Business SIM Cost Per Employee in the UK: The 2026 Price Guide

A £16 business SIM costs £16 for one person. For five people over a two-year contract, it costs £1,920. Same SIM. Very different number.

That gap is why so many UK businesses pick the wrong mobile plan. They compare the price on the box, not the price of the whole team for the whole contract. This guide shows you the real business SIM cost per employee in the UK, using real 2026 prices, simple sums, and the hidden SIMs most budgets forget.

👉 Want to see live prices first? Compare GleeSim business SIM-only plans →

How much does a business SIM cost in the UK in 2026?

A business SIM-only plan in the UK costs roughly £12.50 to £25 per employee per month before VAT for UK use, and up to around £90 for plans with calls and data in 90+ countries. The final cost depends on four things: the network, the data allowance, the roaming you need, and the contract length.

Here are real GleeSim prices from our business SIM-only range (October 2026, all excluding VAT):

Plan	Network	Data	Contract	Price per SIM / month (ex VAT)
Three SIM Only 80GB	Three	80GB	24 months	£12.50
O2 20GB Business SIM, EU roaming	O2	20GB	24 months	£16.00
O2 Business SIM 50GB, EU roaming	O2	50GB	—	£18.00
Three Unlimited 5G Business SIM	Three	Unlimited 5G	Monthly	£18.99
EE Business SIM, unlimited, free EU roaming	EE	Unlimited	Monthly	£19.50
O2 Unlimited 5G, free EU roaming	O2	Unlimited 5G	Monthly	£24.00
Vodafone Unlimited 5G	Vodafone	Unlimited 5G	24 months	£25.00
Three Unlimited 5G, roaming in 92 countries	Three	Unlimited 5G	Monthly	£37.00
Global Unlimited Roaming, 92 countries	Multi	Calls + data	24 months	£90.00

Prices change. Always check the product page before you order.

Not sure how much data each person needs? We have already done that maths in 20GB vs 50GB, sized by job role. This guide is about the money.

The 3-step formula for business mobile costs

Think of it like buying school lunches for a whole class. One lunch is cheap. A year of lunches for 30 children is a real budget.

Step 1 — Price per SIM × number of people = monthly bill Step 2 — Monthly bill × months in contract = contract total Step 3 — Add 20% VAT (then reclaim it, if you can) = cash out of the bank

Price per SIM (ex VAT)	1 person / month	5 people / month	10 people / month	10 people over 24 months
£12.50	£12.50	£62.50	£125.00	£3,000
£16.00	£16.00	£80.00	£160.00	£3,840
£18.99	£18.99	£94.95	£189.90	£4,557.60
£25.00	£25.00	£125.00	£250.00	£6,000

Look at the last column. The difference between a £12.50 SIM and a £25 SIM for ten people is £3,000 over two years. That is real money for a small business.

Do business SIM prices include VAT?

No, usually not. Most UK business mobile prices, including GleeSim's, are shown excluding VAT. Add 20% to see the cash you actually pay: a £16 SIM becomes £19.20, and five of them become £96 a month.

The good news: if your business is VAT-registered and the contract is in the business name, you can normally reclaim that VAT on business mobile costs. That makes the ex-VAT price your true cost. Check your own position with your accountant or on HMRC's VAT guidance at GOV.UK.

Not VAT-registered? Budget on the inc-VAT figure. It is a 20% swing, so it matters.

The mixed-fleet trick: stop paying unlimited prices for light users

Here is the mistake we see most often at GleeSim. A business puts everyone on the same big unlimited plan "to be safe".

Take a real 10-person team:

Who	How many	Plan	Monthly (ex VAT)
Office staff (email, Teams, WhatsApp)	6	O2 20GB, EU roaming, £16	£96.00
Field engineers (maps, uploads, hotspot)	3	Three Unlimited 5G, £18.99	£56.97
Director who travels outside the EU	1	Three Unlimited 5G, 92 countries, £37	£37.00
Mixed fleet total	10		£189.97
Everyone on Vodafone Unlimited 5G, £25	10		£250.00

The mixed fleet saves £60.03 a month, £720 a year, and £1,440 over a 24-month contract. Same team. Same work. Less waste.

Quotable: "You don't have a mobile bill problem. You have a one-plan-fits-all problem."

This is what a boutique provider does differently. Big networks sell you one tariff. GleeSim builds a bespoke business mobile contract across EE, O2, Three and Vodafone, matched to each role, on one account and one bill.

👉 Ten lines or more? Ask GleeSim for a bespoke multi-network quote →

The hidden SIMs: your business pays for more SIMs than staff

Count your people, then count your SIMs. They are rarely the same number.

A typical 10-person UK business often also runs:

• Mobile broadband (MBB) router for a site office, van, pop-up or backup when the fibre fails → see site cellular WiFi
• Card machine or POS that needs a data SIM, sometimes a static (fixed) IP for payment whitelisting
• CCTV or alarm panel that needs remote access, which works best with a fixed IP SIM
• EV charge points at the car park, which send tiny amounts of data (read how much data an EV charger uses)
• GPS trackers in vans, trailers or plant (M2M / IoT)
• Tablets and laptops that need a data-only SIM for hybrid working

These are M2M and IoT connections: machines talking to machines. They need different SIMs to phones. Some use multi-network SIMs that hop between Vodafone, O2 and Three when one signal drops. Some need a private APN. Many cost a lot less than a phone SIM. GleeSim's EV charger IoT SIM, for example, starts at £1.99 + VAT a month on a 30-day rolling plan.

Put them on separate suppliers and you get five bills, five contract end dates and five support lines. Put them with one UK connectivity partner and you get one.

Is a business SIM-only plan cheaper than a phone contract?

Usually, yes, if your team already has decent phones. With SIM-only you pay for the connection only. With a phone contract, the handset cost is folded into a higher monthly price, often for 24 to 36 months.

Simple test with real numbers:

• SIM-only route: O2 20GB at £16 × 24 months = £384, plus a phone bought outright (a Samsung Galaxy A26 5G is around £205) = £589, or about £24.54 a month
• Phone contract route: compare that £589 against the full 24-month total the contract quote gives you

Whichever is lower wins. Need new handsets? GleeSim supplies business phones, tablets and routers too, so you can buy with or without hardware.

5 costs that hide in the small print

Hidden cost	What to ask before you sign
Annual price rises	"What is the rise in pounds and pence?" (Ofcom rules require providers to state it clearly)
Roaming outside the EU	"Which countries? What daily or monthly limit?"
Early exit fees	"What do I pay to leave in month 10?"
Hotspot and fair-use limits	"Is tethering allowed? What is the fair-use cap?"
Adding lines mid-contract	"Do new lines end on the same date as the rest?"

Switching your numbers is not one of them. Text PAC to 65075 from each phone, free, and your numbers move with you. Ofcom's switching rules are explained on Ofcom's website.

Who is GleeSim?

GleeSim is a boutique UK telecom company based in Livingston, Scotland. We supply business mobile contracts, mobile broadband, M2M, IoT and fixed IP connectivity to SMEs, corporates and enterprise teams across the UK, with or without hardware.

• GleeSim family business since 2009; team with 30 years' combined telecom experience
• Networks: EE, O2, Three and Vodafone, plus multi-network IoT SIMs
• UK-based support, Monday to Friday 9:00–17:00, 24/7 email

Frequently asked questions

How much do business SIMs cost for 5 employees?

Multiply the price per SIM by five. Five O2 20GB SIMs at £16 cost £80 a month ex VAT (£96 inc VAT) and £1,920 ex VAT over 24 months. Five Three 80GB SIMs at £12.50 cost £62.50 a month.

What is the cheapest business SIM-only plan in the UK?

At GleeSim, the lowest-priced business phone SIM in October 2026 is the Three 80GB plan at £12.50 a month ex VAT on a 24-month contract. Cheapest is only best if Three has good signal where your team works.

Can I reclaim VAT on a business SIM-only plan?

Usually, yes. If your business is VAT-registered and the contract is in the business name for business use, VAT on the bill can normally be reclaimed. Confirm your position with your accountant.

Can different employees be on different networks?

Yes. GleeSim can mix EE, O2, Three and Vodafone lines on one business account, so each person gets the network that works best where they live and work.

Is a 30-day rolling business SIM more expensive?

Often by a few pounds a month. Vodafone Unlimited 5G is £25 on 24 months and £30 on 3 months. You pay a little more for the freedom to leave.

Does GleeSim supply phones and routers as well as SIMs?

Yes. GleeSim supplies business phones, tablets, 4G/5G routers and IoT hardware, or SIMs on their own if you already have devices.

The cheapest business mobile plan is not the one with the lowest number on the page. It is the one that fits each person, includes every hidden SIM, and adds up over the whole contract.

Do the three-step sum. Mix plans by role. Count the routers, card machines and cameras. Then put it all on one bill with one UK team.

👉 Get your team connected today. Compare GleeSim business SIM-only plans → · or for 10+ lines, IoT or fixed IP, request a bespoke quote from GleeSim's Scotland team →

Prices shown are GleeSim list prices excluding VAT and delivery, correct on 22 October 2026. Plans, networks and terms may change. Check each product page for current details and fair-use policies.