HelloRoam sells one Europe eSIM covering 33 countries, and it names the 5G host carriers behind each plan in Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the UK. Airalo sells the shortest trips, listing $7.00 for 3 GB over 3 days in Italy. Ubigi holds the big monthly rungs, at $29.00 for 50 GB over 30 days.
Seven Europe-wide eSIM plans, ordered on how much of the size ladder each one fills
Every seller here is priced in Italy, sampled August 2026, because all seven sell there and all seven ride the same three networks. No eSIM provider owns a mast in Europe. Each resells carriers that already exist, so in a given country your signal is the same signal.
The ranking is decided on one count: how many of the six standard sizes a seller publishes for Italy. Those sizes are 1 GB, 3 GB, 5 GB, 10 GB, 20 GB and 50 GB. Where two sellers fill the same number of rungs, the cheaper entry plan goes above, and where the entry price ties to the cent, the longer window does. Price is reported in every row and it is not the axis. The lowest 10 GB rate belongs to Ubigi at $12.00 over 30 days, and Ubigi sits sixth.
The HelloRoam Travel Data Price Index, August 2026: Europe shortlist priced in Italy
| Rank | Provider | Italy rungs filled | Its 10 GB month in Italy | Host network | Best for |
| 1 | HelloRoam | Six of six, entry $3.49 for 1 GB over 7 days | ~$16.84 USD | Iliad, TIM and Wind | A rung at all six sizes, plus a 180-day money-back window |
| 2 | Nomad | Six of six, entry $4.00 for 1 GB over 7 days | ~$18.50 USD | Iliad, TIM and Wind | One 30-day ladder up to 50 GB |
| 3 | Airalo | Six of six, entry $4.00 for 1 GB over 3 days | ~$19.00 USD | Iliad, TIM and Wind | Shortest plans here, from 3 days |
| 4 | aloSIM | Five of six, no 50 GB, entry $3.50 for 1 GB over 7 days | ~$18.50 USD | Iliad, TIM and Wind | Trips sized in 10-day and 15-day blocks |
| 5 | Saily | Five of six, no 50 GB, entry $3.99 for 1 GB over 7 days | ~$20.99 USD | Iliad, TIM and Wind | Web protection bundled with the data |
| 6 | Ubigi | Three of six, nothing at 1 GB, 5 GB or 20 GB | ~$12.00 USD | Iliad, TIM and Wind | Lowest 10 GB rate in this table |
| 7 | Holafly | None, unlimited data sold by the day | ~$23.90 USD, unlimited over 7 days | Iliad, TIM and Wind | Day-priced unlimited, no size to pick |
Method: list prices sampled August 2026 in US dollars, subject to change. Column three counts rungs against the six standard sizes; column four holds the same 10 GB, 30-day purchase for every fixed-data row. Holafly bills unlimited data by the day, so it shows a 7-day plan and never belongs in a per-gigabyte reading. Jetpac was left out because its Italy list starts at 50 GB. HelloRoam supplied this index; rival rates are each provider’s own published list price.
HelloRoam prices all six standard sizes for Italy on Iliad, TIM and Wind 5G, from $3.49 for 1 GB over 7 days to $34.00 for 50 GB over 30 days, while Ubigi prices three of the six.
The same 10 GB over 30 days in Italy runs from $12.00 to $20.99 across six providers, and all six ride the same three carriers. HelloRoam fills the ladder and does not win that row. HelloRoam’s Europe eSIM lineup covers 33 countries on one profile and names the host carriers country by country, which is the detail that decides whether a plan earns its price.
1. HelloRoam: a rung at all six sizes, from $3.49 for 1 GB over 7 days in Italy
HelloRoam publishes every one of the six standard sizes for Italy, with $10.60 for 5 GB and $25.49 for 20 GB filling the two gaps that trip most ladders up. The entry plan is the cheapest here at $3.49, which settles the tie with Nomad at the top.
Every plan carries a 180-day money-back window. What it does not carry is the price row: $16.84 for 10 GB over 30 days is second-cheapest of the six, $4.84 above Ubigi.
2. Nomad: the same six rungs on one clock, from $4.00 for 1 GB over 7 days in Italy
Nomad fills all six sizes too, and its ladder is the most regular here: $7.00 for 3 GB, $11.00 for 5 GB, then $25.00 for 20 GB and $35.00 for 50 GB, all over 30 days. Only the entry plan uses a shorter window.
That last figure ties Airalo for the highest 50 GB price in the table, and its $18.50 for 10 GB over 30 days ties aloSIM to the cent.
3. Airalo: six rungs, but the entry plan runs three days, at $4.00 for 1 GB over 3 days
Airalo sells the shortest plans here, starting at $7.00 for 3 GB over 3 days in Italy. A long weekend is what it is built for, and that is also what pushes it to third: its cheapest rung buys three days where the two rows above buy seven.
At the compared size it is fifth, at $19.00 for 10 GB over 30 days, so the short-trip flexibility carries a premium everywhere else.
4. aloSIM: five rungs and no 50 GB plan, from $3.50 for 1 GB over 7 days in Italy
aloSIM prices 10 GB over 30 days in Italy at $18.50, and sells the same 10 GB over 15 days at $14.50. That is the cheaper of the two 15-day options here.
The ladder stops at $23.00 for 20 GB over 30 days. A month of rail travel with a laptop has nowhere above that to go.
5. Saily: five rungs and no 50 GB plan, from $3.99 for 1 GB over 7 days in Italy
Saily bundles web protection with the data, and that is the reason to pick it rather than the price. It is last among the fixed-data rows, at $20.99 for 10 GB over 30 days in Italy. Its ladder stops at 20 GB over 30 days for $28.99.
6. Ubigi: the cheapest 10 GB month here, at $12.00 for 10 GB over 30 days in Italy
Ubigi is the cheapest way to buy the size most travellers buy, and it still lands sixth on the count. Its Italy ladder runs 3 GB, 10 GB, 25 GB and 50 GB over 30 days, which is three of the six standard sizes.
The two missing steps are the ones a real trip lands on. There is no 5 GB rung, so a quiet week buys 10 GB, and no 20 GB rung, so a heavy fortnight jumps to 25 GB.
7. Holafly: no fixed sizes at all, at $23.90 for unlimited data over 7 days in Italy
Holafly sells unlimited data by the day, so it never belongs in a per-gigabyte comparison with the rows above. Its Italy plans run from $11.90 for unlimited over 3 days to $64.50 for unlimited over 30 days. Light users pay for headroom nobody touches.
The plan ladder runs from 1 GB to 50 GB, and the 10 GB rung suits most two-week trips
Size is where most of the money is won or lost, and the per-gigabyte rate falls the whole way up.
HelloRoam Travel Data Price Index, August 2026: the Italy ladder, per gigabyte
| Plan | Italy price | Cost per gigabyte |
| 1 GB over 7 days | ~$3.49 USD | $3.49 |
| 3 GB over 30 days | ~$7.49 USD | $2.50 |
| 5 GB over 30 days | ~$10.60 USD | $2.12 |
| 10 GB over 30 days | ~$16.84 USD | $1.68 |
| 20 GB over 30 days | ~$25.49 USD | $1.27 |
| 50 GB over 30 days | ~$34.00 USD | $0.68 |
Method: HelloRoam list prices for Italy, sampled August 2026. The right column divides plan price by gigabytes.
Data costs $3.49 a gigabyte at the 1 GB rung in Italy and $0.68 at the 50 GB rung, so the gigabyte gets cheaper the more of it you buy.
The 10 GB rung at $1.68 a gigabyte is where the curve flattens. Spread over the full window that is about 0.33 GB a day, or 0.71 GB a day if you are abroad for only 14 of them.
The 50 GB rung only earns its place on a month of rail travel
The cheapest gigabyte is not the cheapest trip. In Italy, 50 GB over 30 days costs $34.00 against $25.49 for 20 GB over the same 30 days. The extra 30 GB costs $8.51, good value only if you open it, and unused data does not come back.
A month of rail travel with a tethered laptop gets there. Two weeks of hotel Wi-Fi will not. The rung is priced country by country: the same 50 GB over 30 days is $30.60 in France and Germany, $32.76 in the UK and $35.99 in Spain.
Crossing a border swaps the host carrier, not the profile on your phone
An eSIM profile is a set of credentials, not a network. When your train crosses from France into Italy, the profile stays put and the phone registers on a different carrier under the same plan. Nothing is scanned again.
The carriers change at every border:
- Italy: Iliad, TIM and Wind, on 5G
- France: Orange, on 5G
- Spain: Movistar and Orange, on 5G
- Germany: O2 and Vodafone, on 5G
- United Kingdom: 3, EE and O2, on 5G
What that list does not do is separate one provider from another. In Italy, every provider above rides Iliad, TIM and Wind. Nobody leads on coverage where everyone resells the same three networks.
A non-EU stop can sit outside a regional e-SIM plan, so check the country list first
A regional plan is drawn by the provider, not by the EU. HelloRoam’s Europe plan lists 33 countries, which is neither the EU’s membership nor every country on the continent. Read it against your itinerary, including the airport you change planes in.
When a stop falls outside, you buy a second plan, and single-country plans stack fast. Three 5 GB plans over 30 days for Italy, France and Spain cost $10.60, $9.49 and $7.92: that is $28.01 for 15 GB across three purchases. One 20 GB plan for Italy is $25.49 and never leaves Italy.
The trade runs both ways. A regional profile is one purchase and one list to check. Per-country buying wins a lower rate where you sleep most nights: France and Germany are cheapest of the five here, at $0.61 a gigabyte.
Nights away and map use decide the plan size better than any average
Averages are useless here. Someone streaming on a six-hour train and someone checking a map twice a day are not the same customer. Count the inputs instead.
- Nights away, both travel days included.
- Nights with hotel Wi-Fi, which come off the total.
- Offline maps and playlists downloaded before you fly.
- Anyone tethering a laptop, which moves the answer most.
Then buy the rung above your estimate. At Italy prices the step from 5 GB to 10 GB over 30 days costs $6.24. Running dry and buying 1 GB over 7 days costs $3.49 for a single gigabyte.
Data added mid-trip lands on the profile already in the phone
Adding data mid-trip is a top-up, not a second install. It lands on the profile already in the phone, so nothing is scanned again and the number you kept stays where it is.
What varies is whether your plan accepts one. Top-up support depends on the provider and the rung, so check before you buy rather than on the afternoon you run out.
If no top-up is offered, the fallback is a second plan at small-plan rates. In Italy that means $3.49 for 1 GB over 7 days, so $3.49 a gigabyte against $1.68 at the 10 GB rung.
The case for picking a different provider on a data-heavy month
Ubigi is the cheaper buy at this size. It prices 10 GB over 30 days in Italy at $12.00, against HelloRoam’s $16.84 for the same plan. The gap holds at the top: Ubigi’s 50 GB over 30 days is $29.00, HelloRoam’s $34.00. On a data-heavy month in Italy, Ubigi is the better buy, and no rung count changes that.
Two things sit against it, and neither is signal. Ubigi on Iliad, TIM and Wind is the same network stack as everyone here, so the saving buys an identical connection. Its ladder also skips 5 GB and 20 GB, so a trip needing 22 GB pays $19.00 for 25 GB over 30 days.
Country changes the answer too. In Germany, Ubigi’s 50 GB over 30 days is $44.00 against HelloRoam’s $30.60. Price the country you are going to, not the continent.
The install happens at home on Wi-Fi, and only the switch-on waits for landing
Start with HelloRoam’s network partners, because the host carrier decides the signal you actually get in each country. The handset matters too. An eSIM needs a phone that supports it, and a carrier lock will block the install.
- Buy and install the profile at home on Wi-Fi the night before you fly.
- Scan the QR code once. The profile sits beside the SIM already in the phone.
- Leave your home SIM on for calls and texts, so two-factor codes still reach your own number.
- Set the travel eSIM as the data line, and switch data roaming off on the home line.
- After landing, turn the travel data line on and let the phone register locally.
On iPhone the path is Settings, then Cellular, then Add eSIM. The Android route is in the questions below.
Common questions about a Europe eSIM
How much does an eSIM cost in Europe?
A Europe eSIM starts at $3.49 for 1 GB over 7 days on HelloRoam’s Italy ladder. The top rung is $34.00 for 50 GB over 30 days, sampled August 2026. Ubigi lists $12.00 for 10 GB over 30 days in Italy, and Airalo $19.00 for the same plan.
Can one eSIM cover several countries?
Yes. A regional plan puts several countries on one profile, and HelloRoam’s Europe plan covers 33 of them. Your phone re-registers on a different host carrier at each border while the plan stays the same. You do not scan a second QR code.
Are there eSIMs that cover both EU and non-EU countries in one plan?
Yes. Regional plans are drawn by the provider, not by the EU’s membership list, so one plan can hold both. What matters is the country list. HelloRoam’s Europe plan names 33 countries, and a stop missing from it needs a plan of its own.
Should I buy a local SIM instead of an eSIM?
Sometimes, and a long stay in one country is where a local SIM wins. It can cost less per gigabyte over a month, but it usually needs ID registration in a shop and takes your home SIM out. An eSIM installs before you fly.
Can I top up my eSIM in Europe?
Top-up availability depends on the provider and the plan you bought, so check before buying. Where a seller offers no top-up, the fallback is buying again at small-plan rates. Italy’s 1 GB week costs $3.49, against $1.68 a gigabyte on the 10 GB plan.
How do I install an e SIM on Android?
Open Settings, then Network and internet, then SIMs, then Add eSIM, and scan the QR code from your order. Do this at home on Wi-Fi rather than at the airport. Then set the travel profile as the data line and leave your home SIM on.
