How much data do I need for my trip?
Nobody knows how many gigabytes they use, because at home nobody counts. On a trip it matters, so here is the arithmetic that actually works, with the numbers behind our own estimate. Every figure here is an estimate, not a measurement: your phone, your apps and your habits move it.
Work out your size in the calculatorThe honest way to estimate
Three numbers, added up. Days of the trip, multiplied by what you use in a normal day. Then video on top, because video is not part of ‘normal use’ — it is a separate line, and it is bigger than everything else put together. Then the laptop on top, if you plan to share the connection: a laptop on a hotspot updates, syncs and backs up without asking, and it can easily use several times what the phone does.
The data calculator does this in five questions and gives you a size. If you would rather do it by hand, the table below is the same model.
One eSIM for 33 European countries
Several countries on one trip? Same eSIM, same data, no swapping lines at the border.
Choose your data
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.
And if it turns out yours cannot use it, write to us and you get every cent back.
Discount code
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.
What ‘little’, ‘normal’ and ‘a lot’ actually mean
| What a day looks like | Per day (estimate) | |
|---|---|---|
| Little | Messages and the odd map. Wifi at the hotel for everything else. | 100 MB |
| Normal | Maps every day, messaging, a bit of social. | 300 MB |
| A lot | Social all day, uploading photos and stories as you go. | 700 MB |
| Video: never | Only on wifi. | nothing extra |
| Video: sometimes | Half an hour a day, give or take. | 250 MB on top |
| Video: a lot | A couple of hours a day, or daily video calls. | 900 MB on top |
These are the daily figures the calculator uses. Read them as travel habits, not as a technical spec: the point is to put yourself in one row, not to hit the number exactly.
Examples by type of trip
| What you do | Estimate | |
|---|---|---|
| Weekend away, 3 days | Maps, messaging, a few photos, video only on wifi | around 1 GB |
| Two weeks, no video | Maps and messaging every day, streaming left for the hotel | around 4 to 5 GB |
| Work trip, 5 days | Normal use plus about half an hour of video calls a day | around 3 GB |
| A month sharing with a laptop | Normal use on the phone and a laptop on the hotspot | 20 GB or more |
If your trip sits between two rows, take the bigger one. Running out on day nine of ten is the expensive kind of wrong.
What eats your data without you noticing
- Autoplay video. Social feeds play video by themselves as you scroll, and that is the single biggest drain. Turning autoplay off, or limiting it to wifi, changes the total more than anything else on this list.
- Photo backup. Hundreds of holiday photos uploading in the background, at full size, over mobile data. Set the app to back up on wifi only before you leave.
- Maps you did not download. Navigating a city live redraws the map constantly. Downloading the area at home costs nothing and removes the problem.
- App and system updates. Leave those on wifi only.
- The laptop on the hotspot. It behaves like it is at home: cloud sync, updates, big attachments.
If you fall short mid-trip
You top up, and nothing gets reinstalled. The data goes into the profile that is already on your phone: there is no second QR code and no new setup. What you need is the email address you bought with, which is why it is worth keeping that confirmation email.
What you should not do is delete the eSIM and start again. Once removed it cannot be reinstalled, and whatever data was left on it goes with it.
One country or the whole of Europe
| One country (Spain, as an example) | Europe, 33 countries | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 GB | 4,29 € | 6,90 € |
| 10 GB | 11,29 € | 15,90 € |
| 20 GB | 16,79 € | 23,90 € |
If the trip stays inside one country, a single-country plan is the cheaper way in. If you are crossing borders — even one — the Europe plan keeps working as you cross, with nothing to change on the phone, while a single-country plan simply stops giving data when you leave. We have 33 destinations with their own eSIM, and the Europe eSIM guide covers what the Europe plan includes.
Is 3 GB enough for a week?
For a week of maps, messaging and light browsing, with video left for the hotel wifi, it usually is — that is around 300 MB a day. Add daily video or a laptop on the hotspot and it is not. Treat it as an estimate.
How much data does an hour of video use?
As a rough estimate, our model counts around 250 MB a day for half an hour of video and 900 MB a day for a couple of hours. The real figure depends on the quality the app picks, which on mobile data is usually lower than on wifi.
Does using the phone as a hotspot cost extra?
No, it works like it would on any data plan, as long as your phone allows it. But a laptop uses far more than a phone, so buy a bigger plan if you are going to share.
What happens when the data runs out?
The connection stops and you top up. The data goes into the eSIM already on your phone, so there is nothing to reinstall and no new QR code — just the email you bought with.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
Work out your size in the calculator