Bundling your phone plans as a family can be a great way to save money.
In this guide, we’ve taken a look at five of the best family/group SIM deals on the market in the UK at the moment.
We’ve also explained some key things to consider when buying, to help you find the right mobile network to bundle your SIMs with as a family.
Best family mobile deals
Below, we’ve taken a look at five of the best mobile networks that offer discounts when bundling multiple mobile plans.
1. Three
Three allows you to save up to 20% on most of their phone plans, and other products as well, when bundled in a family account.
All you need to do is purchase new plans inside a single Three account, and they’ll begin applying the discount from then on.
The discounts don’t apply to existing plans, but it’s easy to buy new SIMs or pay monthly phone plans with Three, and transfer your number over.
Also, as a new customer, the discount applies across all of the tariffs you buy, as long as you purchase at least two plans. The first tariff is not excluded, as is the case with some other networks.
Apart from their strong discounts on offer, the really good thing about Three is they offer the fastest 5G speeds in the UK. And their plans are very reasonably priced compared to the other big four mobile networks.
Learn more about Three family discounts
2. Smarty
If you just want to buy several SIMs for the lowest possible price, Smarty is worth looking at.
They only offer a 10% discount, but their base prices are lower than Three’s, while still offering the same speeds and signal from our testing (Smarty uses Three network infrastructure).
You can add up to eight SIMs to a group, which is plenty for most families, and Smarty’s family packages are very simple, and easy to get started with.
Smarty also offers great 4G and 5G coverage, and good performance when calling as well.
The only real downside is, they’re quite a basic provider. Smarty doesn’t have any pay monthly phone contracts to choose from – instead, they’re best if you want to bundle some SIM-only plans.
Learn more about Smarty family discounts
3. 1pMobile
EE has the best mobile coverage in the UK at the moment.
The problem is, their plans are very expensive. But 1pMobile offers access to this network for a much more reasonable price than buying from EE directly.
For families, 1pMobile offers 50% off unlimited data SIMs purchased together.
This SIM group buying scheme is a bit limited compared to what most other networks offer, in that you can only get these discounts on unlimited data SIMs. And the 50% discount is not available on the first SIM you buy – it only applies to the second and third SIM, and so on.
However, given the amount of data included, and the fact that you get access to the EE network, we think 1pMobile is definitely worth looking at, especially if you often struggle with poor signal in your area.
Learn more about 1pMobile family discounts
4. O2
O2 has a very comprehensive family sharing offer, similar to Three, which they call Multisave.
You get 20% off pay monthly phone or SIM-only deals you add onto your family account, as well as tablets and mobile broadband plans.
This works with up to 20 different mobile numbers, which is great – if you have a large family, you can potentially save quite a lot of money.
The downside is, O2 doesn’t offer as good coverage as most other mobile networks, especially when it comes to 5G signal and speeds.
And these discounts aren’t available on their pay as you go SIM tariffs at the moment, which is a bit of a downside.
Learn more about O2 family discounts
5. Tesco Mobile
Tesco Mobile’s family pack works in a similar way to 1pMobile.
You first buy an unlimited data Family Pack SIM, which is fairly expensive – though there is no long-term contract, which is good.
Then, you can add on up to four more unlimited data SIMs, each of which comes with a much lower additional monthly cost.
This offer is particularly good if you need four or five unlimited data SIMs – for large families, there are very big savings to be had.
However, Tesco uses O2 infrastructure, which isn’t the best, and their family discounts are limited to just these unlimited data SIMs, which can be a bit expensive if you don’t need unlimited usage.
Learn more about Tesco Mobile family discounts
What you need to know
In this section, we’ll explain some good things to know when shopping for a group SIM bundle for your family, to help you find the right option for your household.
How do family SIM deals work?
There are a few different ways that family SIM discounts can be structured.
In general, you often first have to buy a SIM card or pay monthly phone plan at the regular price with a given network. Then, you get a discount for each additional plan you add onto the account – normally 10 or 20 percent off the monthly cost.
Some providers also let you buy SIM plans in bulk, with the same sort of discount, and you can then add on more SIMs in the future while still getting the same reduced rate.
Most of the time, there is a limit to the number of SIM tariffs you can have active under a family account at the same time, and still receive the same discount. Often, the discounts stop after you’ve added the 10th or 20th plan to the account.
It’s also worth mentioning, some networks like 1pMobile and Tesco Mobile limit their family plans to just unlimited data SIMs, while others open up these discounts on essentially the entire range of plans that they offer.
How to get started with a family SIM plan
To begin saving money by bundling your SIM plans:
- First, decide on the network you want to use. Consider factors such as: whether you’re looking for pay monthly phone or SIM-only deals, whether you need unlimited data or want to save as much money as possible with a smaller data limit, and whether you want to prioritise 4G or 5G signal (Three is best for 5G, EE for 4G – including small networks that use these larger providers).
- Purchase your SIM plans. You will generally need to buy a new tariff for each family member, but you can add them gradually over time, and if you already have an initial tariff with this network, you may be able to use it to start the family group.
- After about two business days, you’ll receive your new SIM cards or handsets in the mail, and you can begin setting them up.
- Transfer your number(s) from your current SIMs to the new network. We’ve explained how to do this a bit later in the article.
- Wait for the discount to be applied – this may take a while with some networks. You might have to wait until your second bill.
Which mobile networks offer group SIM deals?
Currently, the following mobile carriers offer discounts if you buy SIM or phone plans in bulk with them:
- Three
- O2
- Smarty
- Tesco Mobile
- Vodafone (limited group discounts on offer – Vodafone Family has been discontinued)
- 1pMobile
- EE
- Utility Warehouse
- Honest Mobile
Are there any downsides to bundling your SIMs as a family?
There are some downsides to bundling your mobile plans with the same provider it’s worth keeping in mind. Although, these downsides are relatively minor compared to the savings on offer.
- You may be limited in the choice of plans that are eligible for a group discount with a given network. For example, some providers only offer family bundles on unlimited data SIMs.
- If there is a network outage, you won’t be able to make calls at all if everyone at home is with the same provider – though it is very rare for a single mobile network to go down completely.
- You need to ensure that the network you choose meets everyone’s needs. For example, you can’t have one person on EE for their rural coverage and someone else on Three for their 5G speeds.
- You will be less flexible in being able to change networks, if you spot a deal on a new phone or SIM plan that you like the look of.
Which is the cheapest network to bundle your SIMs with?
In general, Smarty offers the cheapest family SIM bundles.
Although the discount they offer for groups of SIMs is only 10%, their base prices are so low that they still offer very good value for money.
Three is also very cost-competitive with their 20% discount, and they also have a much larger range of plans that are eligible for a family grouping, making them a better choice if you want to save money on phone contracts, mobile broadband, tablets, and/or 5G home broadband.
Which mobile network has the best speeds and signal?
Speeds and coverage with a given mobile carrier can vary massively, depending on where you live.
In general, Three has the best 5G speeds in the UK, and EE has the best 4G speeds and coverage.
In terms of 5G coverage, it’s a bit closer between the big four networks, but O2 generally has the worst 5G availability, in most parts of the country.
Before joining a given mobile network with your family, make sure to use their network coverage map to see how their speeds and signal are in your area.
If you navigate to a given deal on our comparison site, click “More Details” at the bottom, and you’ll be able to quickly jump to the network coverage map.
How to transfer your numbers onto a family SIM plan
When switching your family to a new mobile network, you’ll need to have the process of transferring all your numbers down pat.
Fortunately, it’s quite easy to port a mobile number from an existing SIM to a new plan with a new network.
- Using the old SIM card, text “PAC” to 65075. You may need to verify the date of birth on the account.
- You’ll receive a Porting Authorisation Code (PAC) from your current mobile network.
- Provide the PAC to your new network. They will usually have an online form you can use to port your number.
- Your mobile number will transfer over to the new SIM card within one to two working days.
Conclusion
You’ve reached the end of our family SIM bundle buyer’s guide.
In our opinion, Three is the best choice if you want to access a wide range of discounts, including on pay monthly phones.
On the other hand, Smarty is great if you want cheap SIM-only deals, while 1pMobile is worth looking at if you want to access the EE network, with their strong 4G coverage.
If you’re not sure which mobile network to join with your family, let us know in the comments below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
About the author
Tom is the founder of Green Smartphones. You’ll find him writing about phones on the Green Smartphones blog, or talking about SIM deals and mobile networks on our YouTube channel. He’s the Android expert on the team – currently using a Google Pixel 9, recently upgrading from a very long-suffering Note 20 Ultra. When he’s not working on Green Smartphones, you’ll find him playing football or hiking.