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Anyone traveling to Europe and visiting several countries there doesn’t want to buy a separate eSIM for each country. That’s why there are eSIMs that cover large parts of Europe. However, the bottom-line cost depends on whether you’re traveling only within the European Union (EU) or beyond its borders. This article focuses solely on travel to EU countries.
Which countries are part of the EU? They are: the Azores (Portugal), Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark (excluding Greenland), Estonia, Finland, France (excluding Monaco), Gibraltar, Greece, Great Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, the Canary Islands (Spain), Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira (Portugal), Malta, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland (Great Britain), Norway (Svalbard, Jan Mayen), Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (Ceuta, Melilla), the Czech Republic, Hungary, Vatican City (Italian network), the United Kingdom (Great Britain, Northern Ireland), and Cyprus (southern part).
My recommendation
Vodafone is a good and affordable choice for travel within the EU. Vodafone offers fixed data allowances at affordable prices that can be used anywhere in the EU with 5G and speeds of up to 300 Mbit/s. There is no daily limit beyond which the speed is throttled. Another major advantage: voice calls and text messages are also available at affordable rates.
- 25 GB (28 days) for €9.99
- 50 GB (28 days) for €14.99
- 250 GB (365 days) for €99.99
You can order Vodafone's affordable eSIMs here
Other Offers
If you only need mobile data, you can also choose from other providers. Below, I'll show you a selection of providers that I can recommend in terms of reliability and network coverage. Please note: all plans include
Airalo
Airalo is one of the most reliable providers across Europe, offering good speeds and 5G coverage. However, this is reflected in the price. Airalo offers 3 GB of high-speed data per day; after that, speeds drop to 1 Mbit/s.
- Unlimited (3 days) for €10.50
- Unlimited (7 days) for €24.00
- Unlimited (15 days) for €43.50
- 10 GB (7 days) for €23.00
- 20 GB (15 days) for €42.00
- 50 GB (30 days) for €62.00
- 100 GB (180 days) for €164.00
You can order Airalo eSIMs here
eSIM-Fox
eSIM-Fox is a relatively unknown but nonetheless very reliable provider of mobile data in Europe. It primarily offers fixed data plans at comparatively low prices.
- 10 GB (30 days) for €15.99
- 20 GB (30 days) for €19.99
- 50 GB (30 days) for €42.99
- Unlimited (7 days) for €23.00
You can order the eSIM from eSIM-Fox here
SIMbye
SIMbye is also a relatively unknown provider, but it offers a few extras that hardly any other provider has: a real French phone number and unlimited calls and texts within the EU
- 20 GB (30 days) for €27.95
- 50 GB (30 days) for €41.95
- 100 GB (30 days) for €45.95
You can order the eSIM from eSIMbye here
Roamic
Roamic is by far the cheapest provider among traditional eSIM providers. However, this also comes with limitations regarding maximum speed. Such low-cost plans can only be offered by negotiating restrictions with network operators regarding maximum speed and priority (who gets network capacity when there are many users). Therefore, at least in Europe, Roamic is better suited for those who don’t have high expectations.
Roamic’s unlimited plans include 3 GB of high-speed data per day; after that, the speed drops to 1 Mbit/s.
- Unlimited (3 days) for €6.99
- Unlimited (7 days) for €13.99
- Unlimited (15 days) for €25.99
- 10 GB (30 days) for €7.99
- 20 GB (30 days) for €14.99
- 50 GB (30 days) for €29.99
