United Kingdom eSIM
Prepaid data for visiting United Kingdom. Set it up before you fly and it switches on when you land, and your own number keeps working for calls and texts.
- From
- $3.40
- Networks
- 8
- Shortest plan
- 3 days
Choose your plan
United Kingdom
Savings compare a plan against buying the same data as 1 GB plans at our own price. The struck-through figure is that arithmetic, not a price we ever charged.
What happens next
We set the eSIM up straight away and show you how to add it to this phone. It takes about a minute, and nothing switches on until you land. Charged in US dollars, and nothing renews on its own.
Works on most phones sold since 2018. It will not work on a handset locked to a carrier, so check that first if you have never used an eSIM on it.
Going to more than United Kingdom?
One eSIM covers the whole region, so you do not buy a new one at each border.
Why get your United Kingdom data here
No app to install
Everything runs in the browser, so there is nothing to download before you fly and nothing left on your phone afterwards. Buying and installing happen on the page you are reading.
One eSIM you keep
The profile stays on your phone between trips. Next time you top the same eSIM up instead of installing a new one, which is two taps and no QR code.
Your own number keeps working
It is a second line, not a replacement. Your SIM stays in the phone, so calls and texts to the number people already have for you keep arriving in United Kingdom.
Calls from the same balance
The credit that buys data also rings any phone number in the world. A United Kingdom number starts at $0.05/min, from the browser. See the rates.
The price on the button is the price you pay
One payment in US dollars. No subscription, no auto-renewal, no activation fee and no conversion added at the end.
Refunded if it never connects
If the profile never reaches a network in United Kingdom, you get your money back. A plan that never worked is not something to argue about.
What you are buying
- Prepaid data from $3.40, paid once. No subscription and nothing renews on its own.
- Roams across 8 networks in United Kingdom and uses whichever is strongest where you are.
- Install before you fly. It takes about a minute and nothing starts counting down until you land.
- Your own SIM stays in the phone, so calls and texts keep arriving on the number people already have for you.
A prepaid data plan for visiting United Kingdom, sold as an eSIM you install on the phone you already own. Sizes run 1 GB to 30 GB, over 3 to 90 days, and the same allowance costs less over a shorter window.
It carries data and nothing else, which is true of every travel eSIM sold by anyone. It does not replace your SIM and it does not take your number away: you keep both, and the eSIM sits alongside them carrying anything that needs the internet. When the data runs out nothing is charged automatically. You top the same eSIM up and it starts working again, with nothing to reinstall.
- Device compatibility
- Any eSIM-capable phone that is not locked to a carrier. Most sold since 2018 qualify. Check yours in ten seconds.
- Plan activation
- Automatic when you arrive, once the eSIM is switched on in your phone's settings with roaming enabled for that line.
- Delivery
- Instant. One tap on the phone you bought it on, or a QR code if you are installing onto a different device.
- Plan duration
- 3 to 90 days, counted from activation rather than purchase.
- Data plans
- 1 GB to 30 GB.
- Networks
- 8 in United Kingdom. It roams between them rather than joining one.
- Speed
- Whatever the local network provides where you are standing. We do not publish a figure we cannot stand behind.
- Hotspot
- Allowed. Tethering comes out of the same allowance rather than a separate one.
- SMS
- Not included. It is a data plan, so texts keep arriving on your own SIM as usual.
- Calls
- Not on the eSIM itself, which is data only. The same balance calls any number in the world from the browser, and United Kingdom starts at $0.05/min.
- Running out
- Top up the same eSIM from your account. Nothing to reinstall, because the profile is already on your phone.
- Billing
- Charged once in US dollars. No subscription, no auto-renewal and no activation fee.
Still deciding?
United Kingdom eSIM questions
How much is an eSIM for United Kingdom?
Plans start at $3.40 for 1 GB over 3 days and go up to $29.90 for 30 GB over 90 days, 17 plans across 6 sizes. The best value works out at $0.93 a gigabyte, and the same amount of data costs less over a shorter trip. You pay once. Nothing renews on its own and there is no subscription behind it.
How do I get an eSIM for United Kingdom?
Pick a plan on this page and pay. We set it up straight away and show you how to add it to your phone, which takes about a minute and is one tap on the device you bought it on, or a QR code if you are installing onto a different one. Do it before you fly, while you still have wifi. Nothing switches on and nothing starts counting down until you land and turn it on.
Do I need an eSIM for United Kingdom?
No. Your own carrier will roam in United Kingdom and your phone will work the moment you land. Whether that is worth it comes down to what they charge you for it. AT&T publish $2.05 a megabyte as their pay-per-use rate, checked against their own page on 18 August 2026, which is $2,050.00 for a gigabyte against $0.93 here. Pay-per-use is the worst case and a travel pass from your carrier costs far less than that, so check your own plan before you assume either way.
Does the United Kingdom eSIM come with a phone number?
No, and your own number is the reason you probably do not need one. This is a data plan, so it adds internet to your phone and changes nothing else: your usual SIM stays put and keeps taking calls and texts on the number people already have for you. We do not issue United Kingdom numbers. What we do have, and no other eSIM seller does, is the other half: the same balance that bought this data calls any phone number in the world at published per-minute rates, and you can rent a US or Canadian number that rings in your browser wherever you happen to be.
How much data do I need for United Kingdom?
Less than you think, because at home most of what you use runs over wifi and you never see it. Maps and messaging is roughly 250 MB a day, adding social and photos roughly 600 MB, and video or working off a tethered laptop roughly 1.8 GB. A week of ordinary sightseeing lands near 5 GB. If you would rather not do the arithmetic, the helper under the plans asks two questions and picks for you.
Which networks does it use in United Kingdom?
It can connect to 8 networks in United Kingdom and picks whichever is strongest where you are standing, the same way roaming does. You do not choose one and there is nothing to configure.
Is this a prepaid tourist SIM for United Kingdom?
Prepaid, yes: you pay once, up front, and nothing renews or bills you later. A tourist SIM in the usual sense, no, and the difference matters. A local tourist SIM is a card you buy at an airport counter or a phone shop when you arrive, and it usually comes with a local number. This is a travel eSIM: it installs before you fly, it roams on United Kingdom's networks, it carries data only, and it leaves your own number working rather than replacing it.
Can I use it as a hotspot?
Yes. Tethering works normally, so a laptop or a travel companion's phone can share it, and it comes out of the same allowance rather than a separate one. Video and hotspot use is the fastest way through a plan, so size up if that is the trip.
What happens when the data runs out?
The connection stops and nothing is charged automatically. You top the same eSIM up from your account and it starts working again, with nothing to reinstall, because the profile is already in your phone. That is also why the second trip is easier than the first: the eSIM stays where it is and you are just adding data to it.