Four ways to get online abroad. Here is what each one actually costs you, in money and in hassle — and the cases where an eSIM is the wrong answer.
For a trip of a few days to a few weeks, a travel eSIM is usually the cheapest and by far the fastest option: typically $1–3 a day against $10–15 a day for a carrier roaming pass, set up in two minutes before you leave home. A local SIM card can beat it per gigabyte if you are willing to queue and swap your own SIM out. Pocket WiFi is now hard to justify unless nobody in the group has an eSIM-capable phone.
Carrier and rental prices vary by country and change often — check your own carrier's current international rates before assuming. eSIM prices shown are the day-pass range across our destinations.
Your carrier's roaming pass is fine. Two days at $12 is $24, and there is nothing to set up. The eSIM saves you maybe $20 — real money, but not worth agonising over.
Travel eSIM, clearly. This is the range where the per-day gap compounds: a two-week trip is roughly $150–200 on a carrier pass against $15–30 on an eSIM day pass, for the same phone and the same networks.
Regional eSIM. One plan covering a whole region means nothing to change at each border — no new SIM, no new purchase, no coverage gap on the train. Buying country by country costs more and involves more steps.
Get a local plan once you arrive. Travel data is priced for travellers; a local postpaid contract will beat it over months, and you get a local number, which you will eventually need for banking and deliveries.
Then this whole comparison is moot — you need a physical SIM. Check your phone in 10 seconds by dialling *#06# and looking for an EID number.
For anything longer than about two days, almost always. A carrier day pass is typically $10–15 per day whatever you use; a travel eSIM day pass is usually $1–3 for the same day. On a one-night trip the difference is a few dollars and your carrier pass is simpler, so it is a fair choice.
Per gigabyte, sometimes yes — local prepaid operators sell to locals at local prices. You pay for it in time and risk: a queue at the airport, passport registration in many countries, physically removing your own SIM and hoping not to lose it, and no phone number of your own until you swap it back. For trips under a month the difference is usually a few dollars.
It made sense before phones supported hotspot well. Now a travel eSIM does the same job with tethering included, with nothing to collect, charge, carry or return, and no deposit held on your card. Pocket WiFi still wins in one case: a group where nobody's phone supports eSIM.
Four cases, honestly. Your phone has no eSIM or is locked to a carrier. You are staying for months, where a local postpaid contract is cheaper. You need a local phone number — for food delivery apps, in-country bank OTPs or a local rideshare account. Or you need to make normal phone calls on a local number; travel eSIMs are data-only.
Yes, and that is the point. The eSIM carries data while your physical SIM keeps your number, calls, SMS and two-factor codes alive. Set the eSIM as the data line and leave your home line's data roaming off.
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