eSim VS physical Sim: which should you use?
Last year I had my first experience using an eSim. I was going to Mexico to visit my mother, which meant landing in Mexico City and then taking a 4-hour bus ride to San Miguel de Allende. My mom was ill; I absolutely needed internet connection when I hit the ground.
In the past I would have gone to the Telcel store at the airport and would have bought a physical Sim card. But this time I was arriving at 8PM and the Telcel store would be closed.
That’s when I decided to look into buying an eSim.
What’s an eSim and how does it work?
Most modern phones already have a digital Sim card built in the hardware of the device, it is called an eSim (“e” stands for embedded). When “buying an eSim” what you’re actually doing is buying a mobile plan that activates that digital Sim card that you have in your phone.
I’m not tech savvy and I’m always a bit nervous about trying out new things. But one thing I don’t do is arrive somewhere without connectivity, I’ve learned that the hard way several times. Since this was a (short) 2-week trip, I decided that it would be the perfect test to try out an eSim (duration is a factor if deciding to buy an eSim plan. I’ll explain that later).
Just know that installing an eSim plan is super easy. I bought my eSim plan from Holafly and it went like this: 1) You go to the website 2) chose the destination and the number of days you need coverage (I chose “Mexico” for 14 days), 3) purchase the plan, 4) download the app (you’ll be prompted after buying your plan), 5) activate your eSim when you’re ready to use it. When you’ve activated the plan, turn on “roaming”.
And that’s it. You’ve got internet on your phone.
Other advantages to an eSim
Unlimited data. In the past, when buying that physical Sim at Telcel, I would sometimes run out of data. I didn’t understand it: I would buy 200 Pesos worth of data and suddenly, 2 days later, my internet would run out. I would have to go to the OXXO store (it’s like 7/11 and very popular in Mexico) to top off. But on other visits that 200 Pesos worth of data would be just fine for at least a couple of weeks.
With the eSim I didn’t have to worry about that. The eSim I had with Holafly had unlimited data. So if you‘re streaming Netflix or hockey (as I do) then you don’t have to worry about suddenly not having internet. Holafly also gives you backup data called Always On: it gives you 1 GB of data if your plan pauses or ends. So let’s say you bought your plan to correspond to your departure but suddenly your flight is delayed, well, you have some emergency data to help you get through that.
No physical installation. Putting in a new Sim card into my phone always makes me nervous. The slots are small, the SIM card is miniscule, my fingers are big, my eyesight is bad, I don’t know which side is up or down…that’s why I’ve always gone to a physical store and asked the person to install it for me. In Europe it’s usually Vodafone, in Mexico it’s Telcel, when I went back to Canada last year it was Rogers. But you can’t find a physical store everywhere: when I was in Morocco a few years back I couldn’t find one and when I went to the UK this summer I didn’t know where to go. In more and more places you have to go to a convenience store and buy them and then install them on your own. I don’t like that. That’s something about an eSim I really like: no looking for a store, no physical installation.
Don’t have to swap out Sims. We do a lot of travelling and often have to use different Sim cards. Most phones only have room for 2 Sim cards so if you’re going from place to place you might end up having to change or add to the cards that you have in the Sim cards slots. I’ve travelled to Mexico most of the last 10 years, back to Canada, on to Europe. Doing that I’ve had to take out Sim Cards, tape them somewhere so I don’t lose them…and then ended up forgetting where I put them. So I’ve had to replace a whole bunch of Sim cards over the years.
With the eSim you don’t have a physical Sim so it’s never an issue. You buy what you need when you need it and you’ll never lose a Sim card.
24/7 Support. If you ever have a problem you can contact your eSim provider and they’ll help you out right away. Holafly for example has 24/7 support by chat on their app, email or Whatsapp. On one of my trips I forgot a simple setup detail: I didn’t turn roaming on. I contacted Holafly by Whatsapp and they responded in minutes and solved my issue.
Disadvantages to an eSim
Cost. If you’re somewhere for an extended period of time, it pays for itself to buy a physical Sim. In the past I would spend a month at a time in Mexico so it would just be much more cost-effective to buy the physical Sim card at Telcel (which would cost about 15 USD for a card and a month’s worth of data). An eSim for Mexico will cost you in the vicinity of 2.25 USD/day.
No local telephone number. With a physical Sim comes a local telephone number. Sometimes you need that for administrative purposes. When we lived in Spain it was one of the reasons we had a physical Sim. With an eSim, you don’t get a local telephone number but you can still use Whatsapp or FaceTime or any other app to make calls. Still, sometimes you really need a local telephone number (examples: if you’re expecting a call from a plumber or doctor, or sometimes you’ll need it for government websites where they’ll only accept a local telephone number).
eSim or Sim: which and when to use
This is basically what I do:
I use a traditional Sim card when…
- I’m in the same place for over 2 weeks. That’s when the cost savings from a physical Sim Card starts to make sense. Just to give you an idea: I have a pay-as-you-go Sim in Spain with Vodafone which I recharge every month for 15 Euros. You can’t really beat that.
I use an eSim when…
- On a trip under 2 weeks. It’s a short trip and you’re pressed for time…and the slightly extra cost of an eSim justifies the convenience. With Holafly for example, the eSim will cost about 3.25 Euro/day. That’s less than a cup of coffee.
- Multiple countries in a short time. If I’m bouncing around between countries in a short time period, I can’t be bothered trying to find a physical Sim store. It’s not worth the effort or the negligible savings. Later this year for example, we’ll be travelling around the Caribbean and Mexico over a 2-week span: that’s the perfect scenario for an eSim.
- Urgent need for connectivity. I gave you an example at the top of needing connectivity upon arrival. It’s happened before: arriving in Romania at midnight and the shuttle from the hotel not being there to pick us up, needing to call an Uber upon arrival in Prague to avoid the exorbitant taxis, arrival at an Airbnb in Carcassonne and the door code not working. These are all examples of the need for connectivity upon arriving somewhere. So even if I’m staying somewhere for a month, if I think I can’t get connectivity for whatever reason upon arrival then it’s worth getting an eSim…even if it is for only a couple of days until you get a physical Sim Card.
Interested in getting an eSim? Sign up for your Holafly eSIM here and save 5% off your eSIMs plan. Holafly covers 200+ destinations, and in addition to single-destination and global eSIMs, has a regional eSIMs (like their Europe eSIM, Caribbean eSIM, Balkan eSIM, and Central America eSIM). They’re what we use.
Leave a Reply