After railing against eSIM-only phones for over a decade, I've finally succumbed. It appears impossible to buy a modern phone without them. Thankfully, most seem to be dual-SIM. So I can have a regular SIM card and an eSIM.
I find dual-SIM phones handy. I have a disposable number which I give out to people who don't need my main number. And when I go abroad, it's useful to have a local SIM. When I'm at home, I like my 2nd SIM to be used as a backup in case I'm somewhere with no signal on my primary line.
So, what's the cheapest eSIM in the UK?
I think it is Spusu - an MVNO on the EE network. 1GB, Unlimited Minutes, Unlimited SMS for... £2.90 per month!
Not bad! It offers 5G, VoLTE, WiFi Calling and EU roaming. If you spend most of your day on WiFi, it's a great offer. The contract is flexible, so you can cancel it at any time.
There are a few others to consider.
Lyca - another EE MVNO - have a special offer of £1.29 per month but that's only for the first 3 months. After that it jumps to £5.90. It should be possible to cancel after the first few months, but that's a bit of hassle.
GiffGaff are an O2 MVNO. They offer a free SIM, which you can convert to an eSIM. That will get you a number which supports incoming calls and texts - but you won't be able to make calls, send texts, or use data. Their cheapest monthly plan is £6. Or you can go pure PAYG and pay 25p/min for calls, 10p per text, and 25p per MB. Ouch!
Three will also give you a free eSIM. At PAYG rates, you'll pay 35p/min, 15p/text, 10p/MB.
If you want a data-only backup eSIM, I think the cheapest is £6.50 for 30 days with 3GB from Nomad. It is designed for tourists - and will roam onto all the major UK networks. No calls or texts, but handy if you need emergency data.
Those are the cheapest deals I could find. If you think you know of something cheaper - shove a link in the comments.
6 thoughts on “Cheapest Possible eSIM in the UK”
Spusu seem to be a better bet than Lyca as they get the full EE 4G experience. I'm on 1p Mobile, but I'd switch to spusu if I was looking for an eSIM as 1p don't offer one.
| Reply to original comment on bsky.app
@Edent 1nce do an eUICC (esim) compatible card for €12.50 for 10 years. It is meant for low data IOT things, but it is just a SIM card.
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@Edent
Off topic..
I have a sim that costs me 1 quid a day for the days I "use it".
I use that SIM for my vehicle trackers. I SMS my vehicle tracker and it replies (via SMS) with it's location. So it costs me a quid each time but if I don't use it then it costs me nothing.
I've spent two quid in five years for vehicle tracker comms.
Afaik it's a vodaphone offer but I can't remember cause I never use it..
Weird edge case I know but thought you might appreciate.
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Rob Stonehouse
I saw https://www.firsty.app/ mentioned in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39509645 the other day. This is free 300kbit/s eSIM currently in Europe and the US, with a paid premium tier at €1.95/day.
J Timbs
Really helpful thanks!
ted
three don't appear to do a payg esim, at least not a traditional payg
a monthly contract is a monthly contract, it's NOT payg
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