EE vs Three vs O2 vs Vodafone: Winner of the best UK mobile network 2026 revealed

If you're looking to switch mobile providers, now is a great time. Consumer group Which? has just named**** Talkmobile the best mobile phone network of the year as part of its satisfaction survey.

The company heard from 5,137 customers from 15 of the biggest contract, SIM-only, and pay-as-you-go providers like Three, O2, and Sky Mobile. Questions that were asked revolved around their experiences with network availability, service quality, value for money, and more.

If you want to get the full detailed results of each category, you'll need to sign up for a Which? paid subscription.

Which? has listed all 15 providers, including the overall percentage of satisfaction:

• Talkmobile - 83%
• Tesco Mobile - 81%
• Giffgaff - 79%
• Smarty - 79%
• Voxi - 79%
• 1p Mobile - 78%
• Lebara Mobile - 78%
• Asda Mobile - 77%
• EE Mobile - 74%
• iD Mobile - 73%
• Sky Mobile - 73%
• Vodafone Mobile - 72%
• Lycamobile - 68%
• O2 Mobile - 67%
• Three Mobile - 65%

Get 80GB of data for only £10 from "recommended provider" Smarty

Switch to a Smarty plan and get 80GB of data for only £10 per month. This deal is so good, you'd only be paying 33p per day. Smarty offers flexible, commitment-free mobile plans you can cancel or change anytime, with no credit checks or annual price rises. You get unlimited calls and texts, Wi-Fi calling, fast 4G and 5G data, and EU roaming with a 12GB fair-use limit.

Or get nearly double the data for only £12 from "recommended provider" Giffgaff

If 80GB of data isn't enough, you can get 150GB for only £2 extra per month when you sign up for an 18-month contract from Giffgaff. The mobile provider uses the same network as O2 and includes 5G at no extra cost.

Talkmobile is powered by Vodafone and provides SIM-only deals and flexible data options. Having earned the top spot in the survey, a Talkmobile customer told Which?, "Excellent customer service can't be faulted."

Another customer told Which?, "I recommend them to all my friends and family."

Talkmobile also earned the "Recommended Provider" title from Which? — alongside Giffgaff, Smarty, 1p Mobile, and Lebara Mobile.

The mobile provider also earned the "Great Provider" badge — next to Smarty, 1p Mobile, Asda Mobile, and iD Mobile.

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Many of the providers that earned top spots from the customer survey are actually powered by the UK's big four mobile networks — EE, O2, Vodafone, and Three.

Since they're considered to have a monopoly on in this space, many partner with other providers on their sims. The big four help power the following providers:

• EE: 1p Mobile, BT Mobile, LycaMobile, Utility Warehouse

• O2: Giffgaff, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile

• Vodafone: Asda Mobile, Lebara, Talkmobile, Voxi

• Three: iD Mobile, Smarty

However, Three and O2 actually earned the bottom two spots from customers in the survey.

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