FlexiFone vs Wave Connect
Two multi-network data SIMs for routers, cameras, trackers and IoT — both using all four UK networks. The difference is how you pay for the data, and roughly one gigabyte a month decides which is cheaper.
The short answer
Which one is right for you
Both are multi-network data SIMs for devices, on the same four UK networks. The dividing line is about one gigabyte a month: below it their prepaid pots are cheaper, above it ours is — by a lot.
Choose FlexiFone if
Your device uses more than about a gigabyte a month
- Your device gets through more than ~1GB a month — 60GB for £45 is £0.75 per GB
- You want voice and texts on the same SIM, not data only
- You want one allowance that reloads every 30 days rather than buying fresh pots
- You want roaming beyond Europe included rather than bought as a separate pack
CHOOSE WAVE CONNECT IF
Your device barely uses data, or you're deploying in stages
- Your device uses under ~1GB a month — their 12GB for £34.99 costs less than our £45
- You want to buy SIMs now and activate them later — their plans start on first use
- You want to test coverage at a site first — 500MB for a month at £4.99
- You need pooled data, fleet management or white-label across a large estate
Side by side
The full comparison - Flexifone Vs Wave Connect
Wave Connect’s figures are taken from their site on 19 August 2026. Ours are our published prices. Where they don’t publish something, the row says so rather than guessing.
| Compare | FlexiFone | Wave Connect |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Multi-network SIM/eSIM, data-only or voice & data | Data-only multi-network SIM for devices |
| UK networks | EE, O2, Vodafone, Three | All four UK networks |
| Automatic switching | Yes | Yes — strongest signal selected automatically |
| Network allow/block | Yes, in your account portal | Not stated on their site |
| SIM format | eSIM free, physical SIM £3.50 | Physical (standard, micro, nano) and eSIM by QR |
| Voice & SMS | Yes on voice & data plans, from £10/mo with 100 UK mins | No — data only |
| Tethering | Unrestricted on all plans | Supported on compatible devices |
| How data is sold | Monthly allowance that reloads, 5GB to 100GB | Fixed pot valid for 12 months |
| UK data plans | £45/year — 60GB (5GB a month) | 6GB for £24.99 · 12GB for £34.99, both 12-month validity |
| Cost per GB | £0.75/GB on the £45 annual plan | £2.92/GB on the 12GB pack |
| Rolling monthly option | Yes — from £8/mo, 5GB | No monthly contract — you buy a pot instead |
| Use abroad | Roam like home in 170+ countries, including the EU and EEA | Separate Europe packs — 12GB £34.99, 25GB £69.99 |
| Contract | 30-day rolling, or annual | No minimum term, no monthly contract |
| Routers, cameras, trackers, IoT | Yes, with manual APN | Yes — this is their core market |
The difference that matters
About a gigabyte a month decides this
Wave Connect sell you a pot. 12GB for £34.99, valid for twelve months, and the clock only starts when the SIM is first used. FlexiFone sells an allowance: £45 for the year gives you 5GB, then another 5GB thirty days later, twelve times over — 60GB in total.
If your device uses less than about a gigabyte a month, their pot is the cheaper buy and it isn’t close. A camera that uploads a few clips, a tracker checking in, a meter sending readings — 12GB will cover a whole year for £34.99, and you’d never come near the 60GB you’d be paying £45 for.
Above that line it reverses quickly. A 4G router doing 5GB a month needs 60GB across the year. On their 12GB packs that’s five of them — roughly £175 — against £45 with us. Same four networks, same automatic switching, four times the money.
So the question isn’t which company is cheaper. It’s whether your device is above or below roughly one gigabyte a month. Check a month of usage on the device before you buy either.
What you actually get.
The same 60GB across a year, at £0.75 a gigabyte instead of £2.92.
It reloads. 5GB every 30 days on the £45 annual plan, twelve times over. Nothing expires because the twelve months ran out before you’d used the pot.
Roaming is included, not a separate pack. Roam like home in 170+ countries including the EU and EEA. Wave Connect price Europe as its own pack — £34.99 for 12GB on top of whatever you bought for the UK.
You control the networks. Allow or block any of EE, O2, Vodafone or Three from your account portal. Useful when a site has one weak mast and the SIM keeps choosing it.
Voice and texts if the device ever needs them. From £10 a month with 100 UK minutes on the same SIM. A data-only SIM can’t become a phone line later.
Pricing compared
What a year actually costs
Our annual plan against their nearest equivalent pack. Both prices are as published on 19 August 2026.
Their plan is cheaper up front and ours is cheaper per gigabyte. Which of those matters depends entirely on the device — so the useful question isn’t which SIM is better, it’s how much data yours actually gets through.
FAQ
Flexifone Vs Wave Connect - Most Asked Questions
Up front, Wave Connect — £34.99 for 12GB against our £45. Per gigabyte, us — about £0.75 against £2.92. If your device uses under roughly 1GB a month, theirs works out cheaper; above that, ours does.
Only FlexiFone. Wave Connect is data-only on every plan. For cameras and trackers that doesn’t matter; for anything with a person attached, it does.
On Wave Connect it expires at the end of the twelve-month validity. On FlexiFone the allowance refreshes every thirty days, so there’s no pot to run down — but equally nothing carries over.
Wave Connect sells a 500MB trial for £4.99, which is a sensible way to test coverage at a site. We don’t do a trial — our 30-day rolling plan at £8 does the same job for a month.
Wave Connect details verified from waveconnect.co on 19 August 2026. Prices and features change — check their site for current terms before deciding.
Per-gigabyte figures are our own arithmetic: £45 divided by 60GB, and £34.99 divided by 12GB. The £175 figure for 60GB on their plans is five 12GB packs at £34.99 and is illustrative, since they may price multiple SIMs differently.
Wave Connect is a trademark of its owner. This comparison is for information only and implies no affiliation or endorsement.
