Are you planning to travel to several countries in Europe and want internet access on your smartphone? Without a doubt, the most convenient option today is to buy a multi-destination travel eSIM, and in this article we test and review the one from Sim Local.
Sim Local offers an eSIM for Europe with unlimited data plans (Unlimited and Unlimited Pro), which will let you completely put your worries aside and use the internet whenever you want without worrying about data limits. Plus, unlike other eSIM providers, you’ll have unlimited tethering/hotspot capabilities, allowing you to share your connection with others traveling with you or with other devices like tablets and computers.
In this review, we’ll tell you all the details about Sim Local’s unlimited plans for its European eSIM, including useful information on how to purchase and install it, what “unlimited” really means, which European countries it works in, the pricing, and our real-world experience using the eSIM, including real speed tests and data-stress tests.
What is Sim local and what is an eSIM
Sim Local provides digital SIM cards (eSIMs – embedded subscriber identity module) that you can install straight to your phone via their app or a QR code. These eSIM cards allow you to get internet access on your smartphone in one or several countries, without the hassle of dealing with a physical SIM card. There’s no tiny plastic card to swap out and no risk of losing your home SIM card.
Although you can get sometimes a cheaper option buying a physical local SIM card, if your priority is saving time, avoiding airport hassle, and keeping your home number active, an eSIM is the clear winner.
What is a multi-country eSIM
A multi-country or multi-destination eSIM is just an eSIM that works in several countries or destinations. That way, if you are travelling through different countries, you can avoid the hassle of having to install one SIM or eSIM in each country. With a couple of clicks, you have internet in your smartphone in all the destinations you are visiting without having to worry about it during the trip.
Sim local Europe unlimited eSIM
In this guide we are reviewing Sim Local’s unlimited eSIM for Europe: this is an eSIM with unlimited data that works in most countries in Europe (you can see the list of supported countries here)
This is a perfect choice for anyone travelling to several European countries without data limits (if you don’t need a lot of data, you can save some money choosing other plans offered by Sim Local with a limited amount of GB)
Is it really unlimited? Unlimited vs Unlimited PRO
Sim Local offers two unlimited data plans: Unlimited and Unlimited PRO. What does this mean and what is the difference?
Unlimited means, in both cases, that you will always have internet connection, no matter how much data you use. BUT, and this is the important caveat, there is a Fair Use Policy which establishes a daily data limit on high-speed internet connection. If you reach the daily data limit, internet will still work but at reduced speed.
This applies to all the different travel eSIMs on the market (it’s the same in Holafly’s or Airalo’s unlimited plans), but Sim Local is one of the best options here because they have the biggest daily limit on the market: 10GB/day in the Unlimited Pro plan, and 5GB/day in the Unlimited plan (other competitors have a daily limit within 3 and 5GB/day, depending on the destination)
How daily data works for unlimited plans
Both plans offer a daily high-speed data allowance: 5GB/day on Unlimited, 10GB/day on Unlimited Pro. Once the daily limit is reached, your internet connection still works at reduced speeds (up to 1Mbps) for the rest of the day. That’s still enough for messaging, email, maps, and light browsing.
The daily limit resets automatically every 24 hours from first use.
Is tethering/hotspot included?
Yes! This is also one of the things we love about Sim Local vs other competitors: you can share your connection using your smartphone as a hotspot (tethering) with no extra limits. That means that you get 5GB or 10GB of high speed internet each day both on your smartphone and on other devices if you use your phone as a hotspot.
So you can share your connection with other people that are travelling with you or with your computer/tablet with no restrictions.
Which european countries does it cover? Is the coverage good?
Sim Locals unlimited Europe eSIM works in 35 countries in Europe (you can check the full list here, clicking on “countries”)
Coverage can vary depending on several factors (like the destination and the network conditions). The coverage does not depend on Sim Local directly, but on the real network that your mobile phone connects to on each destination and the coverage they have there. Usually, speeds should be great and more stables in cities and populated places, and can vary more in small towns and remote areas. You can see a list of the networks here.
How much does it cost? Sim local pricing vs Holafly and Airalo
The price of Sim Local’s unlimited Europe eSIM varies based on the plan (Unlimited or Unlimited PRO) and based on the number of days. You can check the prices for the different amount of days and plan here, but as a reference, it varies between 2,5$ and 4,5$ per day.
Here is a comparison of Sim Local pricing vs some of the competitors, for different number of days (in bold you can identify the cheapest provider, although you need to take into account the number of GB included with high-speed):
| Number of days | Sim Local Unlimited (5GB high speed daily) | Sim Local Unlimited Pro (10GB high speed daily) | Holafly (3 to 5GB high speed daily) | Airalo (3GB high speed daily) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 days | 25,50$ | 30,75$ | 27,50$ | 27,00$ |
| 15 days | 43,00$ | 51,00$ | 50,50$ | 49,00$ |
| 30 days | 60,25$ | 73,75$ | 73,90$ | 71,0$ |
| 60 days | 115,25$ | 134$ | 106,50$ | — |
| 90 days | 148,75$ | 201$ | 138,90$ | — |
| Number of days | Sim Local Unlimited (5GB high speed daily) | Sim Local Unlimited Pro (10GB high speed daily) | Holafly (3 to 5GB high speed daily) | Airalo (3GB high speed daily) |
Unlimited vs. Unlimited Pro: Which Plan Is Best for Whom?
The decision between Unlimited and Unlimited Pro depends on how much high-speed data you need per day. Here is a comparison that may help choosing:
Unlimited (5GB high-speed/day)
- Good for most travellers and normal use (social networks, browsing, messaging apps, Google Maps, etc.)
- Solo travellers
- Cheaper and reliable: if you just want to have internet and don’t think you need a lot of data.
Unlimited PRO (10GB high-speed/day)
- Good for intensive data users (video-calls, streaming, uploading, etc.)
- Families or groups (you can share the connection doing hotspot/tethering)
- Peace of mind: if you are not sure but don’t mind paying a bit more and forget about data limits
How to install the Sim Local Europe eSIM
The Sim Local Europe eSIM setup process is incredibly straightforward and takes about five minutes:
- Check Compatibility: Ensure your phone is carrier-unlocked and eSIM compatible (most iPhones from the XR/11 onwards, and recent Samsung Galaxy/Google Pixel models are). You can check the list of eSIM compatible phones here
- Buy Your eSIM: Choose the plan you prefer based on your needs
- Install and Activate: Download the eSIM before your trip and install it following the instructions before you travel
Installing the eSIM is very easy and straightforward. You can read more about it in the following sections as we share our experience with Sim Local in Spain and Portugal
When to install the Sim Local Europe eSIM
The countdown for your plan starts counting when it connects to a local network.
So ideally, you should install the eSIM just before your trip, as the installation process normally requires internet connection (through WiFi or through other SIM/eSIM with an active data plan), that way you will have internet connection as soon as you arrive to your destination.
If you buy the eSIM when you are already in Europe, you can install it right away when you are ready to start using it.
We normally install our eSIMs at the airport while we wait to board the plane.
Sim Local discount code
You can enjoy a 10% discount on your Sim Local Europe eSIM using the discount code RANDOMTRIP
Our experience using Sim Local’s Unlimited PRO Europe eSIM
We had the opportunity to test Sim Local’s Unlimited PRO Europe eSIM in Spain and Portugal, which worked great in both countries! Following we detail our full experience buying the eSIM, installing it and testing it
Choosing and buying the eSIM
We decided to try the Europe eSIM with the Unlimited PRO plan during our stay in Spain and Portugal, for 90 days.
Installing and activating the eSIM
Since we use iPhone, installing the eSIM was pretty straightforward, as after installing Sim Local’s app and logging in with our account, there was a direct link to install the eSIM with a few clicks:
In case this doesn’t work in your case, there are other options available, like scanning a QR code (which should also allow to install the eSIM with a few clicks) or a manual installation (where you would need to copy some information and input it on your phone)
Once the installation finishes, you then need to activate the eSIM on your phone, which is just another click or couple of clicks and waiting for a bit:
Managing your eSIMs/physical SIMs
Depending on your phone model and the SIMs/eSIMs you are already using, you may need to choose to deactivate some of them.
For example, in my specific case, my main SIM is a physical SIM card, and I also have a Portuguese prepaid eSIM card I use when I visit the country. Since my phone only allows to have one eSIM active at the same time, I had to deactivate temporarily my portuguese eSIM to activate Sim Local’s Europe eSIM. That means that during the trip, I wouldn’t get calls/sms for that portuguese number. However, if needed (for example, for receiving an SMS) it’s possible to quickly activate/deactivate any of the eSIMs at any time, so this is not a problem.
Some modern phones allow to use 2 eSIMs at the same time.
Super important: make sure you turn off data roaming for any SIM card you may have (physical or eSIM) to avoid huge roaming fees from your home providers.
Check your specific case to understand how to deal with this during your trip, if necessary.
Our experience and real speed tests of Sim Local Europe eSIM in Spain and Portugal
Our experience using Sim Local eSIMs was great: we also have local physical SIM cards both in the Spain and Portugal, so we could check whether Sim Local eSIM was similar or not, and we couldn’t tell the difference; anywhere with local coverage, Sim Local eSIM had coverage too, and the speeds we got were similar. They performed great both in cities and in smaller towns or islands, and whenever we have less coverage or slower speeds, it was because of the local network there.
During our time using the Sim Local eSIMs in Spain and Portugal, we performed some speed tests using the popular app Speedtest.net, so you can get a more realistic and truthful idea of the performance of Sim Local eSIMs:
Fuerteventura (Canary Islands, Spain) speed test (connected to the 5G Movistar network):
Pontevedra (Galicia, Spain) speed test (connected to the 5G Movistar network):
Lisbon (Portugal) speed test (connected to the 5G MEO network):
Our experience with the daily data allowance
We did some tests using a lot of video downloading/streaming to reach the daily high-speed limit. As explained, the plans are unlimited, but there is a daily limit on high-speed internet connection; after that daily limit is reached, internet still works but with reduced speeds.
This is a speed test, doing tethering to my computer, before reaching the daily limit:
And this is another speed test, on the same computer in the same location, after having reached the daily limit:
As you can see, the speed after reaching the daily limit is reduced to around 1Mbps, which is enough for basic internet browsing and messaging.
Sim Local Unlimited: Pros and Cons
After thoroughly testing the service, here are Sim Local unlimited plans pros and cons:
Pros
- Instant connectivity
- Easy to set-up
- Variety of plans and prices
- Transparent pricing
- Unlimited data
- Unlimited hotspot/tethering
- 24/7 support
- Much cheaper than roaming fees
Cons
- Normally, more expensive than a local physical SIM card
- If you don’t need a lot of data, it is cheaper to buy a smaller plan
- High-speed data has a daily limit
- You need a compatible phone
Is Sim Local unlimited the best eSIM for Europe?
After having tested it and compared to the competitors, we think Sim Local Unlimited is the best eSIM for Europe if you need unlimited data at good prices. Sim Local Unlimited will give you the highest amount of daily GB at high-speed with a very competitive price, works in 35 countries, allows you to do tethering and is very easy to set up.
FAQs about Sim Local Europe Unlimited plans
Following are some frequently asked questions about Sim Local Unlimited Europe eSIM. If after reading the article and this FAQ you still have doubts, you can leave us a comment:
No! Your WhatsApp is verified once, when you install the app through your phone number, but after that, you can use the app normally even if you take out that SIM card. You can continue using WhatsApp exactly as normal, it will just use the Sim Local data to send messages and make voice calls.
Normally yes, depending on your phone device and depending on if your home SIM card is physical or an eSIM. So if your phone supports dual SIM, you will be able to receive SMS and calls on your home SIM card (for example for 2FA – Two-Factor Authentication – texts). Make sure “Data Roaming” is turned OFF for your home SIM to avoid those nasty charges from your home provider!
Most newer smartphones are. If you have an iPhone XR/11 or newer, a Samsung Galaxy S20 or newer, or a Google Pixel 3 or newer, you are likely good to go. You can check the list of eSIM compatible phones here. Importantly, your phone must be carrier-unlocked.
If you use the daily allowance of GB of your unlimited plan, you will still have internet access. The daily allowance is only for high-speed, so internet will keep working on your smartphone at reduced speeds. The daily allowance resets every 24h since the plan activation
These plans are data-only. This means you won’t get a local phone number for traditional offline calls or SMS. However, you can still use data-based apps like WhatsApp, FaceTime or Messenger to make calls.
If you value convenience, reliable 4G/5G speeds, and want absolute peace of mind against expensive roaming charges, Sim Local is highly recommended to stay connected during your travels
Ready to try it out? Get a 10% discount with our code RANDOMTRIP
