Best travel sims for cheap roaming abroad
Money Talk is intended to inform and educate; it's not financial advice. Affiliate links, including from Amazon, are used to help fund it. If you make a purchase via a link marked with an *, Money Talk might receive a commission at no cost to you. Find out more here.
Back in the summer of 2021, all four of the UK’s main mobile network providers updated their roaming policies in response to Brexit.
For Vodafone* and EE* that meant additional per diem charges – unless you’re on a premium contract – while O2* and Three* introduced usage caps.
Three has also since introduced new per diem charges, following in the footsteps of its competitors.
In my day job as a travel writer, having free roaming is incredibly helpful for keeping up with emails and assignments on the go, and even occasionally writing Money Talk.
I’ve been with ID mobile* for years because it’s cheap and gives me free EU roaming but its coverage is by no means comprehensive.
In some corners of the world, I found it wouldn’t even connect to the local network.
With all that in mind, I wanted to explore some of the cheaper alternatives to the usual suspects and share the best travel sims you should consider.
Why Brexit affects roaming
First, a bit of background on why Brexit has affected roaming charges.
As anyone who has used their phone abroad will know, roaming charges used to be hideously expensive.
But on 15 June 2017, the EU passed the Roaming Regulation, which established something that became known as the “Roam Like At Home” scheme.
It meant that mobile network providers within the EU were banned from applying roaming surcharges within the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) countries.
The EU countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
And the European Economic Area countries are: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway.
When the UK was still in the EU, you could use any minutes, texts or data that’s included in your plan in any of those countries as you would at home without any surcharges, subject to fair usage policies.
The benefits of the scheme have been so welcomed that the EU has just extended it until 2032.
But since the UK is no longer in the EU, there’s nothing to stop mobile network providers from reintroducing those charges – as some of them have.
Roaming outside of Europe
As you’ve probably gathered, the “Roam Like At Home” scheme only applies to a handful of European countries.
There’s no legislation covering roaming charges outside of Europe – or even in Switzerland – so they can be and often are still extortionate.
Three was one of the early mobile network providers to offer affordable roaming outside of Europe but it’s since been matched (and surpassed) by Vodafone and O2.
Of course, now that prices are going up, finding an affordable plan in far flung destinations may become much harder.
Best travel sims for roaming
The good news is, while all four major UK mobile network providers have put up their roaming charges, there are plenty of others who have kept it free.
Even better: some of them start from just £5 a month – and you can cancel any time after the first 30 days.
It’s worth bearing in mind though that the list of destinations covered under free roaming plans vary from provider to provider.
Most will cover EU and EEA countries as standard but if you’re going further afield (or to Switzerland), it might be worth double checking you’re covered before you go.
This is especially true when it comes to islands and overseas departments of countries such as France – Reunion or Martinique, for example.
The list below only includes the options under £10.
- Asda Mobile* – £5 a month for 3GB data and unlimited minutes and texts. Can cancel after the first 30 days. Roaming in 46 destinations, including EU and EEA countries, up to a 5GB cap.
- Lebara* – £5 a month for 3GB data and 1,000 minutes and 1,000 texts, plus 100 international minutes. Can cancel after the first 30 days. Roaming in 42 destinations including EU and EEA countries as well as India and China (the list of countries may vary depending on where you get your sim), up to a 30GB cap.
- iD Mobile* (only via Carphone Warehouse* rather than direct) – £6 a month for 10GB data and unlimited minutes and texts. Can cancel after the first 30 days. Roaming in 50 destinations including EU and EEA countries.
- Smarty* – £6 a month for 5GB data and unlimited minutes and texts. Can cancel after the first 30 days. Roaming in 43 destinations including EU and EEA countries.
- Tesco Mobile* – £7.50 a month for 2GB data and unlimited minutes and texts. Cancel after 12 months. Roaming in 48 destinations including EU and EEA countries. You also get Clubcard points and can use your Clubcard vouchers to offset your contract.
- giffgaff* – £8 a month for 6GB data and unlimited minutes and texts. Can cancel after the first 30 days. Roaming in 50 destinations including EU and EEA countries.
Alternative travel sims
As you’ve probably gathered, most of the mobile network providers and travel sims offer free roaming in EU and EEA countries, but rarely for destinations beyond.
So what if you wanted to visit somewhere like Vietnam or Thailand?
Well, if you’re keen to use your regular sim card for this, Lebara is the best travel sim in this case.
It allows you to buy an eight or 15-day roaming add on* for £10 and £20 respectively.
This means you’ll get roaming in an additional 55 countries, including many in South America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
It is by no means comprehensive though.
You have two alternative options here.
You can buy a local sim once in destination, which can in some cases work out significantly cheaper.
Alternatively you can buy a travel esim, sometimes known as an international sim card, such as Airalo* or Saily*.
I’ve personally used Airalo for shorter trips, and would definitely recommend it.
For longer trips, ones that last several weeks, I’ve found that it’s much cheaper to get a local sim.
Read this: Best debit and credit cards for travel
This post was originally published in May 2022. It was updated in January 2025.