The actual decision: regional or country
Brand comparisons are mostly noise. The choice that changes what you pay is the shape of the plan.
| Your trip | Buy | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One country, start to finish | A country plan | Cheaper per gigabyte than a regional plan |
| Two or more countries | A regional plan | One install, no border admin |
| A long stopover plus one country | A country plan | The stopover is a Wi-Fi problem, not a data one |
| Undecided itinerary | A regional plan | The flexibility is worth the premium |
The exception is a trip that is 90% one country and 10% another. Two country plans sometimes beat one regional plan — it takes thirty seconds to check both prices on the destination pages.
Check the coverage list, not the word "Europe"
"Europe" is not a defined set. Regional plans differ, often meaningfully, on exactly the countries travellers add at the last minute:
- The United Kingdom — outside the EU and not always inside a "Europe" plan.
- Switzerland — outside the EU, frequently excluded or priced separately.
- Turkey — sometimes Europe, sometimes Middle East, sometimes neither.
- The Western Balkans — coverage varies country by country.
- Iceland and Norway — usually included, worth confirming.
Every plan page on this site lists the countries it covers. Read that list against your actual itinerary before buying, not the region name.
How much data
Most travellers use 300–700 MB a day when they are not streaming video. That puts a week at 3–5 GB with headroom, and a fortnight at 5–10 GB — or an unlimited plan, which usually wins on longer trips once you stop buying top-ups.
Europe makes this easier than most regions: fast public Wi-Fi is close to universal in hotels and cafés, and trains increasingly have their own. The per-activity numbers are here if you want to be precise.
Popular destinations
Before you buy: the four checks
- Does your phone support eSIM, and is it unlocked? How to check in a minute.
- Does the coverage list include every country on your itinerary?
- Does the validity period cover the whole trip? Plans expire on a date as well as on a data total.
- Is the daily cap acceptable? Unlimited plans typically include a daily high-speed allowance.
Then install it at home
Install before you fly, over Wi-Fi, while you still have a working connection. Most travel plans only start counting when the eSIM first connects in the destination, so there is nothing to gain by waiting and a queue to lose by it. iPhone · Android.
