The best SIM for international calls in the UK is often the one you already have, plus the right bolt-on. On EE, the £2.50 International Pass cuts calls to India and the USA to 3p a minute, and O2's £3 International Bolt On starts at 1p a minute (both as of October 2026). If your network has nothing like that, a SIM-only plan with international minutes built in (Lyca, Lebara) is the next stop, and if you do not want to change SIM at all, you can call from a browser instead.

What decides it is where you call. A plan that is brilliant for Poland can be poor for Pakistan, so this guide is organised by destination first and network second.

Quick picks by destination

Use this as the short answer, then read the network notes below before you switch.

You mostly call...	Strong options	Watch out for
EU countries (Poland, Spain, Ireland, France)	Your network's standard EU rate for short calls; EE International Pass (Poland 8p a minute) for regular calls	Pay monthly EU rates of 23p to 25p a minute add up on long calls
India	EE International Pass (3p a minute) or EE's £15 500-minute add-on; O2 International Bolt On	Calling with no add-on: £4.64 a minute on EE pay monthly, £4.10 on O2
Pakistan	EE International Extra (250 minutes for £30); EE International Pass to Pakistan (21p a minute)	Not every bundle covers Pakistan, check the country list
USA and Canada	EE International Pass (USA 3p a minute); EE's £15 500-minute add-on	Same no-add-on trap as India
Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya	EE International Pass (Nigeria 15p a minute); EE International Extra lists Kenya	Africa is expensive almost everywhere, compare per country

EE prices are from EE's international calls page and its country help pages, as of October 2026.

The UK networks compared

EE: the best add-ons if you are on pay monthly

EE sells three monthly add-ons for calling abroad from the UK. Each one renews monthly and can be cancelled at any time, as of October 2026:

EE add-on	Price	What you get	Text to 150
International Pass	£2.50 a month	Discounted rates to 65 countries, from 3p a minute	CALL ABROAD
International	£15 a month	500 minutes to 50 countries, including the US, Poland and India	500INTL1
International Extra	£30 a month	250 minutes to 100 countries, including Pakistan, the UAE and Kenya	250INTL2

EE's country pages give these International Pass rates: India 3p, USA 3p, Poland 8p, Nigeria 15p and Pakistan 21p a minute. Without an add-on, EE pay monthly charges £4.64 a minute to India, Pakistan, Nigeria and the USA, and 25p a minute to Poland. The Pakistan page also notes that International Extra covers calls to up to five numbers a month, which matters if you ring several relatives. On pay monthly, EE also cuts each call off at 120 minutes, so very long calls need a redial.

Verdict: if you are already on EE pay monthly and call abroad most months, do not switch. Add the Pass. Our full EE international calls guide has the pay as you go options too.

O2: a cheap bolt-on, but check your country

O2's International Bolt On costs £3 a month on Pay Monthly and gives discounted calls to landlines and mobiles in over 200 countries, from 1p a minute, as of October 2026. The bolt-on price does not count towards your Spend Cap. Pay As You Go customers get a separate International Monthly Bolt On for £2 a month, also from 1p a minute.

The bolt-on matters because O2's standard international rates are steep: £4.10 a minute to countries outside the EU on Pay Monthly (£1.50 on Pay As You Go), and 23p a minute to EU countries (19.5p on Pay As You Go). Rates on the bolt-on vary by country and between landlines and mobiles, so look up yours before you rely on the 1p headline. Our O2 international calls guide goes country by country.

Lyca: international minutes on every plan

Every Lyca UK plan on its SIM-only plans page includes 100 international minutes per 30 days, as of October 2026. The plans run from £3.50 (5GB, 1,000 UK minutes) through £5 (30GB), £7.50 (75GB) and £10 (120GB) to £12.50 for unlimited data.

That makes Lyca a sensible second SIM or a cheap main SIM for someone who calls abroad a little every month. The page does not list which countries the 100 international minutes cover, so check the destination on Lyca's site before you buy. Once the 100 minutes are used, you pay from credit.

Lebara: built around calling home

Lebara sells SIM-only plans aimed at people who call family abroad, with international minutes included. Lebara's site blocked our checks while we wrote this roundup, so we give no Lebara prices here. Our Lebara international calls guide lists the included countries and allowances. Check two things before you switch: that your country is on Lebara's included list (check Pakistan, Nigeria and other long-haul countries especially carefully), and how many minutes your plan size includes.

giffgaff: fine for the UK, not for calling abroad

giffgaff's help centre is blunt: "Calling international numbers isn't included with our plans." You need credit on your account, and the cost depends on the country, so look it up on giffgaff's international rates page before you call. That suits the odd short call. If you ring abroad every week, a network with a monthly bolt-on, or a SIM with minutes included, is usually the better fit. See our giffgaff international calls guide.

SMARTY and VOXI: check before you choose them for this

SMARTY says "All international calls and texts are paid for with your 'Out of plan' add-ons", and the cost depends on the country you contact. None of its plans include international minutes, so budget for an add-on top-up and check the country rate on SMARTY's site first.

We could not confirm VOXI's current international calling terms from its website for this article. If VOXI appeals for data, check its international rates page before you count on it for calls abroad.

A worked example: one hour a month to Pakistan

Say you call your parents in Lahore for an hour every month, in four 15-minute calls.

Option	Monthly cost
EE pay monthly, no add-on (£4.64 a minute)	£278.40
EE International Pass (£2.50 plus 21p a minute)	£15.10
EE International Extra (250 minutes included)	£30.00
O2 Pay Monthly, no bolt-on (£4.10 a minute)	£246.00
O2 International Bolt On	£3 plus O2's bolt-on rate to Pakistan (check O2's country list)
BoraPhone, browser ($0.35 landline, $0.40 mobile, October 2026)	$21.00 to $24.00

The lesson is less about which network is cheapest and more that calling Pakistan with no add-on is wildly expensive on pay monthly. For this caller on EE, the International Pass wins easily. The browser option is not the cheapest here, and we would not tell a weekly caller to Pakistan to use it over a bolt-on.

The picture flips for countries where browser rates are very low. An hour a month to India costs about $6.70 at the browser rate of $0.11 a minute, and an hour to a Spanish landline costs $2.40 at $0.04 a minute (both at the time of writing, October 2026). Neither needs a new SIM or a monthly fee.

If you would rather keep your current SIM

Switching networks to save on international calls means a new number or a port, a new contract, and possibly worse data. Plenty of people do not need to. If your network has no good bolt-on, or you only call abroad a few times a year, a browser service works alongside the SIM you have.

BoraPhone calls landlines and mobiles in more than 180 countries from Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox on your phone or laptop. You top up from $5 in US dollars, with no subscription or contract, and the rate shows before every call. Billing is per minute, rounded up to the next full minute, failed calls are refunded in full, and your first call is free. It is cheap to India, the USA, Canada and most of Western Europe (India rates). It is not cheap to Pakistan, Nigeria, Ghana or Kenya, where a network bolt-on or a calling app will usually cost less if you call often.

Before you switch SIM: five checks

Find the country in the list. "International minutes" never means every country. Check that yours is named, and whether mobiles are included as well as landlines.
Read what happens after the allowance. On EE's bundles, calls beyond the included minutes go back to standard rates, which can be £4.64 a minute.
Check the number limit. EE International Extra covers up to five numbers a month, according to its country pages.
Diary the cancellation. EE's add-ons recur monthly until you cancel them, and O2's bolt-ons are monthly charges too. Remove them in the months you do not call abroad.
Do not confuse calling abroad with roaming. International minutes are for calls from the UK. Using your phone while you are abroad is a separate set of charges.

Frequently asked questions

Which network is best for international calls?

There is no single winner, because rates vary by country. For EE pay monthly customers, the £2.50 International Pass is excellent value to India and the USA at 3p a minute, as of October 2026. O2's £3 International Bolt On starts at 1p a minute. Lyca includes 100 international minutes on every SIM-only plan.

Is there a UK SIM with unlimited international calls?

We did not find a mainstream UK SIM that offers truly unlimited calls to all countries. The closest are bundles of minutes, such as EE's 500 minutes to 50 countries for £15 a month. Always check the country list and the fair-use terms.

Do UK SIMs include calls to the EU?

Calls from the UK to EU numbers are usually charged separately from your UK minutes. O2 charges 23p a minute on Pay Monthly without a bolt-on and EE charges 25p a minute to Poland, as of October 2026. Check your own network's EU rate, because it is not part of your UK minutes on these plans.

Is it cheaper to buy a second SIM for international calls?

Sometimes. If your main network has no good add-on, a cheap SIM with international minutes can work as a dual-SIM line just for calling home. But if you are on EE or O2 pay monthly, a bolt-on on your existing SIM is usually cheaper and simpler.

Which SIM is best for calling India from the UK?

On current prices, the EE International Pass at 3p a minute, or EE's 500 minutes for £15 if you talk for hours. O2's bolt-on is another strong option. A browser service at $0.11 a minute also works without changing SIM.

Best SIM for International Calls in the UK, by Destination