In this guide
- How we put this guide together
- Does SMARTY include roaming?
- Where can you roam with SMARTY?
- How much roaming data do you get?
- What happens if you go over the limit?
- Roaming outside Europe
- The 60-day rule and spending cap
- What a typical trip actually costs
- How SMARTY roaming compares
- How to check and manage your roaming
- Roaming FAQs
- Does SMARTY roaming work in Switzerland or Turkey?
- Can I buy more data if I use up my 12GB in the EU?
- Does the 12GB cap reset every month?
- Can I tether abroad with SMARTY?
- What happens if I stay abroad too long?
- Editorial policy
SMARTY includes EU roaming on every plan with a 12GB monthly cap, and it genuinely lets you buy more data when you run out. This guide explains exactly what is included, what happens when you hit the 12GB limit, and how SMARTY stacks up against the other Three-based and budget networks you might pick instead.
Reviewed by: Phil Brown, founder of SIM Only Finder. Phil previously worked in UK mobile retail at Three UK, advising customers on SIM plans, contracts, and network choices. He has spent over a decade running consumer comparison platforms and reviews networks and SIM-only deals based on that hands-on industry background. About the author
Last reviewed: May 2026. Updated regularly to reflect current plan pricing, network changes, and roaming policies.
How we put this guide together
To put this guide together, we reviewed SMARTY's published roaming terms against its own help centre and Price Guide, checking the included allowance, the fair use cap, the data add-on and EU Roaming Pass pricing, the spending limit, the consecutive-day rule, and the list of covered destinations. We have also used SMARTY roaming first hand: on a recent trip to Barcelona we bought the 3-day EU Roaming Pass, found the connection was a fast, trouble-free 4G and 5G signal throughout, and bought a second pass to cover the full stay. SMARTY runs on the Three network, and coverage reliability assessments reference the most recent RootMetrics UK RootScore Report and Ofcom Connected Nations data.
Does SMARTY include roaming?
Yes. Every SMARTY plan includes EU roaming at no extra cost, with no daily charge to unlock your allowance. You use your plan's data, and on voice plans your unlimited calls and texts, across SMARTY's EU roaming destinations just as you would at home. Data-only plans are the exception for calls and texts: they need an out-of-plan add-on to call or text even within the EU.
Where can you roam with SMARTY?
SMARTY's inclusive EU roaming covers the EU member states plus a list of selected European destinations, including Iceland, Norway, Gibraltar, San Marino, Vatican City, and several French and Spanish territories such as the Canary Islands, Madeira, the Azores, Martinique, and Reunion.
The trap to know is what sits just outside that inclusive zone. Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man are not in SMARTY's inclusive EU roaming band. They fall into a separate charging band, so a trip through Switzerland will not draw on your normal allowance. Turkey and the United States are further out still, in SMARTY's wider international bands. If your itinerary touches any of these, check the band before you travel rather than assuming your allowance applies.
How much roaming data do you get?
Every SMARTY plan gives you up to 12GB of data to use while roaming in the EU each plan month, taken from your monthly allowance. If your plan includes less than 12GB, you can use all of it abroad. If it includes more than 12GB, including unlimited plans, you are capped at 12GB while roaming unless you take one of the steps in the next section.
Two points are worth holding onto. First, the 12GB is a monthly cap that resets with your plan month, not a fixed pot for the life of the plan, which makes it more generous for longer or repeated trips than caps that do not reset. Second, the Republic of Ireland is exempt: there you can use your full monthly data allowance, a deliberate measure to stop accidental roaming across the Northern Ireland border from eating into a capped allowance.
What happens if you go over the limit?
Hitting the 12GB cap does not cut you off with no recourse. You have two routes to more data, and which one you use depends on your plan size.
If you are on a plan of 12GB or smaller, you buy a data add-on. SMARTY sells six sizes, priced at 1GB for £1, 2GB for £2, 4GB for £4, 5GB for £5, 10GB for £9, and 15GB for £14. These have no expiry date for as long as you stay with SMARTY, and they work in both the UK and the EU, so anything you do not use abroad is not wasted.
If you are on a plan larger than 12GB, you have a second option: an EU Roaming Data Pass. Priced at £3 for one day or £7 for three days, the pass unlocks your full unused plan allowance while abroad instead of capping you at 12GB, which suits a short burst of heavy use on a big-data plan. The pass option only appears for customers on plans above 12GB. Prices are correct to SMARTY's current Price Guide, but confirm them in the app before buying, as they can change.
Roaming outside Europe
Outside the EU, SMARTY plans include no roaming allowance. To use data, calls, or texts in countries like the United States, Australia, or the UAE, you need an out-of-plan add-on, topped up in £5 increments up to £15, which then works like pay as you go: you are charged per MB and per minute at the rate for that country's band, and you only pay for what you use. Any unused balance can be carried over or converted toward your next plan.
Rates vary widely by band. The cheapest non-EU band charges a few pence per MB, while the most expensive runs to several pounds per MB, so for a non-EU trip it is worth checking your destination's band in the Price Guide before relying on roaming at all. For heavy data use outside Europe, a local eSIM is often cheaper than SMARTY's pay-as-you-go rates.
The 60-day rule and spending cap
SMARTY's roaming is built for trips, not for living abroad, and two safeguards enforce that. The first is a consecutive-day limit: spend 60 consecutive days abroad and SMARTY has the right to suspend all services on your account, with a two-week warning text before any suspension. Roaming both inside and outside the EU counts toward those 60 days, so a long multi-country trip adds up. If you are stuck abroad for reasons beyond your control, contacting SMARTY before the deadline can prevent suspension.
The second is a spending cap that works in your favour. SMARTY automatically sets a £45 worldwide data roaming limit on every account, resetting on the first of each month. Once you reach it you cannot make calls, send texts, or use data until the limit resets, even if you have bought out-of-plan add-ons, unless you ask SMARTY to raise the cap. It is a genuine protection against bill shock, and it applies without you having to set anything up.
What a typical trip actually costs
Consider a two-week holiday in Spain on a 100GB SMARTY plan, using around 16GB across the fortnight on maps, messaging, and some streaming.
The first 12GB is included at no extra cost. The remaining 4GB is the question. Because this is a plan over 12GB, you have a choice. A 4GB data add-on costs £4 and never expires, so any leftover data carries on into your UK use. Alternatively, if your heavy use is concentrated into a few days, a 3-day EU Roaming Pass at £7 unlocks your full 100GB allowance for that window. On our own trip to Barcelona the 3-day pass was the route we took, and the practical thing to know is that the pass covers a fixed window rather than a fixed amount of data, so on a longer stay you may need a second one when the first expires, as we did. For 4GB of overflow spread across two weeks, the £4 add-on is the cheaper, simpler choice; the pass makes more sense when you want your full allowance over a concentrated few days. The practical lesson is that SMARTY roaming is genuinely free up to 12GB a month, and beyond that the add-on, at roughly £1 per GB, is the real price of extra data rather than any punitive out-of-bundle rate.
How SMARTY roaming compares
SMARTY's 12GB monthly cap sits in the middle of the budget field, and its real strength is the buy-more flexibility behind it. Among Three-based and budget rivals, both iD Mobile and Lebara include a larger 30GB monthly allowance, so for sheer included volume SMARTY trails them. giffgaff includes only 5GB, and counts it per plan rather than per month, so SMARTY is clearly more generous than giffgaff on both counts.
Where SMARTY wins is the combination of a monthly-resetting cap, cheap non-expiring add-ons at around £1 per GB, the unusual full-allowance EU Roaming Pass for big-data plans, and an automatic £45 spend cap. If you want the largest included allowance, iD or Lebara are the stronger picks. If you value flexibility, bill protection, and the ability to top up cheaply when you do go over, SMARTY is a strong budget choice on Three's network.
How to check and manage your roaming
Before you travel, make sure data roaming is enabled in your phone settings and that your APN is set correctly, as SMARTY SIMs sometimes need the APN set to mob.asm.net to work abroad. You can buy data add-ons and EU Roaming Passes through the SMARTY app or web dashboard, where you can also track your spending against the £45 cap.
If you want tighter control, you can ask SMARTY to bar data roaming entirely, switch off data roaming in your phone settings near borders to avoid inadvertent roaming, or rely on Wi-Fi where possible. If you are moving to SMARTY from another network and want to keep your number, our PAC code transfer guide explains how.
Roaming FAQs
Does SMARTY roaming work in Switzerland or Turkey?
Not on your inclusive allowance. Switzerland sits in a separate roaming band outside SMARTY's inclusive EU zone, and Turkey is further out in the international bands. You can still use your phone there, but it is charged per MB at that band's rate rather than coming from your 12GB allowance, so check the Price Guide before travelling.
Can I buy more data if I use up my 12GB in the EU?
Yes. On plans of 12GB or less you buy a data add-on, from £1 for 1GB up to £14 for 15GB, and these never expire. On plans over 12GB you can instead buy an EU Roaming Pass, at £3 for one day or £7 for three days, which unlocks your full plan allowance while abroad.
Does the 12GB cap reset every month?
Yes. SMARTY's 12GB is a monthly cap that resets with your plan month, so it renews each month you are away rather than being a one-off pot for the life of the plan.
Can I tether abroad with SMARTY?
Yes. Tethering uses your normal data, so it draws from your 12GB EU roaming allowance just like any other use, with no separate tethering charge. The same 12GB cap applies whether you browse or tether.
What happens if I stay abroad too long?
If you roam for 60 consecutive days, SMARTY can suspend your services, having sent a warning two weeks earlier. Roaming inside and outside the EU both count toward the 60 days. This makes SMARTY unsuitable for living abroad, though it is fine for ordinary holidays and long trips under two months.
Best for: EU travellers who want a monthly-resetting allowance on Three's network with cheap, non-expiring top-ups and automatic bill protection, including big-data plan holders who can unlock their full allowance abroad with a roaming pass. Travellers who want the largest included allowance with no thought of add-ons should consider iD Mobile or Lebara at 30GB instead.
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Editorial policy
This guide is produced by the SIM Only Finder editorial team to help travellers understand SMARTY roaming charges, allowances, and limits. Network terms, pricing, and roaming availability are checked regularly and updated to reflect current policies. Always confirm current terms directly with the network before travelling.
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