Hi, I vist a second home 4/5 times a year and find it’s useful to have a French mobile number, so signed up for a SIM card with LeFrench Mobile. Now they’re closing, but I can port the number to another company. I’d like a simple, pay as you go SIM as I hardly ever need to make calls or use internet, it’s more for French admin, forms, etc. Can anyone recommend a simple, inexpensive, top up as needed, non contract SIM? Many thanks.
If you don’t mind paying €1.50 a month, LeclercMobile is the way to go. I even keep Fran’s phone topped up now even though it hasn’t been used in years. Just in case.
Thank you Dave, that sounds an excellent solution. Presumably I can buy one in store? Or do I order online?
I am sure you can do it online but I got mine in a Leclerc supermarket. Online they call it Reglomobile.
Easy to recharge online too, I stick a tenner on mine once it gets below €10, and €5 on Fran’s when that drops below that.
At €1.50 a month I think it is worth keeping hers on, never know when it might come in handy although she will never be able to use it.
Thank you for taking the trouble to explain the details. I have a Leclerc nearby so I’ll investigate. Always good to have a contingency, and some online sites seem to stall without a French number to input.
We have both had Réglo Sims since 2018 when we were first coming to France as second home owners, and we applied online. No French mobile was required to apply online fortunately, since obtaining one was the entire purpose of the exercise! A friend who recently obtained her Réglo sim applied in store and reported it was very simple and quick (the usual ID and justificatifs required).
Two things to perhaps bear in mind. One is that Réglo constantly produce new offers (not a problem) but it may be that those of us with existing deals find they can’t be replicated by others currently. I see from Réglo’s site that they currently seem to offer deals from 4.95€ a month upwards. The other point frequently made by people who use Réglo is that you need to ensure you can get good SFR coverage where you want to use your phone, as Réglo ‘piggybacks’ off the SFR network.
We’ve used Réglo with no service complaints and would recommend them, subject to the coverage point above.
It’s worth checking what coverage you have where you are. We bought Reglo SIMs which are on the SFR network and discovered afterwards we had no signal at our house. Leclerc were good and refunded our money. We are with SOSH, which is Orange’s cheap SIM because we have Orange cover here. I also have Giffgaff for UK calls.
Thanks George and Sue. So I will definitely check coverage (off topic, our village has just found TV fame on France 1 because all the new high speed internet cabling was nicked, so no phone or internet of any kind for over 2 weeks!)
And I also saw that Regio aren’t currently advertising a pay as you go SIM, just the €4.95 deal. I will visit my nearest store to check.
Appreciate your help.
Que Choisir is like Which in the UK, so independent (theoretically).
Thank you, I’ll take a look at that site.
Why pay as you go? I started out with a Free 2 euro a month account eleven or twelve years ago and I still have it and they’ve been faultless. They are a real telco, it’s their core business, not a supermarket or some other business that could get out of the market at the drop of the hat.
Now, in addition to our 2 euro line on one local mobile we also have three other 20 euro a month full lines, two for routers in the house and another for a mobile we roam with. I don’t understand why folk muck about with mickey mouse carriers when Free is reliable and cheap.
To be fair John, that isn’t really the case with Leclerc, it is really RegloMobile and if Leclerc’s stopped selling the chips somebody else would, or you could simply get them online, along with the whole service.
In fact if you Google LeclercMobile you go straight to Reglo.
I’m happy to get a monthly contract if it’s inexpensive - my UK plan currently gives me sufficient included roaming for calls and internet, so I just want the French SIM for a French phone number. An easy top up PAYG or cheap monthly option would be equally good, so I’ll investigate Free too. Thanks all, I think I have loads of info now.
I just found this chat. I have the same issue. Giff Gaff mobile but need new provider for when I am in France. Looking at Reglo with 1.99euro deal illimited calls. Were you able to keep the same number (LFM) ?
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check coverage where you’ll be - or ask neughbours.
99% coverage of the French population, as some networks claim, means coverage of a lot less than that, of France’s land area. Guessing, 99% population covered could only mean land in in 50-75% of territory has coverage. -
If SFR has your location covered and if you don’t mind rock bottom quality of customer service (and this, by French standards) then go direct to SFR.
Otherwise you’ll have your pick of MVNO’s (piggyback networks) that use the SFR network but you’d be dealing with the MVNO not SFR (a relatively good thing, can be). Take your pick. A lot of people on here like Reglo (at Leclerc supermarkets on Customer Svcs desk if you want). Prixtel is interesting as flexible, and Lebara moves to SFR from July. (Orange has thrown quite a few MVNO’s off their network including Lebara it seems.)
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Free can be great but get your porting number from them ready for the future as soon as you sign up - it won’t change and they are the only network that makes you basically send a letter, ideally registered if you need to leave them soon, to get it rather than just dialing a number on your phone that you can use immediately you decide to port your number, to get it. I also had 2 incidents with Free when they were really dishonest but up to you.
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Sosh if it turns out you are in one of the many locations where the only functional coverage is Orange - as Orange practices monopoly-type prices
If you think you’ll need broadband then cashback and price comparison sites have deals just like in the UK and often the mobile comes close to free within that package.
Bouygues seems to be good for broadband particularly if you need a lot of data. I had them for mobile, liked them a lot, customer service was relatively good, if I still had their signal I would go with them again
Starlink is gaining traction and has at least a couple of very happy users here on SF. Other than 200-400 euros setup cost, their prices are within the realms of Orange’s prices or less. And that’s for satellite.
Good luck. At the cheap end try Reglo, Prixtel, and then if you must, Free 
PS Lycamobile has something cheap too here but it’s quite restricted.
Hi Froggie, i went with NRJ Mobile, part of Bouygtel. You buy the SIM card for €10, then it’s €2 per month for a good allowance of call and SMS minutes, and reasonable data.
You can keep the same number, but will need a French bank account to pay the monthly direct debit. All very smooth.
Here’s their link:-
Looks like the SIM card is on a €1 deal at the moment!
Thanks KarenLot, I checked coverage and Bouyges was best, so their spinoff NRG Mobile has been good for me.
Thanks for that information which is very useful. I only need the phone for a contact no for French residents.
- I had the soon to be defunct Le French mobile for over 12 years and that was good. Mainly for the bonus of not having frustrating time limitations on the 'recharges’. Sorry to see them go!
- SFR: interesting comments… I moved from SFR pay as you go (frustrating and expensive as ran out of call time or losing money when it expired) when I discovered LFM. I had also SFR fixed tel for a year and wasn’t impressed either by their customer service. And coverage may be dodgy.
- Bouygues: good to hear you like them! they own Auchan mobile which I was tempted to get, especially as Auchan supermarché has taken over our local Casino one so not far to go to speak to someone if need be.Plus the cover for our village sems very good. They have unlimited calls. Costs a bit more than Reglo but still less than orange.
Thanks again
Thanks Annemurray for the NRJ suggestion. I have had another look and I had missed the deal at 2€/month with unlimited calls. It seems a good deal especially if I am able to keep the same number. I somehow missed the information about Le French mobile and have just found out so it may be too late for number keeping. Good to find this website and good advice.
Well, as a result of this thread, decided to take a look at my mobile contract, as it’s always a fast changing world with mobile services! I’m with Sosh and am a great advocate of their internet service as it’s been reliable and any issues have been solved quickly, but my Sosh mobile, well I don’t feel glued to that. Anyway, just signed up to SFR Red as for 8.99 euro I get 5g (when I’m in areas to benefit), 120gb data and 24gb outside France, then for just +1 euro I can call also call european landlines from France which is so incredibly convenient. For reference, my Sosh contract was 17.99 euro for 4g, less data in France and less data outside France, plus could not call European landline nrs without facing a hefty bill. All in all, very pleased, and reminds me again to periodically look at all subscriptions, including insurance policies. At this point I always throw the question to myself…………why don’t all these companies reward loyalty, rather than trying to keep charging you above the competition. Sosh internet is only 1 euro higher versus SFR Red, so most definitely sticking with Sosh 