Best eSIM for the UK: how to choose, and what to buy
Short answer: For the UK, 3 to 5 GB (5 GB is £4.99) is typical for a week or two. If you are visiting from the EU, note that EU roaming no longer applies in the UK the way it used to.
The UK is small, dense and well covered in the places visitors go, which makes data the easy part. The part that catches visitors out is roaming: the rules your home SIM follows in the UK may not be the ones you expect.
Which plan to buy for your trip length
For the UK 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 · £3.49 (30 days) |
| 7 days | 3 GB · £3.49 (30 days) | 5 GB · £4.99 (30 days) |
| 14 days | 3 GB · £3.49 (30 days) | 10 GB · £8.49 (30 days) |
| 30 days | 10 GB · £8.49 (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.
UK eSIM plans and prices
Our plans for the UK connect to EE and 3, and the phone picks between them. 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 | £3.49 | £1.16 |
| 5 GB | 30 days | £4.99 | £1.00 |
| 10 GB | 30 days | £8.49 | £0.85 |
| 20 GB | 30 days | £13.49 | £0.67 |
London and the cities
London, Edinburgh, Manchester and the other big cities are well covered, and the London Underground has coverage at many stations and on stretches of the network. A small plan is plenty for a city trip built around transit and maps.
The Highlands, the Lakes and the coast
Rural Scotland, the Lake District, Wales and parts of the coast have patchy coverage, especially once you leave a valley road. Download offline maps for any walking or driving day.
Visiting from Europe or the US
EU roam-like-at-home does not apply in the UK in the way it does inside the EU, and some EU carriers charge for UK data or cap it. If you are coming from the US, Canada or Australia, your carrier’s daily roaming rate over a week usually costs more than a local eSIM.
Related guides
- UK eSIM plans — every plan and price
- Cheapest eSIM for UK — 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.
