Smarty review: The top no-frills network for low-cost data deals

Owned and operated by Hutchison 3G, the company behind the Three mobile network, Smarty has made quite a splash in the past few years. It came from nowhere to win our Best Mobile Network Award in 2022, then took the award for best 5G services and a Highly Commended overall last year. It isn’t going away empty-handed this year, either, with the mobile network scoring a joint win with Voxi in the value category along with a Highly Commended for reliability.

Maybe it’s the low prices charged for its big data deals or its overall strong service and reliability, but Smarty is definitely doing something right with its customers. Nearly 60% (59%) told our survey they would be very likely to recommend it to a friend or family member, with a further 34% fairly likely. Around 5% said they’d be unlikely to recommend it; the second-lowest number for any featured network. Put that together with consistently strong performance elsewhere, and Smarty richly deserves another Highly Commended overall.

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Smarty review: What do you get?

As a no-frills network, Smarty sticks to a straightforward lineup of SIM-only plans on 30-day rolling contracts. It offers a choice of voice plans for those who want calls and texts for their smartphones, or data plans for those who just want data for a 5G tablet or laptop. Voice plans start at just £6 for unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 5GB of monthly data, then rise all the way to £20 for an unlimited data package. In between, you’ll find some great-value options, including a £12 deal with 120GB of data and a £15 plan with 150GB. Oddly, data-only plans can be more expensive. For instance, you’ll pay £17 for just 100GB.

If you need more for a UK business trip or a week on holiday, you can buy unlimited data passes to cover you for a specific time period. One day will cost you £3, but you can have seven days for a tenner or 30 days for £17.

The Smarty customers we surveyed were enthusiastic about the value for money they’re getting with their plans. In fact, 100% told us they were satisfied. What’s more, 77% described themselves as very satisfied. As a result, the network was tied with Voxi for this year’s Value award, leaving most other networks in the dust.

Smarty review: Customer service

Smarty lags a bit behind the market leaders when it comes to customer service. Of its users we surveyed, 36% told us they were very satisfied on this front, while a further 31% said they were fairly satisfied. To put that into perspective, Tesco Mobile scored 47% very satisfied and 40% satisfied, while Giffgaff scored 44% and 35% respectively. Smarty’s ‘very satisfied’ figures are down from last year’s survey, which were down from the year before; we hope they aren’t evidence of a long-term trend as the network grows.

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Smarty review: Coverage, reliability and speed

Smarty runs on top of Three’s host network, which the latest performance testing from RootMetrics ranks second in the UK for speed. Its UK median download speed of 44.5MBits/sec is far behind the 79.8Mbits/sec of the leader, EE. Smarty’s 5G test results are fantastic, with 5G median download speeds of over 100MB/sec in every area where RootMetrics tests, and speeds reaching 200Mbits/sec in nine of the 16 test cities – and over 300Mbits/sec in two of those nine. 4G coverage is excellent, and 5G coverage is strong and growing fast. That’s great news for Smarty users.

Such consistently good speeds are also reflected in the network’s performance and reliability scores: 41% of Smarty users told us that they always had a fast enough connection for general web browsing, while 52% said it was often fast enough. A total of 75% could always or often get the speed they needed to stream audio, and 65% said the same about video. Of all the networks covered in our survey, only Voxi achieved higher results. Hence another Highly Commended for Smarty, this time for reliability.

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Smarty review: Roaming

Smarty goes further than Voxi when it comes to roaming, offering free EU roaming across all its plans, subject to a 12GB limit. If you need to go above that, an EU data pass allows you to use the rest of your allowance, costing £3 for one day or £7 for three.

Outside the EU, charges are high enough to rack up some alarming bills, but not too expensive compared to other networks. In the US or Australia, you’re looking at 50p per minute to make calls or 10p to receive them, 20p for texts and 10p per megabyte. In more expensive territories such as Kenya, for example, these rise to £2.50 per minute, 40p per text or £1 per megabyte.

Smarty review: Other features, services and spending caps

Smarty is very much a no-frills network, so don’t expect data rollover features, spending caps or any other freebies – with the exception of Wi-Fi calling. This is where your phone uses your home or office network to connect if a mobile signal isn’t available. Spending caps aren’t necessary anyway, as you can’t use more than your paid-for allowance without buying extra credit. It’s also worth mentioning that Smarty doesn’t currently support eSIM technology, which will be a problem if you plan to use an iPhone 14 or 15, models that no longer have a physical SIM slot.

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Smarty review: Verdict

While the below-average customer service scores have stolen some of Smarty’s lustre, high scores elsewhere still make it one of the top no-frills networks – and one of the best mobile networks overall. You don’t get much in the way of features, but bargain data bundles, no commitments and free EU roaming go a long way. If you’re looking for maximum data at the lowest possible price, Smarty is a great network to consider.