The best eSIMs for Europe in 2026 (400+ plans analysed and ranked)
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🥇 The best Europe eSIM for most travellers right now is MobiMatter’s 35GB for €25 (€0.71 per GB), but there might be better options for you depending on your trip length, if you’re visiting non-EU countries and how much data you’ll need.
Most people probably think a travel blogger’s day-to-day life is all sunshine, adventures and cocktails, but if I told you how many hours I spend on spreadsheets to analyse value for money on things like eSIMs, I fear you would quickly change your mind about this career path 😂
BUT it’s all for good reason, because I see wayyyy too many recommendations for ridiculously expensive eSIMs which are eating into your precious Europe spending money for no good reason.
Let me say it very plainly: any company charging you more than €2 per GB for a 10GB+ plan or €3 per day for an unlimited Europe eSIM is ripping you off. Data does not cost that much here, and there are plenty of reliable providers with significantly better prices, often with less restrictive hotspot limits or fair use policies, and sometimes they’re even the exact same product up to 44% cheaper.

I’ve compared more than 400 individual Europe eSIM plans from 30+ providers, scoured through hundreds of lines of fine print, typed ‘can I speak to a human’ to a chatbot (so I could confirm any unclear or contradictory policies) too many times, and the result is this ultra-extensive guide to the best eSIMs for Europe for all types of trips and travellers.
My top picks come in at just over €0.70 per GB for mid-data plans, plus I’ve recommended options for budget travellers, longer trips and high data users if you’re chronically online or you’re a solo traveller who always forgets to download Netflix episodes before going out for dinner (🙋🏼♀️).
Let’s get started.
A quick note: These prices are valid as of 20 September 2026 but obviously eSIM pricing and plan details can change without notice, so always read the product info carefully before purchasing anything. I aim to update my eSIM guides at least every six months. For this reason I’ve used actual retail prices of all eSIMs rather than sale prices, sales change far too often to keep on top of and this is the fairest way to compare providers.

Quick summary: The best Europe eSIMs for travellers
If you’re in a rush, here’s a table of all the best eSIM options based on my 400+ plan spreadsheet 🤓
Note: All prices are in EUR and you can see the criteria for each category in the rankings breakdown below.
| Best for | Top pick | Price | Why? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most travellers | MobiMatter NextLink Europe 35GB (30 days) | €25 | Best value for typical data usage at €0.71/GB |
| Heavy data users | SimCorner Europe Holiday 200GB (31 days) | ~€62 ($99AUD) | Just €0.31/GB + a phone number included |
| Unlimited data | Sim Local Unlimited (5GB/day) 30 days | €52.75 | Decent daily allowance of high speed data for €1.76/day |
| Budget travellers | MobiMatter Sparks Europe Special 10GB (30 days) | €10 | Enough data for navigation and messaging and still just €1/GB |
| Long trips | MobiMatter NextLink Europe 50GB (60 days) (this is the one I always get) | €36 | €0.72/GB is great value for an extended plan without having to spend €70+ upfront |
| European phone number | Sim Local Orange 20GB (31 days) | €20 | Cheapest option from a provider I can vouch for |
| Emergency backup | Roamless credit | From €1.70/GB | Never-expiring wallet credit just in case you’re unexpectedly data-less |
And the best Europe eSIM options for trips including specific destinations:
- Europe trips including Switzerland: 30GB for €23 with MobiMatter Sparks
- Europe trips including Türkiye: 35GB for €25 with MobiMatter NextLink
- Europe trips including the Balkans: 20GB for €19 with GlobalYO

And the worst eSIMs for Europe…
Some plans from the biggest names in the eSIM world sit at the pricier end of the spectrum when compared to equivalent options, these are the ones whose retail prices are more ‘yikes 💀’ than ‘yassss 💃🏼’:
- Jetpac: Their price per GB ranges from €3.10 at 5GB down to €1.66 at 40GB for their 30-day plans, vs. MobiMatter’s €1.20/GB and €0.71/GB for 5GB and 35GB plans respectively
- aloSIM: Similar story, €3.60/GB for their 10GB plan and even their giant 100GB/180-day plan is still €1.80/GB which is extortionate
- Airalo: Their Europe eSIMs are generally terrible value compared to equivalent options, you’re basically paying a hefty premium for the brand name, a snazzy app and their enormous influencer marketing budget
- Simify fixed data plans: Their 10GB and 20GB plans are roughly three times the price of MobiMatter’s equivalent tiers (€31.95 vs €10 and €47.95 vs €17)
- Saily fixed data plans: Their unlimited Europe eSIM is a solid option, but their fixed data eSIMs are muchhhh more expensive than what you could find elsewhere (e.g. their 10GB/30-day plan is €31.99, more than three times the best value 10GB options)
- SimOptions: They resell the same Orange and Bouygues eSIMs at higher prices than other resellers charge, like €89.90 for the Orange 100GB that Sim Local sells for €50
- Holafly: Consistently amongst the most expensive unlimited options for every single eSIM guide I research and write, and their Europe eSIM doesn’t disclose their actual fair use limit and restricts hotspotting to 1GB per day while still charging 31% more than Sim Local’s 5GB/day with no hotspot limit
- Roamless as your main eSIM: Brilliant as an emergency backup like I just mentioned, terrible value for daily data use throughout your trip
- Skyalo: I’ve seen this one pop up in a few Facebook groups and Reddit threads but AVOID at all costs, their advertised pricing doesn’t match their checkout total (like it shows $21.99USD for 20GB, then you click through and it says $79.99 🙃) and it looks super scammy
There is some nuance here because a few of these providers promote ‘sales’ which are a fair bit cheaper than the retail price they show (and if they’re permanently on sale at that price then that’s manipulative marketing anyway), some include extras like VPN features, and other product lines from a couple of these brands do offer fantastic value. I’ve broken down the exact comparisons later in the guide.

Why trust these Europe eSIM recommendations?
A lottttt of eSIM marketing gives me serious snake oil salesman vibes and it makes me angry to think of how many travellers waste money on unnecessarily expensive plans because those providers have the biggest marketing budgets, which they have because their markups are ridiculous, and the more people who buy them at those crazy prices = the more money they have for ads and influencer campaigns, and the cycle continues.
Do these expensive products work? Generally yes, they’re not a scam in that they’re taking your money but not delivering the service you paid for. Are they still ripping you off though? 1000%. Some of them have snazzy apps which do make the eSIM process smoother so maybe they’re worth the extra €€€, but that’s why I write guides like this, so you can compare like-for-like plans and make that decision with transparent info instead of being accosted by ads that follow you around the internet.
I also despise how they ALL use the sales pitch “save hundreds on roaming!”, which is *technically* true, but it’s a bit like an airline advertising that their UK to Singapore flight will save money vs. if you paid for petrol to drive that trip 😂 Driving isn’t the main competitor here, just like roaming isn’t for eSIMs these days, it’s whether that PARTICULAR flight/eSIM is better value than an equivalent option from another airline/eSIM provider.
All my eSIM guide rankings are based on actual research and analysis of loads of plans (more than 400 for this Europe one!) compared by price, data allowance, validity, coverage, network speed, hotspot rules and sneaky fair use policies that hide in the T&Cs. And to be very clear, eSIM brands cannot pay to be included in the rankings, I get emails asking for this on a literal daily basis and turn every single one down, and it’s fairly obvious that they are not used to hearing no when they offer to pay for a spot 🙃
For full transparency, brands can purchase a guaranteed research inclusion because properly checking a new provider and re-analysing the rankings can take hours, but that fee has no bearing on whether they’ll get a spot in the ‘best’ list at all.
If you want to see more honest and transparent travel content, you can set findingalexx.com as one of your preferred sources on Google, this helps my travel guides reach more people rather than being swallowed up by generic AI overviews (which will almost certainly tell you that Ubigi, Holafly, Saily or Airalo are your best value options, and they almost never are haha). Thank you for supporting my work ❤️

What is a Europe eSIM?
An eSIM is a digital SIM built into your phone, so instead of fumbling around with a physical SIM at the airport or trying to open your SIM tray with an earring*, you can just buy a plan online, install it through an app or QR code, and you’ll connect as soon as you switch off airplane mode.
*RIP my favourite Meadowlark studs 🪦
A Europe eSIM specifically is a regional plan that covers a whole group of European countries on one plan, usually somewhere between 28 and 42 depending on the provider, connecting you to local networks as you cross borders without requiring you to change settings or top up each time.
To use one you’ll need an eSIM-compatible phone (which is most models from the past few years) and it has to be unlocked from your home carrier. You can keep your normal SIM active to receive calls and texts to your usual number and just use the eSIM for data so you don’t get stung with nasty roaming fees.
If you’re only visiting one country then a single-country eSIM is often cheaper, but for multi-stop trips these regional plans are more convenient than switching and one 30GB Europe-wide eSIM is often better value overall than three 10GB ones for Italy, Switzerland and France, and there’s less risk of wasting unused data.

How I ranked more than 400 eSIM plans
To keep the comparisons as fair and useful as possible, I didn’t just sort the spreadsheet by price per GB and call it a day, I considered a range of criteria across plans and brands:
- Fixed data plans: Compared using price, total allowance, price per GB, validity, network speed and coverage
- Unlimited plans: Compared using price and price per day, daily high-speed allowance, throttled speed and hotspot limits
- Provider quality: I haven’t tested every single one of these yet (I’ve got a list to trial on my upcoming Europe trip and will update this guide after) but I’ve got an extensive master sheet of provider info, policies, reviews, social presence and customer service responses to my questions, plus any other red flags (or green flags)
- Retail prices only: Some eSIM companies advertise short-term discounts of up to 50% which could skew results, but I’m not that keen on being a full-time eSIM guide updater who spends 40 hours a week on this post alone haha so I’ve used standard retail prices for all calculations. In the provider overview I’ve mentioned if a brand has sale deals that make them worthy of consideration, so you can click through and check the price before you buy.
- Country counts: Providers tend to inflate these by counting places like Guernsey, the Canary Islands or Åland as separate countries, so to keep rankings fair I’ve looked at each plan’s coverage list and tallied up the UN-recognised sovereign states plus Kosovo. If you’re heading to any dependencies, autonomous regions or territories then check the destination list to make sure your destination is definitely covered.
In every category I’ve listed the eSIM I think gives the best combo of value for money, usefulness for that type of trip/traveller and confidence in the brand, then I’ve also listed close alternatives as well as the absolute cheapest per GB option on paper (if it didn’t win), along with what stopped it from taking the top spot.
1. Best Europe eSIM for most travellers: 35GB for €25 with MobiMatter NextLink
- Price & data: 35GB for €25
- Price per GB: €0.71
- Validity: 30 days
- Speed: 5G/4G/LTE
- Hotspot: Yes
- European coverage (sovereign states): 36 countries
- Notable exclusions: Switzerland, Monaco, the non-EU Balkans (Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo)
- Get extra cashback with promocode FINDINGALEXX
MobiMatter’s NextLink Europe eSIM is ideal for travellers who’ll be using data for daily navigation, researching things on the go, maybe listening to Spotify or scrolling through social media while you’re on the train, without any daily cap or throttling to get in the way of you streaming a Netflix show if your hotel WiFi is too slow.
Not many providers offer 35GB plans so it’s hard to compare like for like, but at €0.71/GB it beats the ‘per GB’ rate of 50GB plans from Maya (€0.82/GB), Orange Travel (€0.86/GB), Ubigi (€1.08/GB) and Airalo (€1.25/GB), to name a few of the big ones.
MobiMatter is an eSIM marketplace which means they sell a massive range of plans from different providers, and the specifics like speed, network, country coverage etc. can vary, but their NextLink Europe eSIMs cover 36 countries with 5G where it exists, unrestricted hotspotting and a super easy app setup to install and manage your data usage.
The 50GB/60-day tier of the NextLink eSIM is one of two I always use myself when I’m in Europe, but for one-month trips 35GB will be sufficient data for most travellers.
Pros:
- Better per GB value than comparable plans from the major brands that dominate your feed and other Europe eSIM round ups
- More than enough data for a month-long trip for most travellers
- No limit on hotspotting and no throttling
- Easy to buy, install, track and top up on the MobiMatter app (I add a widget to my homescreen so I can keep an eye on my usage)
- I’ve used them in more than 20 countries with no issues, including this exact NextLink eSIM
Cons:
- No Switzerland (but MobiMatter’s Sparks eSIMs include Switzerland for just a tiny bit more per GB)
- More data than what some people might need
💰 Get extra cashback on your first MobiMatter eSIM with the code FINDINGALEXX
Alternatives for most travellers
- If you don’t need as much data: MobiMatter NextLink 25GB for €19.50 is a cheaper and lower-data option of the same product line (they also have 20GB for €16.50, 12GB for €10.50 and 7GB for €7.50).
- If you’re going to Switzerland or some of the Balkans: MobiMatter’s Sparks Europe + USA 30GB for €23 is a different product in the MobiMatter marketplace, and it’s the other one of the two eSIMs I use! It’s €2 cheaper for 5GB less data than the 35GB NextLink but it adds coverage of Switzerland, Albania, Montenegro and Serbia.
- Lowest per-GB rate under €20: WorldSIM Lite 20GB for €8.48 comes out at only €0.42/GB which is a bit too good to be true, so I checked out their website and saw a bunch of red flags which make me hesitant to recommend it. I’ll test it myself when I’m in Europe next and I’ve explained properly in the provider section after the rankings.
- Another low-cost alternative: Roamic 20GB for €14.99 is a great value 20GB option, €0.75/GB, but again there are things that feel off which I’ll dig into in the dedicated Roamic section. If anyone reading this chooses to try Roamic, please feel free to come back to this guide and let us know about your experience in the comments.
2. Best Europe eSIM for heavy data users: 200GB for ~€62 with SimCorner
- Price & data: 200GB for $99AUD (~€62)
- Price per GB: ~€0.31
- Validity: 31 days
- Speed: 5G/4G
- Hotspot: Yes
- Phone number: Yes, with unlimited EU + UK minutes
- European coverage: 35 countries
- Notable exclusions: Türkiye, Monaco, the non-EU Balkans
If you’re on the extreme end of data use, and I mean extreeeeme, SimCorner’s Europe Holiday 200GB eSIM (31 days) works out at just €0.31/GB, with the ability to share the entire allowance with other devices or travel buddies. Impressive!
SimCorner is an established Australian travel SIM retailer that resells plans from local providers, and the Europe Holiday range is a rebrand of French telco Orange’s eSIMs. The different tiers do vary in terms of network speed but this 200GB is 5G-capable and also comes with a French phone number and unlimited minutes in EU countries and the UK.
Something a bit niggly about SimCorner is that their default prices are set in AUD and switching the site to EUR shows prices ~2.5-4% higher than the current exchange rate, so check AUD as well as your home currency to make sure you get the best deal.
Pros:
- €0.31 per GB is the joint-second-best per GB price out of all 400+ plans, only beaten by the 500GB tier of the same SimCorner Europe Holiday range (€0.24/GB)
- A local number with minutes included is super handy
- Hotspotting is allowed all the way up to the full 200GB so you could get one for your family/travel group to share, and everyone else could get much smaller and cheaper eSIMs to just cover their basic data needs
- Switzerland is included
Cons:
- No Türkiye or non-EU Balkans coverage
- €62 for a month of data is still an investment compared to many other options in this guide, only worth it if you’ll genuinely make use of the huge allowance
Alternatives for heavy data users
- Buying the same 200GB eSIM through Orange direct might be worth it if you can get it on sale, it retails at €89.99 but at the time of writing it was discounted to €57.99 so a few euros cheaper than SimCorner. I can’t use that price in the analysis because there’s no info about how long it’ll be available, but check it yourself (and my fingers are crossed for you!).
- If 200GB is unnecessary: GlobalYO’s 100GB for €46 is just €0.46/GB with 60 days of validity and coverage including Switzerland, Türkiye, the UK and five non-EU Balkan countries (just no Kosovo), but the maximum speed is 4G so you win some, you lose some.
- If you like a calculated gamble: esim.net’s Bouygues 120GB for €37.50 matches SimCorner’s €0.31/GB value at a much lower upfront price, however this is another plan that’s repackaged by various providers, and other resellers (as well as Bouygues themselves) say it’s 4G/LTE whereas eSIM.net claims this one as supporting “5G where available”. It’s possible that eSIM.net sells a slightly different product that does have 5G capability, but I’m not confident enough to recommend it to you without testing it for myself. Another one for my trial list next trip!
3. Best unlimited Europe eSIM: 5GB/day for €52.75 with Sim Local
- Price: 30 days for €52.75 or 15 days for €37.50
- Price per day: €1.76 (30 days) / €2.50 (15 days)
- Speed: 4G/5G
- Daily high-speed allowance: 5GB
- Hotspot: Yes
- European coverage: 34 countries
- Notable exclusions: Türkiye, the non-EU Balkans
- Get 5% off with promocode ALEXX5
The word ‘unlimited’ is doing a lottttt of heavy lifting in the eSIM industry, with the vast majority of unlimited eSIMs in fact having relatively modest limits of 2-3GB per day before having your data slowed right down, but Sim Local gives you a massive 5GB of full speed data daily for just €1.76/day for a month.
Their direct competitor here would be Saily’s 5GB/day unlimited plan which is €63.99 for a month, or €2.13/day (so €0.37 per day more expensive), plus Sim Local has 7, 15, 60 and 90 day options for their 5GB plan, as well as a 10GB/day options for all the same timeframes for intense usage.
I haven’t used this exact eSIM but I’ve used Sim Local in other destinations and have had great experiences.
Pros:
- 5GB/day with no separate hotspotting limit
- Plan options for one or two weeks or one, two or three months to fit different trip lengths
Cons:
- 1Mbps after the daily cap is very slow for anything beyond messaging and basic browsing
- No Türkiye or non-EU Balkans coverage
- Maya offers better value for a 15-day trip if 3GB/day is enough
💰 Save 5% on Sim Local eSIMs with promocode ALEXX5
Alternatives for unlimited data
- If 5GB/day still isn’t enough: Sim Local’s 10GB/day plan is €64.25 for 30 days, just €2.14 per day for a huuuge daily allowance that can be shared to other devices.
- If you want broader coverage and don’t mind 4G: GlobalYO’s unlimited plan (30 days for €44 so €1.47/day, 15 days for €29 so €1.93/day) extends to Türkiye and all the Balkan countries except for Kosovo, but with a lower limit of 2GB/day before you’re throttled to an unspecified speed, and it’s only 4G/LTE.
- Best for a two-week trip: Maya’s 15-day unlimited eSIM is €30.99, saving you a beer’s worth of euros compared to Sim Local’s equivalent plan if you can handle the 3GB cap, plus the throttled speed is a very generous 10Mbps initially which lets you continue using your phone relatively comfortably until the reset.
- If you’re a light data user on a budget: Superalink’s 1GB/day plan is €25.14 for 30 days and €13.35 for 15 days, a very cost-effective option for anyone who’ll mostly rely on hotel WiFi or for family members/travel buddies who can hotspot someone’s bigger plan for more serious use.
4. Best Europe eSIM for budget travellers: 10GB for €10 with MobiMatter Sparks
- Price & data: 10GB for €10 / 5GB for €6 / 3GB for €4.50
- Price per GB: €1 / €1.20 / €1.50
- Validity: 30 days
- Speed: 5G/4G/LTE
- Hotspot: Yes
- European coverage: 35 countries
- Notable exclusions: The non-EU Balkans, Monaco
- Get extra cashback with promocode FINDINGALEXX
If you’ve got limited travel funds left for your eSIM, MobiMatter’s 10GB Sparks Special eSIM is the cheapest 10GB option from a provider I can vouch for, at just €10 all up. I’ve used MobiMatter Sparks eSIMs all through Europe multiple times and have never had any issues, they’re multi-network in almost every country so they’ll connect to the strongest network in each place.
To put that price in perspective, it’s less than half the cost of 30-day 10GB plans from Voye (€20), Airalo (€21.50-27.50) and Yesim (€25), and less than a third of Jetpac (€30.50), Saily (€31.99) and aloSIM (€36 👀).
With 10GB for a month you’ll need to be careful with your data use and connect to WiFi wherever possible to preserve your GBs, but if you run out you can top up with another Sparks eSIM through the MobiMatter app, or opt for the slightly-higher data 12GB NextLink eSIM for just €0.50 more instead (but no Switzerland).
Pros:
- Only €10!
- Hotspotting allowed with no restrictions
- Coverage includes Switzerland and Türkiye
Cons:
- 10GB allowance isn’t much if you’re using your phone while out and about all day
- No non-EU Balkans coverage
💰 Get extra cashback on your first MobiMatter eSIM with the code FINDINGALEXX
Alternatives for budget travellers
- If you’re visiting the Balkans: MobiMatter’s Sparks Europe + USA eSIM (same provider but different product) is €11.50 for 12GB and covers 40 European countries, including Albania, Montenegro and Serbia (no Bosnia, North Macedonia or Kosovo), or the MobiMatter Sparks Balkan Special is €13 for 10GB and only leaves out Kosovo (but is 4G only).
- Cheapest price on paper: WorldSIM Lite 20GB for €8.48 is again the lowest per-GB rate for a plan less than €20, but they’re scammy AF and I’ll explain what I mean in the provider overview after the rankings.
5. Best Europe eSIM for long trips: 50GB in 60 days for €36 with MobiMatter NextLink
- Price & data: 50GB for €36
- Price per GB: €0.72
- Validity: 60 days
- Speed: 5G/4G/LTE
- Hotspot: Yes
- European coverage: 36 countries
- Notable exclusions: Switzerland, Monaco, the non-EU Balkans
- Get extra cashback with promocode FINDINGALEXX
If you’re spending two months in Europe, MobiMatter’s 50GB/60-day NextLink eSIM is a longer and higher-data tier of the one that took the top spot in the ‘best for most travellers’ category at the start of the guide, and at €36 it’s just €0.72/GB which is an absolute bargain.
The closest like-for-like plans are SimOptions (50GB, 60 days, 4G-only) for €59.90 or Simify (60GB, 60 days, 5G) for €100.95, and Airalo, Saily and aloSIM all charge between €85 and €95 for their 50GB/90-day options, ouch 😳
The NextLink eSIM is also easily top-uppable in the MobiMatter app, so if you’re staying for longer or your 50GB runs out, you can purchase another of the same or a shorter/lower data option in a few clicks.
During my three months in Europe each year I tend to use two of these (or the Switzerland-included Sparks option in the alternatives below). As a solo traveller I use my phone CONSTANTLY for non-stop navigation and research, Spotify while I’m out exploring, the odd Netflix show when I’m out at a restaurant and forgot to download anything, and on average the 50GB lasts me around 6-7 weeks, so all up I’ll spend €72-74 for 100GB over a three month period (which is loads cheaper than any 90-day 100GB or more options).
Pros:
- One eSIM covers a full 60 days
- €0.72/GB which is pretty much the same value as the 30-day top pick, without a long-trip markup
- No limits on hotspotting and no throttling
- I’ve personally used it all over Europe with no issues at all
Cons:
- No Switzerland
- 50GB might not stretch the whole two months
- Trips longer than two months will require a top up part-way through
💰 Get extra cashback on your first MobiMatter eSIM with the code FINDINGALEXX
Alternatives for long trips
- If you need Switzerland: MobiMatter Sparks Special 50GB/60 days for €37 (€0.74/GB) adds it for just €1 more.
- If you need more data but are still on a budget: GlobalYO has a 100GB/60-day plan for just €46, unfortunately it’s only 4G/LTE which might be a dealbreaker for heavy data users but it does have excellent coverage including Switzerland, Türkiye and all of the Balkans except Kosovo.
- For a full Euro summer: SimCorner’s Europe Holiday 500GB/90 days for ~€121 (€0.24/GB) gives you 10x the data of MobiMatter NextLink with a full three months of validity, includes Switzerland, and comes with a French phone number and unlimited EU minutes (you just need a quick ID check to keep it active for all 90 days). The upfront price is brutal though, if you’d use less than 150GB of the allowance then getting two or three back-to-back NextLinks would be cheaper (€72 or €108 total).
- For slow travel or multiple trips with low data use: SIMOVO’s 50GB eSIM costs €53.95 and lasts a whole 180 days, ideal for anyone spending an extended period in Europe or if you’re hopping back and forth over half a year, with no hassle of having to get a new eSIM or top up each time.
6. Best Europe eSIM with a phone number: 20GB for €20 with Sim Local
- Price & data: 20GB for €20
- Price per GB: €1
- Validity: 31 days
- Speed: 4G
- Phone number: Yes (French)
- Hotspot: Yes
- European coverage: 34 countries
- Notable exclusions: Türkiye, the non-EU Balkans
If you’re the type of traveller who’d rather make a phone call to your hotel, car rental place or a restaurant than send an email or WhatsApp message, a) you almost certainly aren’t a millennial and b) this €20 20GB/31-day Orange eSIM from Sim Local is perfect for you, because it includes a French number along with unlimited EU minutes and 30 international minutes.
The same (or very similar) Orange product is available across a few providers, but Sim Local’s €20 beats SimOptions (€28.90) and SimCorner (~€32), and Orange’s direct website only sells the 20GB data + calls eSIM as a 14-day option and it’s €24.99.
Pros:
- Really good value for a mid-data eSIM with a phone number
- Cheapest price for this eSIM vs. two other resellers, and it’s not even available direct through Orange
- Top-uppable if you register with Orange in 30 days
Cons:
- 4G only, no 5G
- Their on-site country count is inflated, it says 44 countries but it counts places like Madeira and Guernsey as countries. The actual count is 34.
Alternatives for phone number eSIMs
- Cheapest price on paper: esim.net’s O2 20GB for €17 (€0.85/GB) covers 33 countries (they say 48, this is misleading) at up to 5G speeds with a UK phone number and unlimited local calls, but there are a few reasons why I don’t recommend them, all info in the provider section.
- If you need more data: Sim Local has the 50GB Orange plan for €40 and 100GB for €50.
7. Best Europe eSIM for an emergency backup: Pay-as-you-go credit with Roamless
- Price & data: Pay-as-you-go credit
- Price per GB: From ~€1.70/GB ($1.95USD)
- Validity: Credits never expire
- Speed: 5G
- Phone number: You can use your credits to make calls from the app + they have a phone number subscription option too
- Hotspot: Yes
- Coverage: Credits are valid globally but different countries have different per GB rate
This one’s totally different to any other eSIM I’ve mentioned, because rather than just choosing a fixed data amount or number of days in a certain destination, Roamless lets you buy pay-as-you-go credits which you can use pretty much anywhere in the world.
Let me be very clear though, Roamless is a terrible option for your main Europe eSIM. The PAYG per GB rate is way higher than all the other picks in this guide and they also have fixed data plans that aren’t competitive at all, but from a safety and convenience perspective, it’s 100% worth adding some credit on the app in case you get stuck anywhere without service or need to make a call to a local number and can’t do that with your data-only eSIM.
Credits never expire so if you don’t need to use them on this trip they’ll be there for your next one anywhere else in the world.
Pros:
- Credit never expires, so one purchase covers every future trip
- One reusable eSIM with coverage in 180 countries, it’s a backup for anywhere, not just Europe
- Your credit also works for in-app calls to real phone numbers
Cons:
- Their fixed data plans aren’t good value and using credits for everyday use is a very expensive option
- Data can be super expensive in places like Serbia and North Macedonia (~€3.88/GB), Kosovo (~€7.81) and Monaco (~€9.56)
Six things I learnt comparing 400+ Europe eSIM plans
For any fellow data nerds out there, these are the patterns that are very clear when you’re looking at all the options in one big spreadsheet (and why it’s so vital to do proper research before you give any of these brands your hard-earned money!):
- A 10GB Europe eSIM from a reputable provider can range from €10 (MobiMatter) all the way up to €36 (aloSIM)
- What looks like the exact same eSIM can vary in price by more than 40% between providers, and the direct retailer isn’t always cheaper than resellers. Airalo sells their 20GB 30-day EU + UK plan for €33 direct, but you can get the same plan through MobiMatter for €18.50, and the same Orange 500GB/90-day eSIM ranges from ~€121 at SimCorner up to €215 at Sim Local, yet Sim Local is the cheapest place for the 20GB tier of the Orange range.
- Unlimited plans are almost never actually unlimited, and plenty of them hide the true daily limit for high speed data deep in FAQs or with vague wording. Of the 150 unlimited plans I looked at, 12% cap you at just 1GB of high-speed data per day, 9% at 2GB and 31% at 3GB, only 24% let you use more than 3GB at full speed, and the remaining 24% don’t clearly state their limit at all.
- Europe coverage varies widely, with Switzerland, Iceland and the Balkan countries being notable exclusions from some major providers
- Plans with phone numbers do exist, there’s a misconception that eSIMs are only ever data-only but I found more than 40 options that would let you make local calls. Butttt there are also providers who mention a phone number on the product page, without making it that clear that it’s either a paid add-on or requires registration on another app for a free phone number trial.
- Hotspotting isn’t always allowed or can be limited to as low as 1GB per day, which you could rip through very quickly if you were using your laptop for travel planning while you’re on a train or something
An overview of Europe eSIM providers & their options
OKAY so that’s the Europe eSIM prizegiving, but I know some of you will want to understand who’s actually behind these eSIMs before you hand over your card details, especially for the companies you’ve never heard of with prices that sound too good to be true.
Here’s a rundown on every provider from my research spreadsheet, covering who they are, what Europe options they sell, what’s good about them and what’s not so good, and any traps hiding in their fine print.
Key:
- 🌍 = number of sovereign European countries the eSIM covers (including Kosovo, but excluding territories/dependencies etc.)
- 📶 = maximum speed the plan supports (but only where networks offer that speed)
- 📞 = includes a phone number

MobiMatter
💰 Get extra cashback on your first MobiMatter eSIM with the code FINDINGALEXX
MobiMatter is an eSIM marketplace rather than a retailer selling their own branded eSIMs, and they have access to a huge range of plans from verified providers all over the world.
This is the first place I look when I start any eSIM research, because they’re consistently in the top few options in terms of best value for money pretty much anywhere in the world. They took the top spot in my Best Japan eSIMs guide too and got a few mentions in my UK eSIMs guide and Global eSIMs guide too.
They have the best user experience out of any eSIM company because they offer two unique features:
- You can put multiple countries you’re visiting into the search bar at once and it’ll filter it to the eSIMs which cover that group (every other provider just has a ‘Europe’ regional eSIM or hub of them and you have to open country lists to find if your chosen destinations are included)
- You can sort the eSIMs by ‘Price/GB’ so you get them in best value order, instead of just lowest to highest price or data
Plus when you click into an eSIM, it shows the key info like hotspot, speed, activation policy, even where your connection is routed through, as well as the exact networks that plan connects to in each country, so you never have to go searching for information.
I’ve used them in 20+ European countries alone as well as throughout Asia, North America, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand and I’ve never had any issues that have even required a single message to their customer service team. Super smooth!
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
Their options are extensive so let me breakdown MobiMatter’s best Europe eSIMs:
- NextLink Europe (🌍36, 📶5G): Best value per GB for 5G, no Switzerland
- 7GB for €7.50 (€1.07/GB)
- 12GB for €10.50 (€0.88/GB)
- 20GB for €16.50 (€0.83/GB)
- 25GB for €19.50 (€0.78/GB)
- 35GB for €25 (€0.71/GB)
- 50GB for €36 (€0.72/GB, 60 days)
- Sparks Europe Special (🌍 35, 📶5G): Tiny bit more expensive for some tiers, 35 countries but includes Switzerland
- 3GB for €4.50 (€1.50/GB)
- 5GB for €6 (€1.20/GB)
- 10GB for €10 (€1/GB)
- 20GB for €17 (€0.85/GB)
- 50GB for €37 (€0.74/GB, 60 days)
- Sparks Europe + USA (🌍 40, 📶5G): A bit more expensive again but includes Switzerland, Albania, Montenegro and Serbia (plus the USA if that’s of any benefit to you)
- 5GB for €7 (€1.40/GB)
- 12GB for €11.50 (€0.96/GB)
- 30GB for €23 (€0.77/GB)
- 60GB for €46 (€0.77/GB, 60 days)
- Sparks Balkans Special (🌍40, 📶4G): Despite the name this isn’t only the Balkans, it adds Bosnia & Herzegovina and North Macedonia to the coverage list (and drops San Marino and Vatican City)
- 5GB for €8 (€1.60/GB)
- 10GB for €13 (€1.30/GB)
- 20GB for €21.50 (€1.08/GB)
- Airalo EUconnect (🌍 28, 📶 unclear): Airalo’s own EU + UK product resold at a much lower price, the product info says maximum speed is 4G/LTE however the network list underneath shows 5G for most networks so I’m waiting to hear back from MobiMatter’s customer service to confirm.
- 5GB for €7.50 (€1.50/GB)
- 10GB for €13 (€1.30/GB)
- 20GB for €18.50 (€0.93/GB)
- Bouygues EU (🌍32, 📶4G, 📞French number): A French network plan with a phone number and unlimited calls, 4G-only, no Switzerland
- 60GB for €37.50 (€0.63/GB)
- 120GB for €46 (€0.38/GB)
See all of MobiMatter’s Europe eSIMs here >>

Sim Local
💰 Save 5% on Sim Local eSIMs with promocode ALEXX5
Sim Local is the UK and Europe’s leading travel SIM retailer, they resell named-network eSIMs like Orange along with their own branded ones, all with different inclusions and coverage lists. I haven’t used them in Europe but have used it elsewhere and they feature heavily in my UK and global eSIM guides, so I can confirm they’re legit.
They offer the cheapest price for the Orange Europe 20GB eSIM between the four retailers who offer it, and their high-data unlimited plans are very fairly priced if you need 5GB or 10GB per day.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
Sim Local’s Europe eSIMs:
- Unlimited 5GB/day (🌍34, 📶5G)
- 7 days for €22.25 (€3.18/day)
- 15 days for €37.50 (€2.50/day)
- 30 days for €52.75 (€1.76/day)
- 60 days for €100.50 (€1.68/day)
- 90 days for €129.75 (€1.44/day)
- Unlimited 10GB/day (🌍34, 📶5G)
- 15 days for €44.50 (€2.97/day)
- 30 days for €64.25 (€2.14/day)
- 60 days for €117 (€1.95/day)
- 90 days for €175.50 (€1.95/day)
- Orange Europe (🌍34/35, 📶4G, 📞 French number, 31 days apart from the 500GB one)
- 20GB for €20 (€1/GB)
- 50GB for €40 (€0.80/GB)
- 100GB for €50 (€0.50/GB)
- 200GB for €79.99 (€0.40/GB)
- 500GB for €215 (€0.43/GB, 90 days)
See all of Sim Local’s Europe eSIMs here >>

Nomad eSIM
Nomad eSIM are best known for backpacker-friendly Asia eSIMs (I’ve used them outside of Europe and have no complaints), and they’ve got two Europe plans with slightly different coverage.
They’ve creatively named them the ’35 Countries Plan’ and the ’36 Countries Plan’, though they each cover 34 sovereign European countries (Switzerland in both, San Marino in the 35 and Türkiye in the 36), with the 35 option coming out the same or cheaper for every tier. One random difference I found is that the 36-country plan only supports 4G in Italy, whereas the 35-country one offers 5G speeds.
While their retail prices are pretty middle-of-the-pack, they often have temporary discounts on specific plans which would bring them into contention for a podium spot, like at the time of writing their 50GB sale price would be 3rd cheapest overall and the absolute cheapest 50GB if you removed the red-flaggy brands. Butttt I can’t base my analysis and rankings on promo prices because I’d have to rewrite these guides on a weekly basis, so all these numbers are the full retail price. Just click through and check their current deals in case you can nab a bargain.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
Nomad eSIM’s Europe plans:
- 35 Countries plan (🌍34, 📶4G/5G)
- 1GB for €4.74 (7 days, €4.74/GB)
- 3GB for €10.35 (€3.45/GB)
- 5GB for €15.09 (€3.02/GB)
- 10GB for €19.83 (€1.98/GB)
- 20GB for €31.90 (€1.60/GB)
- 50GB for €41.38 (€0.83/GB)
- Unlimited 5 days for €16.38 (€3.28/day, 2GB/day at full speed)
- Unlimited 10 days for €29.31 (€2.93/day, 2GB/day at full speed)
- 36 Countries plan with Türkiye (🌍34, 📶3G/4G/5G)
- 1GB for €4.74 (7 days, €4.74/GB)
- 3GB for €11.21 (€3.74/GB)
- 5GB for €15.52 (€3.10/GB)
- 10GB for €19.83 (€1.98/GB)
- 20GB for €38.79 (€1.94/GB)
And just an FYI, Nomad eSIM prices everything in USD so these EUR prices use their own conversion rate on their website and can change slightly day to day. Switch the site’s currency to your own home currency to see whether paying in that would work out cheaper once you skip your bank’s foreign transaction fee.
See all of Nomad eSIM’s Europe options here >>

SimCorner
SimCorner is an Australian travel SIM retailer that’s been helping travellers avoid roaming fees since the early 2010s, first with airport kiosks and then opening their online store for people to buy physical SIM cards online and get them delivered to their houses before going on holiday.
Their website can be a bit confusing for a few reasons:
- They have a variety of different Europe eSIM product lines and their names aren’t that helpful 🙃 for example there’s ‘Europe Holiday’, ‘Europe Flexi’, ‘Europe & UK’ and ‘Spain & Europe’, but actually all four of those include both the UK and Spain 😂 you need to click into the product pages for full info and to be able to compare the options.
- Their Europe eSIM options that show up can change depending on what currency you’ve set the website to. Mine was set to AUD first when I was adding them to my spreadsheet, then when I switched to EUR to get accurate EUR pricing the ‘Spain & Europe’ eSIM dropped off altogether and that page gave me a ‘not found’ error. I assume this is something to do with licensing agreements they have with the telcos they are reselling from.
- This also showed me that their AUD prices for the exact same eSIMs are better than their EUR prices, the EUR ones had a small markup compared to the current exchange rate (~2.5-4% for my checks) so if you purchase in AUD your bank might get you a better exchange rate.
One thing I really love about SimCorner is that despite the mess of different plans, they’re super transparent around important policies from the plan you’re looking at, like limitations around speed, hotspotting etc., so you don’t have to dig through FAQs or T&Cs to actually know what you’re buying.
Note: All eSIMs are 31 days unless specified otherwise, and EUR prices are rounded conversions from AUD.
SimCorner’s best Europe eSIMs (they have other plans available but these are the most competitive ones):
- Europe Holiday (🌍35, 📶4G/5G, 📞French number)
- 20GB for ~€32 (€1.60/GB)
- 200GB for ~€62 (€0.31/GB)
- 500GB for ~€121 (€0.24/GB, 90 days)
- Unlimited (🌍33, 📶4G/5G, 3GB/day then 128kbps)
- 16 days for ~€42 (€2.63/day)
- 30 days for ~€62 (€2.07/day)
- 45 days for ~€81 (€1.80/day)
At the time of writing they had sales on some of their eSIMs with up to 25% off these retail prices, so check their current deals in case it flips the results for your trip.
See all of SimCorner’s Europe eSIMs here >>

GlobalYO
Behind GlobalYO‘s glow-in-the-dark-mini-golf colour scheme and crypto bro copywriting you’ll find some of the best value high-data plans with very broad coverage, provided you can handle 4G/LTE speeds.
Their eSIMs work across 41 countries in Europe, including Switzerland, Türkiye and five of the six Balkan countries (everyone except Kosovo), and their 2GB/day unlimited plans and high-data fixed plans are particularly good value if 5G isn’t a necessity.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise, and GlobalYO is USD-only so these are converted at the exchange rate at the time of writing and rounded to the nearest euro, so they could shift a bit. They also seem to be on sale very frequently, 25% off everything when I was researching, so you could get even better deals than the retail prices below.
GlobalYO’s best Europe eSIMs (🌍41, 📶4G):
- 10GB for €13 (€1.30/GB)
- 20GB for €19 (€0.95/GB)
- 50GB for €32 (€0.64/GB, 45 days)
- 100GB for €46 (€0.46/GB, 60 days)
- Unlimited (2GB/day) 15 days for €29 (€1.93/day)
- Unlimited (2GB/day) 30 days for €44 (€1.47/day)
See all of GlobalYO’s Europe eSIMs here >>

Maya
⚠️ An important note: At some stage between my research and writing this guide, Maya seemed to totally change their business model from their fantastically transparent and customisable options to a single ‘Global Unlimited’ eSIM with no info on hotspotting, fair use policies or extended plans, so I can’t analyse them properly anyway. Their old plans are still live and purchasable so I’ve kept them linked below, but I’ll update this section when I hear back from their customer service about how the new plan works.
Maya‘s fixed data eSIMs aren’t anything special, but their unlimited Europe eSIMs for shorter trips are a worthwhile option if your maximum daily use will hover around 3GB. Where most providers will slow you riiiight down when you hit the fair use cap, Maya loosens the reins a bit with a 10Mbps connection (but you can be further throttled to 1Mbps if you continue the heavy use).
For 30 days you’d be better off spending another ~€1.76 for Sim Local’s 5GB/day option, but Maya’s per day price is better for 15-day plans.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
Maya’s best Europe eSIMs (🌍34, 📶5G):
- 10GB for €16.99 (€1.70/GB)
- 20GB for €25.99 (€1.30/GB)
- 50GB for €40.99 (€0.82/GB)
- Unlimited (3GB/day) 5 days for €15.99 (€3.20/day)
- Unlimited (3GB/day) 15 days for €30.99 (€2.07/day)
- Unlimited (3GB/day) 30 days for €50.99 (€1.70/day)
See all of Maya’s Europe eSIMs here >>

Superalink
💰 Save 20% on Superalink eSIMs with promocode ALEXA0000
Superalink is a small unlimited-plan specialist with category-winning plans in Japan, but their Europe options only give you 1GB of LTE data per day before being throttled until the daily reset.
If you’re a disciplined light user who’ll use WiFi wherever possible then these per day prices are unbeatable, just be aware of the usage and speed limitations.
Superalink’s Europe eSIM options (🌍33, 📶LTE, 1GB/day):
- 7 days for €7.16 (€1.02/day)
- 15 days for €13.35 (€0.89/day)
- 30 days for €25.14 (€0.84/day)
See Superalink’s Europe eSIM here >>

SIMOVO
💰 Save 10% on SIMOVO eSIMs with promocode ALEXX10
SIMOVO‘s one-month fixed data Europe eSIMs aren’t competitive and their unlimited 2GB/day plan is actually the second-worst by price per day (only Jetpac charges more), but if you’re staying a while their long-validity plans are worth a look, and their 50GB/180-day plan could be handy if you’re zipping back and forth to Europe over a six month period.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
SIMOVO’s best Europe eSIMs:
- 20GB for €25.95 (€1.30/GB, 90 days)
- 50GB for €53.95 (€1.08/GB, 180 days)
- Unlimited (1GB/day) 30 days for €67.95 (€2.27/day)
- Unlimited (2GB/day) 30 days for €123.95 (€4.13/day)
See all of SIMOVO’s Europe eSIMs here >>

Roamless
Roamless sells pay-as-you-go credit that never expires and works in 180 countries, which makes it the ideal backup to have installed before you leave.
They also sell fixed data plans but they’re trash (more than twice the price of equivalent ones) so stick to their PAYG option instead.
Note: Roamless is USD-only so these prices are based on the exchange rate at the time of writing.
Roamless pay-as-you-go rates (📶5G, credit never expires):
- Most of Europe from ~€1.70/GB
- Serbia and North Macedonia ~€3.88/GB
- Kosovo ~€7.81/GB
- Monaco ~€9.56/GB
Set up your Roamless backup eSIM here >>

Airalo
💰 Save $3USD on Airalo eSIMs with promocode ALEXX0231
Airalo is one of the most recognisable names in the eSIM world, thanks to the massive marketing campaigns they fund by overcharging thousands of unknowing travellers each week for eSIMs they could buy elsewhere for sooo much cheaper.
The clearest proof here is their own 28-country EU + UK plan, which MobiMatter sells selected tiers of for almost half the price.
You’ll probably see them all over your feed or popping up in Google’s AI overviews as a ‘good value’ option, but now you know the truth 🙃
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
Airalo’s Europe 42 eSIMs (🌍40, 📶5G):
- 5GB for €17.50 (€3.50/GB)
- 10GB for €27.50 (€2.75/GB)
- 20GB for €43 (€2.15/GB)
- 50GB for €62.50 (€1.25/GB)
- 50GB for €89 (€1.78/GB, 90 days)
- 100GB for €164.50 (€1.65/GB, 180 days)
- Unlimited (3GB/day) 15 days for €43.50 (€2.90/day)
- Unlimited (3GB/day) 30 days for €63 (€2.10/day)
Airalo’s EU + UK eSIMs (🌍28, 📶5G):
- 5GB for €12.50 (€2.50/GB)
- 10GB for €21.50 (€2.15/GB)
- 20GB for €33 (€1.65/GB)
- 50GB for €43.50 (€0.87/GB)
- Unlimited (3GB/day) 15 days for €35 (€2.33/day)
- Unlimited (3GB/day) 30 days for €51.50 (€1.72/day)
See all of Airalo’s Europe eSIMs here >>

Holafly
💰 Save 5% with promocode FINDINGALEXX
The undeniable market leaders for unlimited data eSIMs don’t offer anything noteworthy in Europe.
It is handy to be able to choose an exact trip length rather than the standard 10/15/30 day options many competitors force you to pick from, but this doesn’t make up for their disappointing 1GB/day hotspotting limit or vague fair use policy (no daily cap specified but online reviews suggest it’s 2-3GB in 24 hours before speeds are throttled).
To put these rates in perspective, Sim Local charges €52.75 for a month of 5GB/day and no hotspot limit, so if you went with Holafly you’d be paying 31% more for probably a lower daily cap and way less tetherability (that’s a word now by the way).
Holafly’s Europe eSIMs (🌍33, 📶5G, all unlimited):
- 15 days for €46.90 (€3.13/day)
- 30 days for €68.90 (€2.30/day)
- 90 days for €128.90 (€1.43/day)
See Holafly’s Europe eSIM here >>

Saily
💰 Save 5% on Saily eSIMs with promocode FINDINGALEXX5
Saily is owned by the NordVPN people, so while their prices definitely sit at the less impressive end of the scale, you do get an ad blocker, web protection and virtual location bundled in which no one else offers.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
Saily’s Europe eSIMs (🌍34, 📶5G):
- 10GB for €31.99 (€3.20/GB)
- 50GB for €85.49 (€1.71/GB, 90 days)
- Unlimited (5GB/day) 15 days for €44.49 (€2.97/day)
- Unlimited (5GB/day) 30 days for €63.99 (€2.13/day)
See all of Saily’s Europe eSIMs here >>

Orange
Orange is the French telco behind a huge chunk of the plans in this guide, their eSIMs get resold by Sim Local, SimCorner and SimOptions, but you can buy them direct through Orange Travel too.
Whether you should buy direct all comes down to if they’re on sale or not, because their retail prices aren’t as good as at least one reseller on each tier, but if you can nab them at 30-40% off then the maths can flip the other way.
The plans below include a French phone number with unlimited calls in the countries they cover, but they also have data-only plans for a fraction cheaper.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
Orange’s best Europe eSIMs (🌍34, 📶4G on 20-50GB, 5G on 100GB+, 📞French number):
- 20GB for €24.99 (€1.25/GB, 14 days)
- 50GB for €44.99 (€0.90/GB)
- 100GB for €68.99 (€0.69/GB)
- 200GB for €89.99 (€0.45/GB)
- 500GB for €169.99 (€0.34/GB, 90 days)
See all of Orange Travel’s Europe eSIMs here >>

SimOptions
SimOptions resell the same Orange and Bouygues eSIMs you’ll find at other resellers or marketplaces, plus a budget line of their own, but at retail they’re often the priciest (sometimes by far). Their Orange 100GB is €89.90 when Sim Local charge €50 for it ☠️
In reality the majority of their plans seem to be discounted at any one time which makes them much more competitive, but this is also manipulative marketing so I still don’t recommend them.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise, and these are retail prices.
SimOptions’ best Europe eSIMs (📞French number):
- Orange 20GB for €28.90 (€1.45/GB, 31 days)
- Bouygues 60GB for €48.90 (€0.82/GB)
- Bouygues 120GB for €59.90 (€0.50/GB)
- Orange 100GB for €89.90 (€0.90/GB, 31 days)
See all of SimOptions’ Europe eSIMs here >>

esim.net
esim.net sell plans from real named networks (EE, O2, Vodafone and Bouygues) at prices that look almost too good, aaaand I think maybe they are?
I wanted to like them, but there’s a growing number of burnt-orange flags:
- Some of their product pages are VERY thin on information
- Their country counts are wildly inflated, they say 48 countries for their O2 eSIMs but this counts places like Azores, Canary Islands, Guadeloupe and Guernsey as countries (the actual count is 35)
- They advertise the Bouygues plan as 5G when Bouygues themselves and every other reseller say it’s 4G
- I messaged their customer service to confirm that it is in fact 5G and haven’t heard back after six weeks
- They haven’t posted on social media since early 2026 and there are comments on their Instagram about unpaid invoices from travel creators who did work for them, which is never a good sign
One of these things might not be a dealbreaker, but put all of them together and I’d rather test one myself on my next trip before I recommend them to you.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
esim.net’s best Europe eSIMs (📞 on all plans except the data-only one):
- EE 30GB for €18.56 (€0.62/GB)
- EE 60GB for €21 (€0.35/GB)
- O2 20GB for €17 (€0.85/GB)
- O2 35GB for €21 (€0.60/GB)
- Bouygues 120GB for €37.50 (€0.31/GB)
- Data-only 25GB for €17 (€0.68/GB)
See all of esim.net’s Europe eSIMs here >>

WorldSIM
Strap in my friends, because I’m about to take you on a wild ride.
WorldSIM’s Lite plans came out as the absolute cheapest per GB of all 400+ plans I compared for typical data users (20GB for €8.48 which is €0.42/GB), so before writing them up as my top recommendation I did my due diligence to confirm their legitimacy.
My first finding was that they’re an established eSIM provider that’s clearly been around since long before eSIMs existed, and I know that because their homepage has a link to a blog post they published about why you should visit Croatia, with the key message being that Croatia has now joined the EU… which happened in 2013 😂
The rest of their website looks like it’s from the mid-2010s too, with a big focus on how many SMS’ you get in different plans, calling eSIMs ‘eSIM cards’, and a suggested product on their Europe page is a 3G internet USB dongle which is only compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP HAHA what the heck. Consider me suspicious.
The next step was to Google “is WorldSIM legit?” obviously, and I found a Medium article which answered that question in extreme detail. Not ADHD hyperfixation-level detail though (like all my blogs 🙃), clearly an AI-generated level of detail as a result of a prompt along the lines of “write a perfect review for WorldSIM which tackles all potential customer objections or questions before they have them”.
I clicked into the writer’s other posts and what do you know, 30+ Medium articles allllll about eSIMs and travel connectivity, with WorldSIM mentioned throughout each of them:




The only non-AI images in the posts were of the same fair-skinned, light-haired, very stylish woman in her 50s, but they were super pixelated which is a red flag and often suggests they’ve been downloaded from another website.
I reverse image searched and yuppppp, “Tracy Law – passionate travel writer and eSIM expert” is in fact using stolen images of a fashion blogger called Jennifer from A Well Styled Life. Jennifer runs a style blog about outfits for women over 50 and (as far as I can tell) has never written a word about eSIMs, let alone “personally experienced” the pilgrimage to Mecca that Tracy claims to have experienced.

SO there’s at least one entirely fake persona out there churning out AI-slop WorldSIM praise, I’m not saying it’s the company itself, it could very well be an affiliate acting alone, but either way this is wayyyy too dodgy for me to trust any of their online reviews.
I will buy an eSIM from them on my next Europe trip to give them a go and at least see if the product is what it’s sold as, but until then I’m giving this one a big ⚠️ CAUTION ⚠️ sign.

Jetpac
Jetpac normally comes out as cheaper than the other big-name brands in my destination eSIM guides but their Europe options are actually shocking, their unlimited 30 day eSIM is €4.75/day for 3GB of full speed data (the worst value one-month unlimited option in my research) and their 10GB fixed data plan is triple the cost of MobiMatter’s.
Some of their eSIMs show discounts of up to 56% off which brings them more in line with their competitors, but I can only analyse based off their typical price sooo if they feel like this is an unfair write up because the actual price they sell eSIMs for is much cheaper, I’d tell them to please stop with the manipulative pricing tactics to make people feel like they’re getting a great deal.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
Jetpac’s best Europe eSIMs (🌍32, 📶5G):
- 5GB for €15.50 (€3.10/GB)
- 10GB for €30.50 (€3.05/GB)
- 20GB for €38 (€1.90/GB)
- 40GB for €66.50 (€1.66/GB)
- Unlimited (3GB/day) 30 days for €142.50 (€4.75/day)
See all of Jetpac’s Europe eSIMs here >>

Roamic
It looks like these guys only launched in late 2024 and they’ve got some really sharp prices, but once again there are some not-quite-right things that make me reluctant to recommend them before I test their eSIM for myself when I’m back in Europe.
First of all the fair usage policy (3GB/day before 1Mbps) for their unlimited eSIMs is tucked away in the last FAQ at the bottom of the page that’s closed by default, this kind of thing is exactly why I have eSIM trust issues and spend 30 hours researching, analysing and writing guides like this one to stop people getting caught out.
Also their country coverage is unclear, the list doesn’t include France but the product description does (“Whether you’re enjoying the scenic countryside of France… this eSIM provides fast and reliable access”), so I messaged them on WhatsApp to confirm and they said yep France is included, butttt on TrustPilot there are multiple recent reviews mentioning the Europe eSIM not working in France despite working elsewhere.


Their plans come out as a bit cheaper than MobiMatter per GB so if they’re legit they could take the podium for a few categories, but I’ll give them a go later this year and report back with the full review.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
Roamic’s Europe eSIMs (🌍32, 📶5G):
- 10GB for €7.99 (€0.80/GB)
- 20GB for €14.99 (€0.75/GB)
- 50GB for €29.99 (€0.60/GB)
- Unlimited (3GB/day) 30 days for €42.99 (€1.43/day)
See all of Roamic’s Europe eSIMs here >>

Ubigi
Ubigi is another major player that gets heralded as the one of the best options for loads of destinations in eSIM round ups and Facebook groups, and though they did nab a category win in my UK research, their Europe options are decidedly average.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
Ubigi’s Europe eSIMs:
- One-off plans (🌍34, 📶5G)
- 10GB for €15 (€1.50/GB)
- 25GB for €29 (€1.16/GB)
- 50GB for €54 (€1.08/GB)
- Unlimited 15 days for €35 (€2.33/day)
- Unlimited 30 days for €62 (€2.07/day)
- Subscriptions (🌍34, 📶5G, auto-renew with a 3-month minimum)
- 5GB per month for €7 (€1.40/GB)
- 20GB per month for €19 (€0.95/GB)
- Unlimited for €49/month (€1.63/day)
See all of Ubigi’s Europe eSIMs here >>

GigSky
GigSky’s main niche is cruise + land eSIMs which keep working at sea on cellular-enabled ships, so if you’re sailing down the Mediterranean coastline they might be worth checking out.
If you’re sticking to solid ground though, their standard eSIMs are middle of the road on price (though they’re one of only two who include Kosovo!).
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
GigSky’s Europe eSIMs (🌍40):
- 10GB for €19.99 (€2/GB)
- 20GB for €38.49 (€1.92/GB, 60 days)
- 50GB for €59.99 (€1.20/GB, 90 days)
- Unlimited (3.5GB/day) 30 days for €63.99 (€2.13/day)
GigSky’s Europe Cruise + Land eSIMs (🌍43):
- 5GB for €59.99 (€12/GB)
- 10GB for €102.99 (€10.30/GB)
- Messaging + essentials (maps, transport, emails, translate apps) 7 days for €27.49 (€3.93/day)
- Messaging + essentials 10 days for €36.99 (€3.70/day)
- Messaging + essentials 14 days for €48.49 (€3.46/day)
See all of GigSky’s Europe eSIMs here >>

Voye
Voye‘s Europe prices aren’t great but they win on coverage, 42 European countries including Switzerland, Türkiye and all the Balkans except Kosovo (plus Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan so a total of 46), which is the best you’ll get for an unlimited eSIM.
There are better fixed data options with that level of Europe coverage though.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
Voye’s Europe eSIMs (🌍42, 📶5G):
- 10GB for €20 (€2/GB)
- 20GB for €32 (€1.60/GB, 60 days)
- Unlimited (3GB/day) 15 days for €37 (€2.47/day)
- Unlimited (3GB/day) 30 days for €55 (€1.83/day)
See all of Voye’s Europe eSIMs here >>

Yesim
Yesim is a mid-range provider with a flat per GB retail price of €2.50/GB for fixed data and €3/day for unlimited plans (vague wording around fair use though, no specific cap stated), then they market the higher data and longer plans as ‘on sale’ with discounts of up to 60% to make customers think they’re getting a great deal.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
Yesim’s Europe eSIM retail prices (🌍33, 📶5G):
- 1/5/10/20/30GB plans for €2.50 per GB
- 1/7/15/30 day unlimited plans for €3 per day
Yesim’s Europe eSIM sale prices at the time of writing:
- 10GB for €16 (€1.60/GB)
- 20GB for €22 (€1.10/GB)
- 30GB for €28 (€0.93/GB)
- Unlimited 15 days for €33 (€2.20/day)
- Unlimited 30 days for €56 (€1.87/day)
- All of these are beaten in value by eSIMs from MobiMatter, GlobalYO and Sim Local
See all of Yesim’s Europe eSIMs here >>

Instabridge
Instabridge‘s main feature is their WiFi finder, which lets you find and connect to shared public WiFi hotspots around the globe using crowdsourced passwords.
They’ve added eSIMs to expand their commercial connectivity range but their options are very limited and the per GB rates suck.
Note: Instabridge doesn’t let you switch currencies so these EUR prices are based on the exchange rate at the time of writing and rounded to the nearest euro.
Instabridge’s Europe eSIMs (🌍33, 📶4G):
- 1GB for €2.61 (€2.61/GB, 7 days)
- 3GB for €6.53 (€2.18/GB, 15 days)
- 10GB for €14 (€1.40/GB, 30 days)
- 20GB for €25 (€1.25/GB, 7 days only)
See all of Instabridge’s Europe eSIMs here >>

iRoamly
And we’ve got another one for the naughty list!
iRoamly has two different Europe plans:
- The same (I’m pretty sure) Orange plans multiple other places sell
- A 33-country eSIM with unlimited, fixed data total and fixed data per day options
The 33-country plan states that the unlimited data plans offer “genuine unlimited access without speed throttling” which would make them one of only two Europe eSIM providers who claim this, so I decided to investigate and popped them a message on their live chat.
I was a bit shocked at what came back, because there’s not just a daily limit, there’s a 1GB high-speed data limit for the ENTIRE VALIDITY PERIOD before your speed gets slowed to 10-20Mbps. So if you bought their ~€236 90 day unlimited eSIM expecting to have the “genuine unlimited access without speed throttling” that you were promised, you’d run through the first GB thinking your eSIM was working brilliantly, then you’d be stuck at 10-20Mbps for 89 more days 🫠

This is wiiiild, false advertising to the extreme. I followed up to clarify if I’d understood correctly by saying “Sorry so you mean the 90 day unlimited plan, you actually only get 1GB of full speed data that entire 90 day period?” and they didn’t get back to me.
To be fair 10-20Mbps is useable for most normal use as they’ve said, but if you were hotspotting to a laptop, downloading photos or videos from the cloud, or if you split the cost of the mega package to share with a travel buddy and were both trying to use it at the same time, you’d feel the difference vs. full speed for sure.
This level of dishonesty obviously makes it hard to trust any of their product pages so I started another chat under a different email address to ask about the 50GB eSIM, and they got back to me right away. Although they really tried to dance around the question 😂

In the end they did confirm the fixed data plans have full speed data for their entire allowance (if we believe them), but I don’t want to support a brand who operates this manipulatively anyway and I really discourage you from supporting them too.
I hit them up about the inaccurate wording and they tried to say “while it is unlimited data, there is a speed adjustment after 1GB per day. This explains the wording on the product page about genuine unlimited access without total data limits but with speed management after 1GB daily.”
I responded “The page doesn’t say “without data limits”, it specifically says “without speed throttling, regardless of data usage”, which is false advertising. And is it 1GB daily or 1GB for the total validity period?”. They came back with:

So they’re contradicting themselves left, right and centre haha. Buy from them at your own risk!
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise, and they only show USD on their website so all these prices are based on the exchange rate at the time of writing and rounded to the nearest euro.
iRoamly’s Europe eSIMs:
- Orange (🌍36, 📶4G/5G, 📞French number)
- 20GB for €21 (€1.05/GB)
- 50GB for €39 (€0.78/GB)
- 100GB for €48 (€0.48/GB)
- 200GB for €75 (€0.38/GB)
- 33-country (🌍33, 📶4G/5G)
- Unlimited (but not really) 15 days for €41 (€2.73/day)
- Unlimited (“) 30 days for €79 (€2.63/day)
- Unlimited (“) 60 days for €158 (€2.63/day)
- Unlimited (“) 90 days for €236 (€2.62/day)
- 10GB for €9.13 (€0.91/GB)
- 20GB for €15 (€0.75/GB)
- 50GB for €28 (€0.56/GB)
See all of iRoamly’s Europe eSIMs here >>

ETravelSIM
If ETravelSIM’s Truly Unlimited plans were truly legit, with no fair use policy, no hotspotting limits and 5G/LTE connection in 35 countries including Albania, Serbia and Switzerland, for €2.53/day for a month (or €2.20/day on sale at the time of writing), and you’re going to use more than 10GB per day (which Sim Local gives you for €2.14/day), then they might be worth the extra daily spend.
But that’s a big if 🙃
This website is an absolute maze with 11 different Europe eSIM products first of all (a bloody nightmare for my research by the way), and their fixed data options are beaten by MobiMatter at every tier, so the Truly Unlimited eSIM is the only product that could set them apart.
The name “Truly Unlimited” already says a lot, but let me show you how hard they’re pushing the ‘truly unlimited’ message:
You get the picture, right? No speed drops, no data caps, no throttling, no fair usage policy, no limits, no hidden restrictions, hakuna matata no worries!
Well…


Me on Monday morning: I think I should finally start that Europe eSIM guide that’s been on my to do list for months, it shouldn’t take too long.
Me on Friday night at 11.30pm, 10,984 words later: Is this my consumer justice vigilante origin story?!
Their 10GB daily cap (sorry, I mean the network operator’s 10GB cap) puts their Truly Unlimited Europe eSIM in the same basket as Sim Local’s 10GB/day one, except Sim Local is cheaper and doesn’t lie about what the product is 🙃
The rest of their marketing makes me want to throw up too, total AI slop like this post suggesting you could work from a sandy beach with waves in Paris (and I’m pretty sure they weren’t trying to be funny):

Obviously don’t buy them, but for reference these are their Truly Unlimited eSIM prices:
- 15 days for €48.95 (€3.26/day)
- 30 days for €75.95 (€2.53/day)
See all of ETravelSim’s Europe eSIMs here >>

Simify
Credit where credit’s due, Simify does cover more of Europe than most providers (Bosnia, Kosovo and Monaco are the notable exclusions) and they also extend to Georgia and Uzbekistan, but their fixed data prices aren’t great and their unlimited plans would only be worth it for longer trips if they had a decent daily cap… which they don’t.
Their vague fair use policy is hidden in an FAQ:
Your eSIM includes unlimited data for the full duration of your plan. In some cases, local network providers manage traffic during very high usage periods – if this happens, speeds may be temporarily reduced for a short time (typically up to 24 hours) before returning to normal on their own.
This is uncommon but if you’re ever in need of it being refreshed, our customer service team can help reset things for you – just reach out and we’ll sort it out quickly.
I live-chatted them to get more info and they said:
Our Europe Unlimited eSIM gives high-speed data each day, then speeds may be reduced after around 1 to 1.5GB of high-speed data within a single day.
If throttled, speeds are reduced to around 3 Mbps for the rest of that day, and the speed usually resets automatically during the next daily cycle.
Nope nope nope, a fixed data plan from almost anyone would be much better value.
Simify’s Europe eSIMs:
- Fixed data plans (🌍42, 📶5G)
- 10GB for €31.95 (€3.20/GB)
- 20GB for €47.95 (€2.40/GB)
- 60GB for €100.95 (€1.68/GB, 60 days)
- 100GB for €138.95 (€1.39/GB, 90 days)
- Unlimited (1-1.5GB/day high-speed, 📶5G)
- 15 days for €47.95 (€3.20/day)
- 30 days for €71.95 (€2.40/day)
- 60 days for €103.95 (€1.73/day)
- 90 days for €135.95 (€1.51/day)
- 180 days for €248.95 (€1.38/day)
See all of Simify’s Europe eSIMs here >>

aloSIM
I saved the priciest (per GB) for last, there is genuinely no reason to buy an aloSIM for Europe unless you enjoy wasting money.
Their 10GB is €36 compared to MobiMatter’s 10GB for €10, and their 50GB 90-day eSIM is the most expensive at €95, yikes.
Note: All eSIMs are 30 days unless specified otherwise.
aloSIM’s Europe eSIMs (🌍34, 📶5G):
- 10GB for €36 (€3.60/GB)
- 50GB for €95 (€1.90/GB, 90 days)
- 100GB for €180 (€1.80/GB, 180 days)
- Unlimited (3GB/day then 1Mbps) 15 days for €46 (€3.07/day)
- Unlimited (3GB/day then 1Mbps) 30 days for €70 (€2.33/day)
See all of aloSIM’s Europe eSIMs here >>
Comparison of Europe eSIM prices
If your eyes are as blurry as mine after that absolute info overload, here’s every trusted provider in one table so you can see how the prices stack up against each other.
Fixed data plans
All prices are retail and for 30 days unless specified otherwise. ‘Non-EU Balkans’ means Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo. Monaco isn’t in the ‘not covered’ column because almost nobody covers it.
| Provider | Not covered | 10GB | 20GB | 50GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MobiMatter (Sparks) | non-EU Balkans | €10 | €17 | €37 (60 days) |
| MobiMatter (NextLink) | Switzerland, non-EU Balkans | n/a | €16.50 | €36 (60 days) |
| GlobalYO (4G) | Kosovo | €13 | €19 | €32 (45 days) |
| Ubigi | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans, Iceland | €15 | n/a | €54 |
| Maya | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans | €16.99 | €25.99 | €40.99 |
| Nomad | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans | €19.83 | €31.90 | €41.38 |
| GigSky | None notable | €19.99 | €38.49 (60 days) | €59.99 (90 days) |
| Voye | Kosovo | €20 | €32 (60 days) | n/a |
| Sim Local | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans | n/a | €20 (31 days) | €40 (31 days) |
| SimCorner | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans | n/a | ~€32 (31 days) | n/a |
| Orange direct | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans | n/a | €24.99 (14 days) | €44.99 |
| SIMOVO | non-EU Balkans | n/a | €25.95 (90 days) | €53.95 (180 days) |
| Airalo (EU + UK) | Switzerland, Türkiye, non-EU Balkans, Iceland | €21.50 | €33 | €43.50 |
| Yesim | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans | €25 | €50 | n/a |
| Airalo (42 countries) | Kosovo | €27.50 | €43 | €62.50 |
| Jetpac | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans | €30.50 | €38 | n/a |
| Simify | Bosnia, Kosovo | €31.95 | €47.95 | n/a |
| Saily | non-EU Balkans | €31.99 | n/a | €85.49 (90 days) |
| aloSIM | non-EU Balkans | €36 | n/a | €95 (90 days) |
Unlimited data plans
All retail prices again, ordered by highest daily data to lowest. Think about what you actually need before you compare prices, because the cheapest plans might not give you enough data to get through a day of normal use. ‘Non-EU Balkans’ means Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo.
| Provider | Not covered | Daily high-speed cap | 15 days | 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sim Local | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans | 10GB | €44.50 | €64.25 |
| Sim Local | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans | 5GB | €37.50 | €52.75 |
| Saily | non-EU Balkans | 5GB | €44.49 | €63.99 |
| GigSky | None notable | 3.5GB | n/a | €63.99 |
| Maya | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans | 3GB | €30.99 | €50.99 |
| Airalo (EU + UK) | Switzerland, Türkiye, non-EU Balkans, Iceland | 3GB | €35 | €51.50 |
| Voye | Kosovo | 3GB | €37 | €55 |
| SimCorner | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans, Iceland | 3GB | ~€42 (16 days) | ~€62 |
| Airalo (42 countries) | Kosovo | 3GB | €43.50 | €63 |
| aloSIM | non-EU Balkans | 3GB | €46 | €70 |
| Jetpac | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans | 3GB | n/a | €142.50 |
| GlobalYO (4G) | Kosovo | 2GB | €29 | €44 |
| Ubigi | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans, Iceland | 30GB total (15 days) or 60GB total (30 days), then 2Mbps | €35 | €62 |
| Superalink (4G) | non-EU Balkans | 1GB | €13.35 | €25.14 |
| SIMOVO | non-EU Balkans | 1GB | n/a | €67.95 |
| Simify | Bosnia, Kosovo | 1 to 1.5GB | €47.95 | €71.95 |
| Holafly | Türkiye, non-EU Balkans | Not stated | €46.90 | €68.90 |
| Yesim | Türkiye, most non-EU Balkans | Not stated | €45 | €90 |
Sim Local, Holafly and Simify also sell 60 and 90-day unlimited plans if you’re staying longer.

Pros and cons of using a Europe eSIM
If you’re wondering whether an eSIM is the right choice for your upcoming European adventure, here are the arguments for and against.
✅ Pros of getting an eSIM in Europe
- Multiple countries, minimal admin: A regional plan allows your phone to switch between local networks as you cross borders, so you don’t need to change physical SIMs at all or buy a new one in each new country you visit.
- Skip the airport stall queues: You can install your eSIM at home, switch it on once you’ve landed, and you’ll be in the pick-up zone waiting for your ride while everyone else from your flight is still lined up at the SIM card kiosk.
- No fiddling with SIM trays: Your home SIM card can stay nice and safe inside your phone!
- Much cheaper than roaming (usually): My top picks work out at €0.70 to €1 per GB, and even a 5GB-a-day unlimited plan is under €2 a day, significantly lower rates than what most non-European carriers would charge for roaming.
- Easy to top up if you run out or stay longer: The majority of eSIMs let you top up if you run out of data, no need to find a local telco store or struggle through the over-the-phone top up in another language.
- More eSIMs with a phone number than most continents: My research turned up more than 40 Europe eSIM plans with a local number, so if you’d rather have easy access to calling your hotel or a restaurant to make a booking you’re in luck.

❌ Cons of getting a Europe eSIM
- Not all phones can use them: Your phone needs to be eSIM-compatible and unlocked from your home carrier, which rules out a lot of older or budget Androids, most phones bought in mainland China, and anything still locked to a contract.
- Plenty of plans skip Switzerland, the Balkans, Türkiye and the microstates: The majority of Europe eSIMs have extensive coverage across western and central Europe, but non-EU countries aren’t always included by default so you need to cross-check your itinerary with the coverage list.
- ‘Unlimited’ rarely means unlimited: Loads of so-called ‘unlimited’ Europe plans slow you riiiiight down after 1 to 3GB a day, a few hide the cap entirely, and hotspotting is sometimes capped separately, so read the fair use policy before you buy anything.
- Speeds and networks change as you cross borders: Regional eSIMs connect to different partner networks in each country, so you might have blazing-fast 5G in France and then be relegated to a crappy 4G network in Italy. Some eSIM providers specify the networks they connect to in each country, and you can Google if the particular network/networks are reliable or not.
- A regional eSIM might be pricier than getting multiple single-country eSIMs: Some countries have craaazy cheap data, like Montenegro’s 1000GB for €26 through MobiMatter 🤯 but the best-value Balkan or Europe-wide eSIMs would only get you about 30GB for that. If you’re spending a chunk of time in one country and reckon you’ll use a decent amount of data, check if that country has any ridiculous eSIM deals and then get a lower-GB regional one to cover the rest of your trip for cheaper.

How to use your Europe eSIM
Setting up a Europe eSIM might look confusing but it’s just a matter of following a simple process, here’s the full run-through.
Make sure your phone is compatible
Before you buy anything, check that your phone supports eSIMs and that it isn’t locked to your home carrier.
Most iPhones from 2018 onwards and most mid-range and flagship Androids from the last few years support eSIM, but a lot of budget Androids don’t, and neither do the US versions of the Samsung S20 and S21 or most phones sold in mainland China.
Holafly generally keeps their list of eSIM-supported phones up to date, you can check it here.
Purchase and install your eSIM
- Buy the eSIM on the provider’s website or app
- Install it on WiFi before you leave, either by scanning the QR code or install link in your confirmation email, or by following the prompts in the provider’s app. Most eSIMs don’t start their validity period until they connect to a network in the destination, so you can install the eSIM when you’re at home even if you’ve got a stopover en route, but if your eSIM says something like “activates upon eSIM installation” then leave it until your last reliable internet connection before you depart for the final leg of the trip so you’re not wasting days.
- Give it a name you’ll recognise, something like ‘Europe MobiMatter Sept’, so you can tell it apart from any other eSIMs on your phone.
- Keep your home SIM as the default for calls and texts if you want to still receive verification code texts and calls to your usual number. If your carrier charges for incoming calls or voicemail while roaming (some do), switch your home SIM off in your settings and just turn it on for a minute whenever you need a verification code, then turn it off again.
- Switch OFF data roaming on your home SIM just before you take off, so your home SIM doesn’t accidentally connect to a network when you land and hit you with a daily roaming charge.
Quick note: Some Europe eSIM plans longer than 30 days require a simple ID registration within the first month if you want to top up or keep it running, so check the eSIM details for how to do this and when it has to be done.



![iPhone eSIM activation screen showing 'Choose a Data Plan to continue' with options to 'Turn Off Telephone [eSIM]' or 'Turn Off AireSIMco Apr 25' and a Cancel button, illustrating the data plan selection process for UK travel SIMs](https://findingalexx.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_7518-473x1024.png)
Activate your eSIM
Once you’ve landed (or crossed the border into your first covered country), getting online takes a couple of minutes.
- Turn airplane mode off and open your mobile data settings
- Turn your Europe eSIM ON
- Turn data roaming ON for the Europe eSIM
- Set the Europe eSIM as your mobile data line
- Double check data roaming is turned OFF for your home SIM
- Leave your home SIM as the default line for calls and texts (if you’ve chosen to leave it on), unless your eSIM came with a phone number and you’d rather use that
- Give it a minute or two to connect, and if nothing happens, restart your phone
And you’re sorted! When you cross into the next country your phone should connect to a new network on its own, but if it hasn’t within a few minutes, just toggle airplane mode on and off and that usually kicks it into gear.

Troubleshooting your eSIM
Most eSIM problems come down to a setting rather than a broken product, so here are some potential issues and quick fixes.
If nothing’s connecting at all:
- Confirm the eSIM is switched on, selected as the mobile data line and has data roaming turned on
- Restart your phone and give it two or three minutes (airports and underground train stations are the worst places to judge signal, so if you’ve literally just arrived, wait until you’re in a public area above ground before you write it off)
- Check the confirmation email for an APN setting, a few eSIMs need you to type one in manually before anything will load (this is rare though, I’ve never had to do this in my many, many years and countries of eSIM use)
- If you’re in Switzerland or any other non-EU country, find a McDonald’s or somewhere else with free WiFi to get online and check if that country is actually covered by your eSIM. I’ve been caught out by this before 🙃
If it worked earlier but now it’s slow or dead:
- Open the eSIM provider’s app to check if you’ve run out of data or reached the end of your validity period
- Restart your phone
- If you’re on an unlimited plan you’ve probably hit the daily fair use cap, and you’re throttled until it resets (usually overnight but might be the time of day you activated it)
- Try manual network selection: go into the eSIM’s settings, switch network selection from automatic to manual, wait for the list to appear (this can take up to 30 seconds) and pick a different network. Wait 20-30 seconds to see if it connects and if not then try another one.
- If 5G keeps dropping in and out, turn it off and select 4G/LTE in the eSIM’s settings (it’s often more stable in rural Europe)
If you’ve just crossed a border and it hasn’t caught up:
- Turn airplane mode on and off again
- Restart your phone
- If both of those fail, turn network selection to manual and go through the list to find one that works (iPhones will turn it back to automatic after a signal drop or airplane mode, Androids might not though so if you lose connection check if it’s still sitting in manual selection)
If none of that works, see if the provider has live chat on their app or website or if they have a WhatsApp number, and send them a screenshot of your mobile settings to show that you’ve set it up right but it’s still not working.

Europe eSIM FAQs
What is the best eSIM for Europe?
For most travellers it’s MobiMatter’s NextLink Europe 35GB for €25, which works out at €0.71 per GB across 36 countries with 5G-compatibility and 30 days’ validity. If your route includes Switzerland, MobiMatter’s Sparks Europe + USA 30GB for €23 covers it, and heavy data users should look at SimCorner’s 200GB Orange plan for around €62.
How much data do I need for a trip to Europe?
Expect to use between 10GB and 30GB per month if you’re mostly navigating, messaging, researching and scrolling, and under 10GB if you’ll lean on hotel WiFi. Streaming music or shows on the go, backing up photos or hotspotting a laptop can push you past 50GB. My own 50GB plan usually lasts 6-7 weeks of pretty heavy use.
Is a Europe eSIM cheaper than roaming?
Almost always, unless you live in the EU (your normal SIM probably lets you roam free across other member states) or your home carrier bundles EU roaming into your plan. The best Europe eSIMs cost €0.70 to €1 per GB, or under €2 a day for 5GB of daily data, and a month on a home carrier’s daily roaming pass is often LOADS more expensive.
Is an eSIM better than a physical SIM for Europe?
For a multi-country trip, usually yes! A local EU physical SIM will probably let you roam across the EU for free, but you need to find a shop to buy one, take your passport for the setup, Switzerland/the UK/other non-EU countries often aren’t included, and it can be a nightmare navigating the app, topping up or reaching customer service in a different language. An eSIM is way more convenient and often just as competitive in price (if not more).
Which Europe eSIMs come with a phone number?
Sim Local’s Orange Europe 20GB for €20 is the best value option with a phone number and unlimited EU calls, and SimCorner’s 200GB Orange plan for around €62 includes one too. MobiMatter also sells Bouygues plans with a French number, and Roamless lets you make in-app calls to real numbers using your credit.
What is the best unlimited eSIM for Europe?
Sim Local’s 5GB per day plan at €52.75 for 30 days (€1.76 a day) is the best value unlimited Europe eSIM I found, with a 10GB per day version for €64.25 if you need more. Most ‘unlimited’ plans throttle you after 1 to 3GB a day, so you really need to check the fine print before you buy!
Do Europe eSIMs cover Switzerland?
Not all of them, Switzerland isn’t a guaranteed inclusion in Europe eSIM coverage lists because it’s not part of the EU. Decently-priced plans that do include it are MobiMatter’s Sparks Europe Special (10GB for €10), Sparks Europe + USA (30GB for €23), SimCorner’s Orange plans and GlobalYO.
Is Airalo good for Europe?
Airalo is a legitimate provider with a slick app and lotssss of marketing dollars, but their Europe eSIM is not good value at all. Their Europe 42 plan is €43 for 20GB against MobiMatter’s €17 for the same amount of data, and Airalo’s own EU + UK 20GB plan is €33 direct but the exact same plan (like the actual Airalo one) is €18.50 through MobiMatter.
Final thoughts on the best Europe eSIMs
MobiMatter’s NextLink 35GB for €25 is the plan I’d recommend to most people, the Sparks Europe + USA 30GB for €23 is the one to get if Switzerland or the Balkans are on your route, and Sim Local’s 5GB-a-day unlimited plan at €52.75 is the best ‘unlimited’ Europe eSIM (and one of the only ones that’s likely to cover genuinely heavy data use).
If you’re spending longer than a month in Europe then MobiMatter’s 60 day options (NextLink if you don’t need Switzerland, Sparks if you do) are the ones I use every year.
Whatever you pick, don’t pay more than €2 per GB for a 10GB+ plan. If a big-name brand is asking more than that, there’s almost certainly a cheaper option available for the same amount of data and the same or similar coverage!
I’ll be testing WorldSIM, Roamic and esim.net on my next Europe trip and will update this guide with the results, we’ll see if anything can topple MobiMatter and Sim Local off their proverbial thrones! If you’ve spotted a provider I’ve missed and want to know where it ranks, let me know in the comments and I’ll add them to the next comparison.
Planning the rest of your Europe trip?
If you’re still deciding where to go, start with my 27 Europe holiday ideas to get some inspo! If you want a ready-made route, my 3 month Europe itinerary (without flying) has got you covered (and you can choose segments of it if you’ve got less time), and if you’re exploring by train, read whether an Interrail Pass is worth it to see if it can save you some money.
Europe itineraries:
- The ultimate 2 month Europe itinerary (without flying)
- The ultimate 3 month Europe itinerary (without flying)
- The perfect Europe Christmas market itinerary by train
- The ultimate 3 week Scandinavia itinerary
- The ultimate 2 week Balkans itinerary (without a car!)
- The ultimate Northern Italy and Switzerland itinerary
- The ultimate 10 day Switzerland itinerary
- The Dolomites without a car (+ a perfect itinerary!)
- French Riviera without a car: Everything you need to know
Trains and travel passes:
- How to use an Interrail Pass: The ultimate guide
- My exact two month Eurail itinerary with costs
- Most beautiful train rides in Europe
- Best Switzerland travel passes: Which one should you buy?
Other eSIM guides:












