Find the right SIM-only plan by matching the data allowance to how you actually use your phone. The live plans on GetSIMSmart grouped into light, moderate, heavy and unlimited tiers — with honest guidance on how much data each type of user really needs.
Most people overbuy data by a wide margin. The only honest way to size your allowance is to open your phone's settings and look at the data figure for last month — then add a small buffer for unusual months. The guide below is a starting point, not a substitute for checking your own usage.
Light
Up to 5GB
Messaging, email, maps, browsing and light social media. Mostly on Wi-Fi.
Moderate
5–20GB
Daily social media, music streaming, some video and regular video calls.
Heavy
20–50GB
Lots of video streaming, tethering a laptop and hotspot sharing on the go.
Very heavy / Unlimited
50GB+
Regular 4K streaming, heavy tethering or using your phone as home broadband.
To see your real number, check your phone: on an iPhone, open Settings → Mobile Data (or Mobile Service) and look at the current period; on Android, open Settings → Network & Internet → SIMs → Data usage. Reset the counter at the start of a typical month for the most accurate reading.
What uses how much data
The table below shows roughly how much mobile data common activities use per hour. Use it to turn your own habits into a monthly estimate — for example, an hour of HD streaming a day adds up quickly.
Activity
Typical use
Examples
Music & podcasts
≈ 50–150MB / hr
Spotify, Apple Music, BBC Sounds at normal quality.
Web browsing & email
≈ 60MB / hr
Reading articles, checking email, light browsing.
Social media (scrolling)
≈ 120–150MB / hr
Instagram, Facebook, X — mostly images and short clips.
Video — SD (480p)
≈ 0.7–1GB / hr
Standard-definition Netflix, YouTube, iPlayer.
Video — HD (720p–1080p)
≈ 1.5–5GB / hr
HD streaming — the biggest data drain for most people.
Video — 4K / UHD
≈ 7–10GB+ / hr
Ultra-HD streaming — burns through a small allowance fast.
Video calls
≈ 0.5–2.5GB / hr
FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom and Teams video calls.
GPS navigation
≈ 5–10MB / hr
Google Maps, Waze — very light once the map is cached.
As a rough rule of thumb: an hour of music streaming a day adds up to around 2–4GB a month; an hour of standard-definition video a day is roughly 20–30GB; an hour of HD video a day can push past 50GB; and a single hour of 4K streaming can use 7–10GB on its own. Apps like Netflix and YouTube let you cap playback quality on mobile data, which is the easiest way to keep a smaller plan viable.
Light Users (1–5GB)
If you spend most of your day on Wi-Fi and mainly need data for messaging, maps and browsing, a small bundle is all you need. The smallest plan currently on GetSIMSmart is 15GB, which easily covers a light user.
Lebara's 15GB plan at £2.80 a month for the first 6 months (then £7/mo) is the cheapest live plan on GetSIMSmart and easily covers a light user, with unlimited calls and texts and EU roaming up to 30GB on the Vodafone network. It appears in the moderate section below.
Moderate Users (5–20GB)
Daily social media, music streaming and regular video calls sit in this band. A 20GB plan gives a comfortable buffer without paying for data you will not use.
Lebara
Vodafone network
£2.80*/mo
30-day rolling
* £2.80/mo for the first 6 months, then £7/mo. Sign up by Friday 11 December 2026.
15GB4G/5G≈ £0.47/GB
No credit check
EU roaming 15GB
Unlimited UK minutes
Unlimited UK texts
100 International minutes
Lebara's 15GB plan at £2.80/mo for the first 6 months (then £7/mo) is the cheapest option in this band. iD Mobile's 20GB plan at £6 a month on Three is a standout too — it includes data rollover, so unused allowance carries over, and a capped spend so you can never accidentally overspend.
Heavy Users (20GB+)
Lots of video streaming, tethering a laptop and hotspot sharing push you past 20GB. The 30–50GB plans here offer the best cost-per-GB on GetSIMSmart.
Lyca Mobile
EE network
£5*/mo
pay as you go
* £5/mo for the first 3 months, then £10/mo.
30GB4G/5G≈ £0.33/GB
No credit check
EU roaming 12GB
Unlimited UK calls & texts
100 International minutes free
eSIM also available
1pMobile
EE network
£10/mo
30-day rolling
50GB4G/5G≈ £0.20/GB
No credit check
EU roaming 50GB
Unlimited UK calls & texts
eSIM also available
Lebara
Vodafone network
£3.20*/mo
30-day rolling
* £3.20/mo for the first 6 months, then £8/mo. Sign up by Friday 11 December 2026.
30GB4G/5G≈ £0.27/GB
No credit check
100 international mins
Unlimited UK calls & texts
EU roaming 30GB
iD Mobile
3 network
£10/mo
1-month plan
80GB4G/5G≈ £0.13/GB
No credit check
Unlimited UK calls & texts
Roaming in 50 destinations
No annual price rises
2 Months free Apple subscription
1pMobile's 50GB plan at £10 on EE offers the lowest cost per gigabyte on the site — roughly £0.20/GB — with no speed caps and free EU roaming. Lyca's 30GB plan at £10 and Lebara's 30GB plan (currently £3.20/mo for 6 months, then £8/mo) are strong all-rounders if you also want international minutes.
Unlimited Data
Unlimited only pays off if you regularly exceed around 50–100GB a month — typically from 4K streaming, heavy tethering or using your phone as a home broadband substitute. For everyone else, a capped plan is better value.
1pMobile
EE network
£25*/mo
30-day rolling
* Additional SIMs £12.50/mo
UnlimitedUnlimited 4G/5G
No credit check
EU roaming
Unlimited UK calls & texts
eSIM also available
Chattr
O2 network
£15*/mo
30-day rolling
* reduces to £13/mo the longer you stay
Unlimited4G/5G
No credit check
Unlimited data
Unlimited UK calls & texts
Tethering allowed
iD Mobile
3 network
£15/mo
30-day rolling
Unlimited4G/5G
No credit check
Unlimited data
Unlimited UK calls & texts
No annual price rises
Chattr's unlimited plan at £15 a month on the O2 network is the live unlimited option on GetSIMSmart, with tethering allowed. For a deeper look at when unlimited is worth it, see our unlimited-data SIM deals guide.
Match a Plan to Your Usage
A quick summary to help you land on the right tier without re-reading every section.
Under 15GB — go cheap
Lebara 15GB at £2.80/mo*. Don't pay for data you won't use.
5–20GB — the sweet spot
iD Mobile 20GB at £6/mo with data rollover and a spend cap.
20–50GB — best £/GB
1pMobile 50GB at £10/mo on EE, no speed caps, free EU roaming.
Truly unlimited
Chattr unlimited at £15/mo on O2, tethering allowed.
On a 30-day rolling plan you can change tier at each renewal, so it is safe to start slightly lower and move up only if you run out. Learn how that flexibility works in our 30-day rolling SIM deals guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much data do I need on a SIM-only plan?
Check last month's usage in your phone settings — that is the only honest number. As a rough guide: up to 5GB suits light users on Wi-Fi, 5–20GB covers daily social media and music streaming, 20–50GB is for heavy video and tethering, and unlimited only pays off if you regularly exceed around 50–100GB a month.
Is unlimited data worth it?
Only if you genuinely use a lot of mobile data — roughly 50–100GB a month or more, typically from regular 4K streaming, heavy tethering or using your phone as a home broadband substitute. Most people use far less and would be better off with a cheaper capped plan. See our dedicated unlimited-data guide for the detail.
Which plan is best value per gigabyte?
On the live GetSIMSmart deals, 1pMobile's 50GB plan at £10 works out at roughly £0.20 per GB — the lowest cost per GB. But value only matters if you actually use the data; a £2.80 plan is better value if you only need 15GB.
Can I change my data allowance later?
Yes, on a 30-day rolling plan you can change allowance at each 30-day renewal, or switch networks entirely with no penalty. Fixed-term contracts lock your allowance for the whole term.
Do these data plans require a credit check?
The prepaid and 30-day rolling plans listed here are not credit agreements and are generally supplied without a hard credit search. A provider may still carry out identity, address or fraud-prevention checks, but these are not credit searches and will not appear on your credit file.