Best eSIM for France: how to choose, and what to buy
Short answer: For France, 3 to 5 GB (5 GB is £5.49) covers a one-to-two-week trip. Paris and the big cities are well covered; rural France and the Alps are where signal gets uneven.
France is a country where a single trip often turns into several: Paris, then the TGV south, then a border crossing. The connectivity question is really about how many of those you will do.
Which plan to buy for your trip length
For France we currently sell 5 plans, from 1 GB for £1.49 up to 20 GB for £13.49. Matching those to the length of a trip gives the table below.
| Trip length | Light use (maps, messaging) | Moderate use (plus social, photos) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 days | 1 GB · £1.49 (7 days) | 3 GB · £3.99 (30 days) |
| 7 days | 3 GB · £3.99 (30 days) | 5 GB · £5.49 (30 days) |
| 14 days | 3 GB · £3.99 (30 days) | 10 GB · £8.99 (30 days) |
| 30 days | 10 GB · £8.99 (30 days) | 20 GB · £13.49 (30 days) |
Planning figures, not guarantees: roughly 200 MB a day for light use and 500 MB a day for moderate use. Daily video streaming, video calls and large downloads use far more. The plan shown is the cheapest one in our live catalogue that is both big enough and valid long enough.
France eSIM plans and prices
Our plans for France connect to Orange. The best value per gigabyte is the 20 GB plan, at £0.67 a gigabyte.
| Data | Valid for | Price | Per GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | 7 days | £1.49 | £1.49 |
| 3 GB | 30 days | £3.99 | £1.33 |
| 5 GB | 30 days | £5.49 | £1.10 |
| 10 GB | 30 days | £8.99 | £0.90 |
| 20 GB | 30 days | £13.49 | £0.67 |
Paris and the cities
Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Nice and Bordeaux are well covered, and a small plan handles metro navigation, tickets and messaging. Some metro stretches and station interiors can be patchier, so do not rely on live data for a connection you cannot afford to miss.
Rural France and the Alps
Provence villages, the Dordogne and the Alps are lovely and are exactly where coverage thins. Pre-download maps for any drive that leaves the main roads.
One network, one country
Our France plans connect to a single national network, which keeps it simple but means coverage where that network is weak is coverage you do not have. If you are crossing into another country, a regional plan makes more sense; see the Europe guide.
Related guides
- France eSIM plans — every plan and price
- Cheapest eSIM for France — cost per gigabyte
- Best eSIM for travel — how to choose
- Comparing eSIM providers fairly
- Check your phone supports eSIM
We sell eSIMs, so this is a seller’s guide. Prices on this page were read from our catalogue on 7 November 2026; coverage notes are general, so check the plan before paying.
