5G standalone is the version of 5G that no longer leans on a 4G network underneath. Three of the four UK networks now sell it under the same name, 5G+, which makes it sound like one product with one set of rules. It is not. Each network attaches it to different plans, and none of the budget brands we checked mentions it at all.
That makes it awkward if you only want to find out whether it changes anything where you live. You do not want a two year contract to run a test.
This guide sets out what each network says on its own website, read on 10 October 2026: which plans include 5G standalone, what else you need, and the shortest commitment that gets you onto it. There are no prices here, because they change from week to week. For what 5G standalone is and whether it matters, see our explainer, linked at the end.
One service, three names
They are the same thing. O2 says 5G+ is its name for 5G Standalone. Vodafone's site describes 5G+ as its name for 5G Standalone services. EE calls its service 5G+, describes it as using 5G end to end, and tells customers to switch on a phone setting labelled 5G Standalone. 5G SA is the short form used on forums and in phone menus.
Do not rely on the icon at the top of the screen. O2 says an iPhone 15 or newer with its latest SIM and up to date software shows a 5G+ icon, but that other compatible phones usually show the standard 5G icon even while they are connected to 5G+.
O2: every Pay Monthly plan
O2 has the simplest rule. It says 5G+ is already included in all O2 Pay Monthly plans at no extra cost, and describes itself as the only major network to include it in all of them.
You need three things: a compatible device, one of O2's latest SIMs or an eSIM, and to be in a 5G+ area. O2 calls the SIM an R15 SIM. If yours is older, O2 says converting to an eSIM is the quickest way to get a compatible one. It says iPhone users can convert in the phone's settings, and that Android users should call or visit a store for now, where they can also be given a physical 5G+ SIM.
O2's pages speak only of Pay Monthly. Whether its Pay As You Go SIMs get 5G+ is not confirmed.
O2 is also the most modest about what you get. It says that right now the experience will be very similar on both kinds of 5G, and that 5G+ is about a more reliable and consistent connection in busy areas, not higher peak speeds.
EE: named plans only
EE ties 5G+ to particular plans and to the date you bought them. Its help page says you need an EE All Rounder or Full Works pay monthly mobile plan bought after 29 August 2024, or a pay monthly handset plan bought after 19 March 2025.
You also need a SIM card activated after September 2021, or an eSIM, and to be in a 5G+ coverage area. EE says that if your current SIM is not compatible, moving to an eSIM is a quick way to update it.
So an EE customer on an older or cheaper plan does not get 5G+ just because the phone and the postcode qualify. The plan has to be one of those named.
EE says its SIM only plans come on 24 month or 30-day rolling terms. We could not confirm from its pages that the All Rounder and Full Works plans are sold in the 30-day length, so check at the checkout before assuming a one month test is possible.
Vodafone: only the plans marked with the icon
Vodafone says you need a 5G+ enabled device, a Pay monthly plan that includes 5G+, and to be in an area with 5G+ coverage. It says some SIMs come with 5G+ and tells shoppers to look for the 5G+ icon on its SIM only plans. Not every plan carries it.
The small print says access needs an eligible Vodafone Pay Monthly plan that includes 5G+. Pay as you go is not covered by that wording.
Vodafone is blunt about phones. It publishes a table of compatible models and says that if your phone is not in the table it is not compatible with 5G+.
Two other things on Vodafone's site are easy to mix up with this. Its SuperMobile plans add a priority lane it calls 5G+ FastTrack, which sits on top of 5G+; you do not need one of those plans to try 5G+ itself. And its eSIM page describes a trial eSIM for trying the network through the My Vodafone app. That page does not say whether the trial includes 5G+, so that is not confirmed.
Three and the smaller brands: not confirmed
Three's 5G page and its network page, as we read them, do not mention 5G standalone or 5G+. VodafoneThree has said it plans to expand 5G standalone coverage over the coming years, and Vodafone's explainer on network sharing says that sharing provides 4G and ordinary 5G for now, with 5G standalone through sharing planned for the future. So a Three SIM does not reach Vodafone's 5G+ by that route today.
We also read the 5G or network pages of giffgaff, Tesco Mobile, SMARTY, VOXI, iD Mobile and Lebara. Each talks about 5G. None says its plans include 5G standalone or 5G+. SMARTY's page on the merger mentions the plan to expand it, but not that SMARTY customers have it now.
Silence is not proof that a brand lacks it. But it leaves you nothing to rely on, and nothing to quote if it does not work. If 5G standalone is the reason you are switching, buy from a network that puts it in writing.
The cheapest way to try it
Start with the free checks. EE, O2 and Vodafone each have a postcode checker that shows 5G+ coverage. If your address, your workplace and your usual route are not covered, stop there. Then check your phone against the network's list. Our coverage checker shows which networks have 4G and 5G at your postcode, which tells you who is worth looking at in the first place.
Next, look for the shortest commitment. O2 says the minimum contract length for its Pay Monthly SIM only plans is 30 days, and it includes 5G+ in every Pay Monthly plan. On O2's own wording, that makes a 30 day SIM only plan the most straightforward short test.
Vodafone also sells Pay monthly SIM only plans on a 30-day rolling contract, alongside 12 and 24 months. Pick one that shows the 5G+ icon. Vodafone says you need to pass a credit check and sign an agreement for any SIM only plan, whatever its length.
Compare the prices of those short plans on the day you buy, and decide whether you are paying for a test or for a plan you would keep.
Choose an eSIM if your phone supports one. O2 and EE both describe it as the quick way to get a SIM that works with 5G+, and it saves waiting for the post.
Then switch it on and test where you have trouble. EE and O2 both refer to a 5G Standalone setting in the phone's mobile data options. Try the places that let you down now: a crowded station, a stadium, the back room of your house. O2 itself says the difference today is consistency in busy areas, so an empty street at midday is the wrong test.