SIM only mid-contract price rises: who raises prices, by how much, and your rights

If your SIM only bill has gone up before your minimum term has finished, you are not alone. On most of the big networks a mid-contract price rise lands every April, it is written into the contract you signed, and it now has to be stated in pounds and pence rather than as a percentage. This guide explains what the rules say, which networks raise prices and by how much, and exactly when you are allowed to walk away without paying an exit fee. The network table is built from the live deals on Switchity, so it updates every time we refresh the site.

What a mid-contract price rise actually is

Every pay monthly SIM contract has a core subscription price: the monthly amount you agree to pay for your minutes, texts and data. A mid-contract price rise is a change to that core price during your minimum term, usually once a year. Ofcom's rules call the small print that describes it the core subscription price change information. Since 17 January 2025 that information must show two things up front: the exact amount in pounds and pence, and the date the change takes effect. If those two things are in your contract summary, the rise is part of the deal you agreed to.

It is different from a rise that lands at the end of your contract. Once your minimum term ends you are on a rolling plan, the network can change the price with 30 days' notice, and you can leave at any time anyway. This guide is about rises inside the minimum term, which is where the rules bite.

What changed on 17 January 2025

For years the standard mobile contract said your bill would rise every April by the December inflation figure plus 3.9 percent. Nobody signing up could say what that meant in pounds. Ofcom's research backed that up: most people did not understand the clause. More than half of pay monthly mobile customers could not say what CPI or RPI measured, and only 12 percent of those on an inflation-linked contract knew about the rise and could identify it. In April 2024 around six in ten broadband and mobile customers were on contracts with one of these clauses.

So Ofcom banned them. From 17 January 2025, no new phone, broadband or pay TV contract can link a price rise to inflation or to any percentage. Any rise has to be set out in pounds and pence, prominently, before you sign. Ofcom summed it up when the rules took effect. "Our new rules mean there will be no nasty surprises," it said, "and customers will know how much they will be paying and when, through clear labelling." The full decision is in Ofcom's July 2024 statement.

Two things the rule did not do are worth being clear about. It did not ban mid-contract rises; it banned hiding them behind a formula. And it did not touch contracts signed before 17 January 2025, which can still carry the old inflation-plus clause until they end.

Which networks raise prices mid-contract, and by how much

The table below is generated from every pay monthly SIM only deal on Switchity. For each network it shows whether the deals in our feed carry a scheduled rise, the size of the first rise per month, when it lands and which contract lengths are on offer. Networks are listed with the rising ones first.

The amounts in the table come from the contract terms attached to each deal. The networks' own published figures for 2026, checked on 22 August 2026, line up with them:

• O2 raised bills by £2.50 a month in April 2026, up from the £1.80 customers were told about when they signed. Ofcom said that move went against the spirit of its rules (more on that below). O2 publishes its current figures on its annual price increase page.
• Vodafone adds £1.50 a month on Basics SIM only plans and £2.50 a month on other SIM only plans each April for contracts taken since 12 November 2025, as published in its price change terms. Earlier contracts are on £1 and £1.80.
• Three moved to fixed amounts from 1 April 2026, as published in its price change notice. It adds £1.80 a month on plans of 4GB or less, £1.90 a month between 5GB and 99GB, and £2.30 a month on 100GB and above.
• EE adds £2.50 a month on SIM only contracts taken after 31 July 2025 and £1.50 a month on contracts from 10 April 2024 onwards, as published by EE. Older EE contracts still carry the inflation-plus formula.
• Sky Mobile works differently. Its contracts do not schedule a fixed annual rise; the terms say the price could change during your contract. Sky added £1.50 a month from 14 February 2026. Because no amount is agreed up front, any rise comes with 30 days' notice and the right to leave without penalty if you are not happy with it.
• Tesco Mobile raises prices on its standard plans each April; its Clubcard-priced plans are marketed as frozen for the contract.

If you are on one of these networks, the figure that matters is the one in your own contract summary, not the headline above. Cohorts who signed at different dates are on different amounts.

Which networks do not raise prices mid-contract

Most of the market does not. Of the networks in our feed, 14 carry no scheduled rise on any deal, including iD Mobile, Smarty, giffgaff, Voxi, Lebara, Talkmobile, spusu, Asda Mobile, Lycamobile and the greener newcomers Ecotalk, Rewild Mobile and Grade Mobile. Some of these are 30-day rolling plans, where a rise would be pointless because you can leave any month. Others sell 12 and 24 month contracts with the price fixed for the whole term. Sky Mobile also has no scheduled rise, but its contracts say the price could change, so it sits apart from both groups; see the Sky note above.

Two cautions. "No scheduled rise in our feed" is a statement about the contract terms we can see today, not a lifetime guarantee; a network can change its terms for new customers at any point. And a few of the rise-free networks run on the same masts as the networks that do raise prices, so you are not trading away coverage to avoid the rise. iD Mobile and Smarty use Three's network, giffgaff uses O2, Voxi and Talkmobile use Vodafone, and spusu uses EE. You can see where each network gets its signal on our SIM only comparison, or filter straight to deals with no price rise.

Why the cheapest plans are hit hardest

A flat rise hits the smallest bills hardest. Adding £2.50 to a £40 plan is a 6 percent increase. Add it to a £7 plan and it is 36 percent. MoneySavingExpert analysed 47,000 mobile and broadband tariffs in June 2026 and found that in three quarters of cases the new pounds-and-pence rise was bigger than the old inflation-plus formula would have produced. For mobile plans under 10GB the figure was 99 percent. Its worked example was a Vodafone 3GB plan signed at £10 a month in December 2024: two £1.80 rises took it to £13.60 by April 2026, against £11.40 under the old rules. MoneySavingExpert's research write-up has the full breakdown.

Ofcom's own numbers explain why this lands on so many people. Its February 2026 pricing report found SIM only plans are now half of all pay monthly subscriptions, and that 55 percent of customers use a fifth or less of their monthly data allowance. If you are one of them, you can probably move to a smaller, rise-free plan and cut the bill twice over.

When can you leave without paying?

This is the part most people get wrong, so it is worth being precise. Ofcom's General Conditions give you a right to exit without penalty when your provider makes a change to your contract that is to your material detriment. A rise to your core subscription price counts. The provider has to give you at least 30 days' notice, tell you clearly about your right to leave, and let you go without an early termination charge if you act within that window. Ofcom's guidance under General Condition C1 sets this out.

The catch is the word "agreed". If the rise was set out in pounds and pence in your contract summary when you signed, you agreed to it, and it is not a change to your contract. You do not get a penalty-free exit for a rise you were told about at the point of sale. That is the trade Ofcom made: certainty up front instead of an exit right later.

You do get the exit right in three situations:

1. The rise was not set out in pounds and pence when you signed. This covers most contracts taken before 17 January 2025 and any provider that simply failed to disclose it properly.
2. The rise is bigger than the amount you were told about. This is what happened at O2 in 2025, when existing customers were told their April 2026 rise would be £2.50 rather than the £1.80 in their contracts. Ofcom's statement on O2's price rises confirmed affected customers could leave penalty-free and said the decision went against the spirit of its rules.
3. The rise applies to something other than the price you agreed, for example a new charge for a feature that was included.

If you think you qualify, text INFO to 85075. Your network must reply with your contract end date and what it would cost to leave, which is your evidence. Then text PAC to 65075 to take your number with you, or STAC to 75075 if you want a fresh number. If the network refuses an exit you believe you are entitled to, Ofcom's earlier enforcement work on price variation terms secured refunds for customers in exactly that position, and our complaints guide explains how to escalate.

Old contract or new contract: check which one you are on

The date you signed decides which regime you are in. Contracts taken before 17 January 2025 can still carry the old formula. For April 2026 that meant December 2025 CPI of 3.4 percent plus 3.9, a 7.3 percent rise, or £1.46 a month on a £20 plan. Contracts taken after that date carry a fixed amount.

Some networks have been moving older customers across. Three told customers who joined between 1 November 2022 and 7 September 2024 that from 1 April 2026 their rise would switch to the fixed amounts above. EE has done something similar, with the amount depending on when you signed. The easiest way to check is your contract summary, which the network had to give you at the point of sale, or the price and plan section of your account app. Look for a line that names a pounds-and-pence amount and an April date; if you see CPI or RPI instead, you are on an older contract.

Five ways to avoid a mid-contract rise

1. Go 30-day rolling. Every one of the 30-day deals in our feed is rise-free, because the network knows you can leave next month. Prices on the best 30-day plans are now competitive with 12 month contracts. See 30-day rolling SIM deals.
2. Pick a rise-free network on the same masts. If you like Three's coverage, iD Mobile and Smarty use it. Like O2? giffgaff does. Voxi and Talkmobile run on Vodafone. You keep the signal and lose the April letter. Check the network before you switch with our UK mobile coverage map.
3. Time your switch. Rises land on or around 1 April. If your minimum term ends in the first quarter, leaving before April means you never pay the higher rate.
4. Check if you qualify for a social tariff. If you or someone in your household claims Universal Credit or certain other benefits, you can get a social tariff. O2's Essential Plan, Smarty's social tariff and Voxi's For Now plan all cost between £10 and £12 a month and, in Ofcom's words, the price will not go up mid-contract. Ofcom's social tariffs page lists them. Around 532,000 people were on a social tariff in June 2025, but Ofcom found 70 percent of eligible households did not know they existed.
5. Downgrade your data. If you use a fifth of your allowance, as most people do, a smaller plan costs less today and a flat rise costs the same whatever plan you are on. Start from the cheapest end of the market with SIM only deals under ten pounds a month.

What happens next

The rules are under review. In November 2025 the Chancellor and the Science Secretary wrote to Ofcom asking for an interim review of the January 2025 changes by spring 2026 and a full review in 2027. They also asked Ofcom to look again at whether the 30-day notice period gives people enough time to leave when a rise takes effect. Ofcom's February 2026 pricing report said the rules were giving customers greater clarity at the point of sale, but that the evidence on what has happened to bills was not yet strong enough for firm conclusions. The Public Accounts Committee questioned Ofcom on the same point in June 2026. We will update this guide when the review reports.