Which SIM for Europe from the UK: your plan, a Europe eSIM or an EU SIM card?
In short
Before you buy an EU SIM card from the UK, check your own plan. Ten of the 15 UK networks include Europe, within a fair-use limit that starts at 5GB a month. EE, Vodafone, Three, Sky and VOXI charge £2 to £2.75 a day or sell a pass (checked on 24 October 2026, network pages linked below). Our Europe eSIM is £2.99 for 1 GB over 7 days, data only.
Information verified on 24 October 2026 at the official sources listed below. This is not immigration or legal advice; check GOV.UK and the official website of your destination before you travel. How we check information.
On this page
eSIM for Europe from £1.99 — see plans At a glance
- Purchase QR code by email · after payment
- Installation profile on your phone · in advance
- Activation first network on the trip · the clock starts
Get an eSIM for Europe — from £1.99
This site is not affiliated with any of the networks mentioned here; we sell eSIMs. How we compare
You may not need an eSIM at all. On a network that includes Europe, a trip inside its limit costs nothing extra and keeps your own number. An EU data SIM or Europe eSIM earns its place above the limit, on a network with a daily roaming charge, or in a country your network leaves out.
Does your UK plan already work in Europe?
Yes on ten networks, no on five: EE, Vodafone, Three, Sky and VOXI charge a daily rate or a pass on some or all plans (checked on 24 October 2026). Ireland is included on all 15, so a trip to Dublin needs no travel eSIM.
| Option | Price | What you need | Weak point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roaming on your UK network | Included on 11 of 15 UK networks, within fair use otherwise £2.00 to £33.00 a day or pass from about £0.15 per GB | Data roaming on; on some networks a pass bought before you fly | Fair use limits and daily charges differ by network; check that yours covers Europe |
| Pocket Wi-Fi router | Not verified | Collect it, keep it charged and return it | One connection for the group, only while you stay together |
| Local SIM bought on arrival | Not verified | A free SIM slot and a shop after landing | On a one-slot phone it replaces your UK SIM |
| Travel eSIM from this site | from £1.99 by card; from £1.04 per GB | An eSIM phone that is not locked to one operator | Data only: no calls or texts on your UK number |
Roaming prices as published by the 15 UK networks, checked on 24 October 2026; price per GB is our derivation (price ÷ GB). eSIM prices are in pounds at the day’s rate: your card is charged exactly that amount. This site is not affiliated with these networks; we sell eSIMs.
| What your network does | Networks | Limit or charge |
|---|---|---|
| Charges a day or a pass | EE, Vodafone, Three, Sky, VOXI | £2.72, £2.75, £2.75, £2 a day; VOXI pass from £2.60 a day |
| Includes Europe, 25GB to 30GB | O2, iD Mobile, Lebara | up to 25GB, 30GB and 30GB |
| Includes Europe, 12GB | Lyca Mobile, SMARTY | Lyca Mobile EU roaming: 12GB on most plans, 35GB on its largest; SMARTY 12GB |
| Includes Europe, 5GB | giffgaff, Talkmobile, Asda | giffgaff 5GB per plan; Talkmobile and Asda 5GB a month |
| Includes Europe, other rules | Tesco Mobile, BT | Tesco: “no cap/usage limit”, surcharge on long stays; BT may add a surcharge above a fair-use limit |
Source: each network’s own roaming page, listed under Sources, checked on 24 October 2026. The daily charges apply to EE plans launched from 7 July 2021, to Vodafone pay monthly plans from 11 August 2021 without Euro Roam, and to Three Lite and Lite+ plans taken on or after 18 December 2025. Vodafone Euro Roam and Global Roam plans and Three Value and Complete include Europe.
The best UK SIM for Europe is the one you already hold, when it includes the trip. A list of UK networks with free EU roaming means little without each limit; each network’s full conditions are on EU roaming after Brexit, so we do not repeat them here. If you are changing network anyway, SIM only deals with EU roaming are a separate choice that page covers too.
Three traps matter before you pack. giffgaff, Talkmobile and Asda have the smallest caps, so a week of heavy use can pass 5GB. Turkey is outside the Europe zone on all 15 networks. Switzerland is charged separately on some, including Asda and giffgaff.
eSIM for Europe: selected plans
The entry plan, our pick and a bigger one. “Our pick” is a mid-size plan chosen by us, not a sales ranking.
Prices are in pounds; you are charged in GBP, exactly the amount shown. The seller is registered in the United States, so your bank may apply its own rules to a payment to a seller abroad — how card payment works. It appears on your statement as JET SHARING. You pay on the secure Stripe checkout page, by card, or Apple Pay or Google Pay if Stripe shows them on your device.
What it costs per day
Plan price in pounds ÷ days, at the rate of 1 Nov. A longer plan usually costs less per day: pick by your trip length, not by the lowest daily price.
Your network’s daily charge vs a Europe eSIM: the trip sums
A week in Europe on a daily charge costs £14 on Sky and £19.04 to £19.25 on EE, Vodafone and Three, on the plans shown and before passes (checked on 24 October 2026). Our Europe eSIM is £2.99 for 1 GB over 7 days. The two are different products.
The network rows are our arithmetic from each network’s published rates. A “day” is a day you use the phone, not a day you are away.
| Network | Charge | 3 days | 7 days | 15 days | Pass the network sells |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE (plans from 7 July 2021) | £2.72 a day | £8.16 | £19.04 | £40.80 | Weekly EU Pass £16.50 (7 days); 12-days EU Pass £27.50 |
| Vodafone (pay monthly from 11 August 2021, no Euro Roam) | £2.75 a day | £8.25 | £19.25 | £41.25 | 8-day pass £16; 15-day pass £21 |
| Three (Lite and Lite+, from 18 December 2025) | £2.75 a day | £8.25 | £19.25 | £41.25 | Go Roam in Europe 3 / 7 / 14 days £5 / £12 / £24 |
| Sky (not Diamond VIP) | £2 a day | £6 | £14 | £30 | none; Roaming Passport Plus is the £2 daily |
| VOXI | pass required | £7.40 | £15 | £20 | 8-day pass £15; 15-day pass £20 |
| Our Europe plan (data only) | plan price | 500 MB £1.99 | 1 GB £2.99 | 2 GB £5.99 | no UK number, no calls or texts |
Sources: EE price guide (checked on 24 October 2026), Vodafone global roaming (24 October 2026), Three Go Roam (24 October 2026), Sky roaming (24 October 2026), VOXI European roaming (24 October 2026). VOXI’s 3-day figure is a 2-day pass (£4.80) plus a 1-day pass (£2.60); its 7-day figure is the 8-day pass.
Before you pay for an EU SIM card from the UK, read the table against what you use. A pass such as EE’s £16.50 week lets you use your UK allowance, minutes and texts on your own number. Our plan is data only and starts when it first connects abroad. For a month, 5 GB is £9.99 and 10 GB is £14.99.
Your own network’s page, not this table, has the last word on your contract: EE, Vodafone, Three, Sky and VOXI each have a page with the full rates. For the decision itself, roaming or eSIM walks through it.
What does a Europe eSIM cover, and what does it miss?
Our Europe plan covers 40 countries and territories, including Ireland and Gibraltar, plus the UK itself (41 entries in the plan’s list, checked on 24 October 2026). It leaves out Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
The 40 are: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine.
The gaps matter as much as the list:
| Place | In our Europe plan? |
|---|---|
| Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man | No: Jersey and Guernsey not covered, nor the Isle of Man. They are in our worldwide plan; see the Crown Dependencies guide |
| Gibraltar | Yes |
| The UK | Yes, so the plan keeps working on your return or in transit |
| Canary Islands | Not named in the plan, so we do not promise them; our worldwide plan lists them |
| Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City, Kosovo | Not in the list |
| Turkey | Yes, with the conditions below |
Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia are in no UK network’s Europe zone, though Sky’s £2 a day list covers them. That is where a Europe eSIM helps most.
Turkey: buy and install your eSIM before you travel — eSIM shops, including ours, may not open on Turkish networks. For stays of about three months or more, Turkey requires the phone’s IMEI to be registered for a fee.
Each country in the plan uses named local networks. In Spain that is 
Orange Spain and Telefónica Móviles España, in France Free Mobile, Orange France and Bouygues Télécom, in Italy ILIAD and WINDTRE, in Switzerland Salt and Swisscom, and in Turkey TT Mobil. The plan is data only. Validity starts when the eSIM first connects at your destination, and the plan page shows how long you have to install it.
EU SIM card from the UK or a prepaid SIM: when does it make sense?
A physical EU roaming SIM suits a phone that cannot take an eSIM, and little else. We sell eSIMs only, so the honest comparison is about your phone, not about us.
An eSIM needs a compatible, unlocked phone: an iPhone XS, XS Max, XR or later (bar some models sold in China mainland, Hong Kong and Macao), or a Pixel 4 or later (Apple and Google support pages). Dial *#06#: an EID line means the phone has an eSIM (eSIM compatible phones). If yours is older, a physical SIM is the only route. On a single-SIM phone it replaces your UK SIM while it is in the tray.
On a dual SIM phone, an eSIM leaves your UK SIM where it is. Your UK number keeps calls and texts, and the travel line carries data; keeping your UK number shows how. The install guide covers the set-up, which you do on Wi-Fi before you leave.
A prepaid SIM for Europe, ordered from home, arrives by post and has to be in your hand before the trip. An eSIM does not travel by post. We do not retell any physical SIM product here, because plans and prices change faster than a printed card.
How did we compare Europe eSIM prices?
We checked sellers’ UK pages on 24 October 2026 and took each seller’s data-only plan with exactly the data and days of the basket. The table gives the range of those prices per basket; we name no seller, and it is not a ranking.
| Basket | Sellers’ range on 24 October 2026 (data only) | Our Europe plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1GB, 7 days | £3.49 to £9.00 (5 sellers) | £2.99 |
| 3GB, 30 days | £6.99 to £9.49 (4 sellers) | £6.99 |
| 5GB, 30 days | £8.99 to £15.50 (4 sellers) | £9.99 |
| 10GB, 30 days | £15.99 to £27.49 (4 sellers) | £14.99 |
| 20GB, 30 days | £23.99 to £37.50 (2 sellers) | £22.99 |
Every figure is data only, in pounds, from the seller’s page for a UK visitor. We left out promotional prices and prices shown to a UK visitor in dollars, because the buyer does not see pounds. Coverage, speed, network and the number of countries differ from plan to plan, so the prices are not like for like. Read each seller’s page for what its plan covers.
Network figures elsewhere on this page come from each network’s own pages and are re-checked on a calendar described in how we compare.
Long stays and motorhome trips: what do fair use limits allow?
The fair use limits abroad that bite on a long stay count days, not gigabytes: O2 charges after 63 days in 4 months, giffgaff stops after 63 days, SMARTY after 60 consecutive days (checked on 24 October 2026). For a stay of several months, check the rule below for your network before you leave.
| Network | Rule on a long stay |
|---|---|
| O2 | More than 63 days in 4 months: £3.50 a GB, 3.3p a minute, 1p a text (24 October 2026) |
| giffgaff | 5GB per plan, “not per month or per visit”; roaming up to 63 days for members who used giffgaff in the UK in the previous 63 days (24 October 2026) |
| SMARTY | 12GB limit; up to 60 consecutive days at a time; at 60 consecutive days abroad SMARTY may suspend services (24 October 2026) |
| Tesco Mobile | A surcharge if you spend more time in Home from Home destinations than in the UK; its fair-use PDF gives 0.35p a MB after two weeks’ warning if you are abroad more than 2 of 4 months (24 October 2026) |
| Talkmobile | 5GB a month for plans from 14 March 2023; “If you intend to be overseas for more than two months at a time, this may not be the right deal for you” (24 October 2026) |
| Asda Mobile | Up to 5GB of EU roaming a month, then 10p a MB (24 October 2026) |
Source: O2 fair use · giffgaff roaming in the EU · SMARTY price guide · Tesco Home from Home · Talkmobile acceptable use policy · Asda roaming.
These rules are written for holidays and work trips. A motorhome tour of a season, or a winter in Spain, runs into them. A data line of your own avoids the gigabyte caps. Our Europe plan has 50 GB for 90 days at £74.99 and 100 GB for 180 days at £144.99, data only. Your UK SIM still carries calls and texts, and the day rules above still apply to it.
Check before you fly
What if the eSIM doesn’t work when you land in Europe?
Check four settings, in this order, before you write to us.
The first is the line for mobile data. In the phone’s SIM settings, pick the travel line for mobile data; your UK line stays on for calls and texts, with its mobile data off.
The second is data roaming, for the eSIM line only. The eSIM is a foreign profile, so the phone treats Europe as roaming for it.
The third is the APN. The plan does not set it by itself here: add internet on Android under the eSIM line’s mobile network settings.
The fourth is a restart. Restart the phone or switch aeroplane mode on and off, and let it find a partner network; this can take a few minutes after you leave the plane.
Still no data? Write to us on WhatsApp or at support@esimworld.co.uk with your order number, or go through the no-signal checklist. Do not delete the eSIM to “try again”: a deleted profile usually cannot be installed twice from the same code. If the eSIM doesn't work and it isn't your phone's fault, we refund the payment whether or not it was installed.
What I’d choose (and when NOT to buy the eSIM)
For a week of maps, rides and messaging I’d take 1 GB for 7 days, £2.99. For two weeks or more, with photos and social media, I’d go for 5 GB for 30 days, £9.99. If you video-call and stream every day, take the unlimited plan for 7 days, £19.99, with 5 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps.
I would not recommend the eSIM in three cases. If your UK plan already includes Europe and its fair use limit is enough for you, roaming costs you nothing extra and keeps your number (compare the networks). If your phone has no eSIM or is locked to one operator, it cannot take the plan: check your model first. And if your group travels together all day and shares one connection, a pocket Wi-Fi can cover everyone.
Frequently asked questions
Which SIM card is best for the UK and Europe?
Your own UK SIM, if your network includes Europe. Ten of the 15 UK networks do, within a fair-use limit that starts at 5GB a month. If yours charges a day or your trip is long, a data-only Europe eSIM runs next to your UK number.
Is there a SIM card that covers all of Europe?
No SIM covers every European country or territory. Our Europe eSIM covers 40 countries and territories plus the UK, and leaves out Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. UK network zones differ too: Turkey is outside the Europe zone on all 15.
Which UK provider has free EU roaming?
None offers it without conditions. O2, iD Mobile, Lebara, Lyca, Tesco, BT, giffgaff, Talkmobile, Asda and SMARTY include Europe on current plans within fair-use limits. EE, Vodafone, Three, Sky and VOXI charge a daily rate or a pass on some or all plans.
Is it worth getting an eSIM for Europe?
Only if your network charges a day, caps data below what you use, or leaves out a country you visit. On a network that includes Europe and a trip inside the limit, stay on your plan. Compare your days of use with the trip sums above.
Sources checked: EE: Pay Monthly standard and non-standard price guide, 31 March 2026 (PDF) · Vodafone: global roaming · Three: Go Roam · Sky Mobile: roaming · VOXI: does VOXI have European roaming · O2: EU roaming · giffgaff: roaming in the EU · SMARTY price guide (PDF) · Tesco Mobile: roaming · Talkmobile: roaming in Europe · Asda Mobile: roaming and calling abroad · Lyca Mobile: EU roaming · BT: what is Roam Like Home · Ofcom: using your mobile abroad.
Sources are linked in the text; reviewed by Nadezhda Semenova. For the terms of your own contract, check with your network.
Unfamiliar term? See the eSIM glossary.
Get an eSIM for Europe, from £1.99 Pay by card in pounds. The seller is registered in the United States, so your bank may apply its own rules to a payment to a seller abroad. Install the profile at home on Wi-Fi before you fly. The QR code arrives by email after payment. See plans