Free EU roaming quietly split the UK mobile market. Three of the four big networks now charge a daily fee to use your allowances in Europe, while most smaller networks still include it. Ofcom found nearly one in five holidaymakers do not realise they can face extra charges at all. So the same fortnight abroad can cost nothing on one SIM and over £35 in daily fees on another, per the network pricing in the table below. This guide shows what every network we compare actually charges, the small print on the word "free", and the protections you have when you land.
What happened to free EU roaming?
Until 2021, an EU rule meant your UK allowances worked across Europe at no extra cost. That rule stopped applying after Brexit, and nothing in the UK's trade deal guarantees free roaming; it only asks for "transparent and reasonable rates". EE, Vodafone and Three reintroduced European charges for new customers during 2021 and 2022. O2 did not, and nor did most of the smaller networks that rent space on the big four's masts.
That is the quiet advantage of the smaller networks. They compete on price everywhere, but abroad the gap widens: the network selling you a cheaper SIM at home is usually also the one not charging you £2.75 a day in Spain, as the checked table below shows.
What every network charges in Europe
Twelve of the eighteen networks we compare still include EU roaming in their plans. Six charge for it, and two of those may surprise you. Checked against each network's own roaming pages on 28 August 2026.
| Network | EU roaming | The detail | SIM only from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesco Mobile | Included | 48 destinations with no set data cap. Was due to end in 2026; extended indefinitely. | £6 a month |
| iD Mobile | Included | 50 destinations. The 30GB cap is suspended, so full allowances currently roam. | £6 a month |
| Lebara | Included | EU and India, up to 30GB. | £4.50 a month |
| O2 | Included | Up to 25GB, then charged per GB. The only big network with no daily fee. | £7 a month |
| Mozillion | Included | 41 destinations. A quarter to half of your allowance, capped at 25GB. | £3 a month |
| Grade Mobile | Included | Roam like home, capped at 20GB. | £9 a month |
| spusu | Included | A plan-specific slice: 3GB to 20GB, plus 500 minutes and 500 texts. | £2.90 a month |
| Lyca Mobile | Included | Up to 12GB, or 35GB on unlimited plans. India included too. | £10 a month |
| Smarty | Included | Up to 12GB a month from your allowance. | £7 a month |
| giffgaff | Included | Up to 5GB, with top-up add-ons after that. | £6 a month |
| Talkmobile | Included | Capped at 5GB a month. | £4.95 a month |
| Asda mobile | Included | Hard 5GB cap on every plan, whatever its size. | £5 a month |
| Sky Mobile | £2 a day | Roaming Passport Plus covers 120 destinations worldwide; 25GB fair use. | £6 a month |
| Ecotalk | £2 a day | Tiered data caps by plan; no data roaming outside the EU at all. | £8 a month |
| Voxi | £2.60 a day | Multi-day passes cost less per day; free in Ireland, Iceland and Norway. | £10 a month |
| Three | £2.75 a day | Included on newer Value and Complete plans; 12GB fair use. | £6 a month |
| Vodafone | £2.75 a day | Eight-day pass £16; included on Xtra plans; 25GB fair use. | £7 a month |
| Rewild Mobile | £2.95 a day | Its 180-country claim is a separate paid travel eSIM, not included roaming. | £8.25 a month |
Roaming positions as published by each network, checked 28 August 2026; caps and daily fees change, so confirm on the network’s own roaming page before you travel. EE is not in our SIM comparison, but for the record it charges a daily fee too, with roaming included only on its top plan tiers. “SIM only from” is the cheapest monthly price in our feed at the last refresh.
A few rows deserve a second look. iD Mobile's 30GB roaming cap has been suspended since October 2024, so its customers currently roam with their full allowance; that is the most generous position in the market right now. Tesco Mobile's Home From Home was due to end in 2026, but Tesco has extended it indefinitely. At the other end, Rewild Mobile advertises roaming in over 180 countries, yet that claim refers to a separate paid travel eSIM; its ordinary SIM charges £2.95 a day in Europe, per its published price list. And Ecotalk's £2 daily fee, checked on its own FAQ pages, comes with no data roaming at all outside the EU.
Watch the cap, not the headline
"Included" almost always comes with a fair-use cap, and the caps vary enormously. O2 gives you up to 25GB. Lebara stretches to 30GB and includes India. But giffgaff, Talkmobile and Asda Mobile all cap included roaming at 5GB, however big your UK allowance is, and spusu's slice depends on which plan you hold. If you plan to work abroad, hotspot the laptop or stream in the evenings, a 5GB cap can run out in a week.
The charged networks have caps too. Pay Vodafone's daily fee and you can still only use 25GB of a bigger allowance; Three's fair use while roaming is 12GB. Paying the fee does not switch the limit off.
And there is a time limit as well as a data one. Included roaming is designed for holidays, not for living abroad on a UK SIM. Most networks apply a rule of roughly two months' roaming in any four; go past it and they can add surcharges or, on some networks, a weekly fee. If you are moving abroad for a season, a local SIM will beat any UK plan.
Your protections when you roam
Since 1 October 2024, Ofcom rules mean your network must send you a message when you start roaming. That message has to spell out the charges, any fair-use limits, and where to find more information, free to access. Networks must also tell you how to set or change a spend cap on your bill. The rules cover accidental roaming as well: if you live near the Northern Ireland border, your network must explain how to stop your phone hopping onto an Irish mast, and some treat that usage as UK usage anyway. Full details are in Ofcom's guide to using your mobile abroad.
One protection is weaker than most people think. There used to be a legal default cap of £45 a month on data roaming charges, which your network could not cross without your say-so. That law expired in 2022 and was formally revoked in 2023, so any cap your network applies today is policy, not statute; Three, for example, still publishes a £45 monthly data roaming limit of its own. Ofcom's research found 71 percent of people did not know the default limit existed, which rather proves how quietly it left. The reliable protection now is the one you set yourself: every network lets you add a spend cap to your account, and it costs nothing.
Beyond Europe
Outside Europe, daily passes get dearer and allowances shrink. Vodafone and Three charge £8 a day in their world zones per their published rates, O2 sells a £7 travel day pass across 75 destinations. The smaller networks mostly switch to pay-as-you-go rates that reward checking before you fly. There are pockets of generosity. Tesco Mobile's published rate is 1p per MB in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and Lebara and Lyca Mobile both include India. Sky Mobile's £2 daily pass, unusually, covers 120 destinations worldwide at the same price as Europe.
Two genuine traps live out here. Cruise ships and ferries use satellite networks that sit outside every roaming deal; Ofcom warns rates at sea are far higher than on land, so use the ship's Wi-Fi or airplane mode between ports. And a handful of destinations still bill data by the megabyte at rates that turn a photo backup into a three-figure bill; if your network's row says pay as you go, look the country up before you land.
Five ways to cut the cost
First, check your network's row in the table before you book anything. If you roam more than once a year and your network charges daily, the maths quickly favours switching to one that does not. Our SIM only comparison shows every network's cheapest plan. Second, on a charged network, buy the multi-day pass rather than paying daily; Vodafone's eight-day pass costs £16 against £22 in daily fees, per its published prices. Third, for longer trips, put a local travel eSIM alongside your UK number; our eSIM guide covers how the two run side by side. Fourth, download the maps, playlists and boarding passes on Wi-Fi before you leave, which is Ofcom's own first tip. And fifth, set a spend cap before you travel, not after the bill arrives.