Comparing EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three across 5G · 4G · 3G for the Darlington (DL) postcode area. Use the scanner below to check your exact postcode.
Ofcom measures EE, O2, Three and Vodafone within 1 point in Darlington (DL), so no network wins here on coverage. Pick on price — then check your own postcode, because indoor signal still varies street by street.
No network wins Darlington on coverage. All four are within 1 point of each other in Ofcom's measurements, across 734 addresses sampled in 42 postcodes. On a difference that small, EE, O2, Three and Vodafone will all work here — so choose on price, contract length and roaming, not on a coverage map. Coverage only becomes the deciding factor once you leave built-up areas, and it still varies street by street indoors: check your own postcode below to see the measurement for your address rather than for Darlington as a whole.
Ranked by Ofcom's overall score: O2 100, Vodafone 100, EE 99, Three 99. The spread between best and worst is 1 point, which is inside the margin where a coverage figure stops being a useful tiebreak. Ofcom's data describes outdoor signal across sampled addresses; it cannot tell you how any of them behave inside your own building.
These scores for Darlington are Ofcom's own measurements, taken from the Ofcom Mobile Coverage API (May 2025 data) across 734 addresses in 42 postcodes. They describe outdoor signal at sampled addresses across the whole of Darlington; signal inside a specific building, and on a specific street, can differ from the area figure.
Every network clears the bar in the DL postcode area, so the honest advice is to stop comparing coverage maps and start comparing prices — the difference between the cheapest and dearest plan will dwarf a 1-point coverage gap. Check your own postcode above first: indoor signal varies street by street even where the area figures match.
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No network wins Darlington on coverage. Ofcom's measurements rate EE, O2, Three and Vodafone within 1 points of each other here (O2 100, Vodafone 100, EE 99, Three 99 out of 100), which is too close to call a winner. All four will work in Darlington, so choose on price, contract length and roaming instead.
O2 reaches enhanced (5G-grade) outdoor signal at 100% of the addresses Ofcom sampled in Darlington, and the other three are within 1 point of it.
Vodafone is the second-best operator in Darlington with 100/100 overall (100% 5G, 100% 4G).
Darlington is classified as a mixed urban-rural area with a population density score of 50%. Mixed areas typically see good 4G and growing 5G from leading operators.
Check mobile coverage for specific postcode districts in Darlington:
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