Vodafone review: Better value to be had

With networks in 30 countries and over 500 million customers, Vodafone is one of the biggest mobile operators in the world. That’s good news if you travel a lot: Vodafone’s Global Roaming programme allows you to use your UK call time, texts and data in over 50 countries at no extra charge.

Vodafone also offers some enticing entertainment packages with its data-heavy plans – but its pricing isn’t always competitive, and on coverage and connection speeds it falls behind EE, BT Mobile and Three.

What do you get?

Vodafone frequently has decent deals on the latest phones. For example, right now you can get a Samsung Galaxy S9 with 16GB of data for just a pound more a month than EE charges for 10GB – and the upfront charge is £20 lower. It’s not always the best deal on the market, though; Three, for example, can be even cheaper.

Be warned too that not all of Vodafone’s offerings are very realistic. £18 a month for a Huawei P Smart might sound like a bargain, but you’ll burn through the included 250MB of data in no time at all. For a more useful 4GB of data you’re looking at a much heftier £30 a month – although right now you can get 16GB for the same money. Our advice is to check carefully what you’re getting, and keep an eye out for the genuine bargains that come up from time to time.

One benefit of buying your phone directly from Vodafone is that you can upgrade it as soon as six months later. Predictably, you’ll pay a stiff early-upgrade charge for this, but this falls over time – so you get the option of balancing your desire for the latest, hottest phone against how much you’re prepared to pony up for it.

If you’re looking for a SIM-only plan, Vodafone has three basic types. The Essentials plans give you a minimal data allowance, up to 500 minutes and unlimited texts without any frills. The Red Extra plans give you 1GB to 4GB of data (or more with specific deals) plus unlimited calls and texts. At the high end, the company’s Red Entertainment plans range from 8GB to 60GB and include a 24-month subscription to Now TV Entertainment, Sky Sports Mobile or Spotify Premium – not a bad extra, as these subscriptions on their own would normally cost you between £6 and £10 a month.

Vodafone is rarely the cheapest option for a given data allowance, but special deals often come along which give you more for your money. At the time of writing, the 5GB Essentials (£13.50), 8GB Red Extra (£18) and 20GB Red Extra plans (£20) are competitive with similar tariffs from EE and Giffgaff.

Coverage and connection speeds

Vodafone claims its 4G services cover 98% of the UK population, and RootMetrics confirms pretty good coverage across England and Wales. However, there are a few spots where you’ll only get a 2G or 3G signal, mostly on the south and east coasts. And Scotland isn’t well served at all: 4G coverage is generally patchy, and particularly diabolical in the northwest of the country. If you’re looking for a 4G service north of the border, both Three and EE both do better.

RootMetrics also ranks Vodafone behind those two networks for reliability, speed and data connectivity across the UK, not to mention voice calls. On the plus side, Vodafone operates 4G LTE Advanced services in London, Birmingham and Manchester, so if you live in one of those cities – and have an LTE Advanced-compatible phone – you can expect higher speeds than you’ll get from other providers.

Roaming

One of Vodafone’s big selling points is its international presence. Its Global Roaming programme takes in a total of 50 “roam free” countries, where you can use your regular allowance of calls, texts and data without paying any extra.

Beyond that, a further 60 “roam further” destinations include Australia, most of North and South America, Russia and a fair chunk of Asia, with more countries to be added in May this year. In these countries, you pay a flat rate of £6 per day, after which you can then use your allowances as at home; go over your allowance and you’ll be charged normal UK charges of 55p a minute and 35p per text message, along with £6.50 per 250MB of data. If you expect to use a lot of data while abroad, a much cheaper option is to pay £6 for a 1GB data roaming add-on, or £10 for an extra 2GB.

Other services and spending caps

Like EE, Vodafone supports Wi-Fi calling, so you can make and take calls over a wireless network, instead of 3G or 4G. These doesn’t save you any money – the calls come out of your normal allowance – but it helps you stay in touch in locations like a rural home or basement flat where you might not otherwise get a decent signal. Just note that this only works on specific Apple, Samsung, Sony, Huawei and Vodafone-branded phones with a Red Extra or Red Entertainment package.

If you’re looking to control your spending, Vodafone allows you to set data caps through the My Vodafone app or the Vodafone website. You’ll also get an alert when you reach 80% of your data allowance, another when you’ve used it completely, and further notifications for each 250MB of data you consume after that.

Conclusion

Vodafone has its plus points, notably its entertainment bundles and the big list of “roam free” countries. However, it’s not always a winner on speed, coverage or pricing, often losing out to BT Mobile, Three and EE.

Even so, its limited-time deals and phone bundles can be very competitive indeed. It’s well worth a look when you’re thinking of switching contract or upgrading your phone; you might not always find a suitable package at the right price, but there’s a chance you’ll bag a bargain.

Header image: Kārlis Dambrās, used under Creative Commons