Travel eSIM or local SIM: the short answer
A local SIM can be the better buy if you stay several weeks in one country, use a lot of data there, or need a local phone number. A travel eSIM is usually the better choice for short trips, for trips through more than one country, and for anyone who wants to be online the moment they land, with no shop to find and no SIM to swap.
When a local SIM wins
- A long stay in one country. If you stay for weeks and use a lot of data, a local prepaid plan can cost less per GB than a travel eSIM. Compare its price per GB with the rate for that country on our pricing page.
- You need a local number. A local SIM gives you a number in that country, for calls and texts with local businesses, hosts or drivers. Bcengi is data only.
- Your phone cannot take an eSIM. If your phone does not support eSIM, a physical SIM may be your only option. See eSIM compatible phones to check yours.
When a travel eSIM wins
- Short trips. On a trip of a few days, the time it takes to find a shop and set up a SIM is a real part of your trip. A travel eSIM is installed before you leave and connects when you land.
- More than one country. A local SIM is made for one country; at each border you need another SIM or that carrier's roaming. One travel eSIM can work across the countries on your route. See travel eSIMs for multiple countries.
- Keeping your own number. Your home SIM stays in your phone, so your number can still receive calls and texts. Your carrier's roaming rates apply to those.
- Travel more than once. A reusable eSIM stays on your phone between trips. Learn more in reusable travel eSIMs.
The real costs and hassles of a local SIM
- Buying on arrival. After your flight you have to find a shop or an airport counter, often with a line and a language barrier, and you are offline until the new SIM works.
- ID registration. You may have to show ID before the SIM works. The GSMA, the mobile industry's association, counted 155 countries whose governments required proof of identity to register a prepaid SIM card, as of January 2020.
- Swapping out your home SIM. On a phone with one SIM slot, the local SIM takes the place of your home SIM. Until you put it back, calls and texts to your own number do not reach you, bank and login codes included, and the tiny card is easy to lose. A phone that takes two SIMs avoids this.
- Unused credit. Local prepaid packs usually run for a set number of days. Data you have not used when the pack ends is usually lost, and the next trip means another SIM or another pack.
A travel eSIM avoids most of this: you buy and install it at home, your home SIM stays where it is, and the eSIM connects when you land. For the steps, see how to install a travel eSIM. New to the idea? See what a travel eSIM is.
What it costs with Bcengi
Bcengi is pay as you go: priced per GB by country, metered by the KB. You pay the rate of the country you are in, only for the data you use, from one balance. In Thailand, for example, data costs $1.81/GB, and in France $1.19/GB (our pricing page on October 4, 2026; Bcengi's prices are in US dollars).
What you get with Bcengi
- One reusable eSIM: install it once and use it on every trip.
- A balance that never expires: what one trip does not use is there for the next.
- No plan to pick: you never guess a size before you travel.
- Top up any time, by hand or with auto-refill.
- Your phone number stays on your home SIM for calls and texts; Bcengi is data only.
For the full picture, see our travel eSIM guide, or compare providers in how to choose the best travel eSIM.
