About us

About CompareDial

CompareDial is a phone & SIM contract deal comparison website. Our innovative technology helps you to find the best deals for your specific needs, narrowing down from thousands of results across the market.

How we make money

We make money through commissions. If you click on a deal on our website and continue to make a purchase, we may earn a commission from the retailer or provider.

Independent and unbiased

CompareDial Ltd is a registered company in England and Wales (Company No. 13617998). We are an independent company - we are not owned by anyone, nor are we incentivised to favour a particular network, provider or retailer.

The results we show, our editorial content, as well as our fetching and sorting algorithms, are completely unbiased.

We do not favour retailers or providers based on the potential commision we may receive. Our technology is developed independently from any financial incentives.

Accuracy

At CompareDial, we pride ourselves on always providing accurate and up to date information. Our database is updated at least once a day for the latest deals.

We perform regular, manual checks on our data to prevent any inaccuracy or misinformation.

However, human errors can occur. Our deals are provided directly from retailers and providers. Occasionally, there may be typos or accidental mistakes. If you spot any problems or mistakes, please contact us as soon as possible so we can fix them.

Market representation

Our deals represent the majority of the UK mobile network market share. We are open to accepting all reputable retailers and providers at CompareDial.

If you’re a network, provider or retailer, and you’re interested in being added to our comparison tools, please get in touch.

We currently compare the following retailers and networks:

Networks

  • Asda Mobile
  • BT
  • EE
  • giffgaff
  • iD Mobile
  • Lebara
  • O2
  • Plusnet
  • Sky Mobile
  • SMARTY
  • Talkmobile
  • Tesco Mobile
  • Three
  • Virgin Mobile
  • Vodafone
  • VOXI

Retailers

  • Affordable Mobiles
  • Asda Mobile
  • BT
  • Carphone Warehouse
  • Chitter Chatter
  • EE
  • Fonehouse
  • Lebara
  • Metrofone
  • Mobile Phones Direct
  • O2
  • Plusnet
  • Reward Mobile
  • SMARTY
  • Sky
  • Talkmobile
  • Tesco Mobile
  • Three
  • VOXI
  • Virgin Mobile
  • buymobiles.net
  • e2save
  • giffgaff
  • iD Mobile

How we calculate costs

We calculate costs the same way costs are commonly calculated within the phone / SIM contract industry and market.

We display costs for each deal, with further information available by clicking ‘Cost breakdown & more info’.

Monthly cost

Monthly cost is the monthly amount you will have to pay to your provider for the total length of your contract. This amount is usually paid by direct debit.

Some deals have two different monthly costs for two different periods of the total contract length. When this is the case, this will be shown as ‘First term length’ + ‘First term cost’ and ‘Second term length’ + ’Second term cost’.

Contract months

This is the total length of your contract, and the total duration you will have to make monthly payments to your provider.

For example, most contracts are 24 months in length. This means you will have to pay the monthly cost to your provider for 24 months (until your contract ends).

Upfront cost

This is the initial amount you will have to pay when you start your contract. It usually covers a partial amount of the cost of your phone.

Some phone contracts have a ‘FREE’ (£0) upfront cost. This means you won’t have to make an initial payment before you receive your phone and start your contract (not including any delivery fees).

SIM contracts usually have a ‘FREE’ (£0) upfront cost, however there are some that do require an upfront cost, although this is rare.

Cashback

Cashback is a set amount of money that will be paid back to you during your contract. You may receive cashback at once or in installments. It is usually paid via bank transfer or cheque.

If you don’t fulfil your contract obligations, you may forfeit any potential or remaining cashback. It is important you read the cashback terms, as every provider has different rules for paying cashback.

There are two different types of cashback:

Automatic cashback: paid automatically. As long as you continue paying your monthly contract bills in full and on time, you will receive cashback without having to claim.

Redemption cashback: must be claimed manually. In most cases, you will have to provide proof that you are paying your monthly contract bills.

Total cost of ownership

This is the total amount you will pay over the duration of your contract, minus any cashback:

(monthly payments * contract length) + upfront cost - cashback

Average monthly cost

This is the ‘Total cost of ownership’ divided by ‘Contract months’. It is also commonly known as the 'effective monthly cost'.