The esims.AI Blog: Giving you the lowdown on all things Travel eSIM
What are Roaming Fees for Americans in 2023?
Published on by Neil in Roaming Charges. Last updated on .
International Roaming fees for those living in the United States are quite variable, depending on the plan you have. Some plans include international roaming, and add-on packages are available from $5 to $50 depending on duration and data allowance. Generally, add-on packages are more expensive that purchasing an eSIM. In this article we break down what those fees are for the top three service providers in the United States.
Roaming Fees for Americans
Before setting off on your journey, take some time to familiarize yourself with your cellular plan's roaming charges. Most providers offer higher end plans that include some roaming, ranging from covering in Canada and Mexico, through to more pricey plans covering Europe and even global roaming plans.
Verizon
Verizon, the largest cellular provider in the United States, offers a number of roaming options.
TravelPass
TravelPass is an add-on product which allows you to use your own data when travelling. TravelPass currently costs $10/day for 210+ countries and destinations, and $5/day covering Canada and Mexico.
Roaming in Canada and Mexico is included with Start, Play, Do, Get and other Unlimited plans, and international roaming is included in some Unlimited Plans (1 day of TravelPass is accumulated per month of service, expiring after 12 months). TravelPass includes unlimited data, calls, and texts - but is is limited to 2GB of high speed data per day, whereupon it falls back to 3G speeds.
Here are a couple of examples of eSIMs that you can purchase for the same price as one day of TravelPass, and these are valid for 30 days. Clearly TravelPass is not a good deal.
Maya Mobile Germany 5GB 30 Days eSIM
5 GB
Valid for 30 days
MOGO eSim EUROPE31 3
3 GB
Valid for 30 days
Covers 31 countries
International Monthly
Verizon also offers a $100/mo International Monthly Plan, which is a optionally-recurring, one-time bundle offering 20GB/month of high speed data and unlimited 3G data. A 20GB eSIM package is much cheaper than purchasing this bundle from Verizon, some examples are shown below.
Maya Mobile Europe+ Unlimited eSIM
Unlimited
Valid for 30 days
Covers 30 countries
Yesim European Union Unlimited
Unlimited
Valid for 15 days
Covers 31 countries
Mexico and Canada
Roaming in Mexico and Canada is included in any Unlimited Verizon plan, but if you are not travelling to Mexico and Canada, we suggest you purchase an eSIM for your destination.
Links
T-Mobile & Sprint
Included Data
Verizon claims to offer high speed data with no international roaming charges, with Go5G and Go5G Plus plans offering some some high speed data for subscribers.
GO5G plans provide 10GB high-speed data in select Central European countries, and then degrades to 256 Kbps speeds. The "select" countries are: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, and Greece. If you are on a Go5G plan and not travelling to one of those countries, then purchasing an eSIM makes sense.
GO5G Plus plans offer up to 15GB high-speed data globally (215+ countries and destinations), degrading to 256 Kbps after 15GB. 256Kbps is basically unusable, so do not consider that to be a serious option if you require more than 15GB.
International Pass
International Pass is an option that T-Mobile subscribers can add to their existing plan while travelling, and can be added to any plan. Below is a breakdown of the current options.
| International Pass | Price | Data | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| International 1-Day Pass | $5 | 0.5GB | 24 hr |
| 5GB International Pass | $35 | 5GB | 10 days |
| 15GB International Pass | $50 | 15GB | 30 days |
As you can see, these options are not competitive with current eSIM prices, and Americans would be much better off purchasing an eSIM and using that to travel with.
Here are a couple of examples of eSIMs that you can purchase, and as you can see, T-Mobile's International Passes are not a good deal.
O2 - Tourist eSIM Go Card 10GB
10 GB
Valid for 30 days
Covers 37 countries
Yesim European Union 5GB
5 GB
Valid for 7 days
Covers 31 countries
MOGO eSim EUROPE31(Free 3-day 3GB)
10 GB
Valid for 90 days
Covers 31 countries
Mexico and Canada
T-Mobile does offer free data roaming to Go5G and Go5G Plus subscribers. Go5G Plus plans give you up to 15GB of high-speed data, and Go5G plans provide up to 10GB of high-speed data.
Links
AT&T Mobility
AT&T does not currently offer any global roaming included in any of it's plans, but does offer a number of roaming options. Some plans do have inclusive roaming in certain countries. There are limited to tethering, so check the AT&T small print for those.
International Day Pass
International Day Pass allows AT&T subscribers to use their existing plan (if eligible) in 210+ destinations with unlimited talk, text, and high-speed data. International Day Pass currently costs $10/day ($5/day for additional lines travelling with you). International Day Pass is also limited to a maximum of 10 days per bill, meaning a maximum charge of $100 per billing cycle regardless of how many days you are travelling.
If you go over the amount of data in your domestic plan, overage charges or data speed reduction of up to 128Kbps apply in accordance with the terms of your domestic plan, just like they would do at home, regardless of it you have the International Day Pass.
The AT&T International Day Pass is not a good deal. Here are a few examples of eSIMs that you can purchase for the same price as one day of International Day Pass, and these are valid for longer than one day.
eTravelSIM Travel eSIM for Mexico 2GB - 28 Days
2 GB
Valid for 28 days
Maya Mobile LatAm 1GB Prepaid eSIM
1 GB
Valid for 30 days
Covers 19 countries
For less than the price of two days of International Day Pass, the options dramatically expand.
AT&T Mobile Hotspot Add-on
AT&T offers a one-time hotspot add-on, providing 10GB of additional mobile hotspot data for $15.
Mexico & Canada
Every AT&T Unlimited plan includes unlimited talk, text, and data in and between the United States, Mexico, and Canada at no extra cost. Note that this does not apply to all plans, only unlimited plans.
Included Data
The AT&T Unlimited Premium plan includes unlimited talk, text, and high-speed data in 19 Latin American countries. These countries are currently Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
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Alternatives to Data Roaming for Americans
There are many eSIMs available through esimsAI that are much more competitive than roaming add-ons offered by Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T, as we encourage you to visit esimsAI and choose your destination to see what options are available. These eSIMs provide an alternative to expensive American roaming fees for anyone with an eSIM-capable phone.