Lebara Mobile review 2024: Is it any good?
Dan Howdle • March 28th, 2024
Lebara Mobile offers SIM only plans, with a focus on allowing its customers to call abroad at a discount rate, primarily those looking to keep in touch with folks in their country of origin. It operates around the world and offers plans with decent international call allowances included. Lebara Mobile's plans currently allow in-plan calls to 42 international destinations. It's also one of the cheapest SIM providers full stop, making the provider a good choice for just about anyone.
Tariffs & plans
Lebara Mobile offers just four SIM only plans: 5GB, 20GB, 30GB and Unlimited, all of which, apart from the 5GB (which offers a limit of 1000 minutes and texts), come with unlimited UK minutes and texts, and are extremely cheap. The 30GB SIM comes with 500 international calling minutes, while all other plans, including unlimited come with 100 internatonal minutes. It's an odd setup, but makes sense when you consider its unlimited offering remains cheap.
It is the inclusive international calls that really sets Lebara apart from other mobile providers. Lebara Mobile's SIM-only plans are a good fit for ex-pats living and working in the UK, international communities, and travellers who need to call home. The plans are weighted accordingly, so you can expect international calls to be quite a lot cheaper than rates offered by other providers.
The countries included in your free international minutes are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, and the USA.
All Lebara’s plans come on eitherrolling 30-day contracts, or 12-month contracts with the latter offering a 10% discount on the monthly cost. And there is no need for a credit check either, making Lebara a good choice if your credit rating has been waning recently. You can opt out of its rolling contracts at any time. You can bolt on extra data for a few quid more ach month as and when you need it, but if you find yourself doing this a lot it's probably a better idea to just opt for a plan with a larger allowance.
Phone & device range
Lebara Mobile is a SIM only provider that doesn't offer handsets so you will need to have a phone already. All its SIMs are of the 3-in-1 type, which means they will fit any handset.
If you are changing to Lebara Mobile from another provider, your handset may need to be unlocked. You can arrange this by contacting your old provider.
Customer service
If you have a query or a problem with your Lebara Mobile plan, you can call customer services on 0207 031 0791 between 9am and 9pm daily. Calls from a Lebara SIM are free when you dial 5588. There is also an online chat service available from 9am to 9pm. In addition to the customer service phone line, you can contact Lebara Mobile via email, Facebook or Twitter, or you can look at the FAQ section of its website which deals with most common issues.
As one of the smaller providers, Lebara Mobile doesn't figure in Ofcom reports. However, at the time of writing, there are over 5000 reviews of Lebara Mobile on the Trustpilot website. Its overall score is 4.8 out of 5 stars, which is very good when compared to the scores for other providers.
Value for money
The value for money of Lebara Mobile's plans depends somewhat on how many international calls you make. If you regularly call one of the countries included in its plans, then the value is unbeatable. If, on the other hand, you rarely make calls abroad, you may be better served by other providers if you're really looking for rock bottom, but even then Lebara is very aggressively priced and compares well to mainstream providers from a price point of view. Free calls to other Lebara Mobile mobiles is a bonus, though not particularly unusual in the mobile market.
The value represented by Lebara Mobile's international call allowances is really very good. You will need to check which countries are covered, but as long as your destination is on the list, the calls will be a lot cheaper than those offered by other providers.
As a bonus, if you do sign up to Lebara, you can earn up to £50 back in cash by referring a friend, who will get 50% off their bill for the first three months.
Network coverage
Lebara Mobile uses the Vodafone network. According to Ofcom's latest report, Vodafone offers 83% 4G coverage (by landmass), second only to 87% from EE.
Its 5G network is still rolling out, but overall coverage among all networks is currently is now 78% and growing. Bear in mind that local geographical features, such as hills or buildings, can affect your reception. You can check what the Vodafone signal is like in your area by visiting the Vodafone coverage checker on the provider’s website. Fortunately, Lebara now offers 5G plans to customers, so you can enjoy faster speed.
Conclusion
Lebara Mobile is not like most SIM only providers in that it has a very specific type of customer in mind, and has tailored its service accordingly. If you are looking for a SIM only deal with generous inclusive allowances for international calls, then Lebara Mobile's offer is very attractive. For everybody else, it still remains very competitive price-wise and it's a provider loved by its customers.
