Best mobile phone deals 2022: From contract and SIM-only to SIM-free deals

By Shani Cohen

Upgrading to a new mobile phone can be an expensive and time consuming task.

The process involves a lot of research, so knowing your budget, preferred network and what sort of plan will best suit your needs is vital.

Once you've narrowed down your options, it's advisable to shop around for the best value deal on your preferred handset.

To help you navigate your way through the myriad of deals and discounts available out there, we've rounded up the very best mobile phone deals for 2022 on the latest smartphones from major brands like Apple and Samsung below.

With January sales still going strong, many retailers still have amazing discounts on iPhones including the newest iPhone 13, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 11 models - so what are you waiting for?

Best contract deals 2022:

What is a contact deal?

Having a contract phone means that you pay a single monthly fee for a fixed period of time. Most mobile phone contracts are set at either 12 or 24 months and provide mobile customers with a handset and a monthly allowance of calls, data and text.

Apple iPhone 13 Mini: £29.99 per month, 100GB data (£300 upfront cost) on Carphone Warehouse
Apple iPhone 13: £43 per month, 200GB data (£25 upfront) on Vodafone
Samsung Galaxy S21: £30 per month, 100GB data (£39 upfront) on Three
Apple iPhone 12: £33 per month, 100GB data (£39 upfront) on Three
Apple iPhone 13 Pro: £32 per month, unlimited data (£530 upfront) on Vodafone
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max: £41.99 per month, 100GB data (£400 upfront) on iD Mobile
Apple iPhone 12 Pro: £30 per month, 2G data (free upfront) on Sky
A pple iPhone XR: £25 per month, unlimited data (free upfront) on Three

Best SIM-only deals 2022:

What is a SIM-only deal?

A SIM only deal offers a package of minutes, texts and mobile data for a monthly cost, much the same as a traditional mobile phone contract. The difference, however, is that you don't get a new phone included in your contract – you get the SIM, and just the SIM.

Three: £10.50 per month (was £21), unlimited data
Voxi: £10 per month, 15GB data with unlimed Social Media data
EE: £20 per month with 160GB data
Talk Mobile: £7 per month with 3GB data
iD Mobile: £8 per month with 15GB data
Smarty: £5 per month with 3GB data
Vodafone: £9.50 per month with 100GB data
Giffgaff: £6 per month with 1GB data

Best SIM-free deals 2022:

How do SIM-free phones work?

A SIM-free phone is exactly as the name suggests - a phone lacking a SIM. Buying a SIM-free device is, in most cases, cheaper than getting any contract mobile phone deals but it does require a larger upfront spend.

That's because you're paying the full price of the handset upfront. Then you can simply buy a SIM plan or put in one you already have. In almost all cases, this is the cheapest option as long as the upfront cost isn't too overwhelming for you.