United Kingdom eSIM

Which plan fits a UK trip

Plans for the UK are regional Europe plans. One eSIM covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland together with 29 other countries, and your data allowance is shared across all of them, so a trip that takes the Eurostar to Paris or a ferry to Dublin needs no second install. The plan cards above show what is available:

• Daily data suits city breaks and rail trips with steady use every day.
• Unlimited suits heavy users and remote work. A fair-use policy applies; the plan details say how.
• A one-day plan covers a stopover or a single day.

See fixed, daily or unlimited for how each type behaves, and eSIM for Europe for which countries a Europe plan does and does not include.

Coverage across the UK

Coverage is strong in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and the other cities, and along the main rail lines. Large parts of the London Underground now have mobile service, but not every line and station yet. Signal is thinner in the Scottish Highlands and islands, in parts of Wales, the Lake District and the moors, and on some rural rail lines. Download offline maps before a road trip or a hike.

Before you travel: the ETA

Most visitors to the UK, EU citizens included, now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation before they travel. Our guide to entering Europe in 2026 explains who needs one and how to apply.

Arriving at the airport

Install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi a day or two before you fly. When you land at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester or Edinburgh, turn on data roaming for the eSIM line only and keep it off on your usual SIM. You can then check the train or Tube into town, book a taxi or message your hotel from the arrivals hall.

How much data do you need?

Most visitors use about 1 GB a day for maps, messaging, photos and booking trains and tickets. Video calls, streaming and sharing your connection with a laptop push that up quickly. For a long stay with remote work, look at the unlimited plans.

eSIM or roaming?

Since Brexit, EU mobile plans no longer roam in the UK at home rates by law, and several EU carriers charge extra for it, so check your own plan before you go. Travelers from the US, Canada, Australia and most of Asia usually pay their carrier's roaming fees: see travel eSIM vs international roaming.

How our UK plans compare

Start from how much data you use in a day, then compare what the whole trip costs. On unlimited plans, check how much you get at full speed each day: that is where providers differ most. Our own prices are on the plan cards above, always current.

Provider	One week	Two weeks	What to know
eSIM Lounge	1.5 GB a day, or unlimited	1.5 GB a day for 15 days, or unlimited	Prices on the plan cards above. Unlimited keeps full speed for the first 5 GB each day.
Airalo	5 GB: $12.00. 10 GB: $18.00. Unlimited: $27.00	10 GB: $18.50. 20 GB: $30.00. Unlimited: $48.00	The UK plans cover the UK only, and unlimited slows to 1 Mbps after a daily allowance. Its EU and UK plan costs less for unlimited ($23.50 a week, $39.00 for 15 days).
Holafly	Unlimited: $27.50	Unlimited for 15 days: $51.50	Unlimited only, UK only: Europe is a separate eSIM. Speed can be reduced under a fair-use policy with no published daily threshold, and hotspot sharing is capped at 1 GB a day.
Nomad	Unlimited: $25.00. 10 GB for 30 days: $17.50	20 GB for 30 days: $25.00. Unlimited for 10 days: $33.00	Unlimited gives 2 GB a day at full speed. No 15 day unlimited plan: after 10 days the next step is 30 days at $49.00. The UK plans cover the UK only.
Saily	Unlimited: $28.99. 10 GB for 30 days: $18.99	Unlimited for 15 days: $48.99. 20 GB for 30 days: $30.99	Unlimited keeps full speed for 5 GB a day, then 1 Mbps. Its Europe plans cost about the same as the UK ones. Ad blocking and web protection are built into the app.

Which to pick:

• A week of steady use: our 1.5 GB a day plan gives 10.5 GB over the week. When we checked, none of the four sold 10 GB for less: Nomad charged $17.50, Airalo $18.00 and Saily $18.99. If 3 GB is enough for the whole week, Saily's $8.99 plan and Airalo's and Nomad's $9.00 plans cost less than ours.
• Two weeks: our 15 day plan gives 22.5 GB, and when we checked it cost less than every 20 GB plan we found (Nomad $25.00, Airalo $30.00, Saily $30.99). If 10 GB is enough for the whole trip, Nomad ($17.50), Airalo ($18.50) and Saily ($18.99) cost less than ours.
• A week of unlimited: when we checked, ours cost less than all four, and it keeps full speed for 5 GB a day, as Saily does, against 2 GB on Nomad. The cheapest competitor was Airalo's EU and UK plan at $23.50.
• Two weeks of unlimited: ours again cost less than all four. Airalo's EU and UK plan at $39.00 was the next cheapest. Nomad has no 15 day unlimited plan.
• Going on to Paris or Dublin: our plans already cover both. Holafly's and Nomad's UK plans stop at the border, so you would buy a second eSIM; Airalo's EU and UK plan and Saily's Europe plans cover both.

Competitor prices checked on 10 October 2026 in US dollars, on each provider's site or, where it would not load or show US dollars, on esimDB. They change often.