eSIM phones save you money during travels
eSIMs are cheaper than SIMs. Period. The savings are passed on to the end user as there is no physical media (SIMs) to deal with, and no offline retail costs (mostly rent for airport counter and staffing costs).
Let's compare prices (in USD) based on:
- 7-day duration
- 100GB/day data
- 5G connectivity
| Country/Region | SIM | eSIM |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | $25.06 | $14.69 |
| Singapore (SIM is 100GB total, not per day) | $9.25 | $6.10 |
| South Korea (SIM: is 4G LTE) | $19.57 | $9.55 |
Your savings will vary based on a number of factors, but for the typical traveler, I would say $3-5 per trip. The real savings are based on how much you value your time. If you factor in time traveling to a counter selling SIMs, wait time, adding/switching SIMs, it's a lot more. If it took 15 minutes (0.25 hours) to deal with the SIM and you make $100K/year ($50/hour):
- ~$15 per trip saved based on ($50/hour x 0.25hrs) + ($3 to 5)
- 4 times travel per year
- $60/year total savings, based on $15 saving x 4 trips
Plug in the numbers that apply to you. For me, I can see the total savings easily justifying me replacing my existing phone or even buying a cheap one supporting 5G eSIMs just for travel use. As many of you already know, you can get a great Xiaomi phone for under $200, and even their $600 models have telephoto lens that easily outperform the latest iPhone.
If you are a traveler, you will save more money the sooner you switch to an eSIM phone. If you're a business, the savings will pile up even more quickly.