# Pay as you go.



## iwanttoliveinthesun (Sep 14, 2014)

Hi, I have my uk contract phone on pay as you go that I am more than happy with, but every now and again we need a Spanish mobile number. (Online car insurance quotes, electricity supplier etc).

What's the cheapest option for a top up that will get used very very infrequently in a non smart type phone.

Thanks in advance.


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

Lebara do PAYG but need a top up every 3 months (I think) to keep the number active. I had a cheap Spanish phone for the same reason as you but it was eventually cut off even though it had credit.

Steve


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

iwanttoliveinthesun said:


> Hi, I have my uk contract phone on pay as you go that I am more than happy with, but every now and again we need a Spanish mobile number. (Online car insurance quotes, electricity supplier etc).
> 
> What's the cheapest option for a top up that will get used very very infrequently in a non smart type phone.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


I have used Lebara for many years and would recommend it. I have an automatic online top-up: when the balance reaches €3 it charges €5 to my credit card so I am never without service. I make very little use of the phone other than for web surfing and WhatsApp. When I am travelling outside of Spain I buy a €10 package which gives me 500 free minutes (including international calls) and 5g of data (often doubled when there are frequent special offers). The package lasts for a month.
https://mobile.lebara.com/es/en/


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## Pipeman (Apr 1, 2016)

Lobster seem to be very popular in Spain


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

I have Lobster (the small one) its €12.00 a month and you get 6gb of data, unlimited text, minutes. Free calls to and from the Uk and most of Europe. If you want to phone anywhere else you have to put credit on the phone (my daughter lives in Australia and that costs)

We are still in the Uk and the phone is on O2. Ive been using it for the past couple of weeks as Ive cancelled my Uk number.

You can park the number at anytime but it means you wont get any messages etc.

Family and friends have phoned my in the Uk at no charge to them. 

Most other PAYG sims need topping up even if you don't use them.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

If you really don't need data you can get a prepaid sim for just calls, but whereas they used to have to be topped up regularly, they now require that you pay a monthly fee. The cheapest one seems to be SUOP, €2.99 a month for 150 minutes.

https://www.suop.es/es/tarifa-de-co...contrato&utm_content=wgtkr8tm990gpir0i466jb1q


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Alcalaina said:


> If you really don't need data you can get a prepaid sim for just calls, but whereas they used to have to be topped up regularly, they now require that you pay a monthly fee. The cheapest one seems to be SUOP, €2.99 a month for 150 minutes.
> 
> https://www.suop.es/es/tarifa-de-co...contrato&utm_content=wgtkr8tm990gpir0i466jb1q


That's what we use. You can either have contract or pay-as-you-go with data or not.

I haven't topped up for 4 months and still have plenty of credit


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## cervasalagartija (Aug 4, 2020)

orange, credit stays until you run out, you must use it at least once every 9 months to keep the number lol


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

cervasalagartija said:


> orange, credit stays until you run out, you must use it at least once every 9 months to keep the number lol


That's for existing customers. If you take out this tariff now, you have to top up every four weeks.

https://tiendaonline.orange.es/tarifas/movil/tarjeta-prepago/llama


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Just remember that who ever you choose, make sure you can get their signal.

It's no good going with a company because they're cheap if you can't get a signal 

There are only really 3 main operators Movistar, Orange and Vodafone - not everyone can get all 3 signals


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## cervasalagartija (Aug 4, 2020)

Alcalaina said:


> That's for existing customers. If you take out this tariff now, you have to top up every four weeks.
> 
> no it isn´t, i just walked into the shop last week payed a tenner and walked out again with a new sim card with 5 euros credit on it (and the guy fitted it) i wasn´t even a customer of orange.


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## Pipeman (Apr 1, 2016)

In the UK there is a map when you can put in a post code and it will show what coverage levels are like for each provider. Is there a similar thing in Spain?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Yes. For Orange, https://www.orange.es/4g?internal_s...14.150315876.1596659560-1181061451.1596659560
For Movistar, https://www.movistar.es/particulare...939.85323676.1596659804-1256692687.1596659804
For Vodafone, https://www.vodafone.es/c/conocenos/es/vodafone-espana/mapa-cobertura-movil/


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Joppa said:


> Yes. For Orange, https://www.orange.es/4g?internal_s...14.150315876.1596659560-1181061451.1596659560
> For Movistar, https://www.movistar.es/particulare...939.85323676.1596659804-1256692687.1596659804
> For Vodafone, https://www.vodafone.es/c/conocenos/es/vodafone-espana/mapa-cobertura-movil/


... and they are completely useless (or can't be trusted).

Vodafone say we get a good signal - we don't

Movistar say we can get a very fast signal - the engineer laughed and showed us the opposite. He stated that we shouldn't trust those 'maps'.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

cervasalagartija said:


> no it isn´t, i just walked into the shop last week payed a tenner and walked out again with a new sim card with 5 euros credit on it (and the guy fitted it) i wasn´t even a customer of orange.


Let's hope it doesn't expire after four weeks.


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## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

We used to use PAYG as we made very few calls but found out that having a small contract was only slightly more expensive annually and a lot more convenient. The main reason for switching though was because on numerous occasions the phone was blocked, not topped up on time, when I needed to make an urgent call. 
We are now with Lobster, £10 per month, fluctuates with exchange rate, with totally free calls and texts to landlines and mobiles in Europe and USA. And you get 6GB data per month. All conversations with Lobster are in English and they are very friendly and efficient with enquiries.
We tell our friends elsewhere than Spain that we will call them back, as it costs nothing. Also with the data, you can use WhatsApp and messenger anywhere, for free.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

stevesainty said:


> We used to use PAYG as we made very few calls but found out that having a small contract was only slightly more expensive annually and a lot more convenient. The main reason for switching though was because on numerous occasions the phone was blocked, not topped up on time, when I needed to make an urgent call.
> We are now with Lobster, £10 per month, fluctuates with exchange rate, with totally free calls and texts to landlines and mobiles in Europe and USA. And you get 6GB data per month. All conversations with Lobster are in English and they are very friendly and efficient with enquiries.
> We tell our friends elsewhere than Spain that we will call them back, as it costs nothing. Also with the data, you can use WhatsApp and messenger anywhere, for free.


Sounds too good to be true. For 10 euros a month plus IVA you get unlimited calls in Spain and elsewhere in the UK?

I don't need an English-speaking service but so much for so little sounds enticing.
There must be a catch somewhere.


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## Alf Tupper (Jun 23, 2018)

mrypg9 said:


> Sounds too good to be true. For 10 euros a month plus IVA you get unlimited calls in Spain and elsewhere in the UK?
> 
> I don't need an English-speaking service but so much for so little sounds enticing.
> There must be a catch somewhere.


It's 12 euros a month with 6 GB of data. I've used them for over a year & have no complaints about their excellent service.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Sounds too good to be true. For 10 euros a month plus IVA you get unlimited calls in Spain and elsewhere in the UK?
> 
> I don't need an English-speaking service but so much for so little sounds enticing.
> There must be a catch somewhere.


It pays to shop around. Mine is €10 a month including IVA, with unlimited calls in the EU and 10gb of data. This is with Alcalá Wifi but there are plenty of similar offers out there. When my sim card got corrupted at the start of the lockdown they delivered a new one the same day by hand - the advantage of a local company!


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Lobster is €12 including IVA and the list of countries included in their unlimited calls and texts plan is here (includes USA as well as UK, plus a number of others)

https://www.lobster.es/countries/


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## tmarshall57 (Jan 17, 2017)

I use the Habla Seis SIM card from Movistar. No ongoing costs other than minimum 5 euro top up every 6 months.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

tmarshall57 said:


> I use the Habla Seis SIM card from Movistar. No ongoing costs other than minimum 5 euro top up every 6 months.


That looks like a good deal. 

https://www.movistar.es/particulares/movil/tarifas-moviles/tarjeta-prepago-habla-6/


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