EE vs Three 2026 UK: which network to pick after the VodafoneThree merger

News · 6 Jun 2026 · Claire Bennett

EE vs Three is the comparison that changed the most in the past year, because Three is no longer a standalone network: it is now part of VodafoneThree, the merged operator that the Competition and Markets Authority approved on 5 December 2024. If you are choosing a SIM in the UK today, that merger reshapes coverage, the price you pay over a contract, and what happens to Three customers as the two networks knit together. Here is our read on which operator suits which buyer.

What the VodafoneThree merger actually changes for Three customers

This is the single most important thing to understand before you sign anything. Three UK and Vodafone closed their £16.5 billion tie-up in mid-2025, after the CMA cleared it in December 2024, and the combined business now goes to market as VodafoneThree with roughly 27 million customers. For an existing Three customer that does not mean a forced handset change or a new SIM. Three has confirmed that your current plan, price and perks are contractually protected until your minimum term ends, so nothing is ripped away mid-contract.

What does change is the network underneath you. Three customers can now automatically roam onto Vodafone’s masts at no extra cost, so a device hops to whichever of the two networks has the stronger signal in a given spot. That is a genuine win in places where Three’s own footprint was thin. The trade-off is that the merger reduced the UK from four mobile network operators to three, and the CMA only allowed that on the condition of an £11 billion build-out and time-limited consumer protections. If you want the regulatory background, our explainer on Vodafone taking full ownership of VodafoneThree sets out the ownership shake-up, and the VodafoneThree satellite coverage clearance shows where the combined network is heading next.

Coverage and signal: where each network actually reaches

Coverage is where EE has the clearest lead, and the numbers are not close. Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2025 report, published on 19 November 2025, measures 5G geographic coverage by land area. EE comes out at 42 to 49 percent depending on the confidence level, the highest of any UK operator. Three sits at just 10 to 23 percent on the same measure. That gap matters most if you travel beyond cities, drive rural A-roads, or work somewhere the population thins out.

The merger softens that gap for Three buyers, though. Because a Three SIM now falls back onto Vodafone’s network, the practical coverage a new Three customer experiences is better than Three’s standalone Ofcom figure suggests. Vodafone’s footprint plugs some of the rural holes. Even so, if you want the strongest single-network 5G across the most of the UK’s land area today, EE is the answer, and that judgement is backed by the same Ofcom data set rather than a marketing claim. For a worked example of checking a specific handset against each network, see our piece on checking EE, VodafoneThree and O2 before buying a Xiaomi 17T.

5G speeds and the standalone rollout race

Raw 5G is one thing; 5G Standalone, the version that runs without a 4G anchor and unlocks lower latency, is the real battleground. EE is pushing hardest here. The operator says its 5G+ service, its branding for Standalone, now covers more than 50 million people across over 610 towns and cities, and EE was the first UK network to run five-carrier aggregation on its 5G+ sites. EE has committed to reaching 99 percent of the population with 5G+ by the end of March 2030.

Three’s pitch is different. It leans on having been recognised as the UK’s fastest 5G network in Ookla’s Speedtest Awards for the first half of 2025, and its marketing puts peak speed front and centre. Both things can be true: EE wins on how far Standalone reaches, Three has competed hard on peak throughput where its 5G is live. The honest read for a buyer is that in a well-served city centre either network will stream and game without complaint, so the decision swings back to coverage breadth and price rather than a headline megabit figure you will rarely hit. Our background on EE 5G+ expansion and which phones qualify explains why your handset, not just the network, decides whether you see Standalone at all.

Plans and price: what £24 a month buys on each

On SIM-only, Three is the aggressive one. Three confirmed in its January 2026 announcement that its SIM Only Value plan gives unlimited data, calls and texts from £24 a month on a 24-month term, with shorter 12-month unlimited 5G plans starting lower. EE structures its SIM range into four named tiers: the No Frills SIM, the Essentials SIM, the All Rounder SIM and the Full Works SIM. The cheaper EE tiers cap your speed (No Frills at 10Mbps, Essentials at 100Mbps), while All Rounder and Full Works remove the cap and add 5G+, inclusive roaming and an Inclusive Extra such as a subscription perk.

The pattern is consistent: pound for pound, Three undercuts EE for unlimited data, while EE charges a premium that buys you the wider Standalone footprint and the bundled extras. There is also the mid-contract rise to weigh. From 1 April 2026, VodafoneThree moved Three’s annual increases to a flat pounds-and-pence model rather than a percentage, at £1.80 a month for the smallest data tiers, £1.90 for mid tiers and £2.30 for 100GB-plus plans. EE applies its own fixed annual increase. Whichever you pick, price the rise into the full term, not just the first month, the same discipline we recommend in our eSIM setup guide for EE, VodafoneThree and O2.

Perks, roaming and the extras that tip a close call

When coverage and price land close, the extras decide it. EE’s higher tiers bundle inclusive EU roaming on All Rounder and add inclusive world roaming on Full Works, plus a rotating Inclusive Extra such as a streaming or storage subscription, and EE has also rolled out consumer-protection features like its Scam Guard AI fraud tools. That is the BT-owned network playing to its strength: a fuller package for people who want one bill to cover several things.

Three’s traditional strength was value and generous data, and that survives the merger intact, with the added bonus of Vodafone roaming reach now folded in. Where EE asks you to climb its tier ladder to unlock roaming, Three’s unlimited plans keep the proposition simple. If you mostly want a lot of data at the lowest sensible monthly price and you live or work somewhere already well served, Three’s simplicity is a real advantage. If you want the safety net of the broadest coverage plus bundled perks and are willing to pay for it, EE’s package answers that. For phone deals specifically, our roundup of the best iPhone deals on EE shows how the network bundles handsets on top of these tiers.

EE wins on coverage breadth and bundled extras; Three wins on price and now borrows Vodafone’s masts to plug its old rural gaps.

Where to buy or check next in the UK

Before you commit, do three concrete checks. First, run your full postcode and your daily routes through both the EE coverage checker at ee.co.uk and the Three coverage checker at three.co.uk, because the Ofcom land-area figures do not tell you about your street. Second, confirm your handset supports each network’s 5G+ or Standalone bands, since an older phone will see plain 5G at best regardless of network. Third, price the whole contract with the mid-contract rise included.

You can buy either SIM direct from EE or Three online, or through high-street and retailer routes. EE SIMs and handsets are sold via EE stores, BT, and Currys; Three SIMs are available direct, through Currys, and through its own retail estate, while VodafoneThree group also reaches buyers through MVNOs such as SMARTY and iD Mobile that ride the same network. If you are bringing a number across, ask for a PAC code from your current provider and check the switching window. For pay-as-you-go rather than contract, EE’s refreshed PAYG range with rollover data is worth a look alongside Three’s pre-pay options.

Our verdict: which network to pick

Our view is that EE is the network for coverage-first buyers, rural and frequent travellers, and anyone who wants bundled roaming and perks in one package, because Ofcom’s own 2025 data hands it a decisive 5G land-area lead and its 5G+ rollout reaches furthest. Three, now VodafoneThree, is the value pick: if you want unlimited data from around £24 a month, live somewhere already well served, and like a clear pounds-and-pence price rise, Three is the smarter spend, and the Vodafone network fallback quietly improves what used to be its weakest point. Existing Three customers do not need to panic-switch, since your terms are protected to the end of your contract. We would wait before signing a long EE term only if you are in an area Three already covers well and price is your priority. The factor that would flip our call is the £11 billion VodafoneThree build-out: if it closes the coverage gap on schedule, Three’s value case gets much harder for EE to answer.

EE vs Three UK: frequently asked questions

Related reading on MTW

• Vodafone takes full ownership of VodafoneThree in UK 5G shake-up
• EE 5G+ expansion reaches 50 million people but your phone still has to qualify
• eSIM setup UK 2026: EE, VodafoneThree and O2 step by step