Honest Mobile has just dropped a 'surprise sale' on its Smart SIM, knocking 15% off the annual plan. That brings the price from £45 down to £38.25 for the year, or about £3.19 a month when you spread it out. If you've been sitting on the fence since I first wrote up the Smart SIM in my original review, this is probably the nudge you needed.
A Quick Recap
For anyone who's missed previous coverage, the Smart SIM is a data-only eSIM that sits alongside your main SIM. In the UK, it hops between EE, O2, Three and Vodafone, picking whichever has the strongest signal. Abroad, you get free roaming in 180+ countries with no daily fees or usage caps. The catch is that it only works with a curated list of 'essential' apps rather than open web browsing or social media. More on that below.
Now 500+ Apps (And You Can Suggest More)
When I first reviewed the Smart SIM, the supported app count was hovering around 500. Honest has now ticked over to '500+ and growing,' and the headline names remain comprehensive for travel:
WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal, Telegram (messaging, including WhatsApp voice calls)
Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze, Citymapper (navigation)
Uber, Bolt, Trainline, most airline apps (transport)
Monzo, Revolut, Starling, Wise, and most major UK banks
Booking.com, Airbnb, Skyscanner, TripAdvisor (travel)
ChatGPT, Google Search, Google Translate (general utilities)
One bit I think is genuinely underrated: if there's an app you rely on that isn't supported, you can request it directly from inside the Honest Mobile app. The request goes straight to the Smart SIM team, and based on reader reports and what I've seen myself over the past few months, popular suggestions do get added over time. It's a nice feedback loop that travel eSIM providers don't really have.
What you still can't do is stream Netflix or YouTube, open arbitrary websites in a browser, or scroll Instagram and TikTok. For me that's the whole point. It keeps the price low and stops me doom-scrolling on long layovers.
Where The Smart SIM Has Earned Its Keep: Short Layovers
If I had to pick the one scenario where Honest Mobile has really proved its worth since I bought mine, it's the short 1-2 day layover. You know the kind: a stopover that's too short to bother properly exploring, but long enough that you need to get to a hotel, message family, check your onward flight and grab an Uber to the next thing.
Buying a destination-specific eSIM for that little time feels like overkill (and a faff to set up for the sake of one night). Switching on your usual UK network's pay-as-you-go roaming is even worse, since some carriers will quite happily charge you £6 or more per day for the privilege of doing exactly what the Smart SIM already does for free.
Instead, I land, switch the data line to the Smart SIM in settings (literally two taps), and I'm on WhatsApp, Maps, Uber and my banking apps within seconds. No QR codes to scan at the gate, no top-ups to remember, no nasty bill at the end of the month. After more than a few of these short layovers since the original review, I can confirm it just works.
It also pairs nicely with longer trips. I'll still grab a destination Airalo eSIM for a fortnight in Thailand if I want full data access, but the Smart SIM stays in the background as a safety net for when I run out of data or land somewhere Airalo doesn't cover well.
The Sale Maths
At £38.25 for the year (the sale price), you're paying £3.19 a month. To put that in context:
One day of pay-as-you-go roaming with some UK networks: £6 to £7
A standalone 7-day data eSIM for a single destination: typically £8 to £15
Annual Smart SIM during this sale: £38.25 for 12 months of unlimited essentials across 180+ countries
Even if you only travel internationally a couple of times a year, you've cleared the cost well before the second trip. If you're not ready to commit to the annual plan, the monthly rolling option is still £10 with no contract. Personally I'd just take the annual at the sale price and forget about it for the next 12 months.
Worth Bearing In Mind
A couple of honest caveats, in case you're new to all this:
It's data-only. You still need your main SIM for regular calls and texts. WhatsApp voice calls work fine.
You need an eSIM-compatible phone (any iPhone XS or newer, plus most recent Androids).
If you need Netflix on a flight or full social media access abroad, this isn't your only solution. Combine it with a destination eSIM for those trips.
My Take
I'm now several months in with the Smart SIM, and it's quietly settled into the boring-but-essential pile of travel kit alongside my passport wallet and a decent pair of headphones. That's the best compliment I can pay a piece of travel tech: I forget about it until I need it, and then it just works.
At £38.25 for the year, this is one of the easiest 'yes' recommendations I've made in a while. If you travel even a handful of times a year, and especially the kind of trips with short layovers or itineraries that can change at short notice, you'll have your money back before you're a third of the way through the year.
You can grab the Smart SIM at the sale price here. The 14-day money-back guarantee is still in place if you decide it's not for you, though I doubt you'll be sending it back.
And if you're now plotting where to point those miles and your handy new eSIM, Award Travel Finder is the tool I always reach for when I'm hunting for award seats.
Happy travels,
Jack