Giffgaff review: Simple plans, strong customer service and value

Giffgaff started out as the original no-frills network, combining the convenience of a monthly SIM-only contract with the freedom of PAYG. However, in the past few years, the mobile network has changed, still selling rolling monthly plans, but with its best offers now on longer-term 18-month contracts that give you more data for your money.

Competition from newer no-frills networks such as Voxi and Smarty has made things tougher for Giffgaff, but last year’s Expert Reviews Mobile Network Awards saw it come away with three Highly Commendeds. It hasn’t done quite as well this year, but it still wins a Highly Commended for its excellent customer service, while scoring highly for value, performance and reliability. It also says a lot that nearly 94% of the users we surveyed said they would be likely to recommend it to a friend, with over 55% very likely. Of all the other networks covered, only Voxi achieved better results.

Giffgaff review: What do you get?

Giffgaff’s plans – no longer called Goody Bags – are still great value. At the lower end, you can spend just £6/mth for unlimited calls and texts and 2GB of data on a 30-day rolling plan, or spend £8 or £10 to expand your allowance to 5GB or 20GB respectively. Switch to an 18-month contract and your £8 buys you 6GB of monthly data, while £10 will net you 25GB. Even if you’re in a contract plan, you can switch between plans from month to month.

If you need more data, Giffgaff isn’t going to break the bank. You can have 35GB for £15 on a monthly rolling contract, or 100GB for £20. Sign up for 18 months and the same money will get you 40GB and 120GB. Giffgaff is more expensive than iD Mobile or Smarty for unlimited data at £35/mth, but for £25/mth you can have a 100GB Always On plan, where you always have data available. However, it’s important to note that your connection speed will be throttled during the busiest hours once you’ve chomped through the first 100GB.

It’s also worth checking Giffgaff for any special offers, with discounts or extra data often available to sweeten certain deals.

Giffgaff also now sells smartphones on what it calls transparent monthly payments with no upfront costs. Find the right deal and you can get great value, with handsets such as the iPhone 15 or the Google Pixel 8 available for less than you’d pay on most of the major networks once you factor in the cost of the airtime plan. You’re not paying extra to spread the payment, as Giffgaff effectively provides interest-free credit for your phone through Klarna. What’s more, Giffgaff also offers tempting deals on graded refurbished phones.

Whichever plan you choose, you shouldn’t be disappointed by Giffgaff’s value for money. In fact, 97% of the users we surveyed said they were satisfied on this count, with nearly 74% very satisfied. Voxi and Smarty achieved 100% scores here, but the only other network ahead of Giffgaff here is cheap-as-chips Lebara.

Giffgaff review: Customer service

Giffgaff’s customer support is a little unorthodox in that it’s mostly community led, with the focus on Giffgaff’s websites and forums. However, agents are available if you have a problem with your account or device, promising a response to any query within 24 hours.

Giffgaff’s customer service scores slipped in last year’s survey. In 2022, 41% of customers said they were very satisfied and 38% fairly satisfied. In 2023, both numbers dropped to 33% and 30% respectively. This year, Giffgaff’s customer service is back on form, if not better than before: 44% of users told our survey they were very satisfied with the network’s customer service, while 35% were fairly satisfied.

Overall, that put Giffgaff in contention for our Customer Service award, and while Tesco Mobile wins it, Giffgaff comes in second, edging ahead of Sky Mobile to grab the Highly Commended.

Giffgaff review: Coverage, reliability and speed

Like Tesco Mobile, Giffgaff is a virtual mobile network, running on Virgin Media O2’s core network. The latest speed tests from RootMetrics place it fourth of the UK’s big four networks on performance. Its UK median download speed of 23.3Mbits/sec trails Vodafone and Three by some margin, and is less than a third of the median UK download speed of the performance leader, EE. Still, it’s an improvement on the 15.5Mbits/sec Virgin Media O2 posted last year, and a sign that the network is making strides with its 5G network. 5G UK median download speeds are getting faster, reaching 79.7Mbits/sec, while RootMetrics found that 5G services were available in 56% of the locations where it tests.

Giffgaff’s results for performance and reliability in our Mobile Network Awards survey aren’t terrible, but it’s stronger for low-bandwidth applications such as browsing the web than it is for streaming music, podcasts, audiobooks or video. In fact, streaming video seems to be a particular problem: more than 13% of users told us they rarely had a fast enough connection for streaming video, while a further 6% said it was never fast enough. The majority of users (54%) always or often had the speeds required, but these figures show that a lot of users are being disappointed when they’re trying to watch a clip or stream their favourite shows on the go.

Giffgaff review: Roaming

Giffgaff still includes free EU roaming with its plans, although data is subject to a rather measly 5GB cap. Once you’ve used that abroad, further usage will be subject to a 10p/MB charge. Outside the EU you’ll pay slightly more, but costs aren’t astronomical. You’re typically looking at £1 per minute, 30p per text or 20p per megabyte. All the same, if you’re planning to spend a lot of time travelling – especially outside Europe – then a plan with inclusive global roaming or affordable add-ons would be a better bet.

READ NEXT: Best roaming SIM-only deals

Giffgaff review: Other features, services and spending caps

Giffgaff doesn’t offer spending caps in the normal sense. Once you’re through your monthly allowance, you have to wait until the next month starts. Uniquely, you can request that it starts early if you’re down to the last 100MB of data. EU roaming charges are different, however. Once you’ve used that initial 5GB of data, your spending will be subject to a £45 cap.

Giffgaff review: Verdict

Giffgaff has changed the way it operates, but it hasn’t abandoned its straightforward, no-frills, no-fuss approach. Its deals are competitively priced and its users feel that they’re getting bang for buck, while customer service isn’t suffering as a result of the community-based approach. In fact, our survey results indicate that it’s thriving.

Performance is constrained by the network’s dependence on Virgin Media O2’s network, but there are signs that, with time, this might not be a problem, especially as 5G services improve and roll out further. It’s no longer the undisputed champ of no-frills networks, but Giffgaff is still one of the best.