What a Travel eSIM Really Costs Per GB

A travel eSIM costs roughly $0.95 to $5.17 per gigabyte at the cheapest pack in each of the 10 countries we feature on this page, and entry plans start from about $4.50. The right number depends on the country, the pack size and how many days you need.

This page is our own dataset: the destinations we feature, priced from our live catalog. Our store sells plans for many more destinations than this table covers. Use the table below to compare the featured destinations, then read on for how to interpret it before you pick a plan.

Every row below is one featured country or, where marked "regional bundle", one multi-country bundle. "Cheapest $/GB" is the lowest price per gigabyte across that destination's plans. "Entry price" is the smallest checkout total you can pay. "Price range" runs from the cheapest to the most expensive plan. The table is sorted from lowest to highest $/GB.

Prices are in US dollars, the price shown at checkout. Prices come from the same live catalog our plan pages and checkout use, and this page refreshes them about once an hour, so a very recent price change can take an hour or two to show here. Check the destination page before you buy: browse all destinations.

Price per GB is a comparison tool, not a price

Price per GB is the plan price divided by the data in the plan. It lets you compare a 1 GB pack with a 10 GB pack on the same scale. It does not tell you what you will pay: a cheap $/GB on a 20 GB pack still means a larger bill than a small pack you would actually use.

Bigger packs usually cost less per GB

Across the plans we feature, larger packs tend to cost less per gigabyte than small ones. The table below shows the median $/GB for each pack size, taken from every finite-data plan in this dataset. Only buy the bigger pack if you will use the data, since you pay for the whole pack.

Validity matters as much as size

Two plans with the same data can have different validity: 7 days, 15 days, 30 days. A longer validity usually costs more, so a pricey-looking 30-day plan can be a fair deal if you really are staying a month. Match the days to your trip first, then compare $/GB between plans of that length.

Not sure how much data you need? Our guide on how much data you need while traveling walks through typical use for maps, messaging and video calls.

Our dataset covers plans with a fixed amount of data. We leave out "unlimited" plans because $/GB has no meaning without a data allowance, and an unlimited plan is not truly unlimited. In practice it gives you a daily amount of fast data, then slows your speed once you pass the cap.

That trade-off is real and useful for some travelers, but it cannot be fairly squeezed into one price-per-GB number. If you want to stream a lot or share a hotspot, check whether your destination offers an unlimited plan, and if it does, compare the daily cap on the plan page, not the $/GB. For everyone else, a fixed pack is easier to compare and easier to budget.

The same gigabyte costs different amounts in different countries. A few things drive that gap, and none of them are about the quality of your connection.

• Local carrier rates. Every eSIM runs on a local mobile network, and that carrier sets what it charges for the data. Those rates vary a lot from country to country.
• Competition. Markets with several strong carriers often have lower data prices than markets with one or two dominant ones, though not always.
• Plan structure. The number of plans, pack sizes and validity options differ by destination, which changes the cheapest $/GB you can reach.
• Network coverage rules. Plans that work in one country only are priced differently from plans that cover several countries. For that choice, see country vs regional eSIM.

The gap between the cheapest and the most expensive single-country destination in our table (regional bundles left out) is about 5.44 times at the cheapest pack, so the destination matters more than most travelers expect.

We keep the method simple so you can check it against the plans on our site.

1. Checkout prices. We use the price shown at checkout, in US dollars, read from the same live catalog as our plan pages. We do not use any internal number.
2. Featured destinations only. The dataset covers the destinations we feature on our site. Our store sells a much wider catalog, which this table does not cover. A featured plan that is missing from the live catalog is skipped.
3. Finite-data plans only. Plans with a fixed gigabyte allowance are included. Unlimited and daily-cap plans are excluded.
4. Enabled plans only. Plans we have switched off are not counted.
5. Price per GB. Plan price divided by the data allowance, rounded to the nearest cent.
6. Cheapest $/GB per destination. The lowest price per GB across that destination's plans. Entry price is the lowest plan price, and the range spans the lowest to the highest plan price.
7. Refresh. Prices come from the same live catalog our plan pages and checkout use, and this page refreshes them about once an hour, so a very recent price change can take an hour or two to show here. The date at the top of the page is our last review of the text, not of the prices.

Limits: this is a snapshot of our featured plans, not of our whole catalog or the whole market, and a small number of destinations can have only a few plans, so one plan can swing the numbers.

An eSIM is not always the cheapest answer, so here is how it compares with other ways to stay connected. Our full breakdown is in roaming vs travel eSIM.

• AT&T and Verizon day passes. On eligible plans, AT&T International Day Pass is $12 a day on land (AT&T, as of October 2026), and Verizon TravelPass is $12 per line per day plus taxes and fees (Verizon, as of October 2026). Some plans include international use, so check yours. Verizon says data slows to 3G speeds after 5GB per session (Verizon, as of October 2026). A 7-day trip at $12 a day comes to $84 for one line (7 x $12). For a 1 to 2 day trip, a day pass can be perfectly fine.
• EU roam-like-at-home. EU rules let travelers use their home plan in other EU countries at no extra roaming charge, and they run until 2032 (European Commission, October 2026). This helps if your home plan is from an EU country and you stay in the EU. It does not apply in Latin America.
• A local SIM. A physical SIM bought on arrival can be cheaper per GB, especially for stays of a month or more. It also means queues, passport checks in some countries and a new phone number. See eSIM vs local SIM for the trade-offs.

The eSIM is strongest for trips of several days to a few weeks, when you want data the moment you land and a fixed, known price.

Use the numbers in this order and the choice gets easy.

1. Start with days. Filter to plans that cover your trip length.
2. Estimate your data. Light users need much less than they fear. See how much data you need.
3. Compare $/GB only at the same pack size. Then check the total price against your budget.
4. Check your phone. Your phone must support eSIM and be unlocked. Use the compatibility checker.
5. Install before you fly. The install guide takes a few minutes, and if something goes wrong, this troubleshooting guide or a chat with us will sort it out.

Ready to look at real plans? Start at the eSIM destinations page, or jump straight to Costa Rica, Colombia or Mexico.