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teesrition
Independent United Kingdom network guidance
Guidance line020 3896 5248 This number is for guidance and information only. We sell nothing, arrange nothing and act for no network. Ring it if anything on these pages is unclear.
Guide

Prepaid

How pay as you go works, the four situations it genuinely suits, per-unit billing, and the point at which a monthly plan becomes cheaper.

Written July 2026 · no prices published · nothing for sale

Jump to
How prepaid worksThe four situations it suitsPer-unit billingWhen a monthly plan wins
Prepaid — at a glanceOur summary. Confirm current terms with the provider.
Contract
None
Credit check
None
Handset finance
Generally unavailable
Expiry
Most services need periodic activity to keep credit alive
Best for
Spare phones, first phones, new arrivals, coverage testing
Per-unit billing
Available on EE's masts through one brand
Crossover point
Once the phone is in weekly use
Keeping your number
Free, using the ordinary switching code
Our position. teesrition is an independent information service for mobile customers in the United Kingdom. We are not a mobile network. We have no affiliation with, endorsement from, appointment by or connection to Three, EE, O2, Vodafone, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile or any other provider, and no commercial arrangement with any of them. We do not sell, supply, arrange or broker SIM cards, contracts, handsets or services of any kind, and we take no commission from anybody. Everything here is general information; a provider's own current terms always take precedence.
01

How prepaid works

Basics

You buy credit in advance and spend it, or turn it into a bundle lasting a set period. There is no contract, no credit check and no handset finance, so phones are bought outright.

WarningMost prepaid services need the line used occasionally or the credit — and sometimes the number itself — lapses. A phone kept only for emergencies is exactly where that hurts.
Do this
  • Read your provider's actual expiry condition rather than the marketing summary.
  • Set a reminder to use an emergency line occasionally.
  • Keep the handset charged and the settings correct before you need it.
02

The four situations it suits

Fit
SituationWhy prepaid fits
A glovebox or emergency phoneNo monthly cost and nothing to cancel
A child's first phoneThe spending ceiling is the entire point
Somebody new to the UKNo credit history required
Trying a network before committingThe cheapest possible test
Do this
  • Use prepaid for these four cases and compare rolling plans for anything else.
03

Per-unit billing

Rates

One brand does not sell allowances at all — it charges per minute, per text and per megabyte on the widest network in Britain.

For somebody making a few calls a week who barely touches data, that is the cheapest arrangement in the country. For anyone with a normal data habit it climbs very quickly.

Do this
  • Work out a typical month before assuming either way.
  • Compare against a rolling bundle on the same masts.
04

When a monthly plan wins

Moving on

Once the phone is in weekly use, prepaid stops being the cheap option. A rolling monthly plan from a smaller brand on the same masts almost always costs less and cancels just as freely.

Do this
  • Move to a rolling plan for anything you do every week.
  • Remember the free switching code works identically on prepaid — no number is ever lost.

Still unsure after reading this?

Ring us and we will go through it with you. Nothing is offered for sale at any point.

020 3896 5248This number is for guidance and information only. We sell nothing, arrange nothing and act for no network. Ring it if anything on these pages is unclear.
Our position. teesrition is an independent information service for mobile customers in the United Kingdom. We are not a mobile network. We have no affiliation with, endorsement from, appointment by or connection to Three, EE, O2, Vodafone, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile or any other provider, and no commercial arrangement with any of them. We do not sell, supply, arrange or broker SIM cards, contracts, handsets or services of any kind, and we take no commission from anybody. Everything here is general information; a provider's own current terms always take precedence.

Ring us if these pages do not cover it

We hold no arrangement with any network, take no commission and sell nothing at all. If your question is not answered here, telephone and ask.

020 3896 5248 Guidance and information only. We sell nothing, arrange nothing and act for no network.
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Our position. teesrition is an independent information service for mobile customers in the United Kingdom. We are not a mobile network. We have no affiliation with, endorsement from, appointment by or connection to Three, EE, O2, Vodafone, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile or any other provider, and no commercial arrangement with any of them. We do not sell, supply, arrange or broker SIM cards, contracts, handsets or services of any kind, and we take no commission from anybody. Everything here is general information; a provider's own current terms always take precedence.

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