eSIM for international travel

Q: When should I install it, and when does the data plan start?

Install it at home while you still have Wi-Fi and leave the data turned off until you land. The plan starts counting when the eSIM first connects to a network at your destination, not when you buy it, so setting it up early costs you nothing. The step travelers most often miss is turning on data roaming for the eSIM profile itself after landing: without it the phone stays offline even though the profile installed correctly.

Q: Where do I buy a travel eSIM and how does it reach me?

Online, before you leave. At doctorSIM you open the destination directory, which lists over 150 eSIM destinations, go into the country you are visiting and choose your plan there. As soon as the payment clears the QR code is emailed to you, so nothing ships, nothing waits at the airport and you can install the profile at home over Wi-Fi.

doctorSIM sells prepaid data eSIMs for over 150 destinations: nothing is added to your carrier bill, and your QR code is emailed the moment you pay.

Set it up at home, connect when you land
Prepaid data, nothing added to your bill
4.2 out of 5 from 27,542 Trustpilot reviews

Choose your destination:

Choose your destination

eSIMSpain eSIMFrance eSIMGermany eSIMItaly eSIMUnited Kingdom eSIMUnited States eSIMMexico eSIMBrazil eSIMPortugal eSIMGreece eSIMTurkey eSIMJapan eSIMAustralia eSIMIsrael eSIMMorocco eSIMUnited Arab Emirates eSIMGlobal eSIMAsia eSIMEurope

100+ destinations available

What is an eSIM?

An eSIM is a digital SIM that gives you a prepaid data plan for the country you're visiting, without switching on your carrier's international service. You buy it online, scan a QR code and you're connected the moment you land.

How your eSIM works

Pick your destination

Search the country you're traveling to and choose the data plan that fits your trip.

Your QR code arrives instantly

It's emailed to you as soon as the payment clears, so nothing ships and nothing waits at the airport.

Scan it and go

Install the profile from your phone settings on Wi-Fi, then turn the eSIM on after you land.

What is a travel eSIM?

A travel eSIM is a prepaid data plan that downloads onto your cell phone as a digital SIM profile before you leave, so you land with data already working. Nothing ships to you and nothing goes in the SIM tray: you scan a QR code over Wi-Fi, the profile installs next to the line you already have, and it starts counting the first time it connects at your destination.

A travel eSIM is a data-only line. Your regular number stays active for calls and texts, while browsing, maps, WhatsApp, iMessage and FaceTime all run over the eSIM connection.

What doctorSIM does as an eSIM provider

Check the country before you pay: the destination directory lists over 150 eSIM destinations one by one, so you can confirm yours is covered before you buy anything.
Check the phone before you pay: the compatibility checker lists the supported models brand by brand.
QR code emailed the moment your payment clears: nothing ships, nothing waits at the airport and there is no store to find after you land.
Prepaid, so nothing hits your monthly statement: you pay once, before the trip, instead of adding international usage to the bill you already have.
Data only, hotspot included, rechargeable: every plan leaves your regular number free for calls and texts, shares the connection with a laptop or tablet, and can be topped up from your doctorSIM account without reinstalling anything.
Rated 4.2 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 27,542 reviews (August 2026).

Travel eSIM or your carrier's international plan?

Carriers such as Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile sell international service as an add-on or as part of a premium plan, billed on top of what you already pay every month. A travel eSIM works the other way around: you pick the destination and the amount of data before you go, pay for it once, and your regular line stays on the phone for calls and texts.

What matters	Travel eSIM	Carrier international plan	Local SIM card
How you pay	Prepaid before the trip, nothing added afterward	Added to your monthly statement	Prepaid at the counter overseas
When it is ready to use	Installed before you fly; live the first time it connects abroad	As soon as you switch it on with your carrier	Only once you have landed and found a store
Do you keep your number?	Yes, it runs next to your regular line	Yes	No, you get a local number instead
What you do on landing	Switch the eSIM profile on and allow data roaming for that profile	Nothing	Find a store, buy the card and deal with the paperwork
If your trip covers more than one country	It works in the destinations the plan lists and stops outside them	Depends on the countries your carrier includes	Tied to the country that issued it

What you need before you buy

A phone that supports eSIM: iPhone XS or newer, Pixel 3 or newer, and most higher-end Android phones from 2018 onward. The fastest test is to dial *#06# in the phone app: if a code labeled EID shows up next to the IMEI, the phone supports eSIM.
A carrier-unlocked phone: a phone still locked to a carrier will refuse an outside eSIM profile even when the hardware supports it. If you are not sure, ask your carrier to confirm before you buy.
Wi-Fi for the installation: you need a connection to download the profile, which is exactly what you will not have walking off the plane.
Your destination on the provider list: an eSIM only works where the plan says it works, so open the destination directory before you pay rather than after.

How do you install a travel eSIM?

Install it at home and turn the data on after you land, not the other way around. The installation needs an internet connection, and a connection is exactly what you are missing at the airport.

Buy the plan for the country you are visiting and open the email with the QR code. Save it so it opens without a connection.
Install the profile at home over Wi-Fi: open Settings, go to Cellular or Connections, add an eSIM and scan the QR code.
Leave the new profile’s data turned off, so the plan does not start counting before you travel.
After you land, switch the eSIM profile on and turn on data roaming for that profile. This is the step travelers miss: without it your phone stays offline even though the profile installed correctly.
Set the eSIM as the default line for cellular data and leave your regular SIM on for calls and texts, so people can still reach you on your own number.

Which plan should you pick?

Pick the country first and the amount of data second. What is on sale changes from one destination to the next, and the plan cards on each destination page are the only place with the sizes and the validity that apply today. Start from the list of eSIM destinations, open the country you are traveling to and compare the cards there.

28,000 reviews of doctorSIM

Very good

Based on 27,542 reviews

4 days ago

I use it to top up my GF in the…

I use it to top up my GF in the philippines so we can FaceTime. It literally takes seconds to add load to her phone. Doesn't really cost much.

Pooshnuts

7 days ago

I’m from South Africa

I’m from South Africa, and I’m travelling to Mozambique regularly. Been using doctor sim for data with SIM card I bought in Mozambique.
It’s great service!
Had an issue for the 1 st time in a year of using doctor sim and it was resolved within minutes.
Really recommend doctor sim

Tiaan Groenewald

12 days ago

Absolutely competent and trustworthy

I was in Europe when I received a message from my American cell phone provider saying I had to top up my service plan or I would lose my phone number. I was pretty desperate because I couldn't get it to work from Europe. I kept getting blocked (Error 16). By chance, I stumbled upon the Doctor SIM website. After a quick security check, I reached out to them. The people there were able to help me quickly and easily. Thank you very much, especially to Barbara, who assisted me in such a friendly and highly professional way.

Agatha Stricker Kurz

Very good

Based on 27,542 reviews

Traveling with an eSIM: common questions

What is a travel eSIM, and how is it different from my regular SIM?

A travel eSIM is a prepaid data plan your phone downloads as a SIM profile, instead of a card you slide into a tray. Everything else works the same way: you buy the plan for the country you are visiting, a QR code arrives by email, you scan it from your settings over Wi-Fi, and the new line shows up alongside the one you already have. With doctorSIM the QR code is emailed as soon as the payment clears, so the phone is ready well before you leave for the airport.

Does my cell phone support eSIM, and does it have to be unlocked?

Dial *#06# in the phone app: if a code labeled EID shows up next to the IMEI, your phone supports eSIM. As a rule of thumb that means iPhone XS or newer, Pixel 3 or newer and most higher-end Android phones released from 2018 onward. It also has to be carrier-unlocked, because a phone still locked to a carrier will refuse an outside profile even when the hardware supports it. doctorSIM has an eSIM compatibility checker that lists the supported models brand by brand.

How does a travel eSIM compare with my carrier's international plan?

A travel eSIM is prepaid and destination-based, so you choose the country and the amount of data before the trip and pay for it up front rather than adding international usage to your monthly bill. Your regular line stays on the phone, so you can keep it active for calls and texts and let the eSIM carry the data. The trade-off is that an eSIM only works in the destinations its plan lists, so it is worth checking the country before you pay.