Mobile Phones: Should You Get a Monthly Contract or a SIM Only Deal? (Infographic)
Today I am sharing an infographic about mobile phone contracts kindly provided by Handset Expert.
The graphic contains a variety of interesting information, but it focuses especially on the attractions of buying a phone with a separate SIM-only contract rather than a monthly contract that includes both.
Have a read of the infographic, and I’ll share a few thoughts of my own at the bottom.
I will lay my cards on the table and reveal that I have a SIM-only contract myself. This has always been my preference, but there are pros and cons both ways, so I’ll go through them briefly here.
On the plus side, as the infographic says, having a separate SIM-only contract is likely to work out cheaper overall. In addition, you can change phone any time just by swapping your SIM card to a new handset. And you can switch to a different network provider if you like without having to face the hassle of paying off your contract and “unlocking” your phone.
There are, though, some possible drawbacks as well. For one, you won’t be able to access technical support for your phone so easily if you buy it outright rather than on a monthly contract. In addition, you are likely to have to pay the full cost of your handset up front rather than by monthly instalments. And upgrading will involve buying a new handset rather than simply negotiating a new deal with your monthly contract provider.
Overall, though, my advice for most people would be to choose a separate SIM-only deal. This is likely to offer better value, not to mention greater flexibility. But if you prefer the simplicity of a monthly contract that covers both device and phone service and don’t mind paying a bit extra for this, you might prefer to stick with that. The same applies if you can’t afford the up-front cost of paying for the handset you want – though bear in mind that if you opt for a single monthly contact for this reason you are still likely to end up paying more money overall.
- So that’s my opinion, but what do YOU think? Do you have a separate SIM-only contract or single monthly contract for your device and phone service? I’d love to hear your views!
November 25, 2017 @ 5:54 pm
An interesting post! I’d always been a PAYG person myself, but then when GiffGaff introduced a 30-day rolling contract I opted for that. I spend £5 a month and that covers everything I need, and I bought the phone separately which gives me more freedom and less cost. x
November 25, 2017 @ 10:55 pm
Good point about PAYG – I didn’t really cover that in the article. I know one or two people who still have PAYG phones, but I guess most people have inclusive deals now.
November 27, 2017 @ 6:38 pm
I haven’t had an expensive contract for years. I don’t think it’s worth it for the upgrades as modern phones seems much of a muchness. I almost always buy secondhand/refurbished phones which do what I need them to and I don’t worry about losing or damaging them.
I had PAYG for quite a while but these days opt for the middle ground of a rolling contract which gives me flexibility. I have a 3 contract for £9.50 a month that gives me unlimited calls and texts plus 8GB which I’ve come no where near using. Every so often I look round for a better deal and will ditch and switch immediately once I’ve found it.
December 4, 2017 @ 8:25 pm
Thanks, Susan. Yes, I have a SIM-only contract with 3 as well. It sounds very similar to yours, although I’m not sure I get as much data as that. But as I tend to use no more than around 500 MB of data every month, it’s pretty much academic for me too!
December 4, 2017 @ 8:27 pm
Apologies for the delay in approving your comment, btw. If you choose to comment again on PAS, it should go through automatically.
November 30, 2017 @ 9:10 am
I take the phone and SIM option when purchasing a new phone but then when I’ve paid the phone off, I switch to SIM only and keep the phone as long as possible. I find this tends to be the best option for me.
November 30, 2017 @ 1:07 pm
Thanks for the comment. Yes, that’s a reasonable strategy. It’s important to let your service provided know you are doing this and ensure they switch you to a cheaper, SIM-only contract once the phone is paid off.
Doing this does of course mean you will get a “locked” phone from your provider, and you will need to unlock it if you wish to switch to another service provider once the device is paid for.