eSIM for South Asia: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and more
Short answer: South Asia eSIM plans start at £2.99 for 1 GB. 2 bundles cover up to 6 countries on a single eSIM, with 12 plans in total and the best value working out at £1.32 per gigabyte.
Browse all South Asia plans from £2.99
South Asia rewards a regional plan because the countries are close, the borders get crossed often, and getting a local SIM — in India especially — involves paperwork that visitors find disproportionate to a two-week trip.
South Asia eSIM plans and prices
5 countries — from £2.99
| Data | Valid | Price | Per GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | 7 days | £2.99 | £2.99 / GB | Buy → |
| 1 GB | 1 day | £2.99 | £2.99 / GB | Buy → |
| 3 GB | 30 days | £7.99 | £2.66 / GB | Buy → |
| 5 GB | 30 days | £12.49 | £2.50 / GB | Buy → |
| 10 GB | 30 days | £17.99 | £1.80 / GB | Buy → |
| 20 GB | 30 days | £26.49 | £1.32 / GB | Buy → |
Covers: 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan · 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · 🇵🇰 Pakistan · 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka · 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan
6 countries — from £3.49
| Data | Valid | Price | Per GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | 7 days | £3.49 | £3.49 / GB | Buy → |
| 1 GB | 1 day | £3.99 | £3.99 / GB | Buy → |
| 3 GB | 30 days | £8.99 | £3.00 / GB | Buy → |
| 5 GB | 30 days | £13.49 | £2.70 / GB | Buy → |
| 10 GB | 30 days | £18.49 | £1.85 / GB | Buy → |
| 20 GB | 30 days | £31.99 | £1.60 / GB | Buy → |
Covers: 🇧🇩 Bangladesh · 🇧🇹 Bhutan · 🇮🇳 India · 🇳🇵 Nepal · 🇵🇰 Pakistan · 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
Why not just buy a local SIM
In most of the world that is a reasonable question. In India it involves documentation, a verification process and often a wait, which is a lot of friction for a short visit. A travel eSIM is installed before you fly and works when you land, which is the entire comparison.
What coverage is like
Indian metro cities have dense coverage and some of the cheapest data in the world. Rural coverage varies enormously by state. The Himalayan regions — Ladakh, Sikkim, much of Nepal and Bhutan — are sparse, and some require permits as well as patience with signal.
Sri Lanka is well covered along the coast and through the hill country. Bangladesh is dense in Dhaka and Chittagong. Pakistan is covered in the cities and along the main routes, with the northern mountains thin.
One of the bundles below reaches into Central Asia rather than the subcontinent — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan — so read the country lists rather than assuming from the name.
Regional plan or country plan?
Worth it from two countries upward. A single trip to India alone is cheaper on the India country plan.
The arithmetic is simple enough to do yourself: add up what the individual country plans would cost for the countries you are actually visiting, and compare. Our full price list has every country we sell, and local or regional eSIM works through the trade-off in more detail.
Before you buy
Check the handset takes an eSIM and is not carrier-locked — dial *#06# and look for an EID beside the IMEI. No EID means no eSIM hardware, and a locked phone will install the profile then refuse to register. The device compatibility guide lists what works.
Install before you fly, while you still have reliable Wi-Fi: iPhone or Android. If it will not connect after you land, this works through the causes in order.
