The cheapest eSIM, country by country.

1 · The short answer

The cheapest eSIM depends on where you go and for how long. For a trip of about two weeks with unlimited data, we priced the brands that get most of the traffic for each destination on the same day, and the table below lists the cheapest one in every place, with the date of the check.

Two things make one eSIM cheaper than another for the same trip: whether it sells unlimited data or a fixed bucket, and whether you pay for the days you need or for a longer plan. A small bucket can cost less than any unlimited plan if you only need maps and messages. For a normal holiday with photos, video calls and a hotspot, unlimited for the length of the trip is usually the better buy.

Ringo Light Global covers 133 countries on one eSIM: unlimited data at full speed for $49.99 a month, renewing until you cancel. The plan is at ringoesim.com/global, and every brand's price for the world is compared on one day in Best global eSIM.

Get Ringo Light Global, from $49.99 a month.

2 · The cheapest two weeks of unlimited, destination by destination

Across the 242 destinations we have priced, Ringo Light was the cheapest two weeks of unlimited data in 218. In the other 24, the brand named in the table was cheaper on the day, and the table says so. Each row links to the full comparison, priced on one day.

3 · How to pay less for travel data

• ✓Buy before you fly. Airport kiosks and roaming day passes cost more than a travel eSIM bought at home and installed on Wi-Fi.
• ✓Match the plan to the trip. A plan that lasts as long as your trip beats a month you only half use. A region plan beats two country plans when you cross a border.
• ✓Read what unlimited means. Many unlimited plans slow you down after a few gigabytes a day. A cheaper plan that crawls by the afternoon is not cheaper for you.
• ✓Keep your own SIM for codes. Leave your home line on for bank texts and turn data roaming off on it, so the only data you pay for abroad is the eSIM.

4 · How we priced it

Each row comes from one of our destination comparisons. For each one we priced the same brands on the same day, in US dollars, from each brand's own site or an esimdb.com listing, and Ringo Light from the catalogue our checkout charges. The date of each check is in the row. Prices move, so each comparison is repriced over time and this table follows it.

5 · Frequently asked questions

6 · Sources

• Ringo destination comparisons: ringoesim.com/blog, one dated same-day price check per destination
• esimdb.com: esimdb.com/, listings used where a brand's own site showed no dollar price
• Ringo Light: prices from the catalogue our checkout charges, on the day you read this.

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