When you take your phone abroad, you will often be charged a ‘roaming’ fee to connect to the networks in that country.
Going on holiday or another type of trip without data is not something we’d wish on anyone, whether for navigation, Googling local amenities or keeping your kids entertained. And don’t assume that the data that comes bundled with your phone or SIM contract counts, it’s likely that it will stay behind as you leave the UK. So, if you want to stay on your existing phone and SIM, it could cost you.
Working out how much can be complicated, but don’t worry, this full roaming guide will explain how it all works and how much you’ll have to pay the major UK networks.
Alternatively, you might want to consider buying a SIM especially for roaming with or from the networks in the country you’re visiting. But, if you want to stick with your current provider, here are the fees involved.
Isn’t roaming free in Europe?
Not necessarily. Since Brexit, the free roaming that existed for UK travellers when in the European Union (EU) and selected other countries is now gone via most networks.
However, there are some exceptions, plus alternatives to avoid a big bill.
Roaming outside Europe
Wherever you go in the rest of the world, you’ll expect to pay roaming charges. Some providers offer roaming packs or add-ons that mean you can control your spending, but if you continue to use data and the telephone features on your phone when travelling, you could come home to a nasty bill.
So, it’s essential you check with your provider before you go. We’ve provided a quick guide below to give you an idea of what to expect.
Roaming charges on EE
In Europe
At the time of writing, the EE site has two dates that alter how much you’ll pay for roaming. If your current contract started before 7 July 2021, then roaming is free in the EU. You can continue to use your phone as if you were at home, with your normal allocation of data and minutes being available while you travel.
This means you can use your data as normal, plus make a receive calls and texts from people in EE’s Europe Zone, which is made up of the following countries: Austria, Azores, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Canary Islands, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guyana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Martinique, Mayotte, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion Islands, Romania, San Marino, Saint Martin (French), Saint Barthelemy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Vatican City.
Note that Turkey and Andorra are not included in the EE Europe Zone.
If you make calls to recipients outside the Europe Zone then you’ll be charged an eye-watering £1.54 per minute, while each text costs 64p. Sending picture messages to anyone (even if they’re in the EE Europe Zone) will come with an 83p charge, so we’d advise using something like WhatsApp instead.
If your contract started after 7 July 2021, then you’ll need to pay a roaming fee to have access to your normal contracts data and minutes. At the time of writing, this costs £2.26 per day and gives you the same allowances and fees as those whose contract started before 7 July 2021.
You could save money if you buy the £25 Roam Abroad add-on, which lasts for 30-days and lets you use your allowance as you would at home (with the same restrictions listed above). So, if your trip is longer than 6 days, then the add-on is the way to go.
Those on Pay-As-You-Go plans may find it somewhat unpalatable, as the charges are of course higher. You’ll need to buy a 500MB data add to start with, although it only costs £3. Then, telephone calls cost 70p per minute while texts cost 30p each.
You can buy Roam Like Home add-ons that allow you to use your normal allowance, but these cost £2.50 for 24 hours or £10 for 7-days. Unfortunately, you’ll also have to sign up to a subscription pack as well, which start at £10 for the month.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Outside Europe
There are various charges for travelling outside the EU, with the United States and Canada being popular destinations.
Even if you have a contract that started before 7 July 2021, you’ll still be hit with quite a few expensive costs, but these can be offset by purchasing a Roam Further Pass which costs £15 and lasts for 30 days. This allows you to treat your data and minutes as if you were at home. The same is true if you’re already on one of EE’s Max plans.
Otherwise, you’ll be charged £1.54 per minute for phone calls, 76p for a text and 84p if you send picture messages. Plus, you’ll have to buy additional data to access the internet.
Those whose contract started after 7 July 2021 will need to buy a Roam Abroad Pass, which costs £25 for a month and lets you use your normal allocation.
Pay-As-You-Go customers are charged £1.20 per minute for calls and 60p to send texts (receiving them in free), but you’ll need to buy data packs if you want to access the internet.
Here’s more details about EE’s roaming costs
Roaming charges on O2
In Europe
O2 is the only major UK network that hasn’t put roaming prices back in place since Brexit. You can just carry on using your phone as if you were at home when travelling through the EU (including those on a PAYG contract) and most of Europe.
There are a few restrictions, though. You’ll only be able to use up to 25GB of your data before hitting the limit. After that point, you’ll be charged £3.50 per GB.
O2 stipulates that the roaming feature is intended for short trips and holidays, rather than living or extensive travelling through Europe. With this in mind, you can only use the feature for a maximum of 63 days across a four-month period. After this you’ll be charged £3.50 per GB, 3.3p per minute for calls and 1p for every text.
The countries included in the O2 Europe Zone are as follows: Austria, Azores, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Cyprus (but not Northern Cyprus), Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Martinique, Mayotte, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion Islands, Romania, San Marino, Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Vatican City, Italy)
Outside Europe
If you’re off to somewhere else in the world, then you’ll need to put some money aside, as things get a bit more pricey.
For many destinations, O2 offers its Travel Inclusive Zone Bolt-On, which allows you to use your data, texts and minutes as normal. This costs £6 per day, but only counts for the days you actually use it. So, if you don’t make a phone call, send a text or use data, then you won’t be charged for that day. Receiving calls or texts doesn’t trigger it either.
Here’s the countries that are covered by the scheme:
Albania, Anguilla, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Bermuda, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Greenland, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Montserrat, Myanmar, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turks & Caicos, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia
Here’s more details on O2’s roaming costs
Blue Titan / Shutterstock
Roaming charges on Vodafone
As with EE, Vodafone customers who have been on their contract for a while will be able to avoid the roaming charges that were introduced back in January 2021.
For those whose contact started before 11 August 2021, there are no charges to your roaming costs, meaning you can use your phone in the EU just as you could before Brexit. Obviously, there are still costs for travelling further in the world.
Vodafone separates countries into different zones – A to D – and the costs are related to whichever zone you will be visiting.
Zone A includes the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, Iceland and Norway. So long as you don’t exceed 25GB of data then you’re free to use your phone as normal in this zone without incurring any additional costs (no matter when your contract started).
Zone B is the majority of European countries (47 in fact). Here, you’ll need to pay £2.25 per day if your contract started after 11 August 2021.
Zone C covers a further 32 countries around the world, from Australia to the US and costs £6 a day for those whose contracts started before 11 August 2021 or £6.85 if the date was after that point.
Zone D includes another 75 destinations, among which are Argentina and Vietnam, and these also cost £6 or £6.85 per day depending on when your contract began.
It’s worth checking with Vodafone to see if you already have any Zones as part of your plan. Some are included in various packages, so there’s no point in paying for something for which you’re already eligible.
Pay As You Go customers can still use Zone A for free, but for Zone B you’ll need to buy an 8-day European Roaming Pass which costs £10. This allows you to use your allowance as normal, although no picture messages or premium text/calls are allowed. It also starts the day you buy it, so don’t get it a week before your trip or you’ll find you only have a day or so of use before you’ll need to top it up again.
If your trip is longer than a week, then the 15-day European Roaming Pass costs £15. You can also bolt on various data or call/text packages if you need more capacity.
Those travelling further afield (Zones C and D) will need the 8 Day Around the World Extra package that costs £15 and gives you 2GB, 100 minutes and 100 texts. Again, there’s also an option for the 15 Day Around the World Extra option that will set you back £25 for 4GB, 200 minutes and 200 texts.
Here’s more info on Vodafone’s roaming charges
Roaming charges on Three
The last of the ‘big four’ networks is Three.
As with most of the others on this list, there’s a cut-off point where contracts that started before that date can still use the roaming service for free in Europe. In this case it’s before 1 October 2021.
If your contract began after that date then you’ll need to pay £2 per day to use your allowance in Europe (called Go Roam in Europe) or £5 a day for the Go Roam Around the World package, which includes 22 other destinations.
An additional ‘Go Roam Around the World Extra’ extends that to 72 destinations, and it costs £7 per day. See the full list of destinations covered on the Three website.
There are some plans that already have roaming allowances built-in, such as the Three Your Way Plan, which includes up to 56 days roaming each year. Be aware that all Go Roam features have a fair use policy, which limits the amount of data you can use (from your normal allowance) to only 12GB during your travels.
In Europe, there are no limits on calls or texts back to standard landlines or mobiles, but in the rest of the world you can use up to 5,000 of your unlimited texts (if your plan includes this) and a maximum of 3,000 minutes from your plan’s allowance. You also can’t use your phone as a hotspot for your laptop or tablet.
If you’ll need more data, then a £5 Data Passport will give you unlimited access for 24 hours.
Three’s Go Roam packages cover over 160 countries in total – you can use the Destination Checker to see if your destination is covered and which roaming package you’ll need. If it isn’t, then you’ll need to refer to the rather complicated price guides from Three which break down into various plans and commencement dates.
As a rough guide, customers on a pay monthly contract who exceed their allowance while abroad can expect to pay 3p per minute for calls to the UK or other Go Roam Europe numbers, and £1.40 per minute for the rest of the world. SMS charges are 2p per text and 1p per MB of data. Note, it costs nothing to receive calls or texts.
Pay As You Go customers don’t have to pay daily charges for using their phone abroad, although you will need to purchase either add-ons or convert your top-up credits to ones that are available overseas. You can contract Three to help with this.
Here’s more info on Three’s roaming charges
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Other ways you can get free EU roaming
O2 isn’t the only UK provider that’s offering free EU roaming. Many MVNOs, or ‘piggyback networks‘ as they’re more commonly known, still include it at no extra cost. However, the limits on how much data you can use will vary between them.
The following use the EE network:
- BT Mobile – no specific limit
- Utility Warehouse – up to 5GB per month on most plans
- 1pMobile – no specific limit
- Lycamobile – no specific limit
- Your Co-op – no specific limit
- IQ Mobile – no specific limit
- RWG Mobile – available on all plans over £3.50 per month
Aside from O2 itself, here are the other options which use its network:
- Giffgaff – up to 5GB per month
- Tesco Mobile
These are the best options on Vodafone:
- Asda Mobile – up to 5GB per month
- Lebara (also includes India) – up to 30GB per month
- Talkmobile – no specific limit
Or head to the following for free EU roaming on Three:
- iD Mobile – up to 30GB per month
- Smarty – up to 12GB per month
- Honest Mobile – no data limit but only for up to five days per month
- Superdrug Mobile – up to 12GB per month
Learn more in our separate article on the best UK phone networks.
