Data abroad without a plastic SIM: how it works, what to check before you pay, and the partners we hold a real link for.
2
eSIM partners we link to
34
Countries we checked
6
Site languages
Every country in our destination network, checked on 2026-08-06.
Every provider listed here is one we hold a working, attributed link for. A provider we cannot link to properly is not listed here at all.
eSIM & SIM cards
Yesim
eSIM & SIM cards
Airalo
We may earn a commission from this partner link, at no extra cost to you.
Only what we checked ourselves: which of our destination countries each partner’s own pages answer for, and which of our site languages they serve. No star ratings and no starting prices — we hold neither, and an estimate in a comparison table is just a number that looks checked.
| Partner | Product | Coverage we checked | Site languages served | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesim | eSIM & SIM cards | Worldwide — checked in 34 countries | 5 of 6 kz → ru | Go to Yesim |
| Airalo | eSIM & SIM cards | Worldwide — checked in 34 countries | 6 of 6 | Go to Airalo |
Everything in this table was checked by us on 2026-08-06. A dash means nobody has checked that yet.
An arrow means the partner has no site in that language, so readers of it are sent to a page in the language after the arrow.
An eSIM is a mobile plan you download instead of a card you slot in. The chip it lands on is soldered into the phone, so buying one is a purchase and a software install rather than a trip to a shop — which is why a travel eSIM can be bought at home the night before and be live the moment the plane doors open.
The mechanism is simple; the choice is not. Travel eSIMs differ in things that are easy to miss until you are standing in an arrivals hall: whether the plan carries a phone number or only data, which local networks it actually rides on, when the validity clock starts, and whether you can add more data without buying an entirely new plan. The rest of this page is those questions, in the order they bite.
Nothing to install and your own number keeps working for calls and SMS. Whether that is sensible depends entirely on your home operator: some include a data allowance abroad, some charge a daily fee that switches on the moment your phone registers, and some bill per megabyte. Look up your own tariff for the specific country before you leave — it is the one number in this comparison you can check for certain, because it is yours.
A data plan bought from a reseller and downloaded onto your phone before you go. It sits alongside your home SIM, so your usual number stays reachable for the bank code that arrives by SMS while your data runs over the travel plan. The trade-off is that a data-only plan gives you no local number to receive calls or texts on, and you are dependent on whichever local network the reseller has an agreement with.
The one option that reliably gives you a local number, which matters if you need to be called back by a taxi driver, a landlord or a delivery. What it costs is a question only the counter in that country can answer, and the other costs are the queue itself, an ID check where SIM registration is required by law, and giving up your home number in that slot unless the handset takes two SIMs.
Look in the phone settings for an option to add a cellular or mobile plan — wording varies by manufacturer and by Android skin. If there is no such option, the handset has no eSIM and no purchase can add one. Check the manufacturer spec sheet for your exact model number rather than the marketing name: the same model name is sometimes sold in a variant without eSIM in some markets.
A handset sold subsidised by an operator can be locked, and a locked phone refuses a profile from anyone else. This is separate from eSIM support and it is the single most common reason an install fails after payment. Ask your operator to confirm the phone is unlocked before you buy anything.
A plan sold as data-only carries no phone number: no incoming calls, and no SMS — including the one-time codes banks send. The product page will say which it is, and it is worth reading rather than assuming. Keep your home SIM enabled for SMS if you rely on those, and make sure calling apps are set up before you leave, because installing one needs data you may not have yet.
Plans are sold as local (one country), regional (a defined group) or global. A local plan stops working at the border, and a regional plan covers the list it names and nothing else — a neighbouring country is not implied. Read the country list against your actual itinerary, including layovers long enough to leave the airport.
A plan with a validity window may count from purchase, from installation, or from the moment the profile first attaches to a network. Those are three very different things for a trip booked weeks ahead, and it is the difference between a plan that expires mid-holiday and one that does not. The answer is in the plan terms; if it is not stated, treat that as a reason to look elsewhere.
Running out of data is normal; being unable to add more without repeating the whole install is not. Check whether the plan supports a top-up that keeps the same profile, and whether a top-up extends the validity window or only the allowance.
A travel eSIM provider does not own a network. It resells access to local operators, and the operator it puts you on decides your real speed and whether you have signal indoors, in a rural valley, or on a train. Where the provider publishes the partner networks per country, compare them against local coverage maps for the places you are actually going.
Sharing the connection to a laptop or a travel companion is permitted on some plans and blocked on others. If a hotspot is part of your plan for the trip, confirm it before buying rather than discovering it in a café.
Downloading a profile needs a data connection. Doing it at home over Wi-Fi, before you travel, removes the circular problem of needing data to get data. Installing early is not the same as activating early — on many plans the two are separate steps, which is what makes this safe.
Install the profile but keep the line disabled, and label it so you can tell it apart from your home line. Then set which line carries data and which carries calls and SMS, so your home number stays reachable without quietly using its data.
This is the step people skip. A travel eSIM does not stop the home SIM roaming, and a phone that falls back to the home line for data will bill you exactly as it would have without the eSIM. Disable data roaming on the home line specifically, not on the whole device.
Switch the travel line on, enable data roaming for that line — a travel eSIM works by roaming onto a local network, so this one has to be on — and give it a minute to register. If nothing appears, select the network manually from the list before assuming the plan is faulty.
An installed profile can be one-time. Removing it from the phone can end the plan permanently, with no way to reinstall what you paid for. Do not delete a profile as a troubleshooting step unless the provider has confirmed it can be reissued.
With the home line kept for SMS only, incoming calls to it may still be treated as roaming and charged, and voicemail behaviour does not change. Decide deliberately whether the home line is off, on for SMS only, or fully on.
A single-country plan on a multi-country itinerary goes dark at the first border. Check the plan against every country you sleep in, not just the first one.
A country being listed means a roaming agreement exists there, not that the partner network is strong where you are going. Rural areas, mountain roads and building interiors are where the difference between local operators shows up.
Airport Wi-Fi that needs an SMS code to log in is a closed loop if your only means of receiving SMS is the plan you are trying to install. Install before departure.
It is a mobile data plan delivered as a downloadable profile rather than a physical card. The profile is installed onto a chip built into the phone, so the plan can be bought and set up before you travel and used the moment you arrive.
Open the phone settings and look for an option to add a cellular or mobile plan. If it is not there, the handset does not support eSIM and nothing can be installed. Check the specification for your exact model number, because some models are sold in market variants with and without eSIM.
A data-only plan does not include a phone number, so calls and SMS to your usual number arrive only if you keep your home line enabled alongside it. A phone that can hold a physical SIM and an eSIM at the same time will run the travel plan for data while the home line stays active for SMS.
Install it before you travel, while you still have a working internet connection, because downloading the profile requires data. Whether installing also starts the plan depends on the plan: check whether validity counts from purchase, from installation or from first connection to a network.
It depends on your own tariff. Some home plans include data abroad in the region you are visiting, in which case roaming needs no setup and keeps your number working normally. Check what your operator charges for the specific country before deciding, since that figure is the only one in the comparison you can verify exactly.
Only if the plan supports a top-up. Some plans let you add an allowance to the profile already installed, others require buying and installing a new plan. Confirm this before purchase, and check whether a top-up also extends the validity window or only the data.
Deleting an installed profile can be irreversible: many are issued once and cannot be reinstalled on the same or another device. Treat removal as permanent unless the provider states that a profile can be reissued.