The best eSIMs for Europe travel: 2026 recommendations

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Getting hit with £92 in roaming charges after a week in Belgium wasn’t the best end to our holiday.

We learnt our lesson, and so we tested 12+ eSIM providers across 8 European countries over the past year. eSIMs let you avoid roaming fees entirely – you’ll have local data the moment you land, without looking for SIM card shops and working out how to activate it.

Finding the right eSIM isn’t much fun. Don’t worry – we’ve narrowed down 12+ options to just 4 recommendations based on which worked the best during our past few European holidays – whether you’re hopping between countries, need data for a quick city break, or travel multiple times per year.

We’ve kept this guide short because, well, it’s a guide to eSIMs – it’s not the most interesting topic and if you’re like us, you probably just want to buy it and forget about it. Each recommendation below includes real pricing, our hands-on experience, and discount codes to help you save.

Quick Comparison: Best eSIMs for Europe travel

You can compare our four picks below. Don’t forget to check the pricing comparison table at the bottom too.

How we tested

We used each eSIM across at least 2 European countries over 14 months (Portugal, Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Croatia, and Romania). We tested installation time, cross-border connectivity, actual speeds, customer support, and compared to stated data limits. We then checked online reviews on Trustpilot and social media to make sure other people’s experiences matched our own.

Our top eSIM pick for most people: Yesim

Out of all the providers, we consistently preferred Yesim for it’s price and high quality service.

Cheap doesn’t come the cost of service quality – we found it easy to set up, high quality while we were using it, and customer service was helpful. It’s Trustpilot score is also the second-highest, so our experience is typical of others too.

It’s the best-value Europe eSIM we’ve found, especially if you use a decent amount of data. It covers 33 European countries (including the UK), and its prepaid plans are cheaper than the competition – often by a lot (check the price comparison below).

This is the best option for most people, so if you don’t read to the end – just buy this one.

Pros
Yesim’s customer service is highly rated on Trustpilot (and by us), and it’s the cheapest provider on all it’s data plans and most of it’s unlimited plans.

Installation is simple via the app (QR code), and the eSIM connects to local networks automatically when you cross borders. It also includes a built-in VPN, which is a nice bonus if you’re using public Wi-Fi in airports or cafés. Hotspot sharing is supported, and we didn’t have any issues tethering a laptop when we needed to.

Cons
Yesim doesn’t restrict/throttle speeds itself, but local network operators might. It doesn’t say what the threshold is (it varies), but if this is an issue then consider one of Yesim’s prepaid plans with a set amount of data, or another provider. We never use that much data so it worked fine for us. Hotspot use is limited or discouraged, and speeds can vary by country.

It’s the only provider to offer a 500MB package, but it’s next size up is 10GB. If you want something in between this then Saily is the cheapest.

Country coverage at 33 is less than Airalo’s 42, so if you’re visiting somewhere like Albania, Montenegro or Ukraine, double-check it’s covered. That said, for the vast majority of European trips, the coverage is more than sufficient.

Trustpilot score: 4.4 / 5

Cheapest easy option for short trips: Saily

Saily is a strong choice, particularly for shorter trips or if you want smaller data plans that Yesim doesn’t offer. It covers 35 European countries and offers plans from 1GB right up to 50GB, plus unlimited options which are often cheaper than Yesim.

It’s the best option if you need 1-5GB (for a short trip, or if you’re a light user). But, you’ll find Yesim cheaper from 10GB and up (see the price comparison below).

It’s app-based, installs in a couple of minutes, and uses straightforward Europe plans with clear data allowances and validity periods, so there’s very little to configure or manage once you’re up and running.

Pros
Saily has a great range of smaller plans that Yesim doesn’t offer, making it perfect for short trips.

The app is clean and easy to use, and it comes with built-in security features including a VPN, ad blocker, and web protection – all free.

Setup takes a couple of minutes, and activation is automatic when you land. Hotspot sharing is unlimited on all plans. It’s got the highest Trustpilot score out of the four options too.

Cons
Saily gets more expensive than Yesim at 10GB and above. There isn’t a 20GB or 30GB plan, so the jump from 10GB to 50GB is a significant price increase.

The unlimited plan pricing is only partially visible on the website – for some durations you need to check the app, which is slightly annoying when comparing options.

Coverage is good in popular countries but less transparent in smaller or non-EU destinations.

Trustpilot score: 4.7 / 5

Best eSIM if you are a frequent traveller: Drimsim

Drimsim works completely differently from the others. Instead of buying a fixed plan, you load credit and pay per megabyte as you use data. In most European countries the rate is €0.01 per MB.

That makes it considerably more expensive per gigabyte than the others. Using 10GB on Drimsim would cost you around £87 / €100, compared to just £16 / €18 on Yesim (see the price comparison below). So why include it?

Pros
The real advantage is that your eSIM never expires – it stays active as long as you use it at least once a year. There’s no plan to manage or validity period, and you don’t need to reinstall anything before each trip.

If you travel to Europe a few times a year and only need light data, like checking Google maps or sending a message, Drimsim can be simpler than buying a new plan every trip. You load credit once and just use it whenever you need it.

It works in 43 European countries and 197 countries in total, so useful if you go elsewhere (note that pricing is per country, so it might get more expensive).

Cons
It’s expensive for anything beyond light use. If you’re using more than a couple of gigabytes per trip, you’ll save money with Yesim or Saily.

Pricing also varies by country, so it’s not always obvious what you’ll pay.

There’s no unlimited option or bulk discount for using more data. Use it for convenience than price, especially if you go abroad often.

Trustpilot score: 3.4 / 5 (Drimsim don’t have much of a presence on Trustpilot, but we checked out reviews on other sites and they’re generally positive)

Best eSIM for coverage: Airalo

Airalo is one of the most well-known eSIM providers and covers 42 European countries, more than any of the others on this list. That includes places like Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Ukraine, which some providers miss.

However, it’s surprisingly expensive. Airalo’s Europe plans are more expensive than both Yesim and Saily at every data tier and unlimited plan (see the pricing table below).

On the plus side, Airalo offers a huge range of plan durations and sizes so there’s a lot of flexibility if you need to match a plan to a specific trip length. It also offers some plans with validity as short as 3 days, which none of the others do.

Pros
Airalo has the widest country coverage of the four providers (42 countries), making it the best choice if you’re visiting less common European destinations.

It has a huge range of fixed-data plans across many durations. The app is polished and installation is straightforward, and it’s easy to adjust your plan on the go.

Cons
Airalo is consistently the most expensive option for the same data, and on it’s unlimited plans.

Airalo’s unlimited plans throttles data after 3GB per day, which is less generous than Saily’s 5GB daily allowance. We’re not sure how this compares to Yesim, which says it varies by country.

If your trip sticks to mainstream European destinations, you’re probably paying a premium for coverage you may not need.

Trustpilot score: 3.9 / 5

Price comparison

We’ve listed the prices for each plan and provider, and starred the best value plans. Remember to check the website for the latest pricing, as exchange rates and provider pricing may change.

Don’t forget to click through the link and use the discount codes provided above!

Data plan comparison

You pay per MB used with Drimsim so we’ve shown the comparative price on the table.

Airalo has more plans than shown below. For example, they have 5GB valid for 7, 15 and 30 days, each with different prices. We’ve only included the most relevant plan below to enable comparison.

Unlimited data price comparison

Saily has 20 and 25 day plans and Airalo has 3 and 5 day plans not shown below (our table would have got a bit mad). Drimsim doesn’t offer unlimited, so it’s not included below.

Practical tips when using eSIMs

These are a few small things that we’ve found can save you hassle.

• Install before you travel, activate on arrival. The above eSIMs can be installed at home on Wi-Fi, then only start counting data when they first connect abroad. It’s best to do this before you go, so that when you arrive you can turn off flight mode and instantly connect.
• Keep your home SIM active for SMS. Bank codes and flight updates still go to your main number – you use the eSIM just for data. Call using data (for example Whatsapp) rather than dialling a number, as you might incur other charges.
• Download offline maps on Google Maps before you travel. You’ll use less data.
• Turn off data roaming on your home SIM. You don’t want to be happily using your data, to find that it was actually going through your home SIM.
• Turn off background app refresh. It’s the easiest way to stop maps, photos and social apps using your data.
• Screenshot setup instructions. If something goes wrong on arrival, you won’t want to rely on data to fix your data.
• Make sure your phone can take eSIMs. Most do, but it’s worth checking (you can enter your phone model on Airola’s website and it will tell you – no need to purchase)
• And finally: switch off. We use data abroad because it helps with recommendations, navigation and learning about where we are. But, we always try to use our phones as little as possible – forget about Wordle or reading the news.

Quick recommendations for the best eSIMs for Europe travel

• Best all-rounder, including price and service: Yesim
• Low price on shorter trips: Saily
• Multiple trips per year: Drimsim
• Best coverage: Airalo

Bottom line

If ease is your top priority, Yesim is the easiest all-round choice and the one most people should buy.

Only switch if you need something specific: a cheaper short trip (Saily), multiple trips across the year (Drimsim), or countries which aren’t covered by the others (Airalo).

All the eSIMs above stay active for at least 180 days after purchase – install it now, activate when you land.

In practice, any good eSIM should fade into the background – it just gives you data when you need it and stays out of the way. Hopefully this guide has made it a little bit easier.

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