Cheapest for high users. Giff Gaff

Mobile provider Giff Gaff, while officially a PAYG sim only provider, offers top-up bundles which are as good value as some contracts. You can get 1,500 inclusive minutes and unlimited inclusive texts per month when you buy the £25 Giff Gaff goodybag. Even better you also get free web too.

This is a great deal for folk who use their phones a lot, but can't get or don't want a contract deal.

You can get a free sim card, but you'll need to top up by at least £10 to activate it.

As it's a pre-pay deal, there is no credit check required and no contract lock-in.

You can use your existing handset but it may be locked to Sim cards from rival networks (it won't be, if you have a Vodafone mobile as Asda piggyback onto that network). Read about Mobile Unlocking guide if your phone needs unlocking.

How to get it: Get a free Giff Gaff sim card, which gives £10 of credit and buy the £25 goodybag.

Standard tariff costs
Calls: Free (up to 1,500 minutes, then 8p/min)	Texts: Free (unlimited or 4p out of bundle)	Data: Free
Other: Read the full tariff details for more details.

Cheapest inc web. Giff Gaff

Giff Gaff is also by far the cheapest if you're looking for web as all its goodybags over £15 include free web.

How to get it: Order a free Giff Gaff* sim. (it should arrive within 7 days). Activate your sim card online, you'll need to top up by at least £10.

See if it stacks up for the number of calls and texts you make using comparison MobilePhoneChecker* (the only comparison that includes it so far).

Need a handset? Giff Gaff is a sim only provider so perfect for those looking for a simple phone with no bells & whistles. If you do need a phone you can use any unlocked phone (read about Mobile Unlocking).

Alternatively because Giff Gaff piggybacks on the 02 network Giff Gaff will work in an o2 handset (also good also for iPhone). A super cheap PAYG includse the LG GB102 for £10 direct from 02.

Warning! Turn off voicemail. Giff Gaff charges 8p/call to listen to voicemail, if you don't depend on it, switch it off.

Standard tariff costs (Giff Gaff)
Calls: 8p/min	Texts: 4p	Data: Free until Dec '10 then 50p/day or included in bundle.
Other: Read the full tariff details for more details.

Totally free Skype calls & cheap web. 3 Mobile

If you've a compatible 3G handset, you can get unlimited free Skype-to-Skype calls and access to Windows Messenger for life (to all equipped mobiles and computers) without even topping up or using data allowance, though you must download the software direct from 3. It works with all old 3 mobiles, and around 30 from other providers.

Those with other 3G handsets (check yours here) can still get the deal's 150MB of free mobile data with every top up, as well as a pile of free texts (£10 online top up gets you 600 for example), and free calls to other 3 numbers. Port your number over to the network and it’ll give you £10 credit too.

What's more, 3's freebies last thrice as long as other networks' - 90 days after each top up.

How to get it: Go to the free 3 Mobile Sim page and fill in the form to apply.

Standard tariff costs
Calls: 20p/min. Free 3-to-3 for 90 days after top-up	Texts: 10p	Data: 30p/MB (after 150MB free)
Other: Read the full tariff details for more details.

High texters. Tesco

Tesco offers 5,000 texts for £5 when you opt into its text bundle, making them 1p each.

How to get it: Get your free Tesco sim page, and fill in the form. Then call 2709 from your mobile or add it via your online account. The bundle will automatically renew until you stop it, you can do so by texting STOP to 28948 or going online.

Standard tariff costs
Calls: 25p/min.	Texts: 10p	Data:
Other: Read the full tariff details

Get 2 for 1 cinema tickets. Orange

Orange’s free Sim comes with £5 of completely free credit when you top up with £10, better still as all Orange mobile customers can simply text to get 2for1 cinema, you can just pop this in your handset on a Wednesday just to access it (see the full Orange 2for1 loophole) article for details.

The Canary package gets you 100 free evening and weekend minutes to UK mobiles with a £10 top up, and the Racoon package gets you lower standard rates (15p/min).

Yet even if you won't use this as your main Sim, it's worth grabbing for the cinema deal and free credit.

How to get it: Go to Orange offer page and fill in the form to apply for the Sim. Register it and top up £10 to get the £5 of free credit. For 2for1 tickets, just text 'Film' to 241. It'll text you a code to use when you get to the cinema. This costs 35p a time.

Standard tariff costs (Canary)
Calls: 20p/min.	Texts: 10p	Data: £2/day (25MB limit)
Other: Read the full tariff details for more details.

Best for International calling. Vodafone

If you'll phone abroad, Vodafone's International add-on package can cut the cost dramatically. Grab its free Simply Sim card, opt in, and you can call landlines and mobiles in Canada, China and the USA for 5p/min; far cheaper than its UK calls! There's a raft of other countries in the 5p bracket for landlines too (see all international rates). Do make sure you opt-in though (see how below), or you could pay up to a hideous £1.50/min...

If you tend to call the same people abroad, and they've access to a computer, it may be more economical to use Voip services like Skype instead (Check Three mobile's unlimited Skype offer above, though remember it's for Skype-Skype calls only).

How to get it: First go through to the free Vodafone Sim page and fill in the form to apply. When the Sim arrives, top it up and send a text to 2345 to opt in for International. You can also opt-in by calling 36888.

Standard tariff costs
Calls (UK): 20p/min	Texts: 10p	Data: 50p/day (25MB limit)
Other: Read the full tariff details or the international call charges

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Is your handset unlocked?

When you buy a new phone, chances are it'll be locked to the network you bought it on, and if you try to put another network's Sim card in it simply won't function. So to take advantage of most of the offers below (ie ones that aren't from your handset's network) you'll need to unlock it.

Unlocking most modern handsets will require you to buy a code from your network, though some older handsets can still be unlocked for free. For full details on the ins and outs of unlocking, read the full Mobile Unlocking guide.

Get a bit of cashback too!

It's possible to earn cashback when signing up for a few of these Sims too. Needless to say, the amounts you'll earn are pretty small, but if you're already a member of a specialist cashback website it is an option.

For more info on how this works read the full Cashback Sites guide beforehand.

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