Pay As You Go Broadband

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			Price	Top ups	Speed (Up to)	Extras
Sponsored link		83 reviews	O2 PAYG mobile broadband £19.99 - choice of black or pink dongle. Pay for data as you need it, from £2/day with unlimited Wi-Fi access and 30-day happiness guarantee.				Go to site Check coverage>
1	Dongle info»	215 reviews	£39.99 90 days usage included	£2/day £7/week £15/mth (inc VAT)	3.6Mb	90 days usage included; then pay per day. FREE delivery; 7 day guarantee. Unlimited browsing: No extra charges over 2GB fair use but peak time downloading/streaming may be restricted. T-Mobile Night In offer: movie/game rental + snacks for only £5	Go to site Check coverage>
2	Dongle info»	181 reviews	£25 Includes 3GB data	£15/3GB	3.6Mb	Choice of white, pink or blue dongle. 3GB data included (worth £15)	Go to site Check coverage>
3	Dongle info»	215 reviews	£19.99 Plus 30 days internet browsing FREE	£2/day £7/week £15/mth	3.6Mb	Choice of black or pink dongle. £10 minimum initial top up. FREE delivery; 7 day guarantee. Unlimited browsing: No extra charges over 2GB fair use but peak time downloading/streaming may be restricted. T-Mobile Night In offer: movie/game rental + snacks for only £5	Go to site Check coverage>
4	Dongle info»	384 reviews	£39.99 3GB data included	£10/1GB £15/3GB £25/7GB	3.6Mb	PAYG with 3GB data included (valid up to 3 months). Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee.	Go to site Check coverage>
5	Dongle info»	83 reviews	£19.99	£2/200MB/day £15/3GB/30 days	3.6Mb	Dongle available in black or pink.	Go to site Check coverage>
6	Dongle info»	384 reviews	£29.99 1GB data included	£10/1GB £15/3GB £25/7GB	3.6Mb	PAYG with 1GB data included (valid up to 1 month). Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee.	Go to site Check coverage>
7	Dongle info»	215 reviews	£34.03 + VAT 90 days usage included	£2/day £7/week £15/mth (inc VAT)	3.6Mb	90 days usage included; then pay per day. FREE delivery; 7 day guarantee. Unlimited browsing: No extra charges over 2GB fair use, but peak time downloading/streaming may be restricted. T-Mobile Night In offer: movie/game rental + snack for only £5	Go to site Check coverage>
8	Dongle info»	215 reviews	£17.01 + VAT Plus 30 days internet browsing FREE	£2/day £7/week £15/mth (inc VAT)	3.6Mb	Choice of black or pink dongle. £10 minimum initial top up. Free delivery; 7 day guarantee. Unlimited browsing: No extra charges if you exceed 2GB fair use, but peak time downloading/streaming may be restricted. T-Mobile Night In offer: movie/game rental + snacks for only £5	Go to site Check coverage>
9	Dongle info»	384 reviews	£69.99 3GB data included	£10/1GB £15/3GB £25/7GB	3.6Mb	PAYG new one-touch MiFi router with 3GB data included. Connects several devices (such as iPad, laptop, Nintendo DSi) at once wirelessly. Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee.	Go to site Check coverage>
10	Dongle info»	384 reviews	£179.99	£10/1GB £15/3GB £25/7GB	3.6Mb	iPod Touch (8GB) included. New one-touch MiFi router connects several devices (such as iPad, laptop, Nintendo DSi) at once wirelessly. Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee.	Go to site Check coverage>

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Guide to pay as you go broadband

Also referred to as PAYG broadband, pay as you go broadband does exactly what it suggests: you pay for a certain amount of broadband usage and when it's used up, you top it up with some more. As mobile broadband is supplied by the same companies, it should come as no surprise that the mobile ISPs use the same principal for pay as you go broadband as they do for pay as you go mobile phone deals.

Some kind of pay as you go broadband is now offered by all five of the major mobile broadband suppliers - Orange Broadband , O2, 3 Mobile Broadband, T-Mobile and Vodafone. However, so far Virgin Media and BT have resisted this particular market. While they all use slightly different phrases to advertise their products (such is the way in marketing, we're afraid), there are essentially two types of pay as you broadband deal: paying for either time or actual usage in GB.

Pay per GB

With these packages, you buy a set amount of GB and, when it's gone, you simply buy some more. Everything you do on the internet uses up a certain amount of data, and this kind of deal measures that and charges you accordingly. This kind of pay as you broadband is perfect for occasional users who don't use much data but equally never really know when they'll need to use up their allowance.

Pay per day

If you know you'll be needing to use your pay as you go broadband on certain days - perhaps for certain days at work, or on the weekends - pay per day deals may be a better option. There are still limits on your usage, but these are pretty generous: if you're simply using it to check emails (unless you're downloading massive work files!) or surf the web, you shouldn't get too close to them.

Pay per month

If you like the idea of having a contract, but can't (or don't want) to commit to a long-term deal, a couple of the pay as you go broadband suppliers offer rolling one-month contract deals. These tend to work out a little more expensive than the longer deals, but offer the positive sides that a contract brings.

Which is the best pay as you go broadband package for me?

If you look at the comparison table above, you should find all the information you need to make sure you get the right deal for you. Here are a few pointers to get you started:

Hardware

Don't worry too much about the dongle, as their shouldn't be too much difference between them at the moment: there will be more important distinctions to make. However, be aware that if you look at the 3 SIM-only deal, be aware that you'll need a dongle to go with it!

Package

If you already have a mobile phone with one of the pay as you go broadband suppliers, and get a good 3G reception, it may be worth sticking with what you know: mobile broadband uses the same signal as your mobile, so it's a pretty good indicator. If you're mobile doesn't get a great signal, or you're thinking of switching mobile broadband providers because you're not happy with the reception you're getting, scroll up to the top left of this page and check out the mobile broadband coverage checkers for each ISP.

Monthly price

This should be pretty self explanatory, but do look out for any prices that have a bit of red text below them - this indicates special limited time pay as you go broadband offers that may well be worth cashing in on.

Speed

You will generally see that this 'up to' speed is around 3.6Mb for all the suppliers except Vodafone, which advertises itself as 'up to' 7.2Mb. However, in our experience, Vodafone is no quicker than the rest and frankly you'll rarely find a mobile broadband speed that gets close to 3.6Mb. Pay as you broadband really should be used for occasional use and/or as a back up to fixed-line, unless you're spending a lot of time in a postcode that fixed-line broadband can't reach.

Contract

As discussed above, here you'll find out whether a deal is strictly pay as you go broadband or a one-month rolling contract deal.

Downloads

This details the allowance you will be given, measured in GB, for each deal. If you're unsure as to how much usage you will need to cater for, check out our mobile broadband usage guide: what will I get for my gigabyte?

Extras

Here you'll find any little extra snippets of info we think are worth mentioning to help you make the right decision. this can be anything from free Wi-Fi access to details of how to top up.

Go!

Once you've decided on which pay as you go broadband deal is best for you, click the 'go' button to be taken directly to the ISP's website and away you go - you should be up and running with mobile broadband soon.

Pay As You Go Broadband

Compare the top non-contract deals and click through to buy

Need help?

Guide to pay as you go broadband

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