Between us, we have travelled to Europe multiple times over almost thirty years. Nowadays, if we want to easily stay in touch with family and friends, purchasing a Europe sim card is a fantastic option for us. Europe sim cards also make it easy for you to find your way around unfamiliar places, make sense of complicated public transport systems, find restaurants, make accommodation bookings, and so much more.

Europe Sim Card Summary of Recommended Options

For those of you just looking for some quick recommendations without reading the whole article here is a summary of our recommended Europe sim card options.  Click on the links below to check out and book your Europe sim cards. If you want to purchase a Europe sim card for 60 days or longer, just purchase multiple sim cards to cover your period of travel.

Disclaimer:  This article contains affiliate links.  If you book after clicking on one of these links then we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Europe eSim Plan Options

For people with newer generation mobile phones you can alternatively purchase a prepaid Europe eSim plan. You can also see a summary of our recommended Europe eSim options for tourists in the below table. Click here to check out our detailed article about Europe eSim plans.

Choose a provider and select a Europe Data Sim Card

We recommend erring on the high side of your possible data requirements when choosing a product so you don’t run out of data before the end of your trip. With our recommendations below we have assumed the following:

1. Suitable for high data users = data allowance for card/1000 MB per day
2. Suitable for medium data users = data allowance for card/500 MB per day
3. Suitable for low data users = data allowance for card / 200 MB per day

SimCorner Europe Sim Cards

The three sim cards offered through SimCorner share the following features:

• 3-in-1 sim cards.
• You get a Spain based phone number.
• Talk and text allowances only apply to the UK and EU countries. For countries outside the EU use apps like WhatsApp.
• Automatically activates based on arrival/activation date provided. The activation date can be changed up to 3 days prior to departure by sending an email.

Sim Corner offers the following delivery options:

• Free shipping in USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, see your order page for more information about specific shipping times. You can also choose express shipping options for an additional cost.
• International shipping is also available for other countries, check out the site for details of the additional costs.

Sim Corner has the following Europe sim card options for low, medium and high data users:

• Simcorner 12GB 30 days, unlimited talk and text from $US 29
• Simcorner 30/40GB 28 days, unlimited talk and text from $US 33
• Simcorner 95GB 28 days, unlimited talk and text from $US 52

Click here to check out and buy your Europe Sim Card through SimCorner. Use Coupon Code AFL-KAKL to get your 5% discount.

Mobal Europe Sim Card

Mobal is a reputable worldwide sim card provider who has available the Mobal World Sim card, with specific details below.

• Mobal World Sim can be used in 190+ countries for only $US15
• Purchase a Europe Data Pack to get 20 GB of data for 30 days. Additional data costs $39 for each 30 day period.
• Free incoming texts
• Calls – $US0.99/min to EU, USA, Canada, $US1.99/min other countries. Texts $US0.80/message
• Can purchase additional data and months (recharge)
• Free standard shipping to the USA and UK, takes 2-5 business days

In addition to the Mobal features described above, other features that we love about Mobal’s sim card are:

• The majority of Mobal’s profits go to charity.
• They offer a 100% money-back guarantee.
• If you’re not tech-savvy, setting up a Mobal sim card is easy. Most phones recognize the SIM card and automatically configure themselves with the necessary APN settings. Then all you have to do is go into Settings and enable Data Roaming.
• If you run into issues, customer service can be contacted by phone, email or live chat.

Click here to check out and buy your Europe Sim Card through Mobal

Booking online versus Airport SIM purchase

You can buy SIM cards on arrival in Europe, however, there are several benefits to booking one online before you arrive. Here are just some of the benefits to booking a SIM card before you leave home:

1. While not common, during peak periods supplies can run out if you wait until you arrive.
2. It’s time-consuming. You’re likely to be exhausted when you arrive in Europe. It’s not a great time to compare the SIM card options at various counters particularly when faced with long queues. If you book a SIM card online you can do your research from the comfort of your home.
3. The cost of buying a SIM card when you arrive in Europe can be higher compared to buying online, particularly when online providers are offering discounts or coupon codes.
4. When you book a SIM card online, conversion to your home currency is done for you. When buying a SIM card on arrival, you have to do currency conversions on the spot to compare products and work out the best deal.

Our Europe Sim Card or Pocket Wifi Selection Process

If you are wanting more detail to help you choose an internet product that best meets your needs, we have created a 3-step process:

1. Choose between a sim card for Europe or a Europe pocket wifi
2. Work out your data needs

There are lots of different Europe SIM card choices which makes it easy to become confused and overwhelmed. We wrote this article to save you time by comparing some of the best Europe sim card products from a number of reputable providers in one article.

In addition, to simplifying the process to purchase a sim card, in this article we have also detailed the advantages and disadvantages of various alternatives to sim cards and pocket wifi devices as these won’t always best meet your needs.

1. Choose between a Sim Card for Europe or a Europe Pocket Wifi

One of the first decisions you will face when trying to organise internet access for your Europe trip will be whether you should buy a Europe travel sim card or rent a Europe Pocket Wifi device. This is a question constantly being asked across our various Facebook groups. A sim card for Europe or a pocket wifi unit can both be excellent options when visiting Europe, depending on your individual needs. Just make sure that you are aware of the advantages and disadvantages of each choice.

Sim Card for Europe

A sim card is a great choice if you are travelling on your own or as a couple and have a limited number of devices. They can be a little cheaper than a pocket wifi unit and you don’t have to worry about loss, damage and don’t have to remember to return the device. Here’s a more detailed look at their advantages and disadvantages.

Pros

• No separate device to charge (apart from your phone)
• Great for solo travellers with one mobile device.
• Often a little cheaper than pocket wifi if you only have one or two people with limited devices.
• No additional device to carry around.
• Don’t have to worry about losing/damaging the SIM thus avoiding replacement penalties.
• No need to return it upon departing.

An advantage that is often suggested for SIM cards is that you don’t have to manage battery life when you have a SIM card installed in a phone. Our experience when travelling is that our phones can be used heavily and often both our pocket wifi units and phones will need to be recharged with a back-up battery.

Cons

• Won’t work unless your phone is unlocked.
• Have to adjust settings (such as APN settings) in your phone which can be complicated if you’re not tech-savvy. Incorrect APN settings may result in the sim card not working. Make sure you create a new APN setting rather than adjusting your normal APN setting otherwise your phone may not work properly when you put your old sim card back in after returning home. If you have a dual SIM phone, additional settings may need to be changed. 
• Loss of access to contacts stored on your normal sim card when you put in a travel sim card (unless you have a dual sim phone or transfer all of your contacts to your phone).
• Risk of losing your normal sim card if you only have one sim card slot and have to take out and store your normal sim card while using a travel sim card.

Europe Pocket Wifi

Pocket wifi devices are an ideal choice if you are looking for a simple to use data option without having to install SIM cards or change phone settings. They are also excellent if you have multiple devices or users. Pocket wifi units are also often your only option if your phone can’t be unlocked as you won’t be able to use a sim card in this situation. Be aware that just like with data-only sim cards, pocket wifi units cannot make or receive calls or texts. If you want to make calls or texts in the normal way, purchase a SIM card that includes voice calls and texts. Otherwise, just use apps likes FaceTime, Skype or WhatsApp to make and receive calls and messages.

Here’s a more detailed look at the advantages and disadvantages of pocket wifi.

Pros

• Simple and easy to use. You just turn your pocket wifi on and your devices will connect to it after entering the password that comes with the device.
• Works with any phone or wifi-connected device. Remember to turn off mobile data on your phone and/or put your phone into airplane mode.
• Ideal for group travellers or if you have multiple devices. Depending on the device they can provide an internet connection to at least 5-10 devices.
• Can offer stronger signal outside urban areas.
• Can save you money if you need to connect multiple people or devices as you won’t need to buy several SIM cards. Just make sure you have a large enough data plan for all your needs.

Cons

• You have to carry an extra device with you, but they are quite small.
• Risk of loss or damage. Penalties can be high if you lose or damage the device.
• Have to return the rental pocket wifi at the end of your trip

An often mentioned disadvantage of pocket wifi devices is that they have a limited range so if you are in a group and need to split up on occasion and do your own thing internet access will be lost. Frankly, unless you are travelling alone, this is also a problem with sim cards. If you are travelling as a couple or family and only have one travel sim card between everyone, you will also have the same problem if people need to split up. If members of your group are ever likely to go their own way for a period of time and you still need to stay in touch, plan ahead and buy another pocket wifi device or use a mix of pocket wifi and sim cards like we do.

Most reputable pocket wifi providers overcome many of the downsides of pocket wifi devices by offering chargers and spare batteries, cheap insurance in case of damage or loss, and large envelopes so you can just pop the device into a post box when you are finished rather than having to go back to a service counter. 

Sim Card versus Pocket Wifi Summary

While plenty of people try to argue that sim cards are better than pocket wifi or vice versa, this is simply not the case. It’s important to think about your requirements, look closely at the pros and cons of each product and then work out which will best meet your needs.

2. Work out your Europe Travel Data Needs

After working out whether a sim card or pocket wifi is the right product for you, the next step is to work out how much data you will need during your trip. If you underestimate the amount of data you will need, you will run out of data and either have your spreed throttled or have to pay for extra data. If you overestimate the amount of data, you may end up paying too much for data that you need. However, faced with the choices of having either too little or too much data I would always prefer to have too much data.

Mobile Data Usage (per person)	Data usage examples
Low (less than 200 MB/day)	Quickly check your email (10 emails) Have a short browse of the web (30 minutes) Glance at social media every now and then through the day – no videos (30 minutes) Share a few photos with friends (2-3) Use Google Maps to get around (1 hour) Make a brief Skype voice call (10 min) TOTAL: 135 MB/day
Medium (200 – 499 MB/day)	Check a larger number of emails (20 emails) Have a longer web browsing session (60 minutes) Use social media for a longer time  – no videos (60 minutes) Share some more photos with friends (10) Use Google Maps to get around (1 hour) Make a brief Skype voice call (10 min) Watch 30 minutes of Netflix TOTAL: 390 MB/day
High (500 MB or more per day)	Check a larger number of emails (20 emails) Have a longer web browsing session (60 minutes) Use social media for a longer time with videos (90 minutes) Share even more photos with friends (20) Use Google Maps to get around (1 hour) Make a longer Skype video call (15 min) Watch 60 minutes of Netflix Stream music for 30 minutes Do some online gaming for 30 minutes TOTAL: 870 MB/day

To more accurately work out your possible data usage when visiting Europe I would suggest using a data usage calculator such as (1) Telstra Data Usage Calculator or (2) AT&T data calculator.

Free Wifi Hotspots

In our Facebook Groups, it’s not uncommon for people to recommend using free wifi hotspots instead of buying a travel sim card or renting a pocket wifi. Certainly, there is much more free wifi now available when travelling. However, it only has one main advantage, and that is it’s free.

In contrast, I can name a lot of downsides with using free public wifi, so I find it hard to recommend this as a choice unless you only need internet access infrequently and you don’t need to rely on having internet available. The daily price of a sim card or pocket wifi often works out to be less than a cup of coffee so why wouldn’t you go with one of these options. Here is my perspective on the advantages and disadvantages of free wifi hotspots.

Pros

• Free
• Readily available in most urban areas.

Cons

• Security – We wouldn’t feel safe using any website or app which involves personal data when connected to a free public wifi hotspot. Anything that involves banking, credit cards, email, social media may place your sensitive personal information at risk if you use a public wifi connection as it may be unsecured.
• Can be very slow.
• The hotspot may be unreliable depending on factors such as small hot spot coverage areas and the number of people using the hot spot.
• Often need to register to use the hotspot which takes time and there may be a need to provide personal data.
• Hotspots may have data usage limitations or restrict the amount of time you can use it.
• Ready access to free wifi hotspots will become much more limited outside of urban areas.

When travelling, we don’t want to have to deal with these sorts of issues. We want to spend as much time as we can enjoying ourselves. If you are someone who is used to having data all the time, you may quickly become annoyed with free wifi hotspots unless you have consciously decided to do a digital detox or are happy to change your normal digital lifestyle when travelling.

Hotel/Accommodation Wifi

More and more hotels and other accommodation providers offer free wifi to their guests. If you do your research thoroughly, using accommodation wifi could be an excellent option. For example, some accommodation providers give access to pocket wifi units or smartphones which you can take with you outside the hotel while staying at the hotel.

If the speed and data limits are reasonable you may not need to rent or buy a travel sim card or pocket wifi unit. Alternatively, if you don’t need internet access while you are out and about or are happy to use public wifi, you may get by fine just using whatever hotel-provided wifi is available on returning to your accommodation. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of accommodation wifi:

Pros

• Normally free because it’s built into the cost of your accommodation.
• Some accommodation providers may allow you to take their smartphone or pocket wifi out with you during your stay

Cons

Many of the disadvantages of free public wifi can also apply to accommodation wifi

• Security
• Inconsistent quality of data speed, amount of data, and reliability. Some accommodation providers offer excellent internet access. At other places, speed may be slow, you might have very limited amounts of data, the connection might be unreliable and there might be limits on how long you can use the surface for. If you are staying at more than one place during your trip, you will either have to spend ages researching the quality of internet access at every hotel you are planning to stay with OR accept that your internet access may vary a lot from place to place.
• Need to register

If you are planning to rely on using accommodation wifi instead of buying or renting a travel sim or pocket wifi unit, find out a bit more about what your planned providers are offering before you get there to make sure it meets your internet needs.

International Day Passes through your mobile/cell phone provider

Buying an international day pass through your phone provider is probably the most convenient data option when travelling. All you have to do is sign up for a day pass and then you do nothing but take your phone with you and start using it on arrival. 

International day passes allow you to use mobile data in most countries all around the world. For many providers, the daily cost under many plans can be high and some of the data allowances can be very stingy. This means if you are not careful you may pay a lot of money for very little data. While it may be the most convenient choice, it can also be the most expensive and least useful option if you don’t do your research carefully. Make sure you check with your phone provider what is included in their pass and compare it to a Europe sim card or pocket wifi so you can make an informed decision. 

Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of international day passes as a whole, but there are big variations between providers.

Pros

• Easy option as you get to keep your current sim card and use it much like you do at home (but check the data allowance closely)

Cons

• Cost can be high
• Data allowances can be low
• Speed can slow to a crawl if you exceed daily data allowances, or you can face high excess data charges 

In general, they are best suited to people wanting an easy solution or for shorter trips. Here is a closer look at some of the international day passes for the major carriers from Australia, USA and Canada. 

Australia

• Telstra – Has a $10 AUD a day international day pass which includes unlimited standard talk and text as well as 200 MB of data per day. The data expires daily. The excess data charge is $10 AUD/500MB. For more information see Telstra International Roaming.
• Optus – Has an Optus Travel Pack for $10 AUD/day which gives you standard unlimited talk and SMS and 100MB of data. One nice feature of this is that instead of the data expiring daily like Telstra, it accumulates. For example, if you buy a travel pack for 7 days you will get 700MB of data to use any way you like within the seven days. Something to watch out for with the travel pack is that once you have used up your data allowance, even if it’s before your travel pack expires, standard roaming rates of $1/MB apply. This could get painful very quickly. One recent story from our of our Facebook groups was of someone who had to pay an extra $300 on their phone bill because they went over the data allowance provided by Optus. For more information see Optus International Roaming.
• Vodafone – Offers $5 AUD a day international roaming which allows you to use the normal data, talk and text inclusions of your plan and it covers most of Europe. You only pay the fee on the days you use talk, text or data but watch out for any apps on your phone that may use data as this will trigger the daily fee. For more information see Vodaphone International Roaming.

USA

• AT&T – Has a $10 USD day pass which includes access to your normal data allowance, unlimited texts, as well as unlimited calls to the US and 100 international day pass countries. You’ll be charged $10 USD the first time you use data, texts or make a call. You’ll then be charged an additional $10 for any further 24-hour periods where you use data, texts, or calls. Be aware of any apps on your phone that may use data because they will also trigger the $10 daily fee. They also have an AT&T passport but the cost is excessive and the data provided is very low. For more information see AT&T International.
• Verizon – Has a $10 USD travel pass which includes your domestic allowances for data, talk and text. As with AT&T, the first time you use talk, texts or data in Europe the daily fee will begin and you’ll only be charged on the days you use calls, texts or use data. Just like AT&T, apps that use data can trigger the daily fee. Your first 500 MB of data used each day will be at normal speeds but if you use more than 500 MB of data, your data speed will slow to a crawl. Verizon have a monthly international travel plan which is similar to the AT&T passport but seems even worse value. For more information see Verizon International Plan.
• Sprint – Has a basic global roaming service which includes free text messages, low speed (2G) data and $0.25 USD/per minute phone calls. Unless your data needs are very basic, 2G speeds will be incredibly slow and frustrating. You can buy high speed data packs for $5 USD which seems good value but I am not sure if there are data caps with this plan. For more information see Sprint International Service.

Canada

• Rogers – Has a $12 CAD day pass called Roam Like Home which lets you use your talk, text and data just like you would in Canada. This service covers 180 countries and has a great feature if you are staying in Europe for a longer period of time. With Rogers, you will only be charged for a maximum of 15 days per monthly bill, after which time you can use Roam Like Home free of charge until the end of your bill cycle. Basically, the longer you are in Europe, the better the Roam Like Home plan becomes. For more information see Rogers Roam Like Home.
• Bell Canada – Has a $12 CAD plan called Roam Better which has unlimited talk and text and you use your normal domestic data allowance. You only pay for the days you use talk, text or data. If you use more than 500 MB of data per day, your speed will be throttled to 512 Kbps which nowadays is a snail’s pace. They also have a separate Roam Better plan which also costs $12 CAD and includes unlimited talk and text plus 100 MB of data per day but I feel this represents poor value. For more information see Bell Canada Roam Better.
• Telus –  Has an Easy Roam plan costing $12 CAD/per day which gives you access to data from your monthly plan, plus unlimited talk and text. You will only pay for the days you use talk, text or data. The maximum amount you will pay per bill cycle is $180 CAD which is equivalent to 15 days. For more information see Telus Easy Roam.

Don’t just turn on global roaming without a day pass

If you are seriously considering using your regular cell/mobile phone provider when travelling to Europe, go with the day pass option rather than simply turning on global roaming when you arrive. For many providers, global roaming can be horrifically expensive, with some carriers charging up to $3 per MB of data used. We have heard stories of people going home with data charges costing thousands of dollars which is an easy way to spoil a trip.

Manage your Data Usage

Here are a few tips to manage your data consumption before travelling to Europe. Together they can significantly reduce the amount of data that you will need to use.

• Download your favourite movies, TV shows, music playlists and podcasts at home before you travel to Europe so you can use them offline later on.
• Review the amount of data used in the data usage section of your phone. Check for apps that use more background data than you would like and then restrict background data for those apps.
• Switch off automatic app updates and backups.
• Disable auto-play of videos on your favourite social media apps.

Data Needs Assumptions

Following are the assumptions we used earlier in the article to work out low, medium and high data usage.

Low Data  – Under 200 mb/day

• 30 min web browsing – 60 mb (2 mb/min)
• 30 min browsing social media (no videos) – 45 mb (1.5 mb/min)
• 2-3 photo uploads/day – 10 mb
• 10 emails per day – 5mb
• 1 hr google maps – 5mb
• 10 min skype voice call – 10 mb
• TOTAL = 135 mb/per day

Medium Data (200-499 mb/day)

• 60 min web browsing – 120 mb (2 mb/min)
• 60 min browsing social media (no videos) – 90 mb (1.5 mb/min)
• 30 min video – 125 mb
• 10 photo uploads/day – 30 mb
• 20 emails per day –  10 mb
• 1 hr google maps – 5mb
• 10 min skype voice call – 10 mb
• TOTAL = 390 mb/per day

Heavy Data (500 mb or more per day)

• 60 min web browsing – 120 mb (2 mb/min)
• 90 min browsing social media (with videos) – 225 mb (1.5 mb/min)
• 60 min Netflix video – 250 mb
• 20 photo uploads/day – 60 mb
• 20 emails per day –  10 mb
• 1 hr google maps – 5mb
• 15 min skype video call – 120 mb
• 30 min music streaming – 40mb
• 30 min gaming – 50mb
• TOTAL = 870 mb/per day

These are the assumptions we’ve used for the data consumption of different apps.

• Email 0.5 mb/email
• Google maps 5 mb/hr
• Social Media 60 mb/hr OR 90 mb/hr to 150 mb/hr with video
• Facebook – 80mb/hr browsing or 160 mb/hr with video
• Snapchat 160 mb/hr
• Instagram 720 mb/hr
• YouTube 300mb/hr
• Netflix 250mb/hr
• Video: low 300 mb/hr, medium 700 mb/hr, high 3GB/hr OR standard 800 mb to high 1.3 gb
• Music Streaming 150 mb/hr OR 40-70 mb/hr OR 80 mb/hr
• Audio – low 25-50 mb/hr, medium 50-100 mb/hr, high 100-150mb/hr or low 43, medium 72, high 115
• Podcasts 60 mb/hr
• Gaming 3 – 60 mb/hr OR 100 mb to 1gb/hr OR 43 mb/hr
• Web browsing 2 mb/minute OR 10-50 mb/hr OR 1.5 mb/page OR 2.5 mb/page
• Skype – voice calls 0.5 MB/minute to 8 MB/minute (video) OR skype 45 mb/hr
• Facetime (iphone) 5 min = 15 mb

If you are planning to visit a major European event such as Oktoberfest or the Summer Music festivals, make sure you plan to use a large amount of data!

Europe Sim Card Summary of Recommended Options

Click on the links below to check out and book your Europe sim cards.

Disclaimer:  This article contains affiliate links.  If you book after clicking on one of these links then we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.