Pay-as-you-go Dongles (PAYG)

Get mobile broadband with a USB pay-as-you-go dongle

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		Price	Free usage	Top ups	Speed (Up to)
Sponsored link	86 reviews	O2 PAYG mobile broadband £19.99 - choice of black, white or pink dongle. Pay for data as you need it, from £2/day with unlimited Wi-Fi access and 30-day happiness guarantee. Increased data allowance on £2 and £15 top ups - offer ends 30 September				Go Check coverage>
1	223 reviews	£39.99	90 days usage included	£2/day £7/week £15/mth	3.6Mb	Go Check coverage>
1	Pay up front (3 months)	Extras: 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
2	192 reviews	£20	3GB data included (worth £15)	£15/3GB	3.6Mb	Go Check coverage>
2	Top Up and Go	Offer: ~~Was £25~~ Extras: Choice of white, pink or blue dongle. 3GB data included (worth £15)
3	86 reviews	£19.99	NONE	£2/500MB/day £10/1GB/30 days £15/3GB/30 days	3.6Mb	Go Check coverage>
3	Pay and Go	Offer (Ends 30 Sep): Increased data allowance on £2 and £15 top ups Extras: Dongle available in black, pink or white. Includes unlimited Wi-Fi hotspot access.
4	398 reviews	£79.99	12GB data included	£10/1GB £15/3GB £25/7GB	3.6Mb	Go Check coverage>
4	Pay As You Go + 12GB	Extras: PAYG with 12GB data included (valid up to 12 months). Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee.
5	398 reviews	£49.99	NONE	£10/1GB £15/3GB £25/7GB	3.6Mb	Go Check coverage>
5	MiFi Broadband PAYG	Extras: Connects up to five devices to the internet at once, wirelessly. Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee.
6	86 reviews	£29.99	Includes 1GB data plus unlimited Wi-Fi access valid for 3 months	£2/500MB/day £10/1GB/30 days £15/3GB/30 days	3.6Mb	Go Check coverage>
6	Pay and Go 1GB Starter Kit	Offer (Ends 30 Sep): Increased data allowance on £2 and £15 top ups Extras: Includes 1GB data plus unlimited Wi-Fi access valid for 3 months. Dongle available in black, pink or white.
7	398 reviews	£39.99	3GB data included	£10/1GB £15/3GB £25/7GB	3.6Mb	Go Check coverage>
7	Pay As You Go + 3GB	Extras: PAYG with 3GB data included (valid up to 3 months). Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee.
8	223 reviews	£18.99	Minimum £10 initial top-up included	£2/day £7/week £15/mth	3.6Mb	Go Check coverage>
8	Pay per day	Offer (Ends 13 Oct): Plus 30 days free when you buy your first day for £2 Extras: Choice of black or pink dongle. 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
9	398 reviews	£59.99	1GB data included	£10/1GB £15/3GB £25/7GB	3.6Mb	Go Check coverage>
9	MiFi PAYG + 1GB with inclusive free car charger	Extras: PAYG MiFi with 1GB data included plus in-car adapter for using up to five laptops, games consoles, smartphones or other devices on your journey. Free delivery plus 14-day money-back guarantee.
10	86 reviews	£34.99	2GB data plus unlimited Wi-Fi access valid for 1 month	£2/500MB/day £10/1GB/30 days £15/3GB/30 days	3.6Mb	Go Check coverage>
10	Pay and Go 2GB Starter Kit	Offer (Ends 30 Sep): Increased data allowance on £2 and £15 top ups Extras: Includes 2GB data plus unlimited Wi-Fi access valid for 1 month. Dongle available in black, pink or white.

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Buyers guide to pay as you go dongles

So, you want to have access to mobile broadband and all of the benefits that come with it but you don't want to get snagged up in a contract, right? Well, the obvious way to go is down the route of the pay-as-you-go dongle. Opting for this little gadget to help get you connected to a mobile broadband supply will mean that you'll enjoy similar benefits, but without being tied in to a fixed-term that comes with contract broadband.

Pay-as-you-go dongles can be a great way of dipping your toes in the water to see if mobile broadband lives up to your expectations. After all, while mobile broadband can be a great asset to people who like to stay online whoever they go, it can have drawbacks such as intermittent connectivity, due to patchy mobile coverage. If you ever get frustrated with your mobile phone losing its signal then be prepared to suffer similar issues with a dongle, especially if it's a pay-as-you-go one.

One of the other things to watch out for with PAYG dongles is that they can often deliver rather less sprightly performance than their contract counterparts. So, even though you might be getting a good signal, there is every chance that the network provider you are signed up with might have a limit on the way the PAYG dongle performs. So spend some time checking out our comparison charts and reading up on usage limits and levels of service while paying close attention to anything that suggests you'll get speeds 'up to' a certain level.

Pay as you go dongles and performance

Alongside the less impressive performance that can come with a pay-as-you-go dongle, it's also a good idea to remember that the humble PAYG dongle can be affected by coverage, or lack of it, in much the same way as a contract dongle. And while mobile broadband can be enjoyed using a dongle pay as you go devices or indeed, contract internet dongles aren't that great if you're expecting to emulate the sort of speed of performance you get with a home or office based broadband service.

Landline and cable based-broadband is a faster and more dependable option if you're looking to upload and download lots of data. Checking email and surfing the internet can all be done on a pay-as-you-go dongle, but the reality is that they're currently not that brilliant for doing those bigger tasks that you'd normally do at home or at work. Average speed mobile broadband tends to currently hover around the 1Mb mark.

You'll read plenty of advertising that'll suggest having a broadband dongle on a pay-as-you-go package will offer speedy online access, but the reality might be rather different. However, if you're using a WiFi or 3G dongle pay-as-you-go can be the perfect supplement to a home or office based broadband setup and allow you to check emails and browse the web in all sorts of salubrious surroundings when you're out and about.

Other issues with pay as you go dongles

While we've spent time telling you about what a great idea it is to invest in an internet dongle, pay-as-you-go packages can offer less in the way of overall flexibility. That might sound like a contradiction after we've gone on about pay-as-you-go USB dongles being perfect for not needing any real commitment in terms of a contract. However, dongles, be they prepay dongles, prepaid dongles or pay and go dongles as you'll see them referred to on different mobile broadband provider websites, generally have a 30-day limit in which you need to use the data by.

So if you spend some money putting credit on a pay-as-you-go dongle then you'll want to make sure that you use it before the end of that period. Otherwise you could end up wasting money, although at least with pay-as-you-go internet you it's no problem to buy airtime as you need it. It'll only take you a couple of minutes to put more money on the device.

What's more, an internet dongle on pay-as-you-go can mean that staying online using mobile broadband can soon get a bit expensive. Pay-as-you-go is as cheap as chips if you're only using it to check emails, but don't even think about trying to download a movie or play games online because it'll cost you a fortune and that's if it'll even work.

Picking an internet dongle - pay as you go - or not?

While you might think that firing up your laptop and connecting a state-of-the-art 3G dongle will be perfect for passing a commute on the train, make sure that you download a movie and put it onto the machine before you set off. Besides, trains are notorious for dropping the mobile broadband signal for allowing access to the internet, and that extends to pretty much all pay-as-you-go dongles. So, realistically, don't expect to be doing much downloading as you pull in and out of the station.

Nevertheless, pick a dongle, pay-as-you-go and the convenience is hard to beat. Simply plug it into an available USB slot on your machine and it'll prove invaluable no matter if you're a student, bored commuter or high-flying businessman. First thing in the morning, open your bag or pocket, pop in an internet dongle, pay-as-you-go and you're set up for whatever period you've paid for. You can buy mobile broadband airtime in a variety of different chunks, with everything from by the hour and by the day to monthly, which gives the usage opportunities an even greater chance of giving you optimum value for money.

Pay as you go dongles abroad

We've all heard about the high charges that can greet a mobile phone user if they’re not on the right tariff when they call back home while they’re on holiday. Using your mobile to make calls while you're away is referred to as roaming. Apply the same principle with a pay-as-you-go USB dongle whilst abroad and you're into the realms of data roaming.

Prepaid dongles aren't much use for data roaming though, because some of them simply will not work if you're heading overseas. Even in the cases where they do you'll find using broadband dongles in a pay-as-you-go scenario is largely prohibitive. People who need to stay online while they're away are better off exploring the options available in our other guides to avoid any financial disasters with prepaid dongles.

There have been plenty of stories in the press about how people have managed to run up huge bills by using their mobile broadband while they've been away and this isn't surprising because the charges, generally per MB, will be way, way higher than they would be if you were using the same kit in a domestic scenario. Check our comparison tables and be sure to read up on all of the terms and conditions in relation to this hot topic. It may seem rather dull to have to pick through the legal blurb, but a mobile provider is obliged to explain what the costs are so you'll be well aware of what costs are involved if you head down the pay-as-you-go dongle route.

Why are pay as you go dongles so expensive overseas?

For starters, if you simply have to have pay-as-you-go mobile broadband while you're away then the options are pretty limited. T-Mobile has a basic option, called Euro Boosters, and even that isn't available outside Europe. Virgin has a thing called the Travel Pass, Orange do a 30-day contract option while 3 Mobile have a pay-as-you-go offering along with a one month contract deal on offer.

You'll hear all sorts of reasons why using a pay-as-you-go dongle overseas is so expensive, but at the end of the day the excuses don’t really solve the problem. If you're desperate to get online while you're away it's possible to have a quick connection without breaking the bank, just to check your email, or look something up on the web. But for any kind of prolonged use you’re better off using a hotel computer or an internet cafe. You may not be sat in the most luxurious surroundings, but money you'll save on exhorbitant roaming costs can be spent on something much more constructive.

Pay-as-you-go Dongles (PAYG)

Get mobile broadband with a USB pay-as-you-go dongle

Need help?

Buyers guide to pay as you go dongles

Pay as you go dongles and performance

Other issues with pay as you go dongles

Picking an internet dongle - pay as you go - or not?

Pay as you go dongles abroad

Why are pay as you go dongles so expensive overseas?

Top 5 Mobile Broadband Help

Gillian's money-saving deals

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