giffgaff pay as you go vs monthly rolling
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giffgaff sells one-month plans two ways: pay as you go and monthly rolling. At all 8 prices they share, the monthly rolling plan gives more data for the same money.
giffgaff, one month at a time, on O2
Pay as you go120GBMonthly rolling, same £25.00200GB
Price by priceWhat the same money buys
| Per month | Pay as you go | Monthly rolling | With rolling you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| £6.00 | 1GB | 2GB | +1GB (100% more) |
| £8.00 | 4GB | 5GB | +1GB (25% more) |
| £10.00 | 15GB | 20GB | +5GB (33% more) |
| £12.00 | 25GB | 26GB | +1GB (4% more) |
| £15.00 | 30GB | 50GB | +20GB (67% more) |
| £20.00 | 80GB | 100GB | +20GB (25% more) |
| £25.00 | 120GB | 200GB | +80GB (67% more) |
| £35.00 | 200GB | Unlimited | Unlimited instead |
The differenceSo why would anyone pick pay as you go?
- Monthly rolling renews itself. giffgaff describes these as plans "that renew monthly". You can still change or cancel any month, but if you do nothing it carries on.
- Pay as you go does not renew. You buy a month when you want one, which suits a phone you only use some months, or a budget you want to control month by month.
- Everything else we compared is the same: one month at a time, the O2 network, 5G, and the same EU roaming allowance.
If you will want a plan most months, monthly rolling gives more data for the same money at every price. Pay as you go only wins if you would skip months.
Compare networksgiffgaff head to head
The small print, in large printWhat these numbers don't tell you
- Real cost / month assumes you join on 2 October 2026 and stay for the whole contract. Rolling plans are costed over 24 months at today's price; a rolling plan's price is not fixed unless the network says so, but you can leave any month.
- Stated price rises are included where the network publishes them in pounds and pence. Where a network says nothing about rises, we assume none, which may flatter it.
- Not included yet: early exit fees on contracts, speed caps, fair-use limits on "unlimited" data, tethering limits and charges for going over your allowance. We have not collected these, so we make no claims about them.
- £/GB uses the ongoing allowance, not temporary bonus data.
- Price over time bars: green months are an intro price, grey the normal price, red months after a stated rise. Bar height is that month's price.
- Coverage depends on where you live. Check your postcode on Ofcom's coverage checker.
- We compared the data allowance, price, network, 5G and EU roaming that giffgaff lists for each plan. Other differences (bonus offers, how unused data is handled) are not covered.