Vodafone review: Tempting bundles, but the service lags behind

Last year’s Mobile Network Awards saw Vodafone sitting in an awkward position. On the one hand, its premium pricing and extra-packed bundles put it in direct competition with the UK speed leader, EE, and looking expensive next to Three, Tesco Mobile and the no-frills budget mobile networks. On the other, its actual coverage and performance lagged behind EE and Three. The UK government has signed off on Vodafone’s proposed merger with Three, but the merger is still being investigated by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The deal should create the UK’s biggest mobile network, with potential for fantastic 5G coverage and speeds, but is it worth signing up to Vodafone today, with the network as it is?

Based on this year’s Mobile Network Awards survey, the answer is a definitely… maybe. Customer service has improved since last year’s disastrous results, and Vodafone has done better for customer satisfaction, with higher scores than Three, O2 or EE. Of the users, 70% would be likely to recommend the network to a friend or family member, although nearly a quarter (23%) were rather less likely to give a positive opinion. However, the newer no-frills networks had significantly better results, and Vodafone’s pricing and performance figures will still be a barrier to many.

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Vodafone review: What do you get?

Vodafone’s pay-monthly phone plans make the most sense if you want the bundled extras, and they’re very flexible. The firm’s Build Your Own plans allow you to roll your own contract, complete with data allowance, term and upfront payment, with the cost increasing if you reduce the term from 36 to 24 months.

You can have an iPhone 15 for £40/mth plus £30 up front over 36 months, or a Google Pixel 8 for £33/mth on the same terms. However, buy the same phone with 150GB of data on a 24-month contract and the monthly payments rise to £59 and £57/mth respectively, making Vodafone one of the most expensive options when you work out the total cost. Some great deals are available, but you need to pick and choose and – crucially – compare.

As for the firm’s SIM-only deals, your biggest challenge will be to choose between them, with dozens of variations on the Vodafone Red basic packages, with Entertainment bundles and fully featured Max packages. To make this even more difficult, Vodafone now has Xtra Euro Roam and Xtra Global Plan packages, which throw in free roaming in the EU or 83 global destinations.

None of these plans comes cheap. Even the most basic Red 3GB plan comes in at between £15 and £26 per month, depending on whether you choose a 12-month, 24-month or 30-day rolling contract. The most expensive Unlimited Max packages cost between £33 and £48 a month. In between, there are some more affordable 25GB to 120GB plans, but these still cost more than they do on Three or Tesco Mobile, let alone Smarty, Giffgaff or Voxi. It might be worth looking at the Entertainment packages to see if you can get a streaming service you already pay for bundled in for less. You can currently choose between YouTube Premium and Amazon Prime. However, you need to make sure that the overall value of the package measures up.

Vodafone scored higher for value for money in this year’s awards survey than rivals EE or O2. A total of 79% of users were satisfied with the value of their package, with over a quarter (26%) very satisfied. EE and O2 scored 74% and 78% respectively for overall satisfaction. It was also neck and neck with Three. That said, both Voxi and Smarty had a 100% satisfied customer base for value, while Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile, Lebara, iD Mobile and Giffgaff all scored over 90%.

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Vodafone review: Customer service

Last year, Vodafone scored poorly for customer service, with 35% of users fairly satisfied with the brand’s service and just 20% very satisfied. This year, 47% of users were fairly satisfied and 28% of users very satisfied, putting it ahead of Three, O2, iD Mobile, Lebara and Smarty in the customer service league table. However, that still leaves 14% actively dissatisfied, which means Vodafone has more customers dissatisfied with the service and support they get than customers of EE or O2. Things are improving, but Vodafone needs to go further.

There’s further evidence for this in Ofcom’s most recent customer service and satisfaction research. This has Vodafone falling just below the 87% average for customer satisfaction, with 86%. However, the latest figures for customer complaints paint the network in a more positive light. It’s now below the industry average for customer complaints, with just two complaints per 100,000 subscribers.

Vodafone review: Coverage, reliability and speed

Vodafone has spent the past few years tussling with Three to be the UK’s second-fastest mobile network. The latest figures from RootMetrics show Vodafone still in third place, with a UK-wide median download speed of 42.8Mbits/sec, against Three’s 44.5Mbits/sec. The same performance tests also showed Vodafone lagging behind Three and EE on 5G coverage. Where both rivals have exceeded 60% UK coverage, Vodafone is still stuck at around 47%. The good news is that 5G speeds are improving, with 5G median download speeds reaching nearly 185Mbits/sec and the fastest connections hitting over 450Mbits/sec. RootMetrics also found that Vodafone was strong for video streaming, performing well on new tests that focus on glitch-free, hassle-free viewing.

This is reflected in Vodafone’s scores in our Mobile Network Awards survey, where it’s consistently above the industry average for web browsing, audio streaming and video streaming, with the second-best result for video. Vodafone might not be delivering the UK fastest mobile connections, but for a sizeable majority of its users, it’s fast and reliable enough.

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Vodafone review: Roaming

Vodafone is fine for EU and international roaming as long as (no surprise) you’re using one of its Euro Roam and Global Roam plans. If not, you’ll need to pay £2.42 per day to use your normal allowances in the EU, or £7.39 per day while you’re further afield. You can reduce your EU roaming costs by investing in a European Roaming Pass, which costs £12 for eight days or £17 for 15 days. The network’s Rest of the World Roaming Passes offer a set amount of data for eight days and cost between £6 and £60, depending on the region and the allowance. Since these run from 50MB to 1GB, you might not want to go too crazy.

Vodafone review: Other features, services and spending caps

Vodafone supports Wi-Fi calling, so you can make and take calls over a Wi-Fi network in places where a 4G or 5G signal might be hard to come by. Meanwhile, you can set data caps through the website or the network’s smartphone app. You receive an alert when you’ve run through 80% of your data allowance and another when you’ve used it completely, with more reminders for each further 250MB of data you consume.

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Vodafone review: Verdict

Vodafone often has great deals on new smartphones, and some of its bundles make sense if you really want the extras. However, it’s still a comparatively expensive network, where the performance doesn’t always justify the price premium. It still has work to do on customer service and satisfaction, and it’s hard to escape the thought that its own budget offshoot, Voxi, gives you the same network with some strong streaming features for less. The merger with Three might set Vodafone up for a brighter future, but right now it remains in an awkward place for coverage, service, speeds and price.