You’ve booked a trip to Portugal, ready to surf in its beautiful beaches, try some world-renown Porto wines or do some tourism in Lisbon, but, what about your internet needs? Check our list of the best prepaid eSIMs to travel to Portugal. It can save you a lot of money in roaming charges so you can spend it enjoying this amazing country.
Book the eSIM card in advance, install it in a matter of seconds and have it ready on your mobile phone even before entering Portugal. Then it is just a matter of activating it and enjoying your trip.
Contents / Contenidos
- 1 Best eSIM carriers for Portugal
- 1.1 MEO – Enjoy Portugal: The best offer with an incredible price per Gb
- 1.2 Orange – eSim Holidays: The best eSIM to use both in Portugal and around Europe
- 1.3 Simtex: Limited data for an average price
- 1.4 Airalo – Fofo Mobil: Cheap plans, more days, fewer data
- 1.5 Holafly – Europe eSIM: Unlimited data, higher prices
- 2 Advantages of using an eSIM for travelling to Portugal
- 3 How to use an eSIM in Portugal
- 4 eSIM compatible devices
- 5 Buy Orange eSIM Holidays now for 30GB of 4G Data at the best price
- 6 How to activate an eSIM
- 7 Frequently asked questions about eSIM for Portugal
Best eSIM carriers for Portugal
Here’s a chart with our top picks for the best eSIM carriers for your trip to Portugal.
Name | Data | Days | Price | Price/Gb | Features |
MEO – Enjoy Portugal /Enjoy Europe | 30Gb 15Gb 5Gb |
15 days |
€15 €25 €15 |
0.5 €/Gb 1.66€/Gb 3 €/Gb |
Portugal only (30Gb), Tethering allowed, 4G/LTE, no ID check, Data Only, Network: MEO |
🏆 Orange – eSIM Holidays | 30Gb | 15 days | €25 | 0.83€/Gb | All of Europe, 100 minutes of Voice Calls SMS for additional credit, ID check, 4G/LTE, Tethering allowed. |
Simtex | 1Gb 3Gb 6Gb 10Gb |
3 days 14 days 30 days 30 days |
€3 €7 €11 €17 |
3 €/Gb 2.33 €/Gb 1.83 €/Gb 1.7 €/Gb |
Portugal Only, Tethering allowed, Data only |
Airalo – Fofo Mobil | 1Gb 3Gb 5Gb 10Gb |
7 days 30 days 30 days 30 days |
$4.50 (€4.24) $7 (€6.60) $10 (€9.43) $17 (€16.02) |
4.24 €/Gb 2.2 €/Gb 1.89 €/Gb 1.60 €/Gb |
Portugal Only, Tethering allowed, Data only, No ID check, 4G/LTE, Network NOS (Optimus) |
Holafly –Europe eSIM | Unlimited | 5 days 10 days 15 days 20 days 30 days 60 days 90 days |
€19 €34 €47 €57 €69 €87 €99 |
N/D | Data only, no Tethering, No ID, 4G/LTE, Vodafone Portugal |
*Data collected in 2024
MEO – Enjoy Portugal: The best offer with an incredible price per Gb
MEO offers three different eSIMs for you to choose from. While Enjoy Europe offers two very competitive prices per Gb, it is their local eSIM, Enjoy Portugal, the one that outshines the competition. With 30Gb of data for a bargain price of €15, it is the cheapest price per Gb of all the eSIM plans, with an incredible 0.5 Euros per Gb it is, understandably, our top choice.
In addition, being a Portuguese mobile and telecommunications service provider allows them to offer their own network, MEO, for you to use while you’re visiting Portugal.
With no ID check, this offer doesn’t have any downsides if you’re planning to stay in Portugal.
Orange – eSim Holidays: The best eSIM to use both in Portugal and around Europe
Orange eSIM Holidays is the best offer if you’re not planning to stay in Portugal your whole trip. Orange offers an eSIM for 15 days with 30Gb of data for €25. With a price per Gb of €0.83, it also provides a phone number with 100 minutes to receive and make calls.
While Spanish Law requires an identity check, they’ve made the process as simple as following the steps during checkout.
Simtex: Limited data for an average price
Simtex offers 4 plans for you to choose from. Ranging from 1Gb to 10Gb, their price stays within the average: 3€ for 1Gb, €7 for 3Gb, €11 for 6Gb and €17 for 10Gb,
These plans are valid for 3 days, 14 days and 30 days, making them a solid alternative if you’re travelling with a tight schedule.
Airalo – Fofo Mobil: Cheap plans, more days, fewer data
Airalo offers a budget option with their Fofo Mobil plans. For just 4.50 dollars (approx. €4.24) you’ll get 1Gb to use for 7 days.
Its other plans offer a validity of 30 days, but still provide a limited amount of data (3Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb), which can be useful if you’re not planning to use a lot of your internet allowance during your stay in Portugal.
Holafly – Europe eSIM: Unlimited data, higher prices
Holafly offers the most expensive plans of all our choices for unlimited data (from €19 for 5 days to €99 for 90 days). With their limitations focusing on the validity of their plans, this offer forces you to calculate the amount of data you’ll be using from your plan during your stay.
In addition, if you’re a digital nomad and think “Hey, it’s a good data plan since I’m going to work while I stay in Portugal!” you should think twice. With its no tethering policy, you won’t be able to use your phone as a hotspot to connect any other devices.
Advantages of using an eSIM for travelling to Portugal
While being a fairly new technology, eSIMs are a great option to use if you’re travelling abroad.
While traditional physical SIMs have to be purchased at a store and inserted in your device, you can buy an eSIM directly online, with a prepaid plan where all the conditions are settled (no surprises at the end of the month) and in a few minutes you can have it installed in your phone..
One of the major advantages of eSIMs is that you can temporarily change networks without the need to switch the physical SIM card, allowing you to use your main SIM when needed in a matter of seconds.
So if you’re travelling to Portugal, getting an eSIM plan would be your best option.
How to use an eSIM in Portugal
Buying an eSIM card is very simple. Once you’ve decided which plan suits you better, go to the website and proceed with the purchase. You’ll receive an email with a QR code and a detailed guide showing how to activate your newly acquired eSIM.
When arriving to Portugal, disconnect data roaming services from your primary SIM card, and connect them in your new eSIM, and remember to disable the “Allow data switching” option.
Now you’re ready to use your mobile phone without worrying about roaming costs.
eSIM compatible devices
One of the downsides of the eSIM technology is that not all devices support it. Check the list below to see if your phone can use eSIM.
You should also check if it is unlocked from carrier restrictions to be able to use an eSIM.
Apple
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 Mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 Mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd, 3rd)
- iPad Pro (Cellular only, 3rd generation 12.9”, 2nd generation 11”)
- iPad Air (Cellular only, 3rd generation and newer)
- iPad (Cellular only, 7th generation and newer)
- iPad Mini (Cellular only, 5th generation and newer)
- Apple Watch Series 3 (and newer)
Samsung
- Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Note20
- Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy S23 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S23+ 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G
- Samsung Galaxy FE
- Samsung Galaxy S22
- Samsung Galaxy S22+
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy 21 FE
- Samsung Galaxy S20
- Samsung Galaxy S20+
- Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy Fold, Z Fold3 5G, Z Fold4 5G, Z Fold5 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, Z FLip 5G, Z Flip3 5G, Z Flip4 5G, Z Flip5 5G
- Samsung Gear S2 3G
- Galaxy Watch y Galaxy Watch 3,4,5 y 6
- Galaxy Watch Active 2
- Google Pixel 8 Pro
- Google Pixel 8
- Google Pixel 7a
- Google Pixel 3XL
- Google Pixel 3
Huawei
- Huawei P40 Pro 5G
- Huawei P40 5G
- Huawei Mate 40 pro
- Watch 2 y 3
Motorola
- Motorola RAZR 40 Ultra
- Motorola EDGE 40 Neo
- Motorla Moto G54 5G
Xiaomi
- Xiaomi 12T Pro
- Xiaomi 13
- Xiaomi 13 Pro
- Xiaomi 13 Lite
- Xiaomi 13T
- Xiaomi 13T Pro
- Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro
Other devices such as Oppo, Honor, Montblanc and many others may also be compatible with eSIM.
Check if your device is compatible depending on the country you bought it from or your carrier.
Note: Since this technology keeps evolving, this chart might be outdated. Check if your device supports eSIM technology with your device manufacturer, vendor, primary carrier or check it out in our article: eSIM compatible phones. Check our list.
Buy Orange eSIM Holidays now for 30GB of 4G Data at the best price
How to activate an eSIM
eSIM for iOs
- Go to Settings.
- Connect to a Wi-Fi.
- Select “Mobile Data”
- Select “Add Data Plan”
- Scan the QR Code.
- Select “Add Data Plan”
- Enter the PIN sent in the email.
eSIM for android
- Go to “Settings”.
- Connect to a Wi-Fi Network.
- Select “Connections”
- Select “SIM Card Manager”
- Select “Add Mobile Plan”
- Select “Add using QR Code”
- Scan the QR Code.
- Enter the PIN found in the email.
Frequently asked questions about eSIM for Portugal
Can I get an eSIM in Portugal?
Yes, you can get an eSIM in Portugal. In fact it is available in all of Europe.
Can I buy an eSIM online?
Yes. In fact it is one of the main advantages of using eSIM. You can buy it online and receive it in your email.
Can I activate an eSIM myself?
Yes. When you receive your eSIM in your email, you can activate it immediately following the steps suggested on the email.
Can I switch from eSIM to physical SIM?
It is possible to quickly swap between an eSIM and a physical SIM. In fact, you can use both SIMs simultaneously: primary SIM card for calls and messages and the eSIM for internet.
What are the disadvantages of eSIM?
Conventional SIMs may be easily removed from a damaged phone and put into a backup device or alternative mobile phone. For an eSIM to be transferred to another device, you should contact your carrier to make the switch. Another disadvantage is that you can’t use an eSIM phone in a nation where the telecom providers don’t yet support the technology.