Pay-as-you-go mobile broadband dongles
Mobile Broadband coverage
Editor's recommendation
Vodafone Top Up and Go Unlike other pay as you go deals on the market, Voda's top ups don't expire after 30 days, so browse as little as you like.
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T-Mobile PAYG mobile broadband for just £2 per day, 3GB download allowance p/mth. Includes free WiFi HotSpot access at 1000s of locations.
Currently showing the top 10 of 13 deals which match your search
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Guide to mobile broadband pay as you go deals
As wonderful as it would be if all the mobile broadband providers priced their products in the same way, sadly we just have to accept this will never happen. New deals come along thick and fast, and its easy to get bamboozled by all the weird and wonderful connotations: here's a quick breakdown of the things to look out for when comparing pay as you go mobile internet services.
What's in a name?
Firstly, all of the mobile broadband providers use a different name to describe what their deal does: 'pay and go', 'top up and go', 'ready-to-go', 'pay per day' - just remember, it all adds up to the same thing: you are paying in advance for the amount of time, or GB of usage, that you want to use on the internet. Sadly this branding adds an extra layer of confusion to proceedings, but that's marketing for you. What you need to do is look past the branding and focus on the nitty gritty. If you're undecided as to which mobile broadband provider to go with, this could be a key part of the decision.
Pay per day vs pay per GB
Have a think about how you use the mobile internet before deciding which of these options is better for you. Essentially, both do what they say on the tin: you're either paying for a specific segment of time (either one day, one week, or one month, depending on provider) or a specific amount of data use.
Pay per day deals come in a variety of shapes and sizes: you can pay in advance for a day, a week, or a month - even a three month chunk. Pay per GB deals mean you choose an amount of data you're going to use (much like choosing minutes and texts on a mobile phone pay as you go deal) and pay for that up front instead: you pay a certain amount per GB.
Just to confuse matters though, pay per day deals still have usage limits, while pay per GB deals have time limits. But don't despair! It's not as complicated as it sounds.
When you opt for a pay per day deal, you can't just download films 24/7: there will be a fair usage policy in place, or a set GB limit for the time period you've paid for. When you opt for a pay per GB deal, it will have an expiry date - after this time period expires, you've lost what's left of the data usage and will have to top up again to get online. The expiry time can range from 30 days to three months, although Vodafone's deals don't expire for a much more user friendly 270 days.
So how do I choose?
If you go for a pay as you go mobile broadband dongle, you're going to have a time limit and a GB limit whichever option you choose. When you're looking at our comparison tables, it's also worth looking out for the price in the 'set up' column. This is the price you'll pay for the dongle itself, which attaches to your laptop or PC, along with the initial cost of the data included with it. This can vary wildly, although dongle prices are coming down all the time.
The other key element to mobile broadband, pay as you go or otherwise, is coverage. This is becoming less of an issue as the providers beef up their 3G networks, and those in major conurbations shouldn't see too much difference between them, but if in doubt click on the 'Providers' tab at the top of this page and click on the one you're thinking about signing up with from the drop-down menu. In the top right hand corner of each provider page is a 'Coverage checker' - click this, enter your postcode, and see what kind of signal you should get in the areas you'll most likely be using your mobile internet dongle.
1-month contract mobile broadband
While PAYG is probably the most flexible option for occasional users, some providers now offer a 1 month contract option, which effectively means you only have to give 30-days notice to quit - almost PAYG but not quite. So we've included these packages in our comparison table as an alternative.
