Vodafone – The largest mobile network operator based in the UK

Vodafone has long been one of the UK’s top network providers. As one of the ‘big four’ (along with EE, Three and O2), they host a network that delivers a powerful and reliable 4G and 5G connection to the UK and many other countries.

How does Vodafone work?

Vodafone is one of the leading UK mobile network providers, with 18.5 million subscribers putting them third-most in the nation.

However, they aren’t exclusive to the UK only, as Vodafone Group plc operates networks in 21 countries, with a further 44 partner networks in further countries, overall giving them a total of 286.016 million subscribers.

What network does Vodafone use?

Vodafone operates its own network that supplies 4G and 5G. They also supply their network to various MVNOs (mobile virtual network operator) such as Lebara, Talkmobile and VOXI.

Vodafone’s network sees them supply a great connection to many of the UK’s larger cities, including in London, where Vodafone claims to be the best network.

Vodafone coverage

Vodafone’s 4G coverage reaches over 99% of the UK population, while their 5G rollout is still ongoing and already reaches over 100 UK cities.

They are also the first network to bring you 5G abroad with Vodafone Roaming (more on that later).

Vodafone benefits

• Reliable network with good speeds
• Great 4G and 5G coverage
• 5G Roaming
• Xtra and 5G Ultra

Vodafone plans

Vodafone offers the standard options for their mobile plans; Pay Monthly, SIM-only and Pay as You Go. 

Vodafone Pay Monthly

With Vodafone’s Pay Monthly plans, they allow you to customise and build your plan to suit you. You start by choosing how you want to pay for your phone, whether that’s outright or in monthly instalments, and then you choose your airtime plan where you pick how much data you need.

It’s a simple and straightforward process with all the monthly costs laid out for you.

You can check out the range of Pay Monthly deals we have available above, with a great number of phones with an even greater choice of plans to choose from.

Vodafone SIM-only

With SIM-only, you have three options; Pay Monthly SIM, PAYG SIM or Data-only SIM.

With the Pay Monthly SIM option, you simply choose the contract length and how much data you want. All plans come with unlimited minutes and texts, most come 5G enabled and some come with Xtra benefits.

The PAYG SIM allows you to purchase however much data you need when you need it with no commitment and no contracts. You simply top up with how much you need. They also offer auto-renew so you can choose to automatically renew your plan every 30 days without the need to manually top up.

Finally, the Data-only SIM plan allows you to enjoy data on the go on a range of devices, including your tablet or mobile WiFi device. You choose your plan length and how much data you want and you’ll receive your 5G ready data-only SIM.

With Mobile-phones.co.uk, you will find many deals on Vodafone SIM-only plans, with a choice of standard SIMs or data-only SIMs, both coming with a choice of data allowance and length of contract.

Vodafone Pay as You Go

Vodafone has a PAYG option for their SIM cards and their phones. We’ve explained the SIM version, and the phone PAYG option is very similar only with a device added to it.

There are a range of phones that you can choose from - mostly not the latest devices and some are refurbished - where you’ll pay upfront. Once you’ve chosen your device, you choose your PAY SIM plan.

Vodafone Xtra

Vodafone Xtra is essentially a benefit plan that gives you some extras, including 5G at no extra cost, device care service, unlimited picture messages, and possibly most importantly, inclusive roaming.

The inclusive roaming benefits are between 51 EU destinations and 83 Around the World destinations.

Vodafone Roaming

As Vodafone operates in many different countries, they offer a great roaming service where you can roam at no extra cost in 83 worldwide destinations on select plans.

For Pay Monthly plans, the world is split into four Zones; A, B, C and D. For PAYG customers, there are Zones A, B and Around the World. There are also the Rest of the World destinations for both.

Roaming in Zone A is included in all plans. Costs for roaming outside of Zone A differ depending on where you’re travelling to and your plan. For Rest of the World destinations, you will pay by the megabyte for data, minutes or texts.

Roaming on Pay Monthly

With Roaming on Pay Monthly plans, you can use your UK allowance of data, minutes and texts. It is important to note that if you want to be able to roam in other Zones outside of Zone A free of charge, you will need an Xtra plan.

Here is a layout of the plans you’ll find and what Zones they’ll allow you to roam in and use your UK allowance in at no extra cost:

• Standard plan (no Xtra) – Zone A only
• Xtra plan with inclusive roaming in 51 EU destinations – Zones A and B. Without a plan, the cost will be £2.25 a day or can purchase a European Roaming Pass.
• Xtra plan with inclusive roaming in 83 Worldwide destinations – Zones A, B and C. Without the plan, the cost will be £6.85 a day.

Roaming in Zone D will always come at a cost of £6.85 regardless of what plan you are on.

Roaming on PAYG

Like with Pay Monthly plans, PAYG plans allow you to roam and use your UK allowance in Zone A free of charge.

If you’re roaming in Zone B and want to make calls, send texts or use data, you’ll need to purchase an eight-day Europe Extra.

For travel in Around the World or Rest of World destinations on PAYG Plus plans, you’ll need to purchase the corresponding Extra.

With a Big Value Bundle or PAYG 1 plan, you’ll need the Around the World Roaming Extra to access your allowance. Without it, standard roaming charges will apply. You’ll be charged per call, text or MB of data.

European Roaming Pass

If your plan doesn’t have inclusive roaming in Zone B, you can save yourself from spending £2.25 a day by opting for one of Vodafone’s European Roaming Passes.

You pay one flat price for a certain amount of days and you’re set. It’s £10 for eight days or £15 for 15 days, and all you have to do to add the plan is text 8DAYEUROPE or 15DAYEUROPE to 40506 free from your Vodafone mobile.

Vodafone 5G Ultra

5G Ultra is Vodafone’s next-level 5G experience. It is essentially a 5G-enabled network that comes with greater coverage, enhanced speeds that are around 10 times faster than 4G, and up to 25% improved phone battery life.

5G Ultra is available at no extra cost, but to access it, you’ll need a 5G Ultra-enable device and any Pay Monthly plan bought after 24th February 2023. You’ll also only be able to access it in areas covered by the Vodafone 5G Ultra network.

The devices available are currently limited to any of the Samsung Galaxy S21, S22, S23 and S24 series, as well as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 and Fold5.

Vodafone Broadband

Along with a great mobile service, Vodafone also offers a brilliant home broadband service providing fast and reliable fibre and full fibre.

You can check out what we have to offer for Vodafone Broadband on our sister site, Broadband Finder, where we’ll have several deals on their packages.

Vodafone customer service

Vodafone has a number of customer services available to help you with any issue you have.

They have quick links and FAQs that will help you find some of the more general queries and problems and include any possible solutions.

For more help, you can get instant answers from their digital assistant online or on the Vodafone app.

There is a Vodafone community where there are hundreds of questions from other customers and answers from trusted individuals, whether that’s long-time customers with great knowledge on their services or official support assistants.

Or for a more direct approach, you can call them too.

Vodafone contact number

There are several numbers you can call to speak to someone at Vodafone.

If you’re calling from a Vodafone device, call 191 for free.

If calling from any other UK mobile or landline, call 0333 304 0191.

For calls from abroad, call +44 7836 191 191.

If you’re looking to join Vodafone, call 0808 040 8408.

Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 10pm, and on Weekends 8am to 8pm.

Vodafone – what we think

To repeat the opening sentence, Vodafone has long been one of the UK’s top network providers, and that is for good reason - they offer a fantastic service.

They back up their claims of a strong network by providing just that and even offer more with their 5G Ultra.

Their roaming plans may be a tad confusing and cost a bit more, but so do almost all other providers’ plans.

Vodafone has a great number of options to choose from for plans that suit you, so you can feel in control of your plan.

Check out the deals you can get with Vodafone on Mobile-phones.co.uk above and find one that suits you.