EU roaming vs a travel eSIM: where the rules end

Roam like at home: what the EU rules cover

Under the EU roaming regulation, a plan from an EU carrier works in the other EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway at no extra charge: calls, texts and data come out of your home allowance. The EU’s Your Europe page also lists Moldova and Ukraine.

Switzerland, the UK, Turkey, Andorra and Monaco are outside the regulation. Some carriers include them anyway: in this comparison, Telekom, SFR and Movistar treat the UK like the EU. Elsewhere you pay a day rate, a pack or pay-as-you-go prices.

Fair use still applies: if you spend more time abroad than at home over four months, your carrier can add a small regulated surcharge. A travel eSIM is useful inside the EU mainly when your plan has little data.

The USA: 3, 7 and 14 days compared

For 7 days, the carrier options below cost €14.95 (≈$17) to €69.93 (≈$78). For the 4.4 GB we estimate, the DualLine eSIM is $14.16 in the USA.

• eSIM for the United States

Turkey: 3, 7 and 14 days compared

For 7 days, the carrier options below cost €14.95 (≈$17) to €69.93 (≈$78). For the 4.4 GB we estimate, the DualLine eSIM is $10.57 in Turkey.

Movistar shows no day pass for Turkey; data there is charged per megabyte.

• eSIM for Turkey

Switzerland: 3, 7 and 14 days compared

For 7 days, the carrier options below cost €10.00 (≈$11) to €69.93 (≈$78). For the 4.4 GB we estimate, the DualLine eSIM is $14.66 in Switzerland.

Telekom’s and Orange’s Swiss prices are not shown here because the pages we could load did not state them.

• eSIM for Switzerland

The UK: 3, 7 and 14 days compared

For 7 days, the carrier options below cost nothing extra. For the 4.4 GB we estimate, the DualLine eSIM is $13.64 in the UK.

How Vodafone and Orange treat the UK could not be confirmed from their pages, so they are not in this table.

• eSIM for the United Kingdom

How we compared

Data: we use the everyday estimate from the “Help me choose” planner in our store, 650 MB a day for social media, browsing and audio calls. That is 1.9 GB for 3 days, 4.4 GB for 7 days and 8.9 GB for 14 days.

DualLine: the lowest-priced plan in our catalogue for that country with at least that much data, or unlimited data, and at least as many days.

Carriers: day prices are counted once for each day of the trip. A pack is counted again when its days or data run out. Day prices that use your plan’s data assume your allowance covers the estimate.

Currency: carrier prices are shown as published. The “≈” dollar amounts use the European Central Bank’s euro reference rates (1 euro = 1.1225 US dollars) and are rounded to whole dollars; your bank’s rate will differ.

Prices change, so check your carrier’s current price before you travel.

• How much data you need for travel
• Travel eSIM prices by country

Telekom: travel passes

Outside the EU, Telekom lets you use data only after you book a pass. Travel Mobil Basic covers a month with a fixed amount of data in popular countries such as the USA and Turkey. Telekom treats the UK like the EU.

Vodafone: travel passes

EasyTravel is set up on most Vodafone tariffs: a daily price for each day you use the phone in countries such as the USA, Turkey and Switzerland, or a weekly price you book ahead. ReisePaket Data adds a fixed amount of data for 24 hours; in these countries it works only after EasyTravel is switched off.

Orange: travel passes

Connexion 24h switches on when you use data outside Europe without a pass. Pass Voyage packages cover 3, 10 or 31 days; the 3-day one is data only.

SFR: travel passes

SFR’s Packs Séjour cover 30 days with a fixed amount of data for one region. SFR’s Europe zone also includes the UK.

Movistar: travel passes

Movistar charges a daily rate in the USA and Switzerland on days you use data. Its EU zone also includes the UK.

When your EU plan is the better choice

Inside the EU, and wherever your carrier treats a country like the EU, your plan’s allowance works abroad at no extra charge. A travel eSIM rarely saves money there, unless your plan has little data.

Every carrier option here also covers your own number; a DualLine data eSIM adds internet only. Outside the EU, compare the totals above: packages often cost much less than day rates.

• Buy a travel eSIM
• Travel eSIM, roaming or a local SIM?
• Data roaming with two lines