Best eSIM for UK travellers: what to know before you go
Since Brexit, EU roaming is no longer guaranteed for UK travellers — some networks reinstated charges, some kept it inclusive, and which camp you are in depends entirely on your plan. This guide covers how to check, what a travel eSIM costs in pounds, and where it is and is not worth buying one.
From£1.49· 1 GB
EU roaming after Brexit — check before you assume
Before 2021, a UK phone worked in the EU on your domestic allowance automatically. That guarantee ended with Brexit. Since then UK networks have gone their own ways: several reintroduced a daily charge for EU roaming, several kept it inclusive, and some include it only on certain tariffs.
The practical consequence is that you cannot assume any more, and the assumption is the expensive part. Check your plan's roaming terms before you fly — it takes two minutes in your network's app and it is the single most useful thing in this guide.
If your plan does include EU roaming at no extra cost, you may not need an eSIM for Spain or France at all, and we would rather say so than sell you one. Where an eSIM earns its place for UK travellers is outside that bubble: the US, Turkey, Egypt, Thailand, Japan — and for anyone whose plan does charge daily for Europe.
What to actually look for in a travel eSIM
Most travel eSIM sites compete on adjectives. Four things are worth checking instead, and all four are answerable from a plan page before you buy:
- A number, not the word "unlimited". Almost every unlimited mobile plan carries a fair-use threshold past which you are throttled to a speed you would not choose to browse on. An "unlimited" plan with a 5 GB cap is a 5 GB plan that does not say so on the price tag. Ours show the number — the reasoning is in fixed data or unlimited.
- The price per gigabyte, not the headline price. The cheapest plan is almost never the best value. In Spain, the entry plan works out at £1.49 per GB while the best-value plan is £0.60 per GB — about 40% less for every gigabyte you use.
- Whether your handset can actually take it. The most expensive eSIM is one that will not install. Thirty seconds with *#06# settles it.
- Which networks it roams onto. A travel eSIM is not its own network — it uses local ones. In Spain, for instance, that means Orange, Movistar — the same commercial networks local customers use, not a separate tourist band. We publish the operator list on every destination page.
What it costs for the places UK travellers actually go
Live prices in GBP, pulled from the catalogue when this page was built. The last column is the best cost per gigabyte available for that destination — which is usually not the cheapest plan.
| Destination | 1 GB | 5 GB | 10 GB | Best per GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | £1.49 | £4.49 | £7.49 | £0.60 |
| France | £1.49 | £4.99 | £7.99 | £0.60 |
| Italy | £1.49 | £4.49 | £7.49 | £0.60 |
| Greece | £1.49 | £4.49 | £7.49 | £0.70 |
| Portugal | £1.49 | £4.49 | £7.49 | £0.60 |
| United States | £1.99 | £6.49 | £11.49 | £1.02 |
| Turkey | £1.49 | £4.49 | £7.49 | £0.67 |
| Ireland | £1.49 | £4.49 | £7.49 | £0.70 |
Charged in GBP. No activation fee, no delivery charge, no card surcharge and no auto-renewal — when the data is used up, the plan stops.
Will your phone work?
Yes, if it was bought in the last five or six years. Every iPhone from the XR and XS (2018) onward, Pixel 3 and later, Galaxy S20 and later, and most recent mid-range Androids support eSIM.
Unlike US models, UK iPhones keep their physical SIM tray. That is an advantage: your UK SIM stays in the phone for calls and texts on your usual number while the eSIM carries data, with no swapping and nothing small to lose.
The one thing worth checking is whether the handset is carrier-locked — common on older pay-monthly contracts. A locked phone will install the profile and then refuse to register. UK networks unlock free of charge once the contract or device is paid off.
Dial *#06#: an EID next to the IMEI means the hardware is there. Setup steps per brand are in our device compatibility guide.
Why our pricing is worth comparing
Not a claim to be the cheapest — prices move, and anyone who tells you they are permanently the lowest is guessing. What we will put in writing are the policies, because those are checkable:
- Every plan states its data allowance as a number. No unlimited tier, so no fair-use threshold to discover mid-trip.
- The price on the plan is the amount charged. No activation fee, no delivery charge, no card surcharge, no auto-renewal.
- Charged in GBP. The figure at checkout is what leaves your account — not a dollar price converted afterwards by your bank at a rate you find out later.
- Cost per gigabyte is published on every destination page, next to the headline price, so the comparison above is one you can make yourself rather than take on trust.
- The operator list is published too. You can see which local networks a plan roams onto before buying.
For the full picture across every destination we sell, see what travel eSIMs actually cost.
Frequently asked questions
Buying takes about two minutes
Pick a destination, pay by card, and the QR code plus activation details appear on your order page and by email within minutes. Install before you fly — validity only starts when the eSIM first connects in the destination, so buying early costs nothing. What happens after you pay walks through the whole process.
Popular with UK travellers: Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal.
