Planning a vacation in the Dominican Republic and want to stay online with your smartphone without relying on the hotel Wi-Fi? In addition to a local SIM card, affordable eSIM plans are a perfect way to avoid expensive roaming fees.
However, the prerequisite is that your smartphone supports eSIM profiles:
What is an eSIM and is my phone compatible?
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.
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Compare Plans
Here, you can easily find the right plan. Simply select your travel dates and the required data volume, and suitable eSIM plans will be displayed.
Cheapest Providers
Unlike other countries, where there are plenty of providers charging almost identical prices, Gigsky clearly stands out as the cheapest provider for the Dominican Republic. The only plan that beats Gigsky’s price of €2,40 per GB is Airhub’s 4GB plan for €9, costing only €2,25 per GB (or even less with this 5% coupon).
Here are a few typical combinations of GB and duration for comparison:
| Providers | 1GB for 7 days | 3GB for 30 days | 5GB for 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roamify | 365 days | 365 days | |
| Nomad | |||
| Airalo | |||
| Roamless | |||
| RedteaGO | 5GB | ||
| MoreMins | 10 days | 5GB | |
| Yesim | €6 | €18 | €24 |
| Ubigi | €5 | €24 10GB | €24 10GB |
| SimOptions | |||
| Saily | |||
| Textr | |||
| Jetpac | 3GB | 5GB | |
| BetterRoaming | €8 | €21 | €30 |
| ETravelSim | 30 days | 20GB | |
| eSIM4Travel | 5GB | ||
| Amigo | 14 days | ||
| Knowroaming | 10GB | 10GB | |
| BNESIM | €8 | €24 | €38 |
| MTX Connect | €9 2GB | €30 | €30 10GB |
| Sim Local | €12 | €22 | €30 15GB 31 days |
| eSIMania | |||
| eSIM.sm | €8 | €67 10GB | €67 10GB |
| Breeze | €16 | €39 | €60 |
| Instabridge | €10 | €61 10GB | €61 10GB |
| Esimatic | 2GB 15 days | ||
| Firsty | €23 | €90 | €90 |
| Buddysim | €25 | €64 | €93 |
| Maya Mobile | 30GB 10 days | 90GB | 90GB |
| Truely |
Pay for What You Use
If you’re only in the Dominican Republic for a very short time and only plan to use a tiny bit of data, the “Pay as you go” plan from Yesim might be worthwhile. Here, you pay €0.07 per MB, which equals €7 for 1 GB. As mentioned before, that’s only a smart option if you really only intend to use very little data (e.g. if you’re only there for one day with a cruise).
The Best Network in the Dominican Republic
There are three mobile network operators in the Dominican Republic: Claro, Altice, and Viva. According to nPerf, Claro offers the best coverage, but Altice should not cause major issues either. It’s best to avoid Viva if you’re travelling outside cities and tourist hotspots.