giffgaff won the Uswitch award for Network of the Year 2023 for the third year in a row, thanks to its flexible options and excellent value for money.
giffgaff also won the Uswitch award for Best Pay As You Go Network 2023, which is a testament to its flexible goody-bags that make it easy for customers to get the package that's right for them.
giffgaff was presented with the Uswitch award for Best SIM Only Value for Money 2023. This is no surpise, given giffgaff's low-cost plans and flexible goody-bags.
Once you've paid for your third giffgaff goodybag worth £10 or more, giffgaff will give you 1GB extra if you run out of data. Terms apply.
We'll recommend the right plan for you, even if that means you spend less.
giffgaff is an MVNO, which stands for mobile virtual network operator. This means it doesn't own its own network, but uses one provided by a larger mobile network operator.
In this case, it uses O2’s network, which offers 99% population coverage across the UK.
giffgaff's service is based on O2's network, which has an average 4G connection speed of 17.1Mbps and 5G speeds between 110-140Mbps.
This is according to a network speed survey conducted by OpenSignal (September 2021).
giffgaff offers inclusive roaming in 37 destinations in the EU and beyond.
giffgaff, Uswitch Network of the Year in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that runs on the O2 network. It's best known for its low cost SIM-only deals that include a generous allowance of minutes and data with unlimited texts for a minimum monthly top-up.
giffgaff aims to keep things simple and affordable, while offering flexible plans that mean you're not tied in to a deal that no longer meets your needs.
One of giffgaff's key differentiators from other networks is that involves its own users in its sales, marketing and customer service operations, thus keeping costs down and in turn passing back the savings to you: the customer.
In keeping with its strapline: ‘the mobile network run by you’ giffgaff's customer service is operated by its support team agents as well as its own customers, dubbed members, who answer your queries and help you out when you’re stuck. Anyone can sign up to be a member. And for their efforts, they'll be rewarded with giffgaff points, not to mention the satisfaction of helping others.
giffgaff claims that its team of members allow you can get help at any time, day or night, unlike big mobile networks' call centres that are only open between certain times. And it should mean there's no need to wait in long call centre queues either.
Whilst giffgaff has this community of members, there are also agents on hand to help with questions related to your account.
giffgaff's flexible, no-contract plans are called goodybags and offer a generous mix of data, minutes and texts. They also include free giffgaff-to-giffgaff calls and texts.
You’re free to change or cancel your plan anytime, so you can choose a different goodybag should your needs change.
There are 12 plans available, starting at £6 per month. The most popular plans include:
If you choose to set your plan to recur for at least 3 months, you can get even more for your money with golden goodybag plans, which include:
See a more extensive selection of giffgaff plans on our dedicated comparison page.
giffgaff is owned by O2 and it uses O2’s network to deliver extensive coverage and fast speeds. However, it operates separately from O2 and gives its customers different offers, plans and perks.
To keep its prices low, giffgaff doesn’t have a customer service department as such. Instead, it has some support team agents but it mainly encourages its customers to provide help to other people on the network in exchange for giffgaff points.
