Best eSIM for Portugal 2026: What Worked in 220 Traveler Reports

Best eSIM Providers for Portugal

eSIM plans in Portugal at a glance

How well each provider's eSIM works in Portugal

The Vefru score is our overall rating of the provider. The percentage shows how many reviewers said their eSIM worked well in Portugal. Since unhappy customers review more often, it is best used to compare providers with each other.

8.4Our score

Worked well in Portugal

58 of 60 reviewers

97%

Visit website Detailed review

7.1Our score

Worked well in Portugal

34 of 35 reviewers

97%

Visit website Detailed review

7.1Our score

Worked well in Portugal

27 of 30 reviewers

90%

Visit website Detailed review

7.2Our score

Worked well in Portugal

36 of 42 reviewers

86%

Visit website Detailed review

6.3Our score

Worked well in Portugal

17 of 21 reviewers

81%

Visit website Detailed review

7.5Our score

Worked well in Portugal

18 of 27 reviewers

67%

Visit website Detailed review

6.9Our score

Worked well in Portugal

9 of 9 reviewers

100%

Visit website Detailed review

6.6Our score

Worked well in Portugal

6 of 6 reviewers

100%

Visit website Detailed review

7.8Our score

Worked well in Portugal

5 of 5 reviewers

100%

Visit website Detailed review

8.0Our score

Worked well in Portugal

15 of 16 reviewers

94%

Visit website Detailed review

8.1Our score

Worked well in Portugal

4 of 5 reviewers

80%

Visit website Detailed review

7.1Our score

Worked well in Portugal

7 of 10 reviewers

70%

Visit website Detailed review

8.8Our score

Worked well in Portugal

1 of 1 reviewers

100%

Visit website Detailed review

6.1Our score

Worked well in Portugal

0 of 0 reviewers

0%

Visit website Detailed review

Compare all eSIM plans in Portugal

How we got these numbers: we read 267 public customer reviews that mention Portugal or a place in it, published between March 2024 and August 2026, and counted a report as "worked" when the reviewer said the eSIM connected, even with small hiccups. We treat 20 or more reports as strong evidence, 3 to 19 as limited, and fewer than 3 as too few to judge. A count like 58 of 60 means the eSIM worked well for 58 of the 60 travelers who reported from here; each provider section says what went wrong for the rest. The Vefru test score is a separate number: our own hands-on test of the provider, run outside Portugal, so it says how the provider behaves, not how the network performs here. Local operator prices in the text were checked on 29 Aug 2026; provider ratings, the plan tables and the price-per-GB chart are live and update on their own.

We chose the Best group on traveler reports in Portugal first, price position in our comparison second and our own hands-on findings third; eSIM4Travel is in it for its price and help desk, with its single report stated as it is.

Maya Mobile eSIM in Portugal: best for most trips

8.4 /10

Vefru score Excellent Score details

• Purchase process9/10
• Mobile app8/10
• eSIM installation9/10
• Customer support6/10
• Speed test9/10
• Prices8/10
• Customer feedback9/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Maya Mobile sells one product: a global unlimited eSIM plan for 165+ countries that you install once and switch on for every trip. It was fast in our test, and it is the cheapest global unlimited plan we have compared. There are no single-country plans, and nothing shorter than 3 days.

Key facts

• 165+ countries
• iPhone app 4.5
• Android app 4.7
• Auto Top-Up
• Hotspot
• 5.5 GB/day at full speed

Trustpilot

4.5/512,788 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Cheapest global unlimited plan

Very fast: 785 Mbps on 5G

Worked for 91% of travelers

Quick checkout, many ways to pay

No country or short plans

Pushes auto top-up hard

Clunky WhatsApp support

“Unlimited” has a hidden daily limit

Maya Mobile eSIM in our hands

Go to Maya Mobile website View full review

Based on the reports and our tests, Maya Mobile is the best option for most trips to Portugal because its one global unlimited plan had the best record of any provider with strong evidence and costs less than any other global unlimited plan we compare. It worked well for 58 of 60 travelers who reported from Portugal (97%), the largest sample for any provider here. The successes cover the whole country: three weeks on the mainland, a month that ran on into Norway, Madeira and the Canaries on one eSIM, the Azores, Évora and the Algarve, and a week of maps on the Camino Português. Several travelers connected the moment they landed and never thought about it again. One wrote in Aug 2025 that it "connected right away upon landing and worked perfectly" during three weeks in Portugal.

The two misses were total: one eSIM never connected during a November 2025 trip despite roaming being on and several restarts, and the traveler then argued with Maya over its money-back promise; a second traveler in Oct 2025 said it did not work for four days and that the help desk sent instructions for the wrong phone. Smaller complaints did not count as misses but tell you what to expect: a slow connection in Évora compared with a local Lycamobile SIM (Jun 2024), no signal at some attractions in Lisbon (Jun 2025), poor MEO service on day one before the eSIM switched itself to Vodafone (Oct 2024), and one eSIM that connected to Vodafone on 4G only, without 5G (May 2025). Two reviewers also found that having no phone number blocked SMS codes and a bike rental in Porto.

What sets Maya Mobile apart is the plan range: no Portugal plan at all, only one global unlimited plan sold for 3, 7, 14 or 30 days, plus a pricier version with cruise coverage. Our comparison tool lists it at 5 GB a day at full speed before it slows, with a daily reset; in our own test the slowdown came after more than 5 GB in a day, the fairest unlimited rule we have tested, with 5G from the first minute. Maya does not name its Portuguese network on its page (checked August 2026), but reviewers saw both MEO and Vodafone. The eSIM arrives by email and QR code, the app is optional, and you set the APN "globaldata" and roaming yourself. The drawbacks: nothing for a one- or two-day trip, data only, and a WhatsApp help desk that in our test took a five-step form before a human answered. Our hands-on Maya Mobile review has the setup screenshots. You can buy it at Maya Mobile.

Holafly eSIM in Portugal: islands and unlimited, capped speeds

7.1 /10

Vefru score Very good Score details

• Purchase process7/10
• Mobile app7/10
• eSIM installation9/10
• Customer support6/10
• Speed test4/10
• Prices5/10
• Customer feedback9.4/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Holafly is an Irish eSIM provider built around unlimited data, with trip eSIMs for 200+ destinations. Travelers report it working more often than any other provider we track. Its weak points are speed and price: our test ran at about 30 Mbps on 5G, and its unlimited plans cost more than most.

Key facts

• 200+ destinations
• iPhone app 4.8
• Android app 4.7
• No top-ups
• Hotspot 1 GB/day
• 30 to 40 Mbps

Trustpilot

4.7/5113,513 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Truly unlimited data

Most reliable we track: 92% worked

One-tap install, no QR code

6 months to refund an unused eSIM

Slow: about 30–40 Mbps on 5G

Pricier than other unlimited eSIMs

Saved our card without asking

No top-ups, buy a new eSIM instead

Holafly eSIM in our hands

Go to Holafly website View full review

Holafly is the pick for the Azores and for anyone who wants unlimited data without watching a meter, with one condition our test makes unavoidable: its speed was capped from the first megabyte, well below what a local SIM got on the same cell. It worked well for 34 of 35 travelers who reported from Portugal (97%), the equal-best record here, and every one of its 4 reports from the Azores was positive, including one traveler who called the islands "a very spotty location" and another whose Airalo had failed there first. In practice the cap means Holafly is fine for maps, messaging, browsing and streaming, and slow for large downloads, uploads, cloud backups and laptop work. The hotspot is limited to 1 GB a day according to its Portugal page (its roaming page says 500 MB, as of August 2026), and there are no top-ups: when a plan ends you buy a new eSIM.

The one miss was a Europe pack in July 2026 that failed in most big cities, cost the traveler hours of troubleshooting and ended in a partial refund. The near-misses are instructive: two travelers needed the chat to fix snags before the eSIM connected, and one described coverage as "good, not stellar". Everything else reads the same way: cruises calling at Portuguese and Spanish ports with instant connections, a 12-week stay across Spain and Portugal, 250 km of the Camino Português by bike with the phone as the map, and seniors who installed it alone. Support is a recurring reason people come back: fast chat agents who issued a credit when one traveler moved from Portugal to Spain, and who moved a plan to a new phone after a theft.

Holafly's Portugal page names MEO, NOS and Vodafone, one of only three providers here (with Airalo and Saily) whose page names all three networks (as of August 2026), which is the likeliest reason for its island record. It sells unlimited plans only, priced per day from 1 to 90 days, installed with one tap in the app; a deleted eSIM cannot be reinstalled. On price it is the most expensive unlimited option in our comparison, a little above the other unlimited sellers. Its Portugal plans were not in our comparison tool when we exported the data, so there is no plan table below. Our Holafly test shows the speed measurements behind the cap. The plans are at Holafly.

GigSky eSIM in Portugal: cruises and free Visa plans

7.1 /10

Vefru score Very good Score details

• Purchase process7/10
• Mobile app6/10
• eSIM installation8/10
• Customer support9/10
• Speed test6/10
• Prices4/10
• Customer feedback8.6/10
• Coverage8/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

GigSky is a US travel eSIM that works like its own operator, with plans for 190+ destinations plus cruise, ferry and in-flight plans. Its app stays partly online after your data runs out. But its fixed-data plans are the most expensive of the 12 providers we compared.

Key facts

• 190+ destinations
• iPhone app 4.5
• Android app 3.9
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• 3.5 GB/day cap

Trustpilot

4.3/57,194 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Buy more data even with none left

Cruise, ferry and in-flight plans

Human support answered right away

Cheap 1-day unlimited passes

Most expensive per GB we track

App required, no Google Pay

Clunky, web-like app

Less reliable than average

GigSky eSIM in our hands

Go to GigSky website View full review

GigSky is the pick for cruise passengers sailing from Lisbon and for travelers whose Visa card includes a free GigSky plan, because its Portugal record is strong and, unlike in Asia or Africa, its prices here sit around the market average. It worked well for 27 of 30 travelers who reported from Portugal (90%). The successes are mostly Canadians and Americans on the Visa plan: two weeks with a connection "anywhere in Portugal", a party of ten all online, a cruise from Lisbon around the Canaries and Morocco, and both Azores reports positive, one with data between mountains where friends on other SIMs had none (Mar 2026).

The three misses were outright failures, not slow spots: one traveler had no data in Portugal but did in Spain (Jun 2026), one Visa plan showed as connected and never passed data (May 2026), and a Cruise and Land plan took two days of troubleshooting to download, was slow when it connected and was replaced by a Holafly eSIM (Apr 2026). Two 3-star reviews describe a weaker connection than a companion's other eSIM in cities and in rural spots, and intermittent drops across Spain and Portugal. One traveler needed a settings tweak when crossing from Portugal into Spain. Support, by contrast, is praised for quick, clear answers, which matches our test, where a human answered at once.

GigSky's Portugal plans run from 1 GB for 7 days through 3, 5 and 10 GB to 20 GB for 90 days and 50 GB for 180 days, plus a 1-day unlimited pass that slows after 2.5 GB. Europe and Cruise plans cover Portugal as well. It does not name its network on its page (checked August 2026). The app is a wrapped website and you must use it to buy, but it is one of only two apps we tested that stays online when your data runs out, so you can buy more without Wi-Fi. The main drawback is price outside this comparison: GigSky is the dearest provider overall, so a regional plan that also covers Morocco costs far more than a Portugal-only one. Our GigSky review covers the cruise behaviour. Plans are at GigSky.

Nomad eSIM in Portugal: trails and bikes, weak support

7.2 /10

Vefru score Very good Score details

• Purchase process8/10
• Mobile app7/10
• eSIM installation8/10
• Customer support2/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices7/10
• Customer feedback8.6/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Nomad is a US travel eSIM brand run by LotusFlare, with plans for more than 200 destinations. It has a polished native app, fast data and prices close to the market average almost everywhere. Its weak spot is support: the chat is an AI bot with no route to a human.

Key facts

• 200+ destinations
• iPhone app 4.8
• Android app 4.5
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• 2 GB/day cap

Trustpilot

4.3/544,625 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Quick, easy purchase

Great app with a data widget

Fast, full-speed data

Fair prices almost everywhere

Support is a bot, no human

Easy to lose the install button

App stops when your data runs out

No refund after install

Nomad eSIM in our hands

Go to Nomad website View full review

Nomad is the pick for walkers, cyclists and long stays, provided you will not need the help desk: it has the second-largest sample here and the most reports from remote places, but in our test its chatbot had no route to a human. It worked well for 36 of 42 travelers who reported from Portugal (86%). The successes include the Camino with no issues, a cyclist who kept data "at all times even in remote situations" across Spain and Portugal (May 2026), 30 days in the Azores, remote parts of Madeira, a week of laptop tethering, and one Portugal plan that covered the mainland, the Azores and Madeira together (Jul 2026), which matters because Nomad's page says coverage may exclude overseas territories.

The six misses split into two groups. Dead plans: one eSIM worked for two days and then not at all for three weeks (Jul 2026), one stopped on day four of ten while the traveler was driving (Aug 2026, later replaced), one could not connect at all (Jun 2026), and one 50 GB plan had almost no signal for a month (Jun 2026). Rural drops: travelers in rural Portugal, southern Spain and France found the connection dropping while the phone still showed service, and one long-time user restarted the phone every morning to reconnect. Cities had their own complaints: no service for the last two days in Porto, a long outage at Lisbon airport, slow data in Lisbon, and a connection that never rose above 4G. One traveler was rescued in Lisbon's old town by a GoMoWorld eSIM when Nomad left him without service.

Nomad's Portugal plans run from 1 GB (3 or 7 days) through 3, 5, 10, 20 and 50 GB for 30 days, plus unlimited for 3, 5, 7 or 10 days at 2 GB a day before it slows; Europe and global plans also cover Portugal, and our comparison tool lists its Portugal plans on Vodafone. Its page names "MEO / Vodafone / Sonaecom", the last a legacy company name rather than a network brand (as of August 2026). The app is fast and has a home-screen data widget, the QR arrives by email, and the plan has to be activated within a window (its page said 60 days when we checked; the listing in our tool says 30) before it starts on its own. On price Nomad is above the market average in Portugal, unlike in the Americas where it is cheap. Our Nomad review documents the support loop. Plans are at Nomad.

Ubigi eSIM in Portugal: fastest network, no fallback

6.3 /10

Vefru score Good Score details

• Purchase process4/10
• Mobile app3/10
• eSIM installation8/10
• Customer support2/10
• Speed test9/10
• Prices7/10
• Customer feedback8.2/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Ubigi is the travel eSIM brand of Paris operator Transatel, with one reusable eSIM for 200+ destinations. Data was fast in our test, and its 3 GB, 10 GB and 30-day unlimited plans are cheap. Its weak point is support: a chatbot that ends in an email ticket, with no live agent.

Key facts

• 200+ destinations
• iPhone app 4.6
• Android app 3.7
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• 568 Mbps on 5G

Trustpilot

4.1/547,238 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

eSIM by email in a minute

Very fast: 568 Mbps on 5G

Cheap 3 GB, 10 GB and 30-day unlimited

Buy more data even with none left

No live support, only email tickets

Confusing website and app

Few plan sizes, no 20 GB

No refund after you scan the QR code

Ubigi eSIM in our hands

Go to Ubigi website View full review

Ubigi is the pick for travelers who want the fastest network in Portugal on a laptop or tablet as well as a phone, and who can live with a help desk that never answered us. It worked well for 17 of 21 travelers who reported from Portugal (81%), with a spotless 4 of 4 in Lisbon. The successes describe stable, fast data: a party of six that kept in touch across Lisbon and regrouped at the airport (Aug 2026), a trip through Porto, Lisbon, Évora and the Algarve that "worked amazingly" (May 2026), and an eSIM that switched itself on at landing when travelers without one could not connect. Ubigi is the only provider in this set that runs on MEO alone, which nPerf's 2025 measurements put first for raw download speed and 5G.

The four misses were mostly about getting started rather than coverage. One traveler found the eSIM had vanished from her phone before the trip and got no answer from support in time (May 2026); another bought an Azores plan that took four days and several messages to activate (May 2026); one couple could not connect outdoors for most of a trip through France, Portugal and Spain; and one Lisbon user said it did not always work and fell back to his home roaming. Smaller gripes: occasional disconnects fixed by a restart, a two-day wait before the first connection in the UK and Portugal, and a battery that drained fast while the phone hunted for towers.

Ubigi sells Portugal plans of 3, 10, 25 and 50 GB for 30 days, plus unlimited for 7, 15 or 30 days with a stated fair-use allowance of 20 GB on the 7-day plan and 60 GB on the 30-day plan before it slows (as of August 2026); Europe and World plans also cover Portugal. Data sharing is allowed, the eSIM works on Windows laptops and tablets, and you can pick a home or local IP. On price it is around the market average here and has the cheapest 30-day unlimited median in our comparison. The drawbacks are the clunky site and wrapped-website app, a plan that expires if not activated within 6 months, and our support ticket that went unanswered for 24 hours. One upside we found in our Ubigi test: the app warns you below 95 MB and lets you buy more with a zero balance. Plans are at Ubigi.

eSIM4Travel eSIM in Portugal: cheapest here, one report

8.8 /10

Vefru score Excellent Score details

• Purchase process8/10
• eSIM installation8/10
• Customer support10/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices10/10
• Customer feedback8.8/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of seven categories from our own paid test and customer reviews. eSIM4Travel has no app, so we do not score one.

eSIM4Travel is a US eSIM seller with plans for 158 destinations and no app. It was the cheapest provider in our price database, and its support was the best we have tested. Without an app, you cannot reach the store to top up once your data runs out.

Key facts

• 158 destinations
• No app
• Web only
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• No throttling

Trustpilot

4.4/5202 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardPayPalApple Pay

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Cheapest provider we track

Quick, helpful human support

Fast, no throttling

Website in 41 languages

No app: out of data, you need Wi‑Fi to top up

US dollars only, no Google Pay

Unlimited slows after 3 GB a day

No refund after 10% of data used

eSIM4Travel eSIM in our hands

Go to eSIM4Travel website View full review

eSIM4Travel is the pick for the lowest price in Portugal with a human on the help desk, and it earns its place on our test rather than on traveler reports: only 1 traveler has reported from Portugal so far, positive, which is too few to judge. That traveler had used it in Portugal, Montenegro and France over a year and praised the swift help with installation (Jul 2025). In our own test, outside Portugal, the chatbot handed us to a person in one click who solved the problem and added a tip to switch network; the QR code installed and worked right away; and the purchase ran on the website with the eSIM sent by email, no app needed.

Its Portugal plans are the widest ladder in the Best group: 500 MB and 1 GB day plans, 1 GB for 7 days, then 3, 5, 10, 20 and 50 GB for 30 days, and unlimited from 3 to 30 days at 3 GB a day before it slows. Its plan names list MEO, Vodafone and NOS, and so does its page, but the network widget on the same page listed only Vodafone and MEO when we checked in August 2026, so treat the three-network claim as unconfirmed. On price it is the cheapest provider in Portugal in our comparison, by a clear margin at every size up to 20 GB, and the cheapest unlimited too.

The downsides are the same everywhere: no app, no Google Pay, and once your data runs out you cannot reach the store without Wi-Fi, because there is no app to keep a trickle open. Data only, one install per eSIM, and a 90-day window to activate after purchase. Our eSIM4Travel review shows the help-desk exchange. Plans are at eSIM4Travel.

Other eSIM Providers for Portugal

We tested all of these too. They sit here because their Portugal record is thin, because their misses were frequent, or because a finding from our own test counts against them. Each one still has readers it suits, and the plan tables show what they sell.

Airalo eSIM in Portugal: most misses of any provider

7.5 /10

Vefru score Very good Score details

• Purchase process9/10
• Mobile app8/10
• eSIM installation9/10
• Customer support7/10
• Speed test7/10
• Prices5/10
• Customer feedback8.2/10
• Coverage7/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Airalo is an eSIM marketplace from Singapore with plans for 200+ destinations, some with calls and texts. It is easy to buy and install. But prices sit at the market median, and travelers report more failed connections than with any other provider we track.

Key facts

• 200+ destinations
• iPhone app 4.6
• Android app 4.3
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• No cap on fixed plans

Trustpilot

4.1/545,721 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Buy on the web, no app needed

Works right after install

Fast, no speed cap on fixed plans

Most plans with calls and texts

Average prices, not cheap

Lowest success rate we track: 72% worked

App stops when your data runs out

Clunky checkout, no QR download

Airalo eSIM in our hands

Go to Airalo website View full review

Airalo is the biggest name here and the one with the weakest Portugal record: it worked well for 18 of 27 travelers who reported from Portugal (67%), and its 9 misses, a third of its reports, are the highest share of failures of any provider here. The misses are concrete: three travelers in one group had no internet all day in Lisbon (Jun 2026), one could not connect in Lisbon after failing in Madrid and Dallas, one gave up and bought a SIM in Lisbon, one had a host network with no connection for a seven-day stay (Jul 2026), one eSIM cut out in Porto and was replaced, a family of four lost service at once, and a Portugal plan did not work in the Azores despite advice that it would (Jul 2026). The successes come from frequent travelers who use Airalo in a dozen countries, install it before landing and praise the top-up and referral features; one short outage after changing islands in the Azores was fixed by chat within hours.

Airalo's Portugal plans are sold under three local brand names (Fofo Mobil and Pico on NOS, Porto on Vodafone), from 1 GB for 3 days to 50 GB for 30 days, plus unlimited at 3 GB a day before it slows; its page names NOS, Vodafone and MEO (as of August 2026). The Discover+ regional plans that cover Portugal add calls and texts with a US number, the only way to get voice from a Best- or Other-group provider here, and the main reason to still choose Airalo. On price it is at the market average in Portugal, never cheap. Our Airalo review found the smoothest purchase of all but the lowest reliability across countries. Plans are at Airalo.

Jetpac eSIM in Portugal: spotless small record, rough app

6.9 /10

Vefru score Good Score details

• Purchase process5/10
• Mobile app5/10
• eSIM installation9/10
• Customer support5/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices5/10
• Customer feedback9.4/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Jetpac is a Singapore eSIM provider with plans in 129 countries. It adds extras like in-app calls, free WhatsApp and Google Maps after your data runs out, and lounge access on delayed flights. Its website, app and support are rough, so it suits travelers who can fix small issues themselves.

Key facts

• 129 countries
• iPhone app 4.0
• Android app 4.1
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• 3 GB/day cap

Trustpilot

4.7/53,528 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle Pay

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

WhatsApp and Maps keep working without data

Unlimited hotspot

Cheap calls in the app

Free lounge if your flight is late

Slow website, confusing checkout

No top-up once your data runs out

Slow, technical support

Pricey for 3–20 GB

Jetpac eSIM in our hands

Go to Jetpac website View full review

Jetpac has a perfect but small record: it worked well for 9 of 9 travelers who reported from Portugal (limited evidence), so it misses the Best group on sample size and on the rough app and slow site we found in our test. No traveler reported a failure here. The themes are a help desk that fixes things fast over WhatsApp (activation in Porto, a glitch on landing in the Azores, a second pack that would not start), Madeira and the Azores working, and one traveler who burned through 10 GB in three days and moved to unlimited. One 3-star review of a worldwide plan rated Portugal "good" while Finland failed and support went quiet for days.

Jetpac's Portugal plans run from 1 GB (4 days) and 3 GB (7 days) through 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 GB for 30 days, plus unlimited for 3 to 21 days at 3 GB per 24 hours before it slows; the unlimited plans are flagged 4G only in our comparison tool, while the fixed plans list 5G. Its page does not name a network; a third party reports NOS and Vodafone (as of August 2026). Extras set it apart: WhatsApp, Google Maps and Uber keep working after your data runs out on packs of 3 GB or more, hotspot is unlimited, voice packs are sold in the app, and a flight delay of an hour unlocks a free lounge. Its Portugal page priced 20 GB above 30 GB when we checked, so look at the table twice. On price Jetpac sits at the market average here. Our Jetpac review has the app findings. Plans are at Jetpac.

Yesim eSIM in Portugal: six good reports, slowest support

6.6 /10

Vefru score Good Score details

• Purchase process6/10
• Mobile app7/10
• eSIM installation8/10
• Customer support2/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices5/10
• Customer feedback8.6/10
• Coverage8/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Yesim is a Swiss eSIM provider built around unlimited plans sold by the day, with one eSIM for 200+ destinations. Data was fast in our test. But its support was among the slowest we have tested, and its fixed-data country plans cost more than most rivals.

Key facts

• 200+ destinations
• iPhone app 4.6
• Android app 4.7
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• Possible slowdown

Trustpilot

4.3/52,963 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Fast data in our test

Unlimited plans by the day

Pay with PayPal, Klarna or crypto

Website in 44 languages

Among the slowest support we've tested

Pricey fixed-data country plans

No top-up once your data runs out

Signs you up for marketing emails

Yesim eSIM in our hands

Go to Yesim website View full review

Yesim has a clean but small record and two findings against it from our test, so it is not a top pick. It worked well for 6 of 6 travelers who reported from Portugal (limited evidence), including 3 of 3 in Lisbon; the review texts we hold do not describe where else it was used. In our test the help desk took 15 to 60 minutes per reply, the second slowest of the fourteen, and our plan started counting down at purchase rather than at first connection, so buy it close to your trip or use the "activate later" option.

Yesim's Portugal plans are mostly unlimited passes sold by the day, from 1 to 30 days, with the operator's fair-use rule unquantified on its page, plus fixed plans from 500 MB to 30 GB; Europe and global bundles also cover Portugal. It does not name its network on its page (checked August 2026). On price it is the most expensive provider in Portugal in our comparison for fixed data, with the unlimited passes at the market average. It suits experienced users who want a day-based unlimited pass and will not need help. Our Yesim review explains the plan-start finding. Plans are at Yesim.

GoMoWorld eSIM in Portugal: five good reports, press Start

7.8 /10

Vefru score Very good Score details

• Purchase process8/10
• Mobile app8/10
• eSIM installation8/10
• Customer support6/10
• Speed test10/10
• Prices7/10
• Customer feedback7.6/10
• Coverage8/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

GoMoWorld is the travel eSIM brand of Irish operator eir, with plans in 202 countries. Every destination has the same four euro prices, and we saw no throttling at all. The catch is that everything happens in the app, and human support works only in office hours.

Key facts

• 202 countries
• iPhone app 4.8
• Android app 4.6
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• No throttling

Trustpilot

3.8/51,987 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle Pay

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Very fast, no throttling

Among the cheapest from 5 GB

Clean, easy app

Start the plan when you land

App only, no QR code

Human support only in office hours

App stops when your data runs out

Weaker in the US, Japan and China

GoMoWorld eSIM in our hands

Go to GoMoWorld website View full review

GoMoWorld is the cheapest way to a lot of data here and had no misses, but five reports are too few for the Best group. It worked well for 5 of 5 travelers who reported from Portugal (limited evidence). The texts describe Madeira with no lost signal (Jun 2026), a rescue in Lisbon's historic centre when a Nomad eSIM died (May 2025), and prompt email replies. The two warnings: one traveler struggled to set it up in Portugal until data roaming was switched on, and another found weak reception at Porto airport (Apr 2026). Both match our test in Austria, where the most common cause of "not working" is forgetting to press Start.

GoMoWorld's Portugal plans are 5 GB for 7 days and 15, 50 or 75 GB for 30 days, with a Europe plan of 2.5 to 35 GB on top; four flat euro prices with the data set per country. No unlimited plan, but our test found no throttling even past 10 GB in a day, the only provider we gave a top speed mark. Its page does not name a network; a third party reports NOS or MEO, user-selectable (as of August 2026). The eSIM exists only in the app, one account covers one device, and humans answer only in office hours. On price it is the third cheapest in Portugal in our comparison. Our GoMoWorld review shows the Start button. Plans are at GoMoWorld.

Global YO eSIM in Portugal: second cheapest, slow help desk

8.0 /10

Vefru score Excellent Score details

• Purchase process8/10
• Mobile app8/10
• eSIM installation9/10
• Customer support5/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices10/10
• Customer feedback8/10
• Coverage8/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Global YO is a US eSIM provider aimed at young travelers, with plans in 195 countries. It is the second cheapest provider in our price data, and buying and installing took minutes. Its weak spot is support: quick to answer, slow to help.

Key facts

• 195 countries
• iPhone app 4.5
• Android app 3.8
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• Over 150 Mbps

Trustpilot

4.0/51,293 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle Pay

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Second cheapest we track

Buy and install in minutes

Apple Pay, Google Pay, social login

Hotspot and top-ups on every plan

Support is slow to actually help

App only, no buying on the web

App stops when your data runs out

Unclear refund rules

Global YO eSIM in our hands

Go to Global YO website View full review

Global YO is the budget choice with a good but limited record: it worked well for 15 of 16 travelers who reported from Portugal (94%), one short of strong evidence, and our test found a slow help desk. The successes are short city breaks, a music festival where the connection held for streaming and maps, a road trip with GPS in small towns, and villages in rural Portugal where a traveler "stayed online for maps and calls" (Dec 2024). The one miss was low-quality data across Portugal, Canada and the US from a traveler who felt the eSIM was not getting the carriers' full speeds (Aug 2026); an older review from Feb 2025 says the eSIM came alive two days late with poor reception. One traveler's app crashed when checking data use.

Global YO's Portugal plans run from 1 GB for 3 days through 3 and 5 GB for 15 days, 10 and 20 GB for 30 days, 50 GB for 45 days and 100 GB for 60 days, plus day plans with a daily allowance; Europe and global plans also cover Portugal, and there is no unlimited plan. It does not name its network on its page (checked August 2026), the purchase is app only, the APN "globaldata" may need setting by hand, and a deleted eSIM cannot be reinstalled. On price it is the second cheapest in Portugal in our comparison, and the gap widens on big plans. Our Global YO review timed the support replies. Plans are at Global YO.

Saily eSIM in Portugal: best app, dearest here

8.1 /10

Vefru score Excellent Score details

• Purchase process7/10
• Mobile app9/10
• eSIM installation9/10
• Customer support10/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices4/10
• Customer feedback9.4/10
• Coverage8/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Saily is the travel eSIM from the company behind NordVPN, with plans for about 200 destinations. It has the smoothest install we have tested, a polished app and a built-in VPN. But prices run above the market in most big European destinations, and traveler reports sit below average.

Key facts

• About 200 destinations
• iPhone app 4.7
• Android app 4.5
• Top-ups
• Hotspot
• 3 or 5 GB/day cap

Trustpilot

4.7/531,741 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle Pay

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Easiest install we've tested

Fast 24/7 human support

Free VPN and ad blocker

Plan starts only when you land

Pricey in big European countries

App required, no eSIM by email

Less reliable than average

App stops when your data runs out

Saily eSIM in our hands

Go to Saily website View full review

Saily has the most polished app and help desk we tested, but too few Portugal reports and the second-highest prices here. It worked well for 4 of 5 travelers who reported from Portugal (limited evidence). The four successes are brief: great signal across Spain and Portugal, "worked well for me in Portugal", easy installs. The one miss was a plan whose data lasted about ten minutes in Portugal and disturbed the traveler's main line (Apr 2026).

Saily's Portugal plans are 1 GB for 7 days, 3 to 20 GB for 30 days and one unlimited plan for 15 days at 5 GB a day before it slows, listed in our comparison tool; its page names MEO, Vodafone and NOS (as of August 2026). The eSIM installs in the app without a QR code, the plan starts on first connection and auto-starts after 180 days, and the app adds a virtual location, an ad blocker and an optional US number. On price Saily is among the two most expensive providers in Portugal in our comparison. It suits a first eSIM where ease matters more than cost. Our Saily review explains why it tops our app and support ranking. Plans are at Saily.

Roamless eSIM in Portugal: credits never expire, weak south

7.1 /10

Vefru score Very good Score details

• Purchase process5/10
• Mobile app7/10
• eSIM installation7/10
• Customer support7/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices5/10
• Customer feedback9/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

Roamless is a US provider built around one global eSIM for 203 destinations, paid with pay-as-you-go credit. It was fast and unthrottled in our test, and travelers report it working in 91% of cases. Its weak point is buying: the website forces you into the app, and large data amounts cost more than most rivals.

Key facts

• 203 destinations
• iPhone app 4.8
• Android app 4.1
• Pay-as-you-go
• Unlimited hotspot
• No throttling

Trustpilot

4.5/51,746 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle Pay

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

One eSIM for 200+ destinations

Fast, no throttling

Worked for 91% of travelers

Free 500 MB trial

Website pushes you into the app

We had to fix the APN to get data

Credit can expire after 12 months

Pricey for 10 GB and up

Roamless eSIM in our hands

Go to Roamless website View full review

Roamless has a mixed Portugal record and setup trouble that matches our test, so it is not a top pick. It worked well for 7 of 10 travelers who reported from Portugal (70%, limited evidence). The successes are six weeks in the Algarve each winter, Spain and Portugal road trips, a bus crossing from Spain where an app refresh found a local network, and calls to a Portuguese mobile number. The three misses: a traveler who could not set it up on an iPhone 12 in Portugal after it had worked in New Zealand (he had deleted the eSIM), a Samsung user whose home SIM overrode the APN so data never worked (Oct 2025), and a user who had almost no connection in southern Portugal while the north was "a bit better" (Oct 2025).

Roamless sells one global eSIM: pay-as-you-go credit that never expires, 30-day Portugal plans from 1 GB to 200 GB, and a free trial plan for new users; no unlimited plan, no throttling claimed, unlimited hotspot. Its page does not name a network, but our comparison tool lists its Portugal plans on MEO (as of August 2026). In our test the preset APN did not work until we picked "Proximus Internet", the same kind of fix the Samsung reviewer needed. On price it is around the market average in Portugal, cheap for 1 GB and dear from 10 GB up. It suits light users who hop between countries. Our Roamless review has the APN fix. Plans are at Roamless.

ByteSIM eSIM in Portugal: no reports, no top-ups

6.1 /10

Vefru score Good Score details

• Purchase process4/10
• Mobile app4/10
• eSIM installation7/10
• Customer support2/10
• Speed test8/10
• Prices5/10
• Customer feedback9.6/10
• Coverage9/10

Average of eight categories from our own paid test and customer reviews.

ByteSIM is a Hong Kong eSIM shop with a huge catalog: daily, fixed and unlimited plans for about 200 destinations. Data was fast in our test, and travelers report it working in 88% of cases. The checkout, the app and support were the weak points.

Key facts

• About 200 destinations
• iPhone app 4.6
• Android app 3.8
• No top-ups
• Hotspot
• 175 Mbps on 4G

Trustpilot

4.8/54,279 reviews

Payments

Credit or debit cardApple PayGoogle PayPayPal

Pros and cons

Pros 4 Cons 4

Cheap for 3–5 GB short trips

Fast 4G, no throttling

Worked for 88% of travelers

180 days to get a refund

Checkout asks for phone and address

Clunky app, auto-activation failed

Promises 5G, gave us only 4G

Support didn't reply in our test

ByteSIM eSIM in our hands

Go to ByteSIM website View full review

ByteSIM has no traveler reports from Portugal yet, and our test found the clumsiest checkout and app of the fourteen, so there is nothing to recommend it on here. The one review that mentions Portugal is from a traveler who hoped to use it there next time. In our test the checkout demanded a phone number and full postal address, the app failed to auto-activate the eSIM and WhatsApp support did not reply within 15 minutes.

ByteSIM sells the largest Portugal catalogue in our comparison tool: fixed plans from 3 to 50 GB at 3 to 30 days, daily plans from 500 MB to 10 GB a day, and unlimited passes from 1 to 30 days with a fair-use limit it does not state. Its page said "powered by NOS" when we checked in August 2026; ByteSIM's network claims have shifted on other country pages since, so confirm before you rely on it. No top-ups, no registration, and 50-plus local payment methods. On price it is around the market average in Portugal. It might suit experienced users who want a short, cheap daily plan. Our ByteSIM review has the checkout screenshots. Plans are at ByteSIM.

Providers travelers report from Portugal that we have not tested

Simify appears in the reviews we read, with a handful of travelers describing unlimited plans working across Spain and Portugal and quick help after a phone theft in Lisbon, but it has no counted reports in our analysis and no Vefru test, so we do not rank it.

Best eSIM Plans for Portugal

Price per GB in Portugal by eSIM Provider

How much does each provider charge per GB in Portugal? The chart below compares plans of 1 to 10 GB that last 6 to 14 days, the usual range for a one- or two-week trip. Provider websites show only their own plans, so this side-by-side view is one you would otherwise have to calculate yourself. A shorter bar means a lower price per GB.

The tables below show the best current offers at each data size. Two things from our reading of the plans do not show in a price: Maya Mobile and Holafly sell only unlimited, so they appear in the last table alone, and the cheapest providers at every fixed size here are eSIM4Travel and Global YO, with GoMoWorld close behind. If your trip also crosses into Spain, the two-country comparison for Portugal and Spain shows which regional plans cover both, and our Spain eSIM guide says how the same providers did there.

Best eSIM for Lisbon, the Azores and Madeira

Lisbon has the most place-level reports, and the islands are where the picks diverge from the mainland: the Azores favour Holafly, Madeira favours Maya Mobile, and Airalo's Portugal plan is the one to avoid for the islands. The table lists every place named in the reports; the counts are "worked / reported".

Best eSIM for Lisbon

Maya Mobile is the pick for Lisbon: 4 of 4 reports worked, it is the country pick, and the runners-up either share its record on fewer reports or carry a caveat. Ubigi also went 4 of 4, with a party of six staying in contact across the city and regrouping at the airport (Aug 2026) and a user who relied on it for maps in the Lisbon area; a fifth Ubigi reviewer who said it did not always work in Lisbon counts among the country-level misses. Holafly's 3 of 3 came with zero issues through Lisbon, Porto, Madrid and Barcelona, but its speed is capped in our test. Yesim went 3 of 3 with no detail in the texts. The only Maya complaints in Lisbon were no signal at a few attractions and one data allowance that drained faster than expected.

The misses in Lisbon belong to Airalo and Nomad. Three Airalo users in one group had no internet all day in Lisbon and relied on strangers for directions (Jun 2026), another could not connect at all, and one bought a physical SIM in the city instead. Nomad users reported slow data, a connection that stopped a day early, and a long outage at Lisbon airport on arrival (May 2026). If you land without data, travelers describe a Vodafone store beside the baggage belts and Lycamobile SIMs at the exchange counters in Terminal 1, though we could not confirm the other kiosks some of them mention.

Best eSIM for the Azores

Holafly is the pick for the Azores, with all 4 reports positive on islands that travelers themselves call spotty, and the usual caveat that our test found its speed capped from the start. One traveler used it for a whole Azores trip, another got GPS and calls with no issues, and a third switched to it after Airalo failed on the islands (Jul 2026). GigSky (2 of 2) and Nomad (2 of 2) also worked, GigSky even between mountains where other SIMs had nothing, and Nomad for a 30-day stay. Maya Mobile's 2 Azores reports were positive too, one from a traveler whose Airalo had not worked for a month there.

The misses are about plans, not signal. Airalo's Portugal plan failed to work in the Azores for one traveler despite advice that it would (Jul 2026), and a second Airalo user needed support after an outage when changing islands. Ubigi's one Azores report was a plan that took four days to activate (May 2026), not a coverage failure, which is a pity because Ubigi rides MEO alone and ANACOM's drive tests on Faial found MEO the fastest of the three networks at Horta, while on Flores all three left some test points without a network and NOS had the lowest success rate [4]. Jetpac fixed a glitch on landing within minutes over WhatsApp. For a mainland-plus-islands trip, Nomad's single Portugal plan covered mainland, Azores and Madeira for one traveler, and Maya's global plan covers them by design.

Best eSIM for Madeira

Maya Mobile is the pick for Madeira: 3 of 3 reports worked, and no other provider has three. One traveler reinstalled Maya for Madeira after a good trip in Thailand and said it worked perfectly, another had excellent reception across Portugal, Madeira and the Canaries, and a third confirmed with Maya's help desk before buying that Madeira is included in the global plan. Nomad (2 of 2) kept a steady connection even in remote parts of the island, GoMoWorld never lost signal, and Jetpac and Holafly each have one positive report.

No provider has a counted miss in Madeira, but one Maya reviewer explains how she got there: her Airalo eSIM stopped working in Madeira for three days in Sep 2024, so she switched. A third-party audit of Funchal in 2024 is reported to have found MEO with near-complete 4G coverage in the city; we did not open the primary report. If you are combining Madeira with Morocco or the Canaries, as several of these travelers did, the global and Europe plans above cover the whole route, and our Morocco eSIM guide says which providers held up there.

Local SIM Cards and Operator eSIMs in Portugal

A local SIM beats a travel eSIM in Portugal for two things: a Portuguese phone number with real calls and texts, and unlimited data for two to four weeks at Vodafone's tourist prices. It loses for short trips and small data needs, where the cheapest travel eSIMs undercut every local option with no queue, no shop hours and no ID question, and it is moot for EU and EEA residents, whose home plan already works here at home prices.

Vodafone Portugal sells its tourist eSIMs online in English, and the prices were, as of 29 Aug 2026: eSIM Portugal with 10 GB for 7 days at €10 (a promotion the page said ran to 31 August 2026, list price €15), and three Portugal & Europe eSIMs with unlimited data in Portugal plus an EEA and UK allowance, at €20 for 15 days, €30 for 30 days and €50 for 30 days [7]. All four exclude calls and SMS, the hotspot is included, and validity starts when you install the eSIM, so install on arrival; the page's plan cards and its FAQ give different European allowances, so check before you rely on one. Travelers report a Vodafone shop beside the baggage belts at Lisbon airport and another in Terminal 1 arrivals, and a small Vodafone shop in Porto arrivals where one bought and activated a SIM in two minutes with no ID asked; we could not confirm the MEO and NOS kiosks and vending machines some sources add.

MEO's Enjoy prepaid data SIM exists, but we could not find a price on MEO's own store; retailers listed 15-day cards from €13.99 to €20.00 in August 2026, and the top-up ladders they quote contradict each other. MEO's Livre voice card is the cheapest route to a Portuguese number we found, with flat per-call pricing and a small daily charge only on days you use it; the pricing we found comes from retail listings, not from MEO. NOS sells its Livres prepaid plans with a 100 GB bonus across the first three top-ups of €7.50 or more, and issues eSIMs through its my NOS app or by email, but both routes assume a Portuguese address or an app account, and NOS is not sold at the airports [8]. Topping up a NOS or WTF line costs €0.80 at a shop or Payshop agent and nothing by Multibanco, MBWay, bank app or card; WTF itself is age-restricted and steers over-35s elsewhere [9]. DIGI's prepaid SIM costs €10, all of it converted to balance, but it is activated only by official DIGI resellers, none of them at the airport [10].

What a shop must ask for is unresolved. Our research found sources saying no registration exists in Portugal, others saying a passport is scanned, and one first-hand purchase at Porto airport with no ID requested; the only rule ANACOM confirms is that identification is required to port a number [6]. If that uncertainty bothers you, a travel eSIM is regulated where it is issued and asks for nothing. Our eSIM versus physical SIM explainer covers the trade-offs in general.

Mobile Networks in Portugal

MEO and NOS are jointly the best networks for a visitor, Vodafone is a close third, and DIGI is the one to avoid on a short trip. Portugal has four operators: MEO with 36.1% of active mobile lines, NOS with 31.0%, Vodafone with 27.8% and DIGI, live since 4 Nov 2024 and now owner of NOWO, with 2.9%; Lycamobile is a virtual operator on Vodafone with 2.1% [2]. In nPerf's 2025 barometer, a third-party measurement company, MEO and NOS tied for first overall: MEO had the fastest downloads, uploads and 5G by a wide margin, NOS the best latency, browsing and streaming scores, Vodafone was third on every metric and DIGI fourth. A Speedtest-based summary for mid-2025 to mid-2026 put Vodafone first instead; we could not confirm it against an Ookla publication, so treat the ranking as contested.

5G is where the networks differ most. Vodafone had the most 5G stations in the third quarter of 2025 (5,273), then NOS (4,768), DIGI (2,581) and MEO (2,268); but 5G is live at 94.0% of NOS sites and only 40.9% of MEO's, so MEO's 5G is the fastest where it exists and the least often present [1]. Nationally, 62.4% of 5G stations stand in mainly urban areas and 23.6% in mainly rural ones, and ANACOM warns that a station in a parish does not mean the parish is covered [1]. For the Azores, ANACOM's own drive tests found MEO fastest at Horta on Faial, while on Flores all three networks had test points with no network and NOS the lowest success rate [4]. The best way to check a specific address is GEO.ANACOM, the regulator's map of all four operators, updated quarterly [3]; MEO also publishes its own coverage map [11].

Which eSIM rides which network, as the providers themselves state it (checked August 2026): Holafly, Saily and Airalo name MEO, NOS and Vodafone; eSIM4Travel names the same three in its plan titles but only Vodafone and MEO in its network widget; Ubigi is MEO only; ByteSIM says NOS; Nomad lists "MEO / Vodafone / Sonaecom", the last a legacy company name. Jetpac (NOS and Vodafone) and GoMoWorld (NOS or MEO, your choice) are reported by third parties only. Maya Mobile, Yesim, GigSky, Global YO and Roamless name no network on their pages, though our comparison tool lists Roamless on MEO and Maya reviewers saw MEO and Vodafone. For a trip into the interior or the islands, a three-network eSIM gives the most fallback; for raw speed, MEO through Ubigi; for the highest chance of landing on 5G, NOS. Our guide to eSIMs with several networks explains how to switch operator by hand.

3G is finished: MEO completed its switch-off on 31 Jan 2024 and DIGI launched without 3G, according to ANACOM; NOS followed in early 2025 and Vodafone was dismantling its own stations. Looking ahead, ANACOM published a draft decision in July 2026 that would renew MEO, NOS and Vodafone's spectrum in exchange for a minimum-speed mobile broadband obligation covering at least 90% of residents in 813 more parishes by the end of 2028, plus more road and rail coverage including Madeira and Azores roads by the end of 2029; the consultation closed on 27 Aug 2026 and the final decision had not been issued when we checked in September 2026 [5].

How to Set Up an eSIM for Portugal

Install before you fly and switch on at landing: almost every provider here starts the clock at first connection, not at install, and the Portugal reports with the worst outcomes are the ones where setup happened at the gate without Wi-Fi. The steps below use the findings from our tests and the review texts.

1. Check your phone. It must be unlocked and eSIM-capable; iPhones bought in mainland China, Hong Kong or Macao have no eSIM except a few older models, and several US-market Samsung models are excluded by most providers. Our first-eSIM guide has the compatibility check.
2. Buy within the activation window. Airalo and eSIM4Travel want activation within 90 days of purchase, Nomad's page says 60 days (then it auto-starts), Saily auto-starts after 180 days, Ubigi's plan expires after 6 months, Jetpac keeps unused packs for 3 months, and GoMoWorld plans never expire until you press Start (all as of August 2026). Two exceptions to "install at home": our Yesim plan started counting at purchase, and Vodafone's own tourist eSIM starts at install.
3. Install on Wi-Fi at home. eSIM4Travel, Airalo, Maya Mobile, Ubigi, Yesim, ByteSIM, Jetpac, Nomad and Holafly send a QR code by email; GoMoWorld, Saily, Roamless, GigSky and Global YO install only through their app. Follow our guides for adding an eSIM on iPhone or on Samsung. Do not delete a Holafly or Global YO eSIM once installed: neither can be reinstalled.
4. At landing, turn on data roaming for the eSIM line and make it your data line. A GoMoWorld user in Portugal struggled until roaming was on, and GoMoWorld also needs the Start button pressed. Set the APN if asked: "globaldata" for Maya Mobile and Global YO, "gigsky" for GigSky, "mobiledata" for Ubigi; a Roamless Samsung user in Portugal found his home SIM overriding the APN until he set it by hand.
5. If data drops, restart and pick a network. Maya, Ubigi and Nomad users in Portugal all fixed drops with a restart; one Nomad user in rural Portugal did it every morning. On a multi-network eSIM, select MEO or NOS by hand in your phone's network settings rather than waiting for the automatic choice. Our eSIM troubleshooting guide covers the rest.
6. Know what happens at zero. GigSky's and Ubigi's apps still let you buy more with no data left, Jetpac keeps WhatsApp, Maps and Uber alive on packs of 3 GB or more, Roamless leaves a trickle; every other app goes dark, so find Wi-Fi first.

Calls and SMS in Portugal

Portugal's calling code is +351, and almost none of the eSIMs above give you a Portuguese number: they are data plans, so calls go over WhatsApp, FaceTime or a similar app. Two Maya Mobile reviewers found the limit in practice: SMS verification codes could not arrive, and a Porto bike rental fell through because the shop needed to text them. Plan accordingly if your bank or a booking needs a text.

Voice options among these providers, from the plan data and the review texts: Airalo's Discover+ regional plans that cover Portugal include calls and texts with a US number; Jetpac sells voice packs in its app and a Portugal reviewer praised its WhatsApp help desk rather than its calls; Roamless offers in-app calls and an optional second number from the US, Canada, UK or Australia, which one traveler used to reach a grandmother on a Portuguese pay-as-you-go number; Global YO sells outgoing app calls; Saily sells an optional US number, although its Portugal page's claim of calls "for Portugal" conflicts with that (as of August 2026). ByteSIM's page mentions local-number plans on selected plans, but none for Portugal is in our comparison tool. Nomad's few voice plans are for other countries.

For a real +351 number you need a local SIM: MEO's Livre card or NOS's Livres prepaid plans include one, while Vodafone's tourist eSIMs exclude calls and SMS [7]. Keep your home SIM active for banking codes and set the travel eSIM as the data line; several Portugal reviewers ran exactly that setup.

Free eSIM Data for Portugal

The most used free data in the Portugal reports is GigSky's plan for Visa cardholders: several travelers got a complimentary 2-week plan through their card and used it across Portugal, Spain and the Azores, and one said it renews yearly. One Visa user's plan never connected in Portugal, so carry a backup. GigSky also gives every new account a free 100 MB trial.

Other trials usable in Portugal, from our tests and plan data: Nomad's 1 GB trial plan for 3 days, Roamless's free trial plan for new users listed for Portugal in our comparison tool, GoMoWorld's free 1-day trial and Jetpac's free 100 MB eSIM. Holafly adds a free 1 GB a month after a plan ends if you keep the eSIM installed. Our free eSIM guide lists the current offers and their small print.

Summary: the best eSIM for Portugal

Based on 267 traveler reports and our own tests, Maya Mobile is the best option for most trips to Portugal: it worked well for 58 of 60 travelers, covered the Azores and Madeira in the same plan and is the cheapest global unlimited plan we compare, with no phone number and nothing for a day trip as its limits. Holafly matched that record with 34 of 35 and all 4 Azores reports positive, but our test found its speed capped from the start and it sells no top-ups. GigSky worked for 27 of 30 and is the choice for cruises and the free Visa plans, with three outright failures as the warning. Nomad worked for 36 of 42, mostly on trails, bikes and long island stays, and its misses were dead plans and rural drops that its unreachable help desk could not fix.

Ubigi worked for 17 of 21 and all 4 in Lisbon on MEO alone, the fastest network here, with a support ticket that went unanswered in our test. eSIM4Travel is the cheapest provider in Portugal and had the best help desk we tested, with just 1 report from Portugal so far and no app. Airalo, with 18 of 27, had the highest share of misses of any provider here, and that is the one result in this comparison we would weigh most heavily when picking the best eSIM for Portugal.

Compare All eSIM Plans for Portugal

Every Portugal plan from the 14 providers in this article, in one comparison with live prices.