming perspective, Lyca Mobile is a very similar prospect to Lebara, in that it offers both European and Indian roaming, though while EU roaming comes as standard, roaming in India is only available on select plans. In total, you can roam in up to 31 destinations inclusively on Lyca Mobile – though some plans lack India, and therefore only allow 30.

Lyca Mobile differs from Lebara in its roaming fair use limits though, with different plans having different limits, so check the small print before buying.

However, as with Lebara you can call abroad to numerous destinations at no extra cost on Lyca Mobile’s plans.

Assuming you’re not interested in roaming in India, we’d recommend Lyca Mobile’s 100GB SIM Only plan, which includes a solid 30GB roaming allowance.

Spusu

Another good pick for European roaming is Spusu, which offers both EU roaming and free calls to the EU.

You can roam at no extra cost on any of its plans in 36 European destinations, and there’s a variable roaming limit depending on the plan you choose – but at the time of writing it tops out at a reasonable 25GB.

The plan with a 25GB roaming limit is dubbed ‘Spusu Travel’, and this is our pick if you plan to do a lot of roaming in Europe on Spusu. It also includes a 25GB UK data limit, and unlimited minutes and texts.

Best SIM Only plans for global roaming

If you’re planning to travel further afield than Europe then the plans above are unlikely to suit, but fortunately there are some networks and plans that excel for global roaming too.

You’ll find key points about these in the chart below, followed by full details – but be warned, in most cases you’ll have to pay a premium to roam beyond Europe.

Network	Global roaming cost	Roaming destinations	Fair use limits
Three	Requires Value or Complete plan	160	12GB
O2	Requires an Ultimate plan	123	25GB
Vodafone	Requires a Global Roam plan	83	25GB
EE	Requires a Full Works plan	52	50GB
Sky Mobile	£2 per day	55	Don't roam for an extended period

Three

If we were to pick a single top choice for global roaming it would be Three, but not just any Three plan – you need a Value or Complete plan.

These give you a set number of days you can roam, with Complete plans giving you the most. Therefore, our pick is a 120GB Complete plan. This gives you a hefty data allowance, plus either 28 or 56 roaming days (depending on whether you pick a 12-month or 24-month plan).

With any Value or Complete plan you can roam in 160 destinations, which is more than any other network – hence why Three is our top pick here.

This includes most of Europe, major global destinations like the US and Australia, and even more obscure choices like Cambodia and Suriname. Note however that there’s a 12GB fair use limit when roaming.

O2

O2 has several tiers of plans when it comes to roaming, with all plans offering EU roaming, its Plus plans extending out to 75 global destinations, and its Ultimate plans letting you roam in 123 global destinations.

That’s more than most networks, and makes this another strong global roaming choice. Note that O2 has a 25GB data limit for roaming, so one plan we’d recommend is its 30GB Ultimate plan, so you can make full use of the 25GB roaming allowance.

Vodafone

Vodafone doesn’t offer free roaming as standard, but select plans do include roaming, and there are two tiers of these – you can roam in 51 European destinations on Euro Roam plans, but what we’re interested in here is its Global Roam plans, which allow you to roam in 83 destinations, covering Europe and beyond.

So that’s quite a lot less than Three or O2, but still includes the likes of the US, Australia, Canada, and more.

Note however that there’s a 25GB fair usage limit when roaming, so we’d recommend any Global Roam plan with more than 25GB of data, to make the most of it.

EE

If you have an Essentials Plus or All Rounder plan on EE then you’ll be able to inclusively roam in 47 European destinations, while if you have a Full Works plan then you’ll be able to roam in the same locations, as well as the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand, for 52 destinations in total – so the latter plans are a good choice for global roaming.

Note that inclusive roaming only comes as standard with recent versions of these plans – if you’ve had one of these plans for a while, then you might instead need to select a ‘Roam Abroad pass’ as an ‘Inclusive Extra’ to roam at no extra cost in the locations.

In any case, this selection of roaming locations isn’t as good as the networks above, but it’s reasonable. There’s also a 50GB fair use limit when roaming though, which is less restrictive than many networks.

Our pick of an EE plan would be the Unlimited Full Works, letting you roam in the maximum number of locations.

Sky Mobile

The only UK network other than the big four that we’d highlight for global roaming is Sky Mobile, which doesn’t actually offer inclusive roaming on any plans.

Rather, the network charges £2 per day for access to its Roaming Passport Plus, which lets you use your UK allowances in 55 destinations, including most of Europe along with Australia, the US, and other global destinations.

The advantage of this is that you’re only really paying for roaming when you’re using it, rather than it being added to the price of your plan, as it is with the global options above. However, if you’re roaming a lot then that £2 a day can really add up.

Oh, and Sky Mobile has no real fair usage limit when roaming, other than that it shouldn’t be for “an extended period of time.”

Given that there’s no fair usage limit on roaming data here, our plan pick is Sky Mobile’s unlimited data one, so you can roam without real limits.