Consumers have no doubt already seen a hike in their household bills over the weekend, that's because pretty much everything from energy, broadband, water, taxes and mobile contracts are going up this April.
Some increases were implemented on April 1 while others are set to come this week, putting pressure on already, squeezed budgets and families who are having to battle with soaring food bills.
Inflation - the current rate is 10.4 per cent on the consumer price index - is set to ease by the summer according to the Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey but that only means prices will be rising less quickly.
READ MORE: Three customers face 14% price hike as mobile firms set to raise bills
For mobile phone users, price hikes have already been implemented for tens of millions of customers from April 1, with some rises already showing in contracts with BT, EE, Sky, Virgin Media O2, Vodafone, TalkTalk and more.
There are ways to beat the hikes though. Customers who are struggling to pay can ask their providers if the offer a discounted social tariff, which is priced at around £10 or £20 a month.
Social tariffs are eligible for people who are on some form of welfare support which includes universal credit or pension credit and more so this is best checking with your provider. Another way mobile phone users can potentially beat the mobile price hikes is opting for a SIM deal instead.
SIM deals are a much cheaper option and are a handy way to save if your mobile phone contract is coming to an end. If you don't want to lose your existing mobile number by getting a new SIM you can ask for a PAC code from your provider by texting 'PAC' to 65075 to begin the process.
If your phone contract is due to finish in April or May then opting for one of these either pay monthly or 30 day SIM deals below can help you save a fortune. Here are the best one's we've found for April 2023 (prices correct at time of writing).
Smarty
Smarty uses the Three mobile network and specialise in giving customers affordable SIM deals by offering a monthly rolling SIM-only service.
It's worth checking 3G, 4G and 5G coverage in your area before you buy a plan with Smarty because if the Three network isn't available where you live then Smarty won't be for you, you can check here.
Smarty have SIM deals that start from £5 and go up to £20 depending on the data you want. Their one month plans can be cancelled anytime or they can just roll on to the next month.
Their cheapest plan is £5 (it was £6) and includes 4GB of data on 5G, 4G and 3G handsets, unlimited UK calls and texts, EU roaming, no speed caps and no credit check. For those who want unlimited data will need to spend £20, whereas 200GB SIM only data plans are £17.
There's also a double data offer on the 60GB SIM plan at the moment. Shoppers can get 60GB of data, instead of 30GB, for £10 - this also includes unlimited calls and texts in the UK.
Sky Mobile
Millions of Sky Mobile customers have already seen their prices rise by £1 a month, an average of 9% from February. It's the first time in five years since their provider has raised their prices on their mobile plans.
However, if you're out of contract or are about to come out of one, then it might be worth checking out their SIM deals on their website. Sky's cheapest offer starts at £7 a month for 3GB of data, and while that's more expensive than Smarty, Sky Mobile users also get the advantage of using any spare date over a period of three years.
All Sky Mobile's SIM plans also come with unlimited calls and texts and Sky say they have 99% UK network coverage. Users an also change or cancel their plan at any time in the My Sky app.
Other SIM deals include a 60GB data (was just 40GB data) SIM plan for £20, a 75GB data SIM for £16 a month instead of £26 and a 20GB data SIM for £10 a month, instead of £15.
O2
O2 do a mixture of pay monthly SIMS and pay as you go SIMS and they are one of few networks to not bring back data roaming fees in the European Union. Their cheapest pay as you go deal is at £10 for a 7GB data plan which comes with unlimited calls and texts.
This deal also includes data rollover up to 7GB, which means if you don't use 7GB of data within a month, it rolls over to the next one. There's also up to 10% off top-ups back with O2 Rewards, so there's potentially a way to get it cheaper through this.
Other pay as you go SIMs include 100GB data plan with unlimited calls and texts for £30, this also comes with the above perks as well as international minutes to 42 countries. Or there's a 20GB data SIM for 50% less at £15 or a 30GB data SIM for £20.
O2's cheapest pay monthly SIM deal comes in at £19.99 for 24 months. This includes 30GB of data, unlimited calls and texts, free data roaming, up to six months fee Apple music or an extra of your choice and the chance to get double data if your household also has Virgin Media broadband.
There other pay monthly deals are not much difference in price, for £3 more, at £22.99 a month for 24 months you can get 150GB of data instead of 30GB, with unlimited calls and texts as well as the extras mentioned above.
Vodafone
Vodafone have a half price sale on currently on their SIM deals. Shoppers can get unlimited 5G data for £16.50 a month for the first six months, this offer ends on May 4.
Vodafone customers can either choose from a 24 month rolling SIM deal, a 12 month deal or pay as you go for 30 days. On all of their plans there's six months half price reductions until May 4 so already their prices are cheaper than normal.
Their cheapest plan for 24 months comes in at £13 for the first six months, this price then goes up to £26 a month thereafter. This includes unlimited data and unlimited minutes and texts, so already this is cheaper than Smarty with the 50% discount.
In the 12 month packages, mobile users can get this Red SIM deal which comes with 2GB data, unlimited calls and texts for £15 a month, with 5G at no extra cost. If you need more data though on a 12 month rolling plan, then there's a Red 6GB deal for £19 a month.
Finally, on their 30 day SIM deals, the cheapest we have found is priced at £25 which includes 2GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. Or for £9 more there's a 20GB SIM deal with unlimited calls and texts.
BT and EE
BT and EE have joined forces, like Virgin Media and O2, so offer similar prices and packages between the two. If you’re looking for a pay monthly SIM, EE have deals, and reduced prices and extra data across a range of plans.
BT broadband customers can also unlock exclusive discounted EE SIM deals, you can’t find anywhere else. Those who have BT broadband get a 20GB data SIM over 24 months for £9 a month with unlimited calls and texts, or if you want a shorter rolling SIM deal for 12 months you can get the same package for £10.80 a month.
Other deals for BT broadband customers include an 100GB data SIM deal for 24 months for £13.50 a month with unlimited calls and texts, or a 200GB data SIM deal for 24 months at £16.20 a month.
BT broadband customers who want an unlimited data SIM deal with EE can get six months half price on two unlimited data SIM deals for 24 months, one at £12.60 and the other at £16.20 a month.
Those who are not with BT broadband can head to the EE website here and choose from a 24 month rolling SIM plan, 12 months of a one month plan. The cheapest 24 month rolling SIM plan comes in at £12 a month, this was £24, for 150GB of data with unlimited calls and texts.
For a 12 month rolling SIM plan, the cheapest EE offer is at £17 a month for a 1GB data plan or £20 a month for a 5GB data plan. On their one month SIM deals the cheapest comes in at £18 a month, this was £22, for a 1GB data plan or £21 for the 5GB data plan.
Lebara
Like Smarty, Lebara only specialise in SIM only deals and offer competitive prices for those on a budget. Shoppers can choose from 30 day SIM plans or 12 month SIM plans.
Their cheapest SIM deal on a 30-day plan comes in at £5 and that includes 3GB of 5G data, 1,000 UK minutes and texts and 100 international minutes to 42 countries. If you're after more data and calls/texts then for £5 more you can get a 15GB 30-day SIM.
Unlimited data and calls and texts comes in at £25 for 30 days with Lebara. Meanwhile their cheapest offer on their 12 month plans, so a rolling SIM deal, is priced at just £4.50 a month, and that includes 3GB of data, 1,000 calls and texts and 100 international calls to 42 countries. You can browse all of their different SIM deals here.
Three Mobile
Three Mobile are a network featured on SIM deal providers, like Smarty and Lebara, but they also offer customers their own SIM only deals. Their plans start from £6 a month for monthly SIMs but Three also do pay as you go.
Their cheapest SIM plan for 24 months comes in at £8 a month but this just includes 1GB of data, it's also £1 more for a 12 month rolling plan. Three's pay as you go SIM plans are a little better with an unlimited data deal and minutes and calls for £35, but when compared to Smarty, this is still £15 more.
You can see all of Three Mobile's deals here.
Tesco Mobile
Many consumers have often been swayed by Tesco's mobile offerings due to their cheap plans for those on a budget. The supermarket providers customers with SIM only contracts as well as pay as you go SIM deals.
Currently, mobile users can get a variety of pay as you go SIMs with the cheapest being £10 for 10GB of data, 5,000 minutes and 5,000 texts or £15 for 25GB of data (£12.50 for Clubcard members), which also includes 5,000 minutes and 5,000 texts. For 50GB of data pay as you SIM users will need to pay £20 and for 100GB it's £30.
Tesco Mobile's cheapest pay monthly rolling SIM deal comes in at £7.50 a month for 12 months, and this includes 2GB of data, unlimited calls and texts and EU roaming for all of 2023. For those who want a bigger data bundle, there's a 12GB data for £10 a month over 24 months or £11 over 12 months.
Their unlimited data package over 24 months will cost £25 a month and this also includes unlimited calls and texts, as well as EU roaming.
Giffgaff
Like Smarty and Lebara, Giffgaff only offer their customers SIM only deals. All of their plans come with unlimited UK calls and texts and shoppers can switch their plan each month.
There's also 5G speeds at no extra cost and Giffgaff say their prices are fixed until the end of 2023, this is applied to pay as you go plans, existing products and all UK rates until December 31, 2023. It excludes international rates and roaming.
Their cheapest monthly rolling plans costs £6 for 2GB data, which is followed by £8 for 5GB, £10 for 20GB, £12 for 26GB, £15 for 35GB, £20 for 100GB and £35 for unlimited data.
Prices start from £6 on their pay as you go plans and go up to £35 for 150GB of data.
VOXI
Finally, Voxi is a network which is powered and run by Vodafone but it stands out from Vodafone due to their competitive SIM deals, and also the fact that you can use many popular video streaming services and forms of social media without eating into your data allowance.
Their most recent SIM only deals end on May 4, 2023, so shoppers will need to be quick if they want to get any of the offers below at the current prices.
Their cheapest pay as you go SIM deal is at £10 a month and this comes with 30GB of data, unlimited social media usage, unlimited calls and texts and 5G ready. For an extra £5 shoppers can get double the data with the 60GB SIM deal. You can see all of their deals here.
READ NEXT:
