UK Mobile Roaming Charges 2026: All 12 Networks Compared
Seven UK networks let every customer use their plan in Europe at no extra cost, each with its own country list and data limit: O2, Tesco Mobile, giffgaff, SMARTY, iD Mobile, Lebara and Lyca. EE, Vodafone and Three charge between £2 and £2.75 a day, unless you joined before mid-2021 or your plan includes Europe. Sky charges £2 a day, and VOXI sells passes from £2.60. Outside Europe, no UK network is cheap: a week in Turkey or the USA costs £30 to £56 on the big four. Every figure below comes from the networks' own price guides and pages, checked on 8 October 2026, with a link to the source.
Who charges you in Europe?
| Network (runs on) | Europe roaming | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| O2 | Included, every plan and pay as you go | 25GB limit; not Turkey, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro |
| Tesco Mobile (O2) | Included, "Home From Home", 48 destinations | Includes Switzerland and Monaco; Tesco says no usage cap |
| giffgaff (O2) | Included in the EU zone | Max 5GB per plan, then 10p/MB; up to 63 days; not Switzerland, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man |
| SMARTY (Three) | Included | Data up to 12GB; Switzerland, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are charged separately |
| iD Mobile (Three) | Included, 50 destinations | Up to 30GB (customers since June 2023); not Switzerland, Turkey or Andorra |
| Lebara | Included, EU/EEA | Up to 30GB; not Switzerland or Turkey |
| Lyca Mobile | Included, 30 countries | 12GB (35GB on Unlimited); Gibraltar, Monaco and Switzerland not listed |
| EE | £2.72 a day | Free if you joined before 7 July 2021, or on Essentials Plus, All Rounder, Full Works or Full Works Plus |
| Vodafone | £2.75 a day | Free if your plan started before 11 August 2021, or includes Euro Roam or Global Roam |
| Three | £2.75 a day (£2 for some plans) | Free if your plan started before 1 October 2021, and on pay as you go |
| Sky Mobile | £2 per 24 hours | Roaming Passport Plus, 120 destinations; free for Sky VIP Diamond members |
| VOXI (Vodafone) | Pass from £2.60 a day, or 8 days for £15 | Ireland, Isle of Man, Iceland and Norway are free with no pass |
The Republic of Ireland is free on almost every network, including EE, Vodafone, Three, Sky and SMARTY. That's partly so people near the Northern Ireland border don't run up roaming charges by accident.
The join date matters more than the network
On EE, Vodafone and Three, two neighbours on the same network can pay completely different amounts. The deciding factor is when each plan started:
- EE: handset or SIM plans that started before 7 July 2021 roam in Europe free. Newer plans pay £2.72 a day.
- Vodafone: plans that started before 11 August 2021 roam in Europe free. Newer plans pay £2.75 a day.
- Three: plans that started before 1 October 2021 have no daily charge. Plans from 1 October 2021 to 17 December 2025 pay £2 a day; newer ones pay £2.75.
If you don't know when your plan started, check your network's app or your contract summary before you pay for anything else.
The places people get caught out
- Turkey isn't in any UK network's Europe zone. It's charged separately: £6 a day on EE, £7 on O2 Travel, £8 on Vodafone and newer Three plans. On Sky it still costs £2 a day, because Roaming Passport Plus covers 120 destinations, Turkey included.
- Switzerland is in the Europe zone for EE, O2, Vodafone, Three and Tesco, but not for giffgaff, SMARTY, iD Mobile, Lebara or Lyca.
- Monaco isn't in any of Three's Go Roam bands, so Three charges Rest of the World rates there. Tesco and EE include it.
- Morocco isn't covered by O2's £7-a-day O2 Travel. O2 data there costs £26 for 100MB.
- Japan: EE's 24-hour pass gives you 500MB. Sky says roaming in Japan is blocked until further notice.
- Pay as you go outside Europe is where bills get out of hand. Three pay as you go charges £3 per MB in Turkey and £6 per MB in Dubai. Lebara pay as you go data costs £93 per GB.
What a week outside Europe costs
For the big four networks, a 7-day trip using your own plan:
| USA | Turkey | Dubai (UAE) | Japan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE (7-day pass) | £30 | £30 | £30 | £56 (7 × £8, 500MB a day) |
| O2 Travel (£7 a day) | £49 | £49 | £49 | £49 |
| Vodafone (£8 a day, newer plans) | £56 | £56 | £56 | £56 |
| Three (7-day pass) | £30 | £42 | £42 | £42 |
Some plans include these destinations: EE Full Works includes the USA, Turkey and Dubai, Vodafone Global Roam includes the USA and Turkey, and O2 Ultimate includes all four. O2 also sells data-only Bolt Ons (5GB is £18 for the USA and £29 for Turkey, Dubai or Japan), which is cheaper than O2 Travel if you only need data.
The smaller networks mostly sell data add-ons instead:
- iD Mobile: 10GB for 5 days, £20 (USA, Turkey, Japan; not the UAE).
- Lyca: 3GB for 7 days in the USA, £10.
- Lebara: 4GB in the USA or Turkey, £5.
- Tesco Mobile: its Q2 2026 price list charges 1p per MB in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
When a travel eSIM makes sense, and when it doesn't
A data-only eSIM sits alongside your UK SIM. Your number keeps working for calls and texts, including bank codes, and your data runs on a local network.
- Don't buy one for Europe if you're on O2, Tesco Mobile, giffgaff, SMARTY, iD Mobile, Lebara or Lyca, or on an older EE, Vodafone or Three plan. Your plan already covers you, unless you need more data than its Europe limit.
- Consider one for Europe if you pay £2.72 or £2.75 a day and need only a few gigabytes. A Europe eSIM from £2.59 covers a week for less than six days of daily charges.
- Use one outside Europe almost always. A Turkey eSIM from £1.76 or a USA eSIM from £2.59 costs a fraction of £30 to £56 a week, and it isn't capped at 2Mbps like O2 Travel.
| Data | Duration | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 3GB Data | 15 Days | £1.76 |
| 5GB Data | 30 Days | £2.63 |
| 10GB Data | 30 Days | £4.74 |
| 20GB Data | 30 Days | £8.52 |
| 50GB Data | 30 Days | £19.18 |
| 1 Day | 1 Day | £2.59 |
| 2 Days | 2 Days | £5.19 |
| 3 Days | 3 Days | £7.78 |
| 4 Days | 4 Days | £10.20 |
| 5 Days | 5 Days | £12.93 |
| 6 Days | 6 Days | £15.67 |
| 7 Days | 7 Days | £18.41 |
| 8 Days | 8 Days | £19.78 |
| 9 Days | 9 Days | £21.83 |
| 10 Days | 10 Days | £23.20 |
| 11 Days | 11 Days | £25.25 |
| 12 Days | 12 Days | £27.30 |
| 13 Days | 13 Days | £28.67 |
| 14 Days | 14 Days | £30.04 |
| 15 Days | 15 Days | £32.09 |
| 16 Days | 16 Days | £33.46 |
| 17 Days | 17 Days | £34.15 |
| 18 Days | 18 Days | £35.51 |
| 19 Days | 19 Days | £37.57 |
| 20 Days | 20 Days | £38.94 |
| 21 Days | 21 Days | £40.30 |
| 22 Days | 22 Days | £40.99 |
| 23 Days | 23 Days | £41.67 |
| 24 Days | 24 Days | £42.36 |
| 25 Days | 25 Days | £43.04 |
| 26 Days | 26 Days | £43.73 |
| 27 Days | 27 Days | £44.41 |
| 28 Days | 28 Days | £45.09 |
| 29 Days | 29 Days | £45.78 |
| 30 Days | 30 Days | £47.15 |
Limits, alerts and spend caps
There is no longer a legal cap on roaming charges in the UK. The £45 default limit on data roaming came from EU rules that lapsed on 30 June 2022, and Ofcom confirmed in 2024 that networks no longer have to apply it. Some networks keep a limit of their own:
- Three: £45 a month, excluding VAT, worldwide.
- iD Mobile: £45, whatever your destination.
- Sky: £45 a month per SIM, switched on by default.
- Tesco Mobile: bars data abroad after £40 a month, unless you raise your safety buffer.
What Ofcom does require, since 1 October 2024, is a free message when your phone connects to a network abroad, telling you the charges and how to limit your spending. If you don't get one, check that roaming messages haven't been switched off on your account.
Since December 2021, UK networks haven't been allowed to sell locked phones to consumers. If your phone supports eSIM, it can almost certainly take a travel eSIM next to your normal SIM.
How we checked these prices
We read each network's own price guide, terms or roaming page on 8 October 2026:
- Big four: EE price guide, O2 roaming, Vodafone global roaming, Three Go Roam.
- O2-based networks: giffgaff EU roaming, Tesco Mobile Home From Home, Sky Roaming Passport Plus.
- Others: VOXI European roaming, SMARTY price guide, iD Mobile EU roaming, Lebara rate finder, Lyca EU roaming.
Networks change these prices, usually every April. VOXI says it is changing its roaming destinations, and Tesco's help pages still quote an older £5-per-MB rate outside the EU. If a figure matters to your trip, confirm it on the network's own page before you go.
Frequently asked questions
Which UK network has free roaming in Europe?
O2, Tesco Mobile, giffgaff, SMARTY, iD Mobile, Lebara and Lyca include Europe on their plans, each with its own data limit and country list. EE, Vodafone and Three include it only on older plans or certain tariffs.
Is Turkey included in EU roaming?
Not in the Europe zone of any UK network. Most charge Turkey as a separate zone: £6 a day on EE, £7 on O2 Travel, and £8 on Vodafone and newer Three plans. Sky includes it in its £2-a-day Roaming Passport Plus.
Is there still a £45 roaming cap in the UK?
Not by law. The legal requirement lapsed in June 2022. Three, iD Mobile and Sky still apply a £45 limit by choice, and Tesco Mobile applies £40.
Do I need to turn off data roaming if I use a travel eSIM?
Yes, on your UK line. Set the travel eSIM as your mobile data line and switch data roaming off on your UK SIM. You'll still get calls and texts on your UK number, but no daily charge can start from data.
Going beyond Europe?
Install a data eSIM at home in minutes, and keep your UK number for calls and texts.
See travel eSIMs