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Find the best Virgin SIM Only plans on the market right now
Use our comparison tool to find the best Virgin Mobile SIM Only deals available on the market right now. Virgin Mobile's SIM only plans are available to everyone, but if you've also got Virgin Media broadband, home phone, or TV then you can get access to discounts and extras. All of Virgin's SIM-only tariffs operate on 12-month contracts, but they come on a ‘freestyle' offering, meaning you can upgrade, downgrade, or change your allowance at any point. Compare and save £ today.
Compare Virgin SIM Only Deals
Virgin Mobile is part of the Virgin group of companies and has provided mobile plans in the UK since 1999. Virgin is an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) meaning it does not have its own infrastructure, instead it leases infrastructure from EE. In fact, Virgin Mobile was the world’s first MVNO.
There are some great benefits to joining Virgin Mobile. Existing Virgin customers (broadband or TV users) can get discounts on mobile plans by bundling all their services together.
Virgin Mobile also offers flexible contracts that allow you to change your data plan every month if you want to (upgrade or downgrade). They also have spending caps, so you can limit any extra charges on your monthly bills.
If you regularly use instant messaging services then Virgin gives you data free messaging on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Twitter, meaning you won’t use up your data when you’re using these services.
You’ll get free mobile roaming in 43 countries with Virgin’s Roam Like Home benefit. And Virgin also gives you access to 3.5 million Virgin wifi hotspots across the UK, so you can limit your data use even further.
Unlike many operators, Virgin Mobile does not offer any 30-day rolling contracts for SIM only. They only have 12-month contracts. But since these are flexible and allow you to change your data limit each month if you want to, this shouldn’t be a huge problem. Currently, there are seven twelve month SIM only contract options from Virgin Mobile:
Virgin Mobile regularly has special offers on their SIM only contract, generally offering double or even triple data, so it’s definitely worth checking their website for up to date deals.
If you should use up all your monthly minutes, texts, or data, Virgin also offers a range of add-ons. Data costs £10 for 1 GB, or £20 for 3 GB. The cost for added minutes depends on which plan you have. Virgin also has add-ons for roaming to countries that aren’t covered by their Roam Like Home plan.
Should you go over your monthly limits for minutes, texts, or data and opt not to add an extra add-on pack, then you’ll be charged Virgin’s standard rates. These are 58p per minute for calls, 15p per text (going up to 50p for a picture or video message), and £3 for each GB of data used (charged by the day, with a £3 minimum).
Virgin Mobile also offer PAYG services. They do have classic PAYG rates but be aware that Virgin Mobile requires that you buy at least one of the bundles mentioned below each month. As long as you buy a bundle, once it is used up you will then pay 40p per minute for calls, 15p per text message (50p for picture and video messages), and £2 per day for each 200 MB of mobile data with a minimum charge of £2.
Again, you are required to buy one PAYG bundle a month with Virgin Mobile. These automatically renew every 30 days unless you change to a different bundle, but bundle buying is non-negotiable here. Bundles are valid for 30 days and it’s up to you to ensure that you top up with enough credit to pay for your bundle before it’s due to renew (otherwise you’ll simply lose service). Virgin Mobile calls their bundles “Jam Packs” and there are three available options:
Once your bundle has been used up you can either buy another bundle immediately or top up with enough credit to cover the basic PAYG charges listed at the beginning of this section.
Virgin Mobile does support data rollover on SIM only contracts (NOT on PAYG bundles). Any unused data at the end of the month can be rolled over into the next month. This is valid for only one month at a time. So unused data from January can only be rolled over to February, not rolled over again until March (February’s unused data can be rolled over to March, however).
Virgin Mobile uses EE’s infrastructure to provide service, meaning you’ll get the same coverage as EE customers get. Currently, EE offers 99% coverage for 2G, 98% coverage for 3G, and 97% coverage for 4G. It’s important to note that PAYG customers do NOT have access to 4G data speeds, only 3G. You should always check coverage for your local area before signing up for service though. You can do this through the coverage checker on the Virgin Mobile website, or by using the UK mobile coverage app from OFCOM.
Tethering is a simple process that lets you connect your phone (via USB cable, WiFi or Bluetooth) to another device (tablet or laptop) and then use your phone’s data plan to get that other device online. Virgin Mobile allows tethering for all their customers, SIM only or PAYG, so if this is your preferred method of getting online there should be no problems.