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eSIM vs pocket Wi-Fi vs roaming for travel
For a solo traveller or a pair, an eSIM is almost always the easiest way to get online abroad. Pocket Wi-Fi, a physical SIM, and roaming each have their moment, but for most independent travellers, scanning a QR code and being online with nothing extra to carry is the least fussy option there is. This piece lays all four side by side so you can see which one actually fits your trip.
There are only four ways to get online abroad
However many brands and plans you find, underneath it all there are only four methods:
- eSIM: your data line is written straight into the phone. You scan a QR code, no plastic card to swap, no waiting for delivery. Install it at home before you fly, land, switch on data roaming, and you’re online. If you’re not sure what an eSIM even is or how it differs from a plastic card, start with eSIM vs physical SIM.
- Pocket Wi-Fi (the “egg”): a small box that broadcasts a Wi-Fi signal. Your phone connects to it and you’re online. One box can be shared by several people, but you have to charge it, carry it, and hand it back at the end.
- Physical SIM: the traditional plastic card. You pop out your home SIM on arrival and slot in a local one. This is for people whose phone genuinely doesn’t support eSIM.
- Carrier roaming: you simply switch on international roaming on your own home line. Nothing to set up, but it’s usually the most expensive of the four.
Once you see it’s only four, the choice gets a lot simpler. The table below puts them together. The question isn’t which is “best” in the abstract, it’s which fits the size of your group and what you actually do online.
The four options at a glance
| eSIM | Pocket Wi-Fi | Physical SIM | Roaming | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How you get it | Scan a QR code, download | Book, pick up, return the device | Buy ahead, swap the card on site | Just switch roaming on |
| Cost | Mid, by plan or by usage | Daily rental, only cheap split among people | Often the cheapest | The most expensive |
| Convenience | Online the moment you land | A device to carry and keep charged | Swap cards, mind your home SIM | Easiest to start, but priciest |
| Extra gear to carry | None, just your phone | A separate box plus its cable | None | None |
| Sharing with others | Hotspot works, but it eats your own data | Yes, this is its whole point | No, one card per phone | Hotspot works, but it stings |
| Who it suits | One or two independent travellers | A group sharing one device | A phone with no eSIM support | A one or two day hop, no setup |
Who pocket Wi-Fi is actually for
Pocket Wi-Fi truly wins in exactly one situation: a group sharing one box. One device, three or four people connected at once, the daily rental split between them, and it gets cheap per head. That’s the one place it beats an eSIM.
The moment your group is small, though, the hassles surface. First, it’s an extra device, so you have to remember to grab it every morning and charge it every night. Second, it runs on its own battery that won’t last a full day of being out, so it often dies mid-afternoon, and when it dies everyone is offline at once. Third, picking it up and returning it are both errands, and if you lose or break it you pay for it under the rental terms. Fourth, you and that box have to stay together. If someone wants to split off and explore on their own, their connection goes with the box, not with them.
So for one or two people, babysitting a device to save a little money usually isn’t worth it. It only starts to make sense when the group is bigger and everyone moves around together, like a whole family or a work trip.
What about a physical SIM, or roaming?
A physical SIM really has one reason left to exist: your phone doesn’t support eSIM. The per-day price is often low, but you have to buy it ahead, swap cards with a SIM pin on arrival, and keep your original card safe (it carries your everyday number). If your phone does support eSIM, there’s little reason to bother with the plastic.
Roaming’s big virtue is zero preparation. You install nothing, flip the switch, and you have a signal. The trade-off is that it’s usually the most expensive, billed per day or per megabyte, and it adds up fast across a whole trip. Fine for a quick hop or a one-to-two-day stay when you can’t be bothered to set anything up, but the longer the trip, the worse the value.
And how much data should you get?
Whatever you pick, you’ll hit the “how much data” question. Navigation is actually cheap; the real data hog is anything with a moving picture (video, livestreams, video calls). A typical traveller runs about 0.8 to 1.5GB a day, but if you binge shows on the train or run a hotspot for the people you’re with, that number climbs. For the full per-activity breakdown and how to size your own day, see how much data do you need.
A note on sharing, since it comes up: tethering, that is, opening a hotspot from your eSIM so others connect through your phone, works fine. But every megabyte you share still counts against your data. Three or four people watching video through one phone burns through it quickly, and that’s exactly the case where pocket Wi-Fi fits better, because it was built to serve several devices in the first place.
How soda makes this question simpler
Back to where we started: for one or two people, an eSIM is usually the answer, and it spares you the carrying, swapping, and charging that every other option drags along. soda takes it one step further by removing the part that makes people anxious: guessing how many GB to buy.
You don’t pre-pick a country and you don’t guess your data. Land, open it, and you’re billed by actual usage. At settlement, we automatically apply the cheapest combination of plans in retrospect — use a little, pay a little; use a lot and you still never pay more than if you’d picked the right plan upfront. Your balance never expires, so you’re never stuck between “bought too much” and “bought too little.” soda runs on stable, quality local lines, treating a steady connection as the floor. It won’t be the cheapest eSIM out there, but whether your day is spent lounging in the hotel or navigating and streaming all over town, you never come out behind. For the thinking behind it, see why you shouldn’t guess your travel data.
Frequently asked questions
- eSIM or pocket Wi-Fi for one or two travellers?
- For a solo traveller or a pair, an eSIM is almost always the easiest way to get online: you scan a QR code and you're online with nothing extra to carry. Pocket Wi-Fi only truly wins when a group shares one box, so for one or two people, babysitting a device to save a little money usually isn't worth it.
- Who is pocket Wi-Fi actually for?
- Pocket Wi-Fi makes sense when the group is bigger and everyone moves around together, like a whole family or a work trip. With three or four people connected to one device, the daily rental splits cheaply per head, and that's the one place it beats an eSIM.
- What are the downsides of pocket Wi-Fi?
- It's an extra device you have to grab every morning and charge every night; its battery often won't last a full day out and dies mid-afternoon, taking everyone offline at once; picking it up and returning it are both errands, and you pay if you lose or break it; and you have to stay with the box, so anyone who splits off loses their connection.
- If my phone supports eSIM, do I still need a physical SIM?
- A physical SIM really has one reason left to exist: your phone doesn't support eSIM. The per-day price is often low, but you have to buy it ahead, swap cards on arrival, and keep your original card safe. If your phone does support eSIM, there's little reason to bother with the plastic.
- How much data do I need per day abroad?
- A typical traveller runs about 0.8 to 1.5GB a day. Navigation is actually cheap; the real data hog is anything with a moving picture, like video, livestreams, and video calls. If you binge shows on the train or run a hotspot for the people you're with, that number climbs.