Business SIM-only plans give you calls, texts and data without a handset, and they are usually the cheapest way to run staff mobiles when your phones are already paid for. We read the business SIM-only pages of EE, Vodafone, O2, Three, Tesco Mobile and BT on 11 October 2026. For a plan with roughly 75GB to 100GB, the launch price runs from £16.25 to £20.00 a line each month, before VAT, on standard prices.
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That range hides the details that decide your bill: prices below exclude 20% VAT (Tesco Mobile does not say which basis it uses), every network adds a rise each April, and several of the lowest prices are offers that end this month. If you are weighing a SIM against a new phone, our business mobile deals comparison covers handset contracts, and this guide stays on SIM-only.
- 100GB-class plans cost £16.25 to £20.00 a line - per month before VAT (Tesco Mobile does not say) at standard launch prices across the five networks that publish prices, before the April rise
- Prices exclude 20% VAT, except Tesco Mobile’s - a £20.00 plan costs £24.00 a month on the invoice unless your business can reclaim VAT; Tesco does not say which basis it uses
- Rises are fixed amounts, not inflation-linked - £0.75 to £2.09 a month each April on four networks, and about 6% on Tesco, so year two always costs more
- 20 lines cost £8,272.80 to £10,599.60 over 24 months - ex VAT, for 75GB to 100GB plans, once the two April rises are included
- BT Business shows no SIM-only prices - it sells EE-network plans for firms of 1 to 10 employees on quote
Business SIM-only deals compared
Of the six, five publish a price for a 24-month SIM-only plan and BT does not. Entry plans run from £6.00 (an O2 sale price) to £13.33 a month ex VAT, 100GB-class plans from £16.25 to £20.00, and unlimited from £22.00 to £32.00. Prices below were read from each network’s own business page on 11 October 2026.
| Provider | Example 24-month plan | Price ex VAT | Yearly rise | EU roaming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE Business | Business Essential, 100GB | £19.00 | Fixed £2.08 | £2.38 a day; All Rounder plans can add the Roam Abroad Pass |
| Vodafone Business | 100GB (100Mbps cap) | £20.00 | Fixed £2.08 to £2.09 | None included on base plans; 25GB on Plus tiers |
| O2 Business | Classic, 100GB | £20.00 | Fixed £1.50 | Up to 25GB, then charged |
| Three Business | 80GB | £15.00 offer (£17.00 standard) | Fixed £0.75 at this price | £2 a day unless the plan includes it |
| Tesco Mobile Business | 75GB | £16.25 | About 6% | No EU roaming fees |
| BT Business | EE-network SIM-only | Quote only | Not stated | Not stated |
The plans are not identical, so read the table as a price guide rather than a like-for-like league table. Three’s £15.00 is an offer that runs to 11 November 2026, which is why we use its £17.00 standard price in the cost examples further down.
EE Business
EE’s business SIM-only page lists 18 plans in two ranges. Business Essential runs from £13.00 a month ex VAT for 1GB to £25.00 for unlimited on a 24-month term, with 12-month and 30-day terms at higher prices. Business All Rounder starts at £20.00 for 10GB and adds one inclusive extra, such as Microsoft 365 Personal or a Roam Abroad Pass covering 47 European destinations, which you can swap every 30 days. Its 100GB plan is on promotion at £19.00 against a standard £24.00, the same price as Business Essential 100GB.
For the 100GB plans the price path is fixed and published up front: £19.00 now, £21.08 from 31 March 2027 and £23.16 from 31 March 2028. EE’s business terms say the £2.08 rise applies during and after the minimum term, so it does not stop when the contract ends. Outside the Roam Abroad Pass, using the phone in the EU or EEA costs £2.38 a day. EE says 5G is available in over 160 UK locations and needs a 5G phone.
Heavy users can pick unlimited at £25.00 a month on Business Essential or £32.00 on All Rounder, both on 24 months ex VAT. Capped plans drop to 0.5Mbps once the allowance runs out rather than charging for extra data. If you are choosing between the two largest networks, our EE vs Vodafone business mobile comparison goes through coverage and handset plans.
Vodafone Business
Vodafone’s 24-month grid has the widest spread of the six, from 1GB at £13.33 a month ex VAT up to unlimited tiers. The 100GB plan is £20.00 with speeds capped at 100Mbps, and the roaming and uncapped-speed extras sit on higher tiers.
Entry plans run 1GB at £13.33, 5GB at £15.83 and 30GB at £18.33. Unlimited with the 100Mbps cap is £29.17, while Unlimited Plus, which adds 25GB of roaming across 52 European destinations, is on a promotional £21.66 against a £35.83 list price. The page gives no end date for that promotion, so treat £35.83 as the figure to plan around.
Vodafone’s footnote says £2.09 a month each 1 April, while its price path for the £20.00 100GB plan shows £2.08 in the first April and £2.09 in the second (the 1GB plan shows £2.09 in the first). Out-of-bundle charges rise by CPI plus 3.9% a year, which is the only inflation-linked term we found on any of the six pages. A 24-month minimum term, credit check and 25GB roaming fair use apply.
O2 Business
O2 Business sells SIM-only through its online shop with six data sizes from 2GB to unlimited and a choice of a 12 or 24 month term. On 24 months, 100GB is £20.00 and unlimited is £22.00 a month ex VAT on the Classic tariff.
The small plans are on sale: 2GB is £6.00 against a £12.00 list price and 10GB is £8.00 against £14.00, with no end date shown. Mid tiers are 25GB at £16.00 and 50GB at £18.00. You also choose a tariff. Classic adds nothing, Plus adds £4.00 a month and Ultimate adds £9.00, and the upgrades widen roaming to the USA, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, Argentina and Australia.
The rise is a fixed £1.50 a month each 1 April, so unlimited moves from £22.00 to £23.50 in April 2027 and £25.00 in April 2028. EU roaming is included up to 25GB and charged beyond that. O2 says 5G is available in selected areas and needs a 5G phone and tariff.
Three Business
Three’s 24-month Unlimited SIM with Go Roam in Europe is £22.00 a month ex VAT on its page on 17 October 2026, rising to £23.50 in April 2027. When we first read it on 11 October it was a £19.17 offer against a £28.00 list price. The page now shows no offer label on this plan, and it does not say whether £22.00 is a new list price or a promotion, so check before you order.
The rest of the 24-month range, also on offer until 11 November, is 500GB at £18.00 (£23.00 standard), 80GB at £15.00 (£17.00), 25GB at £10.00 (£12.00) and 3GB at £8.00 (£13.00). Shorter terms cost more: 12-month unlimited is £28.00 and a one-month SIM is £32.00. Prices include a £5 monthly discount for paying by Direct Debit, which does not apply to add-ons.
Three’s April rise depends on the starting price: £0.50 at £9.99 or less, £0.75 from £10 to £20 and £1.50 above £20.01, all ex VAT. Go Roam in Europe covers 49 destinations with up to 12GB of data under fair use, and otherwise costs £2 a day. You can buy a single SIM, and multibuy deals start at two.
Tesco Mobile Business
Tesco Mobile Business sells SIM-only plans on the O2 network to sole traders, contractors, limited companies and charities. Its 24-month plans run from 2GB at £7.50 to 250GB at £22.50 a month, with unlimited at £25.00, and it advertises no EU roaming fees.
Mid-range plans are 30GB at £12.50, 60GB at £15.00 and 75GB at £16.25. Clubcard Prices lower some plans, for example unlimited from £25.00 to £20.00, but those offers end on 1 November 2026. Non-Clubcard plans rise by roughly 6% each 1 April: the 30GB plan goes from £12.50 to £13.25 and then £14.04.
Two cautions. The plan cards do not say whether prices include VAT, so confirm at checkout. And the application starts in your personal name and bank account, which suits a sole trader more than a firm that wants a company account. Tesco advertises a £20 welcome bonus on SIM-only contracts of 12 months or more.
BT Business
BT Business sells EE-network SIM-only plans aimed at firms with 1 to 10 employees, and points larger firms to other plans. Its SIM-only page shows no prices and sends you to EE or BT sales, so treat BT as quote only.
BT lists phone SIMs, data SIMs and eSIM, the Stay Connected promise that keeps email and messaging working after you use your allowance, and free access to BT Wi-Fi hotspots. It says SIM-only buyers can add EE Inclusive Extras to the All Rounder plan. Because we could not see a price, a rise term or a minimum term, we have left BT out of the cost examples.
What 1, 5 and 20 lines cost over 12 and 24 months
A single 100GB-class line costs £200.82 to £252.48 over the first 12 months and £413.64 to £529.98 over 24 months once both April rises are added, ex VAT. Multiply by the number of lines, because none of the pages we read quote a multi-line discount.
We assumed a start in October 2026, so six months are billed at the launch price, twelve at the April 2027 price and six at the April 2028 price. The plans are roughly comparable (75GB to 100GB), not identical, and we used Three’s £17.00 standard price rather than its £15.00 offer.
| Plan (ex VAT; Tesco basis not stated) | 1 line, 12 months | 5 lines, 12 months | 20 lines, 12 months | 1 line, 24 months | 5 lines, 24 months | 20 lines, 24 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE Business Essential 100GB | £240.48 | £1,202.40 | £4,809.60 | £505.92 | £2,529.60 | £10,118.40 |
| Vodafone 100GB | £252.48 | £1,262.40 | £5,049.60 | £529.98 | £2,649.90 | £10,599.60 |
| O2 Classic 100GB | £249.00 | £1,245.00 | £4,980.00 | £516.00 | £2,580.00 | £10,320.00 |
| Three 80GB (standard) | £208.50 | £1,042.50 | £4,170.00 | £426.00 | £2,130.00 | £8,520.00 |
| Tesco Mobile 75GB | £200.82 | £1,004.10 | £4,016.40 | £413.64 | £2,068.20 | £8,272.80 |
The gap between the lowest and highest 24-month total in this table is £116.34 a line, or £2,326.80 across 20 lines. If your business is not VAT-registered, add 20%: 20 lines on the EE plan come to £12,142.08 over 24 months. The first 12 months matter most when you may switch networks, because the rise lands in April whatever your start date.
Rises also hit harder than they look. EE’s £2.08 on £19.00 is about 11% in year two, Vodafone’s first-year £2.08 on £20.00 is about 10%, O2’s £1.50 on £20.00 is 7.5% and Tesco’s is roughly 6%. A lower launch price with a larger rise can end up level with a dearer plan by year two.
SIM-only or a handset contract?
Choose SIM-only if your phones are less than three years old and still do the job. Choose a handset contract if you need new devices and want to spread the cost, accepting a higher monthly bill. This section is the short version of a longer comparison.
Our SIM-only vs handset contracts guide works through the break-even maths and when a handset deal is the better buy. A quick test: if the line cost on a handset plan is more than a SIM-only line plus the price of a phone you would buy outright, the SIM wins. If you are a one-person business, sole trader business mobile contracts covers the credit-check and VAT side.
Red flags in business SIM-only deals
The headline price is rarely the price you pay for 24 months. Before you sign, check six things: how the April rise is written, whether VAT is included, any minimum line count, how data is shared, what EU roaming costs, and when the offer ends.
Mid-contract rises. None of the five priced networks states a CPI or RPI link for airtime, but the rises are fixed in advance and you cannot avoid them: EE £2.08, Vodafone £2.08 to £2.09, O2 £1.50, Three £0.50 to £1.50 by band and Tesco about 6%. Vodafone’s out-of-bundle charges are linked to CPI plus 3.9%, EE raises out-of-bundle charges by 5% each March and Three Adapt and Dynamic plans rise 4.5%.
Ex VAT pricing. EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three state their prices exclude 20% VAT. Tesco’s plan cards do not say. A VAT-registered business reclaims it; a sole trader who is not registered pays 20% more than the advertised figure.
Minimum lines. None of the six pages we read states a minimum number of lines, and Three says one SIM is fine. That is not a promise that quotes have none, so ask before you rely on a multi-line price from a reseller.
Data pooling. The SIM-only plans above are per-line allowances, and none of the six pages we read describes pooled data on SIM-only. If your team has one heavy user and four light ones, ask each network or broker whether a shared-data business plan would cost less than five separate plans.
EU roaming. EE charges £2.38 a day unless you are on an All Rounder plan and pick the Roam Abroad Pass. Three charges £2 a day unless the plan includes Go Roam in Europe. O2 includes up to 25GB and Vodafone includes it only on Plus and Premier tiers. Tesco advertises no EU roaming fees. Check the destinations you travel to, not just the EU.
Expiring offers. Three’s offers end on 11 November 2026 and Tesco’s Clubcard prices on 1 November 2026. O2’s sale prices show no end date and Vodafone’s Unlimited Plus is a promotion against a £35.83 list price. Screenshot the terms on the day you order. If most of your calls are desk calls, VoIP providers can take them off the mobile plan.
How many lines, when your contract ends and what else to check
Four facts shape which plan suits you: how many lines you need, when your current contract ends, how long you have traded and whether you have business premises. The quote form on this page asks the same questions, and each one changes what you should buy.
Number of lines and users
Our quote form splits requests into 1 to 2, 3 to 4, 5 to 9 and 10 or more handsets. One or two lines suit a plain per-SIM plan from any network. From five lines, ask for a single account, shared data and a multi-line price, because you are no longer in the territory where a website price applies. Above 20 lines, a network account manager is worth asking for.
When your current contract ends
If your current contract has under three months to run, order now and the new SIM arrives as the old one ends. Between three and six months, you can wait and watch for offers. Over six months left, check the early termination charge: a saving of £5 a line does not repay a charge of several months’ rental. Ask your network for a PAC code when you are ready to keep your number.
Trading history and premises
Credit checks apply. EE runs a business credit check, and Tesco starts the application with your personal details and bank account. The quote form asks how long you have traded and whether you have premises because these affect what a network will offer a young business. Ask each network what it needs from a business under six months old before you rely on a quote.
If you want a broker to compare networks for you, read our Businessmobiles.com review, and if you want to see every route in one place, start from our business mobile guides.
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How we researched this guide
We read the business SIM-only page of each network directly on 11 October 2026 and recorded every price, rise, roaming term and offer end date in our fact files. We did not use reseller pages as price sources.
Where a page hides a price behind a quote, as BT does, we say so rather than estimate. Some plans, including Three’s offers and Tesco’s Clubcard prices, change within weeks, so check the network page before you order. ExpertSure may be paid when you request quotes through the form on this page. That does not change which plans we list, and it does not change the prices we quote from the networks.
Last updated: October 2026. Prices checked on 11 October 2026 on each network’s own business page. Offers and prices change; confirm before you buy.
