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Cheap French phone contract options
4G no contract deals and pay-as-you-go offers are available from €2
A French mobile phone number is essential to access many public services and to pass online security checks. Here is how much you should expect to pay for one in 2024.
If you only need a mobile phone number to receive text messages (to confirm your identity, for instance), the cheapest option is to pay for a SIM card rather than to subscribe to a contract.
You can insert a French SIM card into a mobile phone that has been ‘unblocked’, which is a digital procedure that allows a mobile to use a different type of SIM card. As a security measure most mobile phones are ‘blocked’ by default.
You can have your phone unblocked at a mobile phone shop, usually for around €10. This will not prevent it from working with the old SIM card, and indeed, allows you to swap to a French SIM as the need arises.
Some phones automatically offer dual SIM options.
Read more: Which dual-SIM phones work best in France?
You can buy a French SIM card from mobile phone shops, hypermarkets and some tabacs for - you will need to present a form of ID, such as a passport:
- €1 (SFR)
- €2.99 (Orange)
- €5 (Bouygues)
You must then buy top-up cards if you want to make calls using these SIM cards. Note that you cannot keep one of these SIM cards indefinitely without topping it up, and top-ups must be used before a certain cut-off date.
A more convenient option may be to subscribe to a 4G contract.
Read more: Which French SIM card can I get for admin and government sites?
4G Mobile offers (no contract deals except Orange and SFR)
5G mobile offers (no contract deals except for Bouygues)
International calls and hidden fees
The main drawback for the cheaper mobile options - particularly the cheapest 4G contracts - is that they either do not permit you to call UK or US numbers or if they do they charge extra.
Read more: Another UK company brings in mobile roaming fees for clients in France
The price of exceeding the relatively low data caps for these contracts can also prove expensive.
Fortunately, several of these deals are flexible and let you change your mobile offer according to your needs.
If you plan to travel to the UK, the US or out of the EU for several weeks with a Free mobile SIM, you can switch from a €2 a month offer to a 5G offer for the duration of the trip without changing your card.
Read more:
14 things you can do at a tabac in France apart from buy cigarettes
Tips on how to avoid mobile phone roaming charges when in France
