·By MyeSIMPlan Advisors·Prices verified weekly
Step 1
Tap the apps that will be part of your trip. The more data-hungry ones move the needle most.
Step 2
Time spent on mobile data, not counting hotel or cafe Wi-Fi.
Step 3
The biggest variable in your eSIM plan size is not your destination; it is your app habits. Maps and messaging are lightweight, using 50-100 MB per hour at most. Social media with photos lands in the 200-500 MB per hour range. Video streaming and video calls are the heavy hitters at roughly 1 GB per hour for standard definition and 2-3 GB for HD.
The calculator above works by averaging the data rates of the apps you select, multiplying by the hours you spend on cellular data each day, and projecting across your trip length. The result is a planning estimate, not a guarantee. Real usage varies with video quality settings, signal strength, and how often you connect to Wi-Fi at hotels and cafes.
If your estimate falls near the boundary between two tiers, choose the larger one. Running out of data mid-trip is a worse experience than having a gigabyte left over. Most providers let you top up instantly from their app, but the per-GB cost of a top-up is usually higher than buying the right size upfront.
Unlimited plans from Holafly ($2.99/day) make economic sense when your estimate exceeds about 7-10 GB for a week. At that point, the daily rate costs less than stacking large per-gigabyte bundles, and you gain the peace of mind of never counting data. Remote workers, streamers, and frequent video-callers almost always belong on unlimited.
