By CheckeSIMRates · Published 19 October 2026 · Prices checked 19 October 2026, 06:40 UTC
Three months of travel data cost a median $23.05 in our price check on 19 October 2026 if you renew the cheapest 30-day plan with 10 GB each month, $56.12 for one plan of 90 days or longer with 30 GB or more, and $146.94 for unlimited data (130 destinations that sell all three). The cheapest route depends on which 30-day plan you renew: three 30-day Airalo plans cost a median $63.00, so one long plan was cheaper in most destinations. Few plans are long: only 8,868 of 63,828 plans (13.9%) last longer than 30 days.
These figures are list prices from one day’s check of single-country plans. They compare price, not network quality or speed, which we have not tested, and prices change daily, so use them to decide which options to compare, not to pick one provider.
Key findings
- Few long plans. 8,868 of 63,828 plans (13.9%) last longer than 30 days, and 7,358 of those are unlimited; 7,021 come from Holafly (19 October 2026).
- Only three long lengths. Beyond 89 days our data holds plans of exactly 90 days (734), 180 days (274) and 365 days (19).
- Few fixed-data choices. 1,510 plans (2.4% of all) are fixed-data plans longer than 30 days; 1,036 last 60 days or more.
- Same data, higher price on longer plans. In our data a 90-day 50 GB plan cost a median 1.55× the 30-day plan of the same size (133 destinations); a 180-day plan was cheaper than the 90-day one in 36 of 49.
- Renewing mostly wins with a low-price provider. Three 30-day plans were cheaper than one long plan in 143 of 145 destinations when we picked the cheapest each time, but in only 39 of 118 with Airalo and 31 of 115 with Saily.
- Holafly’s unlimited plans get cheaper with length. They cost a median $79.59 for 30 days and $48.98 per 30 days on the 90-day plan, about 38% less per day.
How long do travel eSIM plans last?
Most plans are short: 55% last 29 days or less, and a further 31.1% last exactly 30 days. Above that the choice narrows quickly. Plans of 31 to 89 days (7,841) come from 15 providers, and 6,904 of them (88%) are Holafly’s unlimited plans, sold for every length in that range. After 89 days our data has only three lengths: 90, 180 and 365 days.
In terms of coverage, 184 of 221 destinations have a single-country plan of 90 days or longer (169 with unlimited data, 145 with fixed data), and 75 have a fixed-data plan of 180 days. In total 1,036 fixed-data plans last 60 days or more, from 15 providers.
Is one 90-day eSIM cheaper than three 30-day eSIMs?
Usually not if you pick the cheapest 30-day plan each time, but often yes if you renew with one well-known provider. We took a stay of three months at 10 GB a month, so 30 GB in total, and compared three ways to cover it in the 130 destinations that sell all of them.
The result depends on whose 30-day plan you renew. The cheapest 10 GB, 30-day plan came from Yatelo, Global YO and GoMoWorld in 162 of 217 destinations. Renewing with one provider instead changes the answer:
| Three 30-day plans (10 GB or more each) from | Destinations compared | Median for three months | Median for the cheapest plan of 90+ days with 30 GB or more, same destinations | Renewing is cheaper in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The cheapest provider in each destination | 145 | $26.40 | $58.10 | 143 of 145 |
| eSIMCard only | 144 | $62.92 | $57.46 | 94 of 144 |
| SimAbove only | 143 | $65.67 | $56.82 | 56 of 143 |
| Saily only | 115 | $69.00 | $49.00 | 31 of 115 |
| Airalo only | 118 | $63.00 | $49.20 | 39 of 118 |
The long plan is the cheapest 90-, 180- or 365-day plan with at least 30 GB from any provider, because Airalo sells no single-country plan that long. Mexico ($47.71 for one plan against $47.94 for three) and Anguilla were the only two destinations where one long plan beat the cheapest renewals.
Longer validity also does not buy a lower price per gigabyte. For the same destinations, the cheapest plan of 90 days or longer with 20 GB or more had a median price of $0.95 per GB, against $0.47 for the cheapest 30-day plan with 10 GB or more, and it was cheaper per GB in only 28 of 145 destinations. The gap narrows at six months: renewing the cheapest 30-day plan six times cost a median $35.94 against $40.59 for one 180-day plan of 50 GB or more, and the long plan was cheaper in 10 of 74 destinations. At 30 GB a month, three renewals cost $67.32 against $84.75 for a 90-day plan of 90 GB or more (74 destinations).
What does extra validity cost for the same data?
We matched 50 GB plans, the most common size among long plans, for the same destination at 30, 90 and 180 days.
| Validity | Median price of the cheapest 50 GB plan | Per month of validity |
|---|---|---|
| 30 days | $22.44 | $22.44 |
| 90 days | $35.26 | $11.75 |
| 180 days | $34.89 | $5.82 |
This uses the 49 destinations that sell 50 GB at all three lengths. Across the 133 destinations with both a 30- and a 90-day 50 GB plan, the 90-day one cost a median 1.55× as much, but going from 90 to 180 days cost about the same: the median 180-day plan was 4% cheaper than the 90-day one, and cheaper in 36 of 49 destinations. Inside one provider the premium is smaller: eSIMCard’s 90-day plans cost a median 1.17× its 30-day plans with the same data (201 pairs), and the 180-day plans from eSimGlobe and eSIM2Fly 1.3× and 1.28× (17 and 16 pairs). A long plan is a bigger data pot that lasts longer, so it can make sense when you want one install and expect to use less than the pot each month.
Cheapest way to cover 3 months in popular destinations
Three ways to cover three months at about 10 GB a month, in popular long-stay destinations. “Renew” is the cheapest 30-day plan with 10 GB or more, bought three times; “one plan” is the cheapest plan of 90 days or longer with 30 GB or more; “unlimited” is the cheapest unlimited plan of 90 days or longer. The lowest price in each row is in bold.
| Destination | Renew a 30-day plan three times | One plan of 90+ days | Unlimited, 90+ days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | $20.17 · BNESIM, 10 GB × 3 | $37.70 · eSIM2Fly, 50 GB, 180 days | $144.69 · Holafly, 90 days |
| Thailand | $20.17 · BNESIM, 10 GB × 3 | $26.39 · GigSky, 50 GB, 180 days | $144.69 · Holafly, 90 days |
| Indonesia | $21.00 · Instabridge, 10 GB × 3 | $94.36 · eSIMCard, 50 GB, 90 days | $146.94 · Holafly, 90 days |
| Vietnam | $18.81 · Yatelo, 10 GB × 3 | $58.10 · eSimGlobe, 50 GB, 180 days | $146.94 · Holafly, 90 days |
| Philippines | $25.77 · Yatelo, 10 GB × 3 | $59.80 · eSimGlobe, 50 GB, 180 days | $144.69 · Holafly, 90 days |
| South Korea | $21.30 · Yatelo, 10 GB × 3 | $38.89 · eSIMCard, 50 GB, 90 days | $130.95 · eSimGlobe, 90 days |
| Australia | $22.56 · Yatelo, 10 GB × 3 | $37.70 · eSIM2Fly, 50 GB, 180 days | $146.94 · Holafly, 90 days |
| United States | $22.47 · Yatelo, 10 GB × 3 | $42.66 · SimAbove, 50 GB, 90 days | $144.69 · Holafly, 90 days |
| Mexico | $47.94 · Yatelo, 10 GB × 3 | $47.71 · SimAbove, 50 GB, 90 days | $130.77 · Holafly, 90 days |
| Colombia | $37.01 · GoMoWorld, 15 GB × 3 | $79.99 · GigSky, 50 GB, 180 days | $300.72 · Holafly, 90 days |
| Spain | $11.97 · Yatelo, 10 GB × 3 | $29.90 · eSIM2Fly, 50 GB, 180 days | $98.10 · eSimGlobe, 90 days |
| Portugal | $11.97 · Yatelo, 10 GB × 3 | $33.89 · GigSky, 50 GB, 180 days | $143.10 · eSimGlobe, 90 days |
| Italy | $16.89 · Yatelo, 10 GB × 3 | $29.90 · eSIM2Fly, 50 GB, 180 days | $123.36 · Holafly, 90 days |
| Germany | $11.97 · Yatelo, 10 GB × 3 | $29.90 · eSIM2Fly, 50 GB, 180 days | $143.10 · eSimGlobe, 90 days |
| United Kingdom | $11.97 · Yatelo, 10 GB × 3 | $33.89 · GigSky, 50 GB, 180 days | $107.10 · eSimGlobe, 90 days |
| Turkey | $11.97 · Yatelo, 10 GB × 3 | $24.70 · eSimGlobe, 50 GB, 180 days | $88.20 · eSimGlobe, 90 days |
Prices change daily, so the destination page shows the current cheapest plan of each length. For one destination, compare plan lengths on its page, for example Japan, Thailand or Spain.
Who sells eSIMs for 90, 180 and 365 days?
16 of 31 providers sell a plan of 90 days or longer, 1,027 plans in all. Eight of them sell 95% of those.
| Provider | Plans of 90+ days (of its catalogue) | Longest | Single-country destinations | What it sells |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eSimGlobe | 220 of 2,771 | 365 days | 149 | unlimited plans for 90 days (with a daily 1 GB high-speed allowance), 50 GB for 180 days, 1 GB for 365 days |
| eSIMCard | 203 of 11,614 | 180 days | 102 | 50 GB for 90 days (201 plans); two 100 GB plans for 180 days |
| SimAbove | 192 of 2,195 | 365 days | 115 | 50 GB for 90 days, 100 GB for 180 days, nine plans of 365 days; the only single-country 365-day plan (United States) |
| Holafly | 117 of 11,067 | 90 days | 113 | unlimited data for 90 days; also unlimited plans for every length from 31 to 89 days |
| GigSky | 97 of 948 | 180 days | 44 | 20 or 50 GB for 90 days; 20, 50 or 100 GB for 180 days |
| Quibity | 57 of 3,172 | 180 days | 57 | 100 GB for 180 days (56 of its 57 long plans) |
| eSIM2Fly | 57 of 1,236 | 365 days | 42 | 50 GB for 180 days (48 plans), 20 GB for 90 days, two 1 GB plans for 365 days |
| Orange Travel | 35 of 1,114 | 180 days | 34 | 500 GB for 90 days (34 plans); one 800 GB plan for 180 days |
The other 8 providers with a long plan together sell 49. Airalo, the best-known brand, has 4 of 1,390 plans at 90 days or longer, all regional rather than single-country. Counts include unlimited plans; “destinations” counts single-country plans only.
Is there an eSIM for 6 months or a year?
For six months, yes. 274 plans last 180 days, from 10 providers, and nearly all hold 50 GB (135 plans) or 100 GB (129). eSimGlobe has 50 GB for 180 days in Turkey at $24.70, eSIM2Fly at $29.90 in Spain, Italy, Germany and France, and GigSky at $26.39 in Thailand.
For a year, barely. Only 19 plans last 365 days, from 4 providers, and one covers a single country: SimAbove’s 10 GB plan for the United States at $48.83. The others are multi-country plans: Egypt and Turkey together (5 to 50 GB, $17.40 to $89.24), a global plan (Global YO’s 20 GB plan for 100 countries is $39.99), or 1 GB global plans from $10.40. A local SIM, if you can register for one, may be cheaper for a year in one country; we do not track local SIM prices.
If you move between countries, regional long plans exist. For Europe, eSimGlobe’s 20 GB plan for 34 countries lasts 90 days for $23.80, eSIM2Fly lists a matching plan at $25.00, and the 42-country version is $45.50. In Asia, eSIM2Fly sells 20 GB for 90 days across 20 areas at $55.90 and GigSky 50 GB for 90 days across 19 at $57.99. Compare more on the Europe and Asia region pages, and read our study of regional plans against separate plans.
Is unlimited data worth it for a long stay?
Holafly’s unlimited plans get cheaper per day as they get longer. We matched Holafly’s unlimited plans in 113 destinations: the median is $79.59 for 30 days, $113.26 for 60 days ($56.63 per 30 days) and $146.94 for 90 days ($48.98 per 30 days). That is about 38% less per day than the 30-day plan, but the cheapest unlimited plan of 90 days or more still cost 6.4 times the price of three 30-day renewals in the chart above.
Check what “unlimited” means. All 328 of eSimGlobe’s unlimited plans of 60 days or more include 1 GB of high-speed data a day; where the plan states a speed after that, it is 512 Kbps. That is up to 90 GB over 90 days, not unlimited high-speed data. Our data records no speed limit for Holafly’s long plans, but that does not prove there is none: read the provider’s fair-use terms, and see our study of unlimited plans that slow down and fixed data against unlimited.
What to check before you buy a long-stay eSIM
- When the validity starts. Our catalogue records when the clock starts for only 4 of the 1,027 plans of 90 days or longer (all Airalo’s, which start at first use). Read the plan page, and see when to activate a travel eSIM.
- Whether you can top up. Where a provider offers top-ups, they can extend a stay without installing a second eSIM. Our data marks top-up as available on long plans from Airalo, SimAbove, eSIM2Fly and aloSIM, and on eSimGlobe’s fixed-data ones; for most other providers it records nothing, so ask.
- Whether you need a number. Only 5 of the 1,027 plans of 90 days or longer include calls or SMS. Banks and local services that text a number to verify you need a line that can receive SMS, so keep your home SIM active or see which eSIMs include calls and SMS.
- Whether hotspot is allowed if you work from your laptop. Our data marks hotspot as allowed on 588 of the 1,027 long plans and not allowed on 20, and records nothing for the other 419; see eSIMs for tethering.
- How long the phone can stay on foreign networks. Some countries register foreign phones after a set period. According to travel guides, Turkey allows 120 days of roaming or a Turkish SIM before the phone must be registered or it is blocked from Turkish networks, and Indonesia allows 90 days for tourists. Both guides describe registering the phone itself (its IMEI), so changing SIM or buying an eSIM does not avoid it. Check the official rules before a long stay.
How we collected the data
- Prices come from the daily check of 31 providers’ own websites on 19 October 2026, converted to US dollars, 63,828 plans in all (plans for part of a country excluded).
- “Destinations” are countries with at least one single-country plan (221 on 19 October 2026). Regional and global plans are counted in plan totals but not in destination counts.
- The three-month comparison needs a 10 GB or larger 30-day plan, a 30 GB or larger plan of 90 days or longer and an unlimited plan of 90 days or longer in the same destination (130 destinations for the medians; 145 for the renewal count). Six months uses 10 GB 30-day plans against a 50 GB or larger 180-day plan; heavy use uses 30 GB 30-day plans against a 90 GB or larger long plan.
- Each comparison takes the cheapest qualifying plan in each destination, then the median across destinations. Provider-specific rows use that provider’s cheapest 30-day plan of 10 GB or more against the cheapest long plan from any provider.
- The same-size comparison matches 50 GB plans by destination; provider pairs match the same provider, destination and data amount.
- Rules for Turkey and Indonesia come from travel guides, not official sources, and may change. Prices change daily: check the destination page and the provider’s plan before buying.
Questions about eSIMs for a long stay
What is the best eSIM for 3 months abroad?
For about 10 GB a month, the cheapest route on 19 October 2026 was renewing the cheapest 30-day plan each month: a median $23.05 for three months across 130 destinations, against $56.12 for one plan of 90 days or longer with 30 GB or more. If you would rather buy once, one 90-day plan is the usual choice; unlimited data for 90 days cost a median $146.94 with Holafly.
Is there an eSIM that lasts 6 months?
Yes, but few. 274 of 63,828 plans last 180 days, from 10 providers, and 75 destinations have a single-country plan of that length. Almost all are 50 GB or 100 GB. eSimGlobe sells 50 GB for 180 days in Turkey for $24.70 and eSIM2Fly sells it in Spain, Italy, Germany and France for $29.90.
Is there an eSIM valid for one year?
Barely. Only 19 plans last 365 days, from 4 providers, and just one covers a single country: SimAbove’s 10 GB plan for the United States at $48.83. The rest are multi-country or global plans. For a year in one place, a local SIM may be cheaper, but we do not track local SIM prices.
Is a 90-day eSIM cheaper than three 30-day eSIMs?
It depends which 30-day plan you compare. Against the cheapest 30-day plan in each destination, three renewals were cheaper in 143 of 145 destinations. Against three 30-day Airalo plans, one 90-day-or-longer plan was cheaper in 79 of 118, and against Saily in 84 of 115.
How much does unlimited eSIM data cost for 3 months?
Holafly’s 90-day unlimited plan cost a median $146.94 across 113 destinations, or $48.98 per 30 days, about 38% less per day than its 30-day plan at $79.59. Some other unlimited plans are capped: all 328 of eSimGlobe’s unlimited plans of 60 days or more include 1 GB of high-speed data a day.
Can I use a travel eSIM as my main SIM for months?
As a data connection, yes, for as long as the plan lasts. Most travel eSIMs are data-only and have no phone number, so keep your home line for bank codes or read our study of eSIMs with a phone number. After a few months, check the destination’s rules: according to travel guides, Turkey and Indonesia register foreign phones after 120 and 90 days respectively, and changing plan or SIM does not change that.
What happens when the data runs out before the plan ends?
Fixed-data plans usually end when either the data or the days run out, whichever comes first, so a 50 GB pot used up in month two can leave you without data for the rest of the period unless the provider lets you top up. Check the plan’s terms before you buy a long plan.
The practical takeaway
For three months at around 10 GB a month, shop for the cheapest 30-day plan and renew it; it was cheaper than one long plan in 143 of 145 destinations. If you would rather stay with one well-known provider or buy once, a 90- or 180-day plan is worth comparing: against three 30-day plans from Airalo, Saily or SimAbove, one long plan was cheaper in most destinations. Choose unlimited data only if you will use it: its price falls with length, but the cheapest unlimited plan cost more than six times three 30-day renewals. For a year or more in one place, compare a local SIM too, which we do not track. Compare every length on the destination page, for example Japan or Spain, or start from our provider comparisons.