eSIM or pocket WiFi: choosing how to get online on your trip
Both give you mobile data abroad, but they work in very different ways. A pocket WiFi is a small router you rent and carry; an eSIM is a data plan that lives inside your phone. Which one suits you depends less on the technology than on how many devices you bring and how your group moves.
See the eSIM packsHow each one works
A pocket WiFi, or travel router, is a battery-powered device with its own mobile connection. You switch it on and phones, tablets and laptops join it over Wi-Fi, as they would at home. It is usually rented for the length of the trip and handed back at the end.
A data eSIM is a mobile plan installed in the phone itself. You get a QR code by email, scan it from the phone settings and the phone connects to a local network when you arrive, with no extra device. It carries data only: calls and texts keep arriving on your usual line, and WhatsApp and iMessage keep your usual number. The steps are in the installation guide.
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For one to two weeks of maps, messaging and the odd video.
Buy up to 180 days before you fly: the plan only starts when the eSIM connects at your destination.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
Not sure about your model? Ask us before you pay and we will tell you — a person answers within 24 hours.
How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
Pick-up, return and what you carry
A rented router has to reach you before the trip and go back after it: collected at a counter or delivered to an address, then returned by a set time or posted back. It is easy to plan, but it ties the start and the end of your trip to someone else's opening hours, and a late flight or a forgotten return can complicate it.
An eSIM has none of that. You buy it, install it at home on your own Wi-Fi, and the plan only starts counting at the first connection in the destination, so you can buy it up to 180 days ahead. There is nothing to collect at the airport and nothing to send back.
Battery and range
A pocket WiFi runs on its own battery: one more thing to charge every night and carry all day. When it runs flat, every device connected to it goes offline at once. Its Wi-Fi also reaches only a short distance, so the people using it have to stay close to whoever carries it.
With an eSIM the connection is inside each phone, so it goes wherever the phone goes and lasts as long as the phone's battery. Mobile data uses battery on a phone too, so a power bank is worth packing either way.
Sharing with a group
Sharing is where a router looks strongest: one device, one data allowance, several people online. The catch is the one above: everyone draws from the same data and has to stay within range, and if the group splits up for an afternoon, only part of it has a connection.
With eSIMs there are two ways to do it. Each person can have their own, and one purchase can include up to 10 eSIMs, each with its own QR. Or one phone with an eSIM can share its data through the hotspot, which works like a pocket WiFi without the extra device. The guide for families and groups compares both.
Deposit, loss and damage
A rented device is your responsibility while you have it. Before booking, read the rental terms on deposits and on what happens if the router is lost, stolen or damaged, because those conditions vary from one rental to another.
An eSIM has nothing physical to lose or return. What to keep in mind is different: once installed it stays on that phone and cannot be moved to another one, and if you delete it, it is gone along with any data left on it.
When a pocket WiFi can make sense
- Several devices that cannot take an eSIM, such as older phones, or tablets and laptops without a SIM, which can only get online over Wi-Fi.
- Phones that do not support eSIM or are locked to a carrier, and that you cannot replace for the trip.
- A group that spends the whole day together and would rather have one shared connection and one device to look after.
Before ruling the eSIM out, check each phone on the compatibility page: it takes ten seconds. And if only one person in the group has a compatible phone, an eSIM on that phone with the hotspot switched on covers the same need as a router, as long as the group stays close and that phone stays charged.
Is an eSIM better than a pocket WiFi?
For most travellers with a recent phone, yes: there is nothing to collect, charge or return, and each phone has its own connection. A pocket WiFi suits groups with several devices that cannot take an eSIM.
Can I share an eSIM's data like a pocket WiFi?
Yes. The hotspot is allowed, so one phone can share its data with other devices. They all draw from the same data and have to stay near that phone.
What if my phone does not support eSIM?
Then an eSIM is not an option for that phone, and a pocket WiFi or a physical SIM is. Check your model on the compatibility page before deciding.
Can I move an eSIM between devices during the trip?
No. Once installed, the eSIM stays on that phone. To give other devices a connection, share it through the phone's hotspot.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
See the eSIM packs