EU roaming has made travelling much easier and cheaper. At least within the EU, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Iceland. Unfortunately, Switzerland is not one of these countries, and here you still have to reckon with hefty roaming fees if you want to surf the Internet with your smartphone. A second eSIM with a suitable plan for little money can help here.
Our comparison is aimed at travellers who visit Switzerland and do not want to stay there permanently. That’s why we have left out offers from the Swiss network operators that are usually only available as a monthly subscription.
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How It Works
An eSIM is a digital SIM card that can be loaded directly onto a compatible device without the need for a physical SIM card. This type of SIM card is particularly convenient for travellers because it is easy and quick to buy and activate online without having to worry about a physical SIM card.
You will find numerous providers of eSIM plans on the Internet. With most of them, you buy a one-off prepaid plan for a certain number of days and data volume. After expiry, there are no further costs and you do not need a subscription.
Unfortunately, not all smartphones support an eSIM. You have good odds with an iPhone 11 / 12 / 13, but also with an Android smartphone, e.g. Google Pixel 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 or Samsung Galaxy S20, S21, or Note 20. You can find a list of smartphones that support eSIM here: Which devices support an eSIM?
If your Android smartphone does not support eSIM profiles, eSIM.me is a physical SIM card that you can use with eSIM profiles.
Most eSIM providers only offer data volume and no free minutes. Since these are also prepaid plans, outgoing calls are generally not supported. With some smartphones, e.g. iPhones, you can still be reached via your normal SIM card and make calls.
Plans for Switzerland Compared
In our eSIM comparison, you can easily find the right and cheapest plan. Simply select the (travel) duration and the required data volume:
Cheapest Provider
In our selected combinations Textr and eSIM4Travel are the cheapest providers for most scenarios. Their prices can even be reduced even further thanks to these 10% (eSIM4Travel) and 3$ (Textr) coupons.
Nevertheless, one should also take a look at BNESIM‘s regional plan. The data volume is valid for all of Europe (search for Europe under regional plans). You get 1 GB for €1.50 or 3 GB for €4,37 and therefore theoretically pay less than with most other providers – and get to use it in the rest of Europe as well.
Unlimited Data
If you don’t want to worry about data, Firsty offers plans with unlimited data. Depending on the duration, you’ll pay between €1 and €1.70 per day. The speed is not fast enough for video streaming, but most people would do that in a Wi-Fi setting anyway. Should you really need unlimited high-speed internet, the prices lie between €2.50 and €3.50 per day.
If you stay longer in Switzerland, you can also take a look at the eSIM from Digital Republic. For CHF 18 (~€19) per month, they offer the Flat Mobile plan with unlimited 5G data volume. You also get unlimited calls and messaging within Switzerland, and 2 GB of data for Europe and the US.
The subscription is automatically renewed monthly. However, you can pause or cancel it at any time. After registering, you have to verify yourself once with your ID card or passport.
Pay What You Need
The best option is Yesim, where the initial deposit can be as low as 50 cents, you only pay 0.4 cents per MB (i.e. €4 per GB, and there are very often promotions granting you free credit, such as this one, granting you €5 of free credit – meaning that you could e.g. get around 1.25 GB in Switzerland for free!
Data that Doesn’t Expire
Anyone who travels to Switzerland regularly can buy data volume via BNESIM without an expiration date. This is slightly more expensive than other providers with an expiry date, starting at €2.09 for 1 GB, but it can be used very flexibly. If you use the data sparingly, you can enjoy it for a very long time.
For all of Europe
Most eSIM providers not only offer plans for individual countries but also for the whole of Europe, including Switzerland, which are only slightly more expensive. However, this is only really useful if you do not already have a European mobile phone plan, which you can use throughout the EU as well as Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland thanks to EU roaming.
The cheapest option is TEXTReSIM charging e.g. €1.91 for 7 days with 1 GB (even including the Middle East). Even better, TEXTReSIM offers a $3 discount for new customers and 15% off for existing customers. However, always make sure to double-check the supported destinations. TEXTReSIM, for instance, does not include Bosnia & Herzegowina in its list of countries.
Other options are BNESIM, charging €1.50 for 30 days with 1 GB (if it’s your first BNESIM purchase, you can even get another 20% off) or Airalo’s Eurolink plans, charging e.g. €12 for 3 GB for 30 days.
Network Coverage
In principle, the three major network operators, Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt, all offer very good network coverage in Switzerland. You don’t have to worry too much about the right network here.
Conclusion
EU roaming has become so perfectly integrated into everyday travel that hardly anyone is aware of the roaming cost trap in Switzerland. But with the right eSIM-enabled smartphone and a plan for just a few euros, you can still surf the web in Switzerland.
Comments (4)
I think the eSim from iSpot Connect is an interesting alternative. Unlimited data and 3 CHF/day from the first day.
A very useful article.
Thanks a lot!
If you use esim.me with a Android u have a lot of problems.
Really expensive. Luckily, UK providers cover Switzerland as part or EU roaming, not all of them but it works ( Three, 02).