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Germany's SIM-Only Shift: Why Fewer People Are Signing 24-Month Phone Contracts

Buying a phone separately and adding a SIM-only plan looks cheaper in Germany, but the claim that fewer people sign bundled contracts is unproven. Here is what the data shows.

Too Soon to Tell7 min readBy HypeGale Content TeamPublished Updated
Editorial illustration for “Germany's SIM-Only Shift: Why Fewer People Are Signing 24-Month Phone Contracts”

Short answer: Buying a phone separately and pairing it with a cheap SIM-only plan is very likely to cost less over two years than a bundled contract in Germany, provided you can pay for the handset upfront or finance it separately. What is not proven is the headline idea that Germans are abandoning bundled contracts in large numbers: the only hard survey figure we could verify is six years old and points the other way. Treat the money-saving maths as solid and the "shift" as unconfirmed.

Hype-o-meter

Too Soon to Tell. The economics of SIM-only are real and easy to check. The claim that a mass migration is under way is not backed by current data we could find, so the verdict stays open until fresh figures on how Germans buy phones appear.

What's actually going on

For years the default German purchase was a 24-month contract from Telekom, Vodafone or o2 with a handset folded into the monthly bill. The alternative is to buy an unlocked phone from a retailer or manufacturer and add an "Allnet-Flat" (calls, texts and data in one) from a cheaper brand. Many of those brands run on the big networks' infrastructure, with their own pricing and, often, a speed cap.

Klarmobil is a typical example, and its own website on 6 October 2026 listed a 75 GB plan from €9.99 a month with a 50 Mbit/s maximum, a 150 GB plan at €14.99 and a 200 GB plan at €19.99, both at up to 100 Mbit/s. All are described as 5G in the Telekom network and include calls and texts. The 24-month versions carry no connection fee, while the monthly-cancellable versions charge €19.99 to connect.

Those figures are for a SIM only. A bundled contract bundles the handset cost into a higher monthly price, so the fair comparison is simple: add up the full bundled price over 24 months, then add up the SIM-only plan over 24 months plus the price of the same phone bought separately. We did not find a reliable, current, published average price for bundled contracts, so this article does not put a number on that side. Work the sums with the actual offer in front of you.

The evidence

German tariffs are cheap by international standards. A Bitkom study from November 2025, reported by teltarif.de, compared mobile tariffs across 12 developed countries. In the 20 GB-plus profile, the cheapest German tariff cost €6.12 a month, second-cheapest in the comparison. For the 50 GB profile the cheapest German tariff was €8.74 a month against a median of €21 across the countries compared. The study also notes that large-data German tariffs typically come with high or maximum speeds. It does not separate SIM-only from bundled deals, so it speaks to the price of airtime, not to how people buy phones.

Most people do not need huge data allowances. The Bundesnetzagentur's annual telecoms report, published on 5 June 2026, puts average mobile data use at about 8.4 GB per active SIM profile per month in 2025. Total domestic mobile traffic rose from 9.6 billion GB in 2024 to 10.9 billion GB in 2025, roughly 13 per cent more. Use is growing, but a 20 GB or 75 GB plan covers the average comfortably.

Bundling is still how most people have bought phones, at least historically. A Bitkom survey of 1,003 people aged 16 and over, carried out in April 2020, found that 77 per cent of smartphone owners had bought their device together with a contract, while 19 per cent bought it separately. That is six years old and says nothing about the direction of travel since. We could not retrieve more recent equivalent figures, which is the main reason this verdict is not "Earns It".

Plan terms vary, and sources disagree. Several things about the cheap plans need checking each time:

  • A MonsterDealz overview dated 16 August 2026 says the monthly price stays the same from month 25, citing the provider.
  • A Winfuture report dated 14 September 2026 says basic charges rise to as much as €24.99 after 24 months unless you cancel or renew.
  • An Inside Digital deal write-up dated 17 August 2026 described an earlier 80 GB offer at €11.99 for 24 months, rising to €24.99 afterwards, with 100 Mbit/s for six months and then 50 Mbit/s.

These cannot all describe the same terms. Offers rotate, and the promotional price is not necessarily the price you will pay in year three.

Caveats

  • You need the phone money. SIM-only moves the handset cost to the start. If you cannot pay upfront, a separate instalment plan or credit agreement brings interest and its own terms, which can eat into the saving.
  • Price rises after the minimum term. If the post-24-month price is much higher, you need to diarise the cancellation date or switch. Savings depend on actually doing that.
  • Speed caps. A 50 Mbit/s ceiling is enough for streaming and everyday use, but is below the top speeds of premium plans on 5G.
  • Support. Discount brands generally run online and phone support rather than a shop counter. We have not tested any provider's support.
  • Network priority. Whether a cheap brand gets lower priority than the host network's own customers when a cell is congested varies by provider, and we did not find a verified statement for Klarmobil, so do not assume either way.
  • Promotions change. The prices above are from early October 2026 and may differ by the time you read this.

Who it's for

Likely to benefit: people comfortable buying a phone outright, or keeping an older handset for longer, who manage their account online and will check the cancellation date. If you already own a phone you like, SIM-only is straightforward: you pay for airtime only.

Probably better to stay bundled: people who want one bill and one point of contact, who value an in-store counter, or who are replacing a handset every couple of years and prefer to spread the cost. A bundle can still make sense if a particular promotion subsidises the handset heavily. Compare the total over the full term rather than the monthly figure.

Worth checking first: anyone who needs lots of data in places with weak coverage. Check the network map for your area, because the host network matters more than the brand name.

Verdict

Too Soon to Tell. The cost case for SIM-only in Germany holds up on the figures we could verify: low tariffs by international standards, plans from under €10 a month with 5G and calls included, and average data use that cheap plans cover. What we cannot support is the claim that fewer people are signing 24-month phone contracts. The only verified survey figure, from 2020, shows bundling as the clear majority, and we found nothing recent to show that has reversed. Until updated purchase data arrives, the sensible reading is that SIM-only is a good option for many people, not proof of a trend.

Prices mentioned in this article were checked at the time of writing and are given as "from" or approximate figures where possible. Actual prices vary by retailer, region, taxes, plan and promotion, so please do not treat the figures here as final. Check the seller's own site for the current price.

Things change quickly. This article reflects what was publicly known when it was written or last updated, so details such as prices, availability, rules and product specs may have changed since. Always check the official source before you buy or decide.

Sources

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