Best Travel Phone Plans in 2026: How to Choose and What to Consider

There are many ways to use your phone internationally over the years. In the past, crossing a border and connecting to a local cellular network often meant your carrier charged per megabyte for calls and data – costs that could add up quickly. That’s why one of the first things many travelers did in a new country was buy a prepaid phone or physical SIM card to swap into their device.

Now you have three options that require much less hassle to find a store that sells SIM cards: use a wireless plan that already includes international calls, texts and data; add a travel plan to your existing mobile plan; or sign up for an eSIM service that provides either a fixed amount of data or unlimited access in the region you’re visiting.

The first option, international roaming, is what this guide focuses on. Most plans let you call, text, and use data in Canada and Mexico. The more you pay for a plan, the more options you get. The AT&T Elite 2.0 plan, for example, lets you go just about anywhere and use your phone like you do every day in the United States.

The second option can be wise when you are taking short to medium trips. AT&T’s International Day Pass costs $12 per day to use voice, text and data. If multiple people on your account are traveling together, one person pays $12 per day and the others $6 per day, with a maximum of 10 days charged, even if your vacation lasts longer. (Cruise ship trips have different prices.)

Verizon offers a TravelPass for $12 per day, or a three-day pass for $10 as an add-on to a line. If you don’t use these days in a month, they roll over to the next, for a maximum of 36 TravelPass days (but the days expire after 12 months). There is also an international monthly plan for $100 per month per line.

T-Mobile’s international data passes can be added when you travel. The 1-day pass costs $10 for 2GB of high-speed data and free calls for 24 hours; 10-day pass costs $35 for 5GB of high-speed data; and a 30-day pass costs $50 for 15GB of high-speed data.

For the eSIM option, companies like Ubigi, Airalo, Instabridge and Maya Mobile offer prepaid data to destinations around the world. Most likely, your phone supports an eSIM, which exists as a secondary line, but the device must be unlocked to take advantage of this feature.