Fixed data or a daily plan? How to pick for your trip
A fixed allowance suits most trips. A daily plan only wins when your use is steady and heavy every single day. Here is how to tell which you are.
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Travel eSIMs come in two shapes. Picking the right one matters more than shaving a dollar off the price.
Fixed allowance
A set amount of data for a set number of days — say 10 GB for 15 days. You can burn half of it on the first evening and barely touch the rest. The plan ends when either the data or the days run out.
Good for: most trips. City breaks where you lean on maps and messaging, trips with Wi-Fi at the hotel, and anyone whose use comes in bursts.
Daily allowance
A fresh slice of data every 24 hours — say 1 GB a day for 7 days. Unused data does not carry over. Some carriers keep you online at a reduced speed after the daily slice is gone; the plan card says so when they do.
Good for: heavy, steady users. Remote work on the road, long drives with streaming passengers, or anyone who would otherwise ration data every evening.
A quick way to decide
- Look at your phone's mobile data usage for the last 30 days at home. Divide by 30.
- Multiply by the days you will be away. Add a third for maps and photos you would usually do on Wi-Fi.
- If a fixed plan covers that comfortably, take it. If your daily figure is steady and large, a daily plan avoids running dry halfway.
Not sure? Start smaller. Adding a second plan for the same destination takes a minute, while unused gigabytes are simply lost when a plan ends.
Every plan in our current catalogue is a fixed allowance. The data and speed limits page explains exactly what happens when one runs out.