Giffgaff drops price on 'Good Contract' Unlimited SIM
Dan Howdle | March 6th, 2024
Unlimited SIMs are fast becoming the choice providers would rather you had. That is to say, they would rather, while most of us still don't quite need it. Nevertheless, there's something to be said for the peace of mind offered by an unlimited SIM. You're never going to run short of data, ever. So even if your data needs are meagre when at home and attached to wifi, many people are opting for unlimited to cover those times when we're not. Giffgaff, the community-run mobile provider, has just decided to slash the price of its unlimited SIM, and give it a new name: The Good Contract.
What is giffgaff's Good Contract?
In essence, the Good Contract reduces the monthly price of its existing unlimited SIM from £35 to £25 per month. It still doesn't make it the country's cheapest unlimited SIM, but the best part of this move is that it automatically applies to all current giffgaff unlimited SIM customers, reducing their monthly bill by £10 per month immediately and automatically. This is an unusual move as it applies the discount to 12,000 existing customers.
Now, it could be said the move is primarily to make giffgaff's unlimited SIM more competitive with unlimited SIMs from the likes of O2, Three and all the others, and that's certainly true. But it's difficult to sniff at a £180 saving on an 18-month contract as cynical marketing. It's of value to both existing customers and new ones.
How does giffgaff's unlimited Good Contract compare?
So where does this put giffgaff's Good contract compared to other notable SIMs currently available? We've taken a handful of the best and brightest current unlimited SIMs and put them alongside giffgaff's Good Contract to see how they stack up.
Giffgaff Good Contract
£25 per month
This is giffgaff's new offering. £25 per month on an 18-month contract. You'll also get upo to 5GB to use roaming for free, though you should check giffgaff's website for the list of countries you can use it (via the link below). Giffgaff is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that operates on the O2 network. This partnership allows giffgaff to provide its customers with reliable coverage while offering flexible and affordable mobile plans. It's also run by its community, which sounds mad when you first hear it, but the reality is giffgaff has some of the happiest customers in the business.
- £25 per month, unlimited data
- 5GB free roaming
- 18-month contract
- Unlimited tethering
SMARTY Unlimited SIM
£16 per month
While giffgaff's Good Contract is going to be great news for its existing customers, there are other SIMs out there that are going to cause it problems when it comes to attracting new customers. We give you exhibit A: The SMARTY Unlimited SIM. Also with unlimited data and a roaming allowance, but not only much cheaper at just £16 per month, but also only requiring a one-month contract, meaning you can leave whenever you like. SO already, it's quite hard to recommend the giffgaff SIM with this one in the room.
- Unlimited data £16 per month
- No contract
- Roaming allowance
- Part of Three's network
Three Lite SIM Only UNLIMITED
£21 per month
SMARTY is the bare bones version of Three. It runs on its network, and offers budget SIMs by keeping things simple. If you want something a bit more premium, with more features like the ability ot add roaming data, Three rewards, parental controls and more, then spending a little bit more makes sense. And it's still £4 per month cheaper than the giffgaff SIM.
- Unlimited data, £21 per month
- 12 month contract
- Roaming allowance, Go Roam available
- Three+ rewards
Is the giffgaff Good Contract worth it?
It's pretty hard to argue the case in favour of the giffgaff Good Contract. There are cheaper unlimited SIMs out there that offer greater flexibility and indeed more features. So is there anything to sway you in favour of opting for a £25 giffgaff SIM over a £16 SMARTY Unlimited SIM that doesn't ask you to sign a contract? Somewhat.
You see, giffgaff customers tend to be extremely happy with their provider, to an extent that's rare among mobile providers. This is for a number of different reasons:
- Community-run customer service: As whacky as it sounds to have customer service run by its own customers (you won't have to, but there are many eager to help) it actually works incredibly well, with most problems dealt with in record time
- It rated top according to Ofcom: As if to prove that point, giffgaff came out top over all other providers when it comes to satisfaction in 2023, with customer satisfaction at an astonishingly high 95% (most providers land around the 80% mark)
- Giffgaff sometime has incredible handset deals: When a new flagship phone is launched we strongly recommend you check out giffgaff as it has historically offered some of the cheapest contracts
Conclusion
The truth is, giffgaff isn't a contract SIM provider – or rather, it hasn't been historically. Instead it has in the past exclusively offered rolling monthly SIM packages called 'goodybags' (yes, giffgaff never capitalise anything), allowing their customers to add or subtract minutes, texts and data from them on a monthly basis. Customers love this system. It's flexible and it's cheap.
Offering a contract of any kind therefore has never really been in giffgaff's wheelhouse. The previous price of £35 per month was to our minds absurdly expensive given the price of the competition, though we can understand why people would want to pay a little more for Ofcom's top provider in customer satisfaction. This price drop to £25 does make giffgaff's Good Contract more palatable, if not quite as competitive as it needs to be.