Updated September 30, 2026 · TariffCue Editorial Team
Top phone plans with eSIM compared
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| # | Provider | Score | Key facts | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | bitel | Not rated |
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| 302 | Bmobile MY Prepaid Port In: One Month Free Service: One month free service incl 150GB and 450 mins | Not rated |
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| 303 | Cell C | Not rated |
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| 304 | Cellfie Mobile | Not rated |
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| 305 | Claro Argentina | Not rated |
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| 306 | Claro Colombia | Not rated |
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| 307 | Claro Costa Rica | Not rated |
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| 308 | Claro Dominicana | Not rated |
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| 309 | Claro Ecuador | Not rated |
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| 310 | Claro Guatemala | Not rated |
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About Top phone plans with eSIM compared
An eSIM phone plan is only worth having if the cost at entry, the cost when the term renews and the place it runs all suit you. This ranking covers phone plans that support an eSIM, drawn from 355 brands, and it is aimed at readers weighing a prepaid bundle sold in a single home market against a rolling contract in another. Every member here supports an eSIM, so the differences sit elsewhere. The lowest entry price in the ranking is €0, the median is €6.99, and unlimited plans centre on €22.56. Most offers run month to month, though a few bind for longer, and that is where a fixed renewal figure matters more than the headline. Coverage is the other axis. Nearly every brand here sells in a single home market, so the roaming terms decide whether the plan works abroad, and the data cap decides whether it works hard at home. Add next-generation data, rollover, hotspot sharing, wifi calling and the number of ways to reach help, and the trade-off comes down to this: a cheap month is easy to find, a cheap month that keeps the same price at renewal is not.
How we picked
Each plan was scored on three weighted measures. Cost carries the heaviest weight at 40%, followed closely by offer at 40%, with trust at 20% behind them. Cost looks at what a plan charges at entry and the price attached to unlimited data. Offer looks at the data allowance, the network generation, roaming treatment, rollover, hotspot sharing, wifi calling and the contract term attached. Trust looks at whether the seller is the network itself, a reseller or an MVNO, and how many ways there are to reach help. The figures come from each provider's own published plan, tariff and coverage pages, plus the roaming, terms and imprint pages where those are published separately. Every price, contract term, market and support channel here is taken from that material, and a limit is stated as the provider states it, without rounding it in the reader's favour. Promotional figures are always shown with the plan name attached, so a headline price is never read on its own. Where a brand also has a commercial relationship with the site, it is listed ahead of the rest; every other brand follows in score order.
How we rankWhat to look for
- Price at entry
- The lowest starting figure in this ranking is €0, the median is €6.99 and the upper quartile is €13.68. A low entry price rarely carries a large allowance, so read it with the data figure sitting next to it.
- The price of unlimited data
- Unlimited plans are priced on their own line. The median here is €22.56, the lower quartile is €14.13 and the top of the range is €100. Unlimited is worth paying for only if the allowance gets used.
- Contract length and the renewal price
- Short terms dominate this category: 83.6% of the offers tracked here run month to month, against 26.6% on a yearly term and 33.9% on a longer one. A shorter term leaves more room to change your mind if the price is wrong.
- Roaming treatment
- European roaming is included as standard on 37.9% of the plans here, fair use applies to 32.1%, and 30% charge for it. For most brands in this ranking the home coverage is a single market, so this line decides whether the plan works abroad.
- What the plan includes
- Next-generation data appears on 95.2% of the plans in this category and wifi calling on 98.1%. Data rollover is offered on 69.4%, so an allowance you do not finish may still be worth something.
- How you get help
- A help centre is offered on 91.3% of the plans here, phone support on 82%, chat on 63.8%, email on 47.5% and a community space on 9.3%. Wider support usually signals a larger operation behind the plan.
Frequently asked questions
Which of these plans start at the lowest cost?+
yesss! lists €0 on its pay-per-use SIMpure tariff, the lowest entry figure in this ranking, and Lonestar Cell MTN starts at $0.20 for a prepaid bundle. Plans with a real monthly allowance sit a little higher: Smart Axiata at $1.50, cellcard at $1 and Alfa at $1.50.
Which members sell unlimited data?+
Unlimited tariffs are rare in this ranking. The figure behind Movistar El Salvador's lowest-unlimited-price label is $1.50, and Astound's unlimited plan sits at $30. Elsewhere the ceiling is a large finite bundle: yesss! tops out at SIMple XL and congstar's Allnet range ends at Allnet Flat L. Compare the unlimited figure with the largest capped plan before deciding, since the gap is wide.
Do any of these keep the same price at renewal?+
congstar's terms are the clearest: No price rise - price stays as agreed. Astound locks its rate while the service is kept, and states that other promotions run for a set period before regular rates apply. Several members here sell prepaid billing, where a bundle simply expires and no renewal figure can rise, and the brands on a yearly or longer contract hold the agreed price for the term.
Do these plans work outside the home country?+
Each of these brands sells in a single home market, so travel depends on the roaming terms. congstar includes European roaming as included, and yesss! and Bouygues Telecom run on fair use and fair use terms. The rest, including Lonestar Cell MTN and cellcard, use paid terms, with listed country counts of 170 countries and 20 countries.
Do any of these need a credit check?+
Astound and Movistar El Salvador require a credit check before the line is activated, which matters most on the long contracts. A credit check is not part of the prepaid sign-up described by Lonestar Cell MTN, Smart Axiata and cellcard, so the extra step does not apply there. Both of the brands that do run a check also offer contract terms, which is where a credit file bites hardest.
Which of these offers a multi-line discount?+
Astound, Bouygues Telecom and congstar offer a multi-line discount, so a second line costs less than a first. Support breadth tends to follow a similar pattern: congstar answers on chat, phone and help centre, and Bouygues Telecom on phone, help centre and community, while cellcard works on chat and help centre and Virgin Mobile Mexico on chat, phone and email. Adding a line is a common reason to stay, so the discount is worth checking early.
Top phone plans with eSIM compared by country
The data behind this ranking
| Metric | Value | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Seller type: network | 71.6 % | 341 |
| Seller type: mvno | 26.7 % | 341 |
| Seller type: reseller | 1.8 % | 341 |
| Sim only: true | 99.7 % | 340 |
| Sim only: false | 0.3 % | 340 |
| Billing: contract | 61.1 % | 352 |
| Billing: rolling | 42.9 % | 352 |
| Billing: prepaid | 82.4 % | 352 |
| Median price from | 6.99 EUR | 222 |
| Lower quartile price from | 3.41 EUR | 222 |