What this calculator does and does not do
It does: compare the cheapest single eSIM plan we are tracking for your destination against your home carrier's published daily-pass roaming rate and a typical airport-counter local SIM. The eSIM number is real, captured from the providers we track and refreshed periodically.
It does not: simulate every plan size you might pick (we surface the cheapest single purchase that meets the trip), account for data heavy use such as continuous video streaming, or know your specific carrier's promotional roaming rates. For the full plan-fit logic and a personalized recommendation, use find-a-plan.
Where these numbers come from
Verizon TravelPass and AT&T International Day Pass rates are published on each carrier's site and were re-checked on May 2026. T-Mobile Magenta included roaming is throttled in most countries to 256 Kbps to 1 Mbps and is not useful for navigation or video; we treat it as a per-day equivalent for comparison purposes. The local-SIM baseline of $25 is the median tourist-counter price across major international airports, which varies $15-$45 depending on the country and the airport markup. eSIM prices come from our pricing snapshot pipeline; the snapshot is refreshed periodically per provider, with the most recent verification date on each provider page.
Want a deeper comparison?
The calculator above is the short version. The full decision-aid lives in our eSIM vs physical SIM vs roaming article, including a cost-by-trip-length table from 2 days to 60 days. For multi-country trips, see the regional roundups: Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa. Group and family travelers should also check our eSIM vs pocket WiFi comparison.