Mobile Plans 2026: What's Really Changing at the Turn of the Year

January is the month of stocktaking. The gym still gets another chance, the third streaming subscription gets cancelled – and at some point your gaze lands on the phone bill. €24.99 a month, for four years now, for a plan that was a good deal back in 2022. Sound familiar? Then now is a good time to change that. Because more is happening with mobile plans in 2026 than in previous years: 5G becomes a given, eSIM replaces the plastic card, and a fourth network is joining in.

More data for the same money – the quiet price decline

Officially, mobile plans have barely gotten cheaper. Unofficially, they have. The data allowances grow year after year while the prices stay put: where three years ago you got 5 GB for €10, today you get 10, 15 or 25 GB for the same amount. That's a price cut through the back door that no provider advertises – after all, nobody wants to tell their existing customers that their old plan is long overpriced.

At the lower end, the market has become almost absurdly cheap. Unlimited calls plans with a usable data allowance start at around €2 per month, for example at Lycamobile on the O2 network. The supermarket discount brands from Lidl to Aldi are around €5 to €7. If you're still paying €30 for 20 GB today, you're essentially paying for the brand name on the invoice.

A word on honesty: many of these bargain prices are promotional prices. After six or twelve months, the amount rises to the regular price. That's not a scam, it is stated in the small print – but you should know the price after after the promotion before you sign up. Always calculate with the average price over the entire term, not with the number in the ad banner.

5G in mobile plans 2026: from premium extra to standard equipment

For years, 5G was the argument network operators used to sell their expensive plans. Those days are over. In 2026, even entry-level plans under €10 often come with 5G on board – new providers like Primavolt enable it in all plans right away, and it's gradually becoming standard equipment among the established discounters too.

Does that mean you absolutely need 5G? Well. In everyday life, you notice the difference to a good 4G network less often than advertising suggests. For streaming in normal quality, LTE is completely sufficient. 5G becomes noticeable especially where lots of people are online at the same time: in a packed stadium, at the train station, at the Christmas market in December. That's where a 4G network tends to buckle, while 5G distributes the load better. Our take: 5G is no reason to pay more – but if it's already included in the plan, take it.

eSIM: the plastic card quietly says goodbye

The second trend is less spectacular, but it changes how quickly you can switch providers. The eSIM, the programmable SIM built permanently into the phone, finally becomes the norm in 2026. Instead of waiting three days for a letter with a plastic card, you scan a QR code after signing the contract – ten minutes later you're calling on your new plan.

This lowers the barrier to switching enormously. And it makes secondary plans practical: many current phones can run a physical SIM and an eSIM in parallel, for example the old contract for calls and a cheap data plan alongside it. There is one pitfall, though: if you sell or switch your phone, you have to actively transfer the eSIM to the new device. Depending on the provider, this works either elegantly via an app or only through the hotline. Plan for this before you reset the old device.

The fourth network is picking up speed

For decades, Germany had three mobile networks: Telekom, Vodafone, O2. For some time now, 1&1 has been building a fourth – with modern technology and one trick: everywhere its own network isn't yet in place, 1&1 customers automatically switch to the Vodafone network via national roaming. So you have nationwide coverage from the start, even while the rollout is still ongoing.

For you as a customer, this means one thing above all: competition. Four network operators competing for the same customers push prices down more than three do. The 1&1 All-Net Flat Basic with 10 GB data allowance costs €9.99 – a price that would have gotten at most a pitying smile from the big three a few years ago.

Cancelling has never been this easy

If you still believe out of old habit that a mobile contract is a two-year trap: that's no longer true. Once the minimum term has ended, you may cancel any contract with one month's notice – automatic extensions by another year are history. And thanks to the mandatory cancellation button, every provider must offer an easy-to-find button on its website that lets you cancel online. No registered letter, no fax, no hold music.

This shifts the balance of power. Anyone who's unhappy or sees a better offer elsewhere can, worst case, be out a month later. Providers know this – and that's exactly why new-customer offers are as aggressive as ever.

What you should actually do in January

The start of the year is perfect for a plan check, since you're already getting your finances in order anyway. Five steps, no more than half an hour of effort:

• Look at your bill. What are you really paying – including all the options that have accumulated over the years?
• Check your usage. In your phone settings, you can see your actual data usage from the past few months. Most people significantly overestimate it.
• Check the minimum term. Once it has expired, you can cancel monthly – so there's no reason to wait.
• Compare. In our mobile plan comparison you can see what your profile should actually cost. You can put two specific candidates side by side in the Side-by-Side Comparison side-by-side comparison.
• Get advice if you're unsure. If you're torn between two plans, you can request a free callback via our contact form – we then put you in touch with the provider, but the contract is always concluded directly with them.

Bottom line: 2026 is a good year for switching plans. The technology is mature, prices are under pressure, and thanks to eSIM, switching takes an afternoon. The most expensive plan is almost always the one you haven't looked at in years – and that's exactly what January is for.