This entry is intended to be a sub-article for the United States article but has been written as a separate article, given that that is how other US mobile networks are treated.
Although the US has some of the world's most expensive data on earth at $6.00 per GB on average with only Switzerland beating it amongst OECD countries, many international providers offer much cheaper prepaid alternatives. Many of these will come in the form of an eSIM, which can be purchased and set-up before arrival in the US. Thus, one will not only save money, but also time finding deals. This page will provide you a sample of the alternative eSIM plans one can avail for the US (although there are regional plans that may include Canada and other countries, we focus here on national-only plans). However, you need to ensure your device is eSIM compatible.
The other major consideration with these international eSIM is that in the US, many of them do not include the abilities to make/receive phone calls and SMS. Although there are VOIP alternatives (e.g. via Viber or Skype) to allow you to make landline and mobile calls for a low cost, others may find it difficult to contact you by phone, and some websites and apps you want to use in the US may require you to give a US phone number.
Airalo[]
These are the normal prices and occasionally, sales may happen.
| Price(in US$) | Data(in GB) | Duration(in days) | Network | 5G? | Calls | SMS | Effective cost(in US$ per GB*) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.50 | 1 | 7 | T-Mobile, Verizon | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | 4.50 |
| 8.00 | 2 | 15 | 4.00 | ||||
| 11.00 | 3 | 30 | 3.67 | ||||
| 16.00 | 5 | 3.20 | |||||
| 26.00 | 10 | 2.60 | |||||
| 42.00 | 20 | 2.10 |
Breeze[]
Breeze is a provider based out of the UK owned by eSIM Go. They offer data connectivity in over 190 countries boasting superior connectivity as they only work with Tier 1 Networks.
| Price(in US$) | DATA(in GB) | Duration(in days) | NETWORK | 5G? | Calls(in minutes) | SMS | Effective cost(in US$ per GB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.00 | 1 | 7 | AT&T, Verizon | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | 3.00 |
| 4.00 | 2 | 15 | 2.00 | ||||
| 5.00 | 3 | 30 | 1.67 | ||||
| 7.50 | 5 | 1.5 | |||||
| 12.00 | 10 | 1.2 | |||||
| 22.00 | 20 | 1.1 | |||||
| 48 | 50 | 0.96 |
Website: www.breezesim.com
Ubigi[]
| Price(in US$) | Data | Duration(in days) | Network | 5G? | Calls | SMS | Effective cost(in US$ per GB*) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.90 | 500 MB | 1 | T-Mobile | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | 5.80 |
| 4.00 | 1 GB | 7 | 4.00 | ||||
| 8.00 | 3 GB | 30 | 2.67 | ||||
| 9.00 | 5 GB | 30
(minimum 3 months) |
1.80 | ||||
| 19.00 | 10 GB | 30 | 1.90 | ||||
| 19.00 | 20 GB | 30
(minimum 3 months) |
0.95 | ||||
| 44.00 | 24 GB
(2 GB/month) |
365 | 1.83 | ||||
| 69.00 | 50 GB | 30 | 1.38 | ||||
| 78.00 | 60 GB
(5 GB/month) |
365 | 1.30 |
*for computing effective cost, 1GB = 1000MB
GoMoWorld[]
| Price(in €) | DATA(in GB) | Duration(in days) | 5G? | Calls(in minutes) | SMS | Effective cost(in € per GB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.99 | 1 | 7 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | 3.99 |
| ❌ | 0.50 | |||||
| 19.99 | 15 | 30 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | 0.40 |
Nomad[]
| Price(in US$) | DATA(in GB) | Duration(in days) | NETWORK | 5G? | Calls(in minutes) | SMS | Effective cost(in US$ per GB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.00 | 1 | 7 | T-Mobile | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | 6.00 |
| 7.00 | 1 | 7 | AT&T, Verizon | ❌ | 7.00 | ||
| 11.00 | 3 | 30 | 3.67 | ||||
| 14.00 | 5 | 30 | 2.80 | ||||
| 24.00 | 10 | 20 | 2.40 | ||||
| 32.00 | 20 | 30 | 1.60 |
RedteaGO[]
| Price(in US$) | DATA(in GB) | Duration(in days) | NETWORK | 5G? | Calls(in minutes) | SMS | Effective cost(in US$ per GB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.00 | 1 | 15 | AT&T, T-Mobile | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | 3.00 |
| 13.49 | 5 | 60 | 2.70 | ||||
| 22.50 | 10 | 60 | 2.25 | ||||
| 30.00 | 20 | 90 | 1.50 | ||||
| 9.00 | 3 | 20 | 40 (local)
5 (roaming) 20 (incoming) |
60 | 3.00 |
maya mobile[]
maya mobile allows users to choose the amount of data they wish (3, 5, 10, or 20 GB, as well as "unlimited" plans with daily fair usage data of 2, 3, or 5 GB high speed data) and the duration. All plans include 5G and users can choose to roam on the T-Mobile or AT&T network.
| DATA (in GB) | 5 days | 10 days | 15 days | 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| 5 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 10 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 21 |
| 20 | 24 | 27 | 29 | 29 |
| unlimited (FUP: 2GB/day high speed) | 19 | 34 | 48 | 59 |
| unlimited (FUP: 3GB/day high speed) | 29 | 47 | 66 | 88 |
| unlimited (FUP: 5GB/day high speed) | 39 | 59 | 86 | 119 |
CMLink by China Mobile HK[]
CMLink is based out of Hong Kong. In here you can choose the amount of high-speed data per day (500 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB) and duration (7, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30 days). If daily high-speed data is used up, your speeds will throttle to 128 kbps until the next day of the plan (1 day = 24 hours). Some days also have a set amount of high-speed data that can be used anytime during the chosen duration. You can select AT&T or T-Mobile for your network. You can choose to be charged in HK$, US$, or Chinese Yuan. Prices are displayed in US$ but may fluctuate slightly.
| AMOUNT OF DATA | 7 days | 10 days | 12 days | 15 days | 20 days | 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 GB anytime | n/a | n/a | n/a | 11.85 | n/a | n/a |
| 10 GB anytime | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 22.29 |
| 20 GB anytime | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 40.76 |
| 30 GB anytime | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 57.32 |
| Unlimited with 500 MB/day high speed | 10.32 | 14.78 | 17.83 | 19.24 | 25.22 | 35.80 |
| Unlimited with 1 GB/day high speed | 15.48 | 22.17 | 26.75 | 28.85 | 37.83 | 53.69 |
| Unlimited with 2 GB/day high speed | 23.22 | 33.25 | 40.13 | 43.29 | 56.75 | 80.55 |
Holafly[]
Holafly offers unlimited internet for the US, although local networks may impose a fair use policy data of 3 GB per day, after which data will be throttled until the next day in the plan.
| Price(in US$) | Duration(in days) | 5G? | Calls(in minutes) | SMS | Effective cost(in US$ per GB*) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 5 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | 1.27 |
| 27 | 7 | 1.29 | |||
| 34 | 10 | 1.13 | |||
| 47 | 15 | 1.04 | |||
| 54 | 20 | 0.90 | |||
| 64 | 30 | 0.71 | |||
| 87 | 60 | 1.45 | |||
| 99 | 90 | 0.37 |
*based on a 3GB per day expected fair use policy