Are Y!mobile and UQ no longer cheap? How to choose a budget SIM without relying on discounts
Y!mobile and UQ mobile still have the image of being "cheap smartphone plans," don't they?
However, the perspective on them has changed a bit recently.
With family discounts, home internet bundles, and designated card payments, they are cheap if you meet the conditions.
But for those who cannot receive many discounts, honestly, the price is becoming hard to call a "budget SIM".
So, what should you do if you want to keep your smartphone costs down without significantly sacrificing communication quality?
That is where you should look at LINEMO and povo2.0.
LINEMO has LINE Giga Free, making it a great fit for students who primarily use LINE.
povo2.0 uses a system where you buy only the data you need, making it suitable for a child's first smartphone or preventing overusage.
In this article, we will examine whether Y!mobile and UQ mobile are truly cheap, while also organizing information including LINEMO and povo2.0.
Are Y!mobile and UQ really cheap?
First, to give you the conclusion, Y!mobile and UQ mobile are still not bad budget SIMs if the conditions are right.
You can consult with staff in stores.
It is easy to bundle plans for the family.
There are bundle discounts with home internet.
Communication quality is close to that of major carriers, making it easy to use.
These are strengths that budget SIMs focused solely on low prices do not have.
For families with small children, it is helpful to be able to consult in-store when you run into trouble with smartphone settings or switching carriers.
If you want to bundle not just the parents' lines but also the children's smartphones in the future, Y!mobile and UQ mobile are viable candidates.
However, you need to be careful when looking at the pricing.
The cheap prices that stand out on official websites are often the amounts after discounts have been applied.
In other words, not everyone will pay that amount.
If you overlook this, after you sign the contract,
"It didn't end up being as cheap as I thought."
"The discount conditions were more troublesome than I expected."
"In the end, I had to bundle my home internet and credit card too."
You might end up regretting it like this.
They are cheap if you get the maximum discount. But the conditions are getting stricter every year.
Y!mobile and UQ mobile are cheap if you get the maximum discount.
There is no doubt about that.
However, several conditions are involved in reaching that maximum discount.
For example, for Y!mobile, it involves bundling with SoftBank Hikari or SoftBank Air, PayPay card payments, family lines, etc. are involved.
For UQ mobile, it involves au Hikari, au Denki, UQ WiMAX, au PAY card payments, family set discounts, etc. are involved.
If your household already has that environment, that's fine.
But if you have to change your home internet or credit card just for the discount, the story changes a bit.
This is because you have to add other contracts or change your payment methods just to lower your smartphone bill.
Of course, there are households that will still be cheaper in total.
However, honestly, it is a fact that the hurdle has become higher, isn't it?
In the past, Y!mobile and UQ mobile had the impression that they were "cheap even if you just signed up as is."
Now, they have become sub-brands that you have to consider including discount conditions.
Without discounts, the price has reached a point where it's hard to call them budget SIMs.
This is the most important point this time.
As I said earlier, Y!mobile and UQ mobile are convenient if you can receive the discounts.
But if you can't really use the discounts, looking only at the price, it has become an amount that is hard to call a "budget SIM".
Y!mobile's Simple 3 plan consists of 5GB, 30GB, and 35GB options.
The basic monthly charges from June 2, 2026, are announced as 3,278 yen for the 5GB S plan, 4,378 yen for the 30GB M plan, and 5,478 yen for the 35GB L plan.
UQ mobile also shows discounted prices clearly, but your actual payment will vary depending on the discount conditions.
At this price range, some people may feel it is getting closer to carrier rates from a while ago.
Of course, it has value when you include in-store support, family management, and communication quality.
However, if your only goal is simply to lower your smartphone bill, it is a bit of a waste to decide by looking only at Y!mobile or UQ mobile.
So, what should you do?
I don't mean to criticize Y!mobile or UQ mobile.
If the conditions fit, they are still quite easy to use.
But,
You cannot receive discounts.
You have no plans to bundle with family.
Changing your home internet or credit card is a hassle.
People like this should look at LINEMO or povo2.0 from the start.
There are other cheaper budget SIMs available.
However, if you don't want to significantly lower your communication quality, these two are the first candidates that usually come up.
LINEMO is an online-only brand under SoftBank.
povo2.0 is an online-only plan that uses the au network.
In-store support is weaker.
To be honest, this is a disadvantage.
However, in exchange, the appeal is that the pricing is easy to understand and not swayed by discount conditions.
LINEMO starts from 990 yen for 3GB. It is very easy to understand if you mainly use LINE.
What makes LINEMO easy to understand is that its pricing is simple.
The LINEMO Best Plan is 990 yen per month for up to 3GB.
If you exceed 3GB and go up to 10GB, it is 2,090 yen per month.
In addition to being available at this price, LINEMO offers LINE Giga Free.
With eligible features such as LINE chats, voice calls, and video calls, you can use them without consuming your data allowance.
This is a great fit for students.
Communication with parents.
Interacting with friends.
Communication related to club activities or school.
Communication for cram school or extracurricular lessons.
Once children start carrying smartphones, the situations where they use LINE increase significantly.
Of course, this does not mean that YouTube, games, Instagram, or TikTok become free.
However, if LINE is the center of your communication, it is a big advantage that it is easier to keep data consumption down.
Giving a child a large-capacity plan from the start is a concern.
But you still want to ensure they can communicate reliably with their parents.
For families like this, LINEMO is a very realistic option.
povo2.0 is 990 yen for 3GB for 30 days. It is suitable for preventing overusage.
povo2.0 has a slightly different philosophy than LINEMO.
Rather than receiving a fixed data allowance every month, it is a system where you purchase data toppings when you need them.
For example, some easy-to-use options are:
990 yen for 3GB for 30 days.
1,380 yen for 5GB for 30 days.
2,780 yen for 30GB for 30 days.
You can choose from these options.
With povo2.0, it is a bit troublesome to purchase toppings every time.
This is a weak point.
However, there are also options like 3GB auto-charge or subscription toppings for 5GB and 30GB.
Even for those who find buying manually every time to be a hassle, it can be used with a certain degree of automation.
From the perspective of a child's first smartphone, this system is quite good.
If you give them 30GB from the start, they might use it all up at once on videos or games.
However, with povo2.0, you can start with just 3GB.
Add more if they run out.
Buy more only in months when there is a lot of travel or outings.
This kind of usage is possible.
Instead of 'automatically switching to a large capacity if they use too much,'
it is a 'choose and add what you need' format, making it easier for parents to adjust while monitoring usage.
However, povo2.0 is not a line that can be completely left alone.
If there are no paid topping purchases for a long period, there is a possibility of service suspension or contract termination.
Also, when the data is at 0GB, the communication speed becomes quite slow.
While it can be used cheaply, it assumes that parents will check the remaining balance and toppings via the app.
If you can tolerate this effort,povo2.0 is very suitable for a smartphone debut.
For a child's smartphone debut, LINEMO and povo2.0 are definitely worth looking at
When giving a child a smartphone, it's not just the cost that parents are concerned about.
Will they use it too much?
Can I properly stay in touch with them?
Can I predict the monthly payments?
Are the settings and management too difficult?
These are the things that are concerning.
LINEMO is suitable for children who use LINE as their main communication tool.
If communication with parents, friends, and school or club-related matters is centered on LINE, the LINE Giga-Free feature is a clear benefit.
povo2.0 is suitable for families who want to prevent excessive usage.
Since you buy only the data you need, you don't have to provide a large capacity right from the start.
These two have weaker in-store support compared to Y!mobile or UQ mobile.
However, when considering them as smartphones for children, they have very clear advantages.
LINEMO if you mainly use LINE.
povo2.0 if you want to prevent overusage.
This distinction is quite easy to understand.
How to choose between Y!mobile, UQ, LINEMO, and povo2.0
To put it simply, it's like this.
Y!mobile is for households that use SoftBank Hikari or SoftBank Air and want to bundle family plans.
It also suits those who want to keep in-store support.
UQ mobile is for households that use au Hikari, au Denki, UQ WiMAX, etc.
It suits people who make many short calls or want to bundle au services.
LINEMO is suitable for students who mainly use LINE or for smartphones used to contact parents.
It is easy to understand, starting from 990 yen for 3GB, and includes LINE Giga-Free.
povo2.0 is suitable for preventing overusage on a first smartphone.
It is easy to choose only what you need, such as 990 yen for 3GB for 30 days or 1,380 yen for 5GB for 30 days.
Looking at it this way, Y!mobile and UQ mobile are not the only correct answers.
Especially when considering smartphones for children, some families may find LINEMO or povo2.0 more suitable.
Summary: If you aren't getting discounts, you should also look at LINEMO and povo2.0
Y!mobile and UQ mobile are still convenient if you meet the discount conditions.
However, if it is difficult to receive discounts, it is hard to call them the "simple and cheap budget SIMs" they used to be.
In that case, you should also look into LINEMO and povo2.0.
LINEMO is 990 yen per month for up to 3GB and 2,090 yen per month for up to 10GB. Since it has LINE Giga-Free, it is a great match for students who mainly use LINE.
povo2.0 allows you to choose only what you need, such as 990 yen for 3GB for 30 days or 1,380 yen for 5GB for 30 days. It is also suitable for families who want to prevent overusage when their child gets their first smartphone.
Y!mobile and UQ mobile are for families who meet the discount conditions.
LINEMO and povo2.0 are for families who prioritize low costs and managing smartphones for children.
Thinking about it in this way makes it much easier to choose.