Ava M.
Melbourne, AU · May 2026
Great option for travelers
Nice service overall. The eSIM worked well in Mumbai and Bangalore. Just wish I had opted for a bigger data plan because I ended up using more than I thought!
61 verified reviews
Based on 61 reviews
Ava M.
Melbourne, AU · May 2026
Nice service overall. The eSIM worked well in Mumbai and Bangalore. Just wish I had opted for a bigger data plan because I ended up using more than I thought!
Aoife N.
Cork, IE · Apr 2026
I activated my eSIM right after landing at Indira Gandhi Airport. It worked perfectly for Google Maps and staying connected with friends back home. Couldn't have asked for a better experience!
Lucas O.
São Paulo, BR · Apr 2026
Activated the eSIM as soon as I landed in Delhi. I was able to use Google Maps and stay connected with friends in no time. Highly recommend for anyone traveling to India!
Niamh F.
Galway, IE · Mar 2026
I really liked using the eSIM in India, especially for quick updates to family. The support team replied in a few hours, which felt a bit long when I needed help, but it all worked out in the end.
Elena G.
Madrid, ES · Mar 2026
The eSIM worked well throughout my stay in Bangalore. Setup took less than a minute. The only downside was that I got an email confirmation a couple minutes later than expected.
Sophie W.
Toronto, CA · Mar 2026
Using esima's eSIM in India was a breeze! I was able to navigate the streets of Jaipur without any hiccups. Customer service was quick to respond when I had a question.
Isla B.
Auckland, NZ · Mar 2026
I was worried about staying connected during my trip to India, but esima made it a breeze. The QR code installation was quick, and I had data the moment I landed in Delhi. Used it for Google Maps and to keep in touch with friends back home!
Jessica L.
New York, US · Feb 2026
Installation took less than a minute and I had a great experience using the eSIM in various cities across India. I felt free to explore without worrying about finding Wi-Fi. Definitely will use again!
Typical home-carrier roaming
£10–£18
per day
Esima eSIM
£2.49
Flat rate
Most international carriers charge a flat daily fee for India roaming — common structures give you 500 MB to 1 GB at full speed, then throttle to 128 kbps for the rest of the day. Hotspot is often disabled or costs extra.
If you are in India for a week and use maps, rideshare and UPI daily, you will blow through that first gigabyte by noon and spend the afternoon waiting for Google Maps to load.
An eSIM gives you a fixed data pool (5 GB, 10 GB, 20 GB depending on the plan) at local 4G or 5G speeds with no daily throttle and hotspot enabled by default.
The cost stays flat whether you use 500 MB on day one or 3 GB — no surprise billing, no speed drop after an arbitrary threshold.
Roaming bundles also lock you to one carrier (usually Airtel or Jio depending on your home network's wholesale deal), while the eSIM hands off between all three major networks to find the strongest tower.
Different trip, same eSIM — here is how it lands for the most common visitors to India.
Your week covers Delhi, Agra and Jaipur — three cities, six UNESCO sites, a dozen Uber rides and constant UPI payments for street food, rickshaws and museum tickets. The eSIM keeps Google Maps live for navigating Old Delhi's alleys, lets you book same-day train tickets via IRCTC, and handles QR code payments at every chai stall without hunting for an ATM.
Golden Triangle first-timer
You are in Bangalore for a week of meetings, co-working sessions and evening meetups across Koramangala, Indiranagar and Whitefield. The eSIM gives you 5G speeds for video calls, hotspot for your laptop at cafés, and live data for Rapido bike taxis during rush hour when Uber surge pricing spikes. You tether your tablet for presentation notes without worrying about conference Wi-Fi dropping mid-pitch.
Bangalore tech-conference attendee
You are spending two weeks drifting between Kochi, Alleppey houseboats and Munnar tea plantations. The eSIM keeps WhatsApp calls to family running on 4G, lets you book last-minute homestays via Google Maps reviews, and handles UPI payments for boat rentals and roadside fruit vendors. You download offline maps for the Western Ghats drive before leaving Kochi, knowing signal thins in the hills.
Kerala backwaters slow traveler
The apps locals and travelers actually use — the ones that need real cell data, not just hotel Wi-Fi.
PhonePe
UPI payments — QR codes at shops, rickshaws, hotels and street vendors
Google Pay India
UPI payments and bill splitting
Paytm
UPI payments, mobile recharge, FASTag toll top-up
Uber
Rideshare across all major cities
Rapido
Bike taxis in Bangalore and Hyderabad
IRCTC Rail Connect
Train ticket booking and PNR status
DigiYatra
Airport face-auth check-in at major airports
Maps.me
Offline maps for rural Rajasthan, Ladakh, Andaman Islands
~50 MB/day for chats and photo sharing, ~150 MB/day with voice calls, ~400 MB/day with video calls.
Maps
~50–100 MB/day for live navigation in cities; pre-download offline regions for rural Rajasthan, Ladakh and the Andamans to save data.
Rideshare
~5–10 MB per Uber or Rapido ride; UPI payment apps (PhonePe, Paytm) use ~1–2 MB per QR transaction but need to stay live throughout the day.
Monsoon season (June to September) brings heavy rain to Mumbai, Goa, Kerala and the Western Ghats — cellular towers rarely go down, but flooding can close roads and delay travel, making offline maps essential.
Winter (November to February) is peak season for Rajasthan, Goa and the Golden Triangle; expect network congestion in tourist hotspots like Jaipur's Amber Fort and Agra's Taj Mahal during midday.
Diwali (October or November) and Holi (March) see massive surges in UPI transactions and rideshare demand — data usage spikes, and app response times slow in metros.
Summer (April to June) is low season for most of India except hill stations (Shimla, Manali, Darjeeling), where 4G coverage is reliable in towns but drops fast on mountain roads.
Yes. Goa has consistent 4G coverage on Jio, Airtel and Vi across the coast from Panjim to Palolem. Jio and Airtel offer 5G in Panjim and Margao. Expect signal to thin in the Western Ghats inland — download offline maps before heading to Dudhsagar Falls or spice plantations.
Yes. Agra has strong 4G and 5G coverage on Jio and Airtel. The Taj Mahal complex itself has good signal — you can stream photos and use maps inside the grounds. The Agra–Delhi highway (Yamuna Expressway) has continuous coverage.
Leh town has 4G on Jio and Airtel, but the rest of Ladakh has long signal-dead zones. The Leh–Manali highway, Nubra Valley and Pangong Lake have stretches with no coverage for hours. Download offline maps, hotel addresses and permits before leaving Delhi or Srinagar.
Yes. Jaipur has 5G coverage on Jio and Airtel across the Pink City, Amber Fort and the airport. Vi offers 4G. Expect signal to drop in rural areas outside the city — the road to Pushkar and Ranthambore has patchy 3G stretches.
Plan for 3–5 GB. UPI apps (PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm) use minimal data per transaction but need to stay live for QR scans. Uber and Rapido use around 5–10 MB per ride. Google Maps in navigation mode uses 50–100 MB per day. WhatsApp voice calls add another 150 MB per day. A 5 GB plan covers a week of moderate use; heavy video streaming or hotspot tethering needs 10 GB or more.
Yes. WhatsApp voice and video calls work on the eSIM's data connection. Quality depends on signal strength — expect clear calls in metros on 5G, occasional drops in rural areas on 3G. One WhatsApp voice call uses around 10 MB per hour.
DigiYatra requires an Indian-formatted phone number for OTP verification during registration. If you registered DigiYatra before your trip using your home number, the face-auth works at the airport without needing the eSIM. If you are registering on arrival, you will need to use the airport's manual check-in lane or register via the DigiYatra app using the eSIM's Indian number (check your eSIM dashboard for the assigned number).
Both Jio and Airtel offer 5G across Bangalore's tech corridors — Koramangala, Indiranagar, Whitefield and the airport road. Jio tends to be faster in South Bangalore and the outer ring road. Airtel is stronger inside older buildings in MG Road and Brigade Road. The eSIM hands off between both, so you get whichever is stronger at your location.
Jio has broader rural reach in Rajasthan — you will find 4G in smaller towns like Bundi, Bikaner and Jodhpur outskirts. Airtel is strong in cities (Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur) but thins faster in desert areas. Both carriers lose signal on long stretches of the Jaisalmer highway and around the Thar Desert. Download offline maps before leaving Jaipur.
Yes. Uber works across all major Indian cities and requires live data to book, track and pay. Ola (the local competitor) stopped accepting foreign-passport sign-ups in 2025, so Uber is your primary rideshare option. Rapido (bike taxis) is also popular in Bangalore and Hyderabad and works with the eSIM.
PhonePe requires an Indian bank account or card to link, plus live data for QR code payments. Foreign-issued UPI via Jio and Airtel pilots is rolling out at select merchants, but adoption is uneven — most travelers still need to use international cards or cash. The eSIM provides the data connection; linking a payment method is a separate step.
An eSIM activates the moment you land and takes two taps to install before your flight. An airport SIM requires queuing at an Airtel or Jio counter, handing over your passport for registration, and sometimes waiting 24 hours for activation. Coverage and speeds are identical — both use the same towers. The eSIM wins on convenience; the airport SIM might offer slightly cheaper rates for very long stays (30+ days) but involves more friction.
IRCTC requires an Indian-formatted phone number for OTP verification during booking and ticket confirmation. If you book trains before your trip using your home number, you can show the PNR and ID at the station without needing the eSIM. If you are booking on arrival, use the eSIM's assigned Indian number (check your dashboard) or rely on third-party booking portals that accept international numbers.
FASTag is a prepaid toll system linked to a vehicle's license plate and an Indian bank account or wallet. It does not directly use your eSIM, but recharge and balance-check apps need live data. If you are renting a car, the rental company usually provides a FASTag; you just need the eSIM to top up the balance via Paytm or PhonePe if required.
The Andaman Islands have limited coverage. Port Blair has 4G on Jio and Airtel, but Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) and Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep) have patchy 3G and long dead zones. Download offline maps, hotel contacts and ferry schedules before leaving Port Blair. Cellular is almost nonexistent on smaller islands and in the interior.
Going further than India? These plans include India plus everywhere in between.

India runs on UPI — PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm process 13 billion transactions a month, and every autorickshaw, chai stall and hotel takes QR payments. Your phone needs live data the moment you land, not after you find an ATM or hunt for a SIM shop.
An India travel eSIM drops you straight onto Jio or Airtel's network before you clear customs, so you can book an Uber, scan a payment code, and pull up your train PNR without scrambling for Wi-Fi.
Balanced use — social, navigation & light streaming
How many travelers?
Arrival with an India eSIM looks like this: you install the QR code before your flight (takes two taps in Settings → Cellular), the profile activates when the plane touches down, and you are online before the seatbelt sign goes off.
No queue at the Airtel or Jio counter, no passport photocopy, no waiting for a shop to open if you land at 2 a.m. The eSIM behaves like a local prepaid SIM — same towers, same speeds — but you keep your home number active for two-factor SMS and incoming calls.
Across India's major regions the experience splits: metros (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore) deliver 5G on Jio and Airtel with speeds often above 150 Mbps; tier-2 cities (Jaipur, Kochi, Varanasi) run reliable 4G; rural zones and mountain roads drop to 3G or lose signal entirely.
A physical local SIM offers identical coverage but requires an in-person purchase, passport registration, and sometimes a 24-hour activation delay. The eSIM's advantage is speed and convenience — you are live the second you land, which matters when UPI, Uber and IRCTC train booking all require live data and Indian-formatted OTPs.
One quirk: foreign-issued UPI via Jio and Airtel pilots is rolling out at select merchants, but adoption is uneven — carry cards or cash as backup.
DigiYatra airport face-auth and FASTag highway tolls also need live data and Indian phone numbers, so book those services from your home number before the trip or rely on manual lanes.
Three reasons travelers pick esima for India. First: pricing mirrors local prepaid rates, not the roaming markup your home carrier adds to every foreign tower.
Second: the eSIM hands off between Jio, Airtel and Vi automatically, so you get the strongest signal in Delhi's metro or Bangalore's tech parks rather than one carrier's dead zone.
Third: hotspot is enabled by default — important if you are traveling with a laptop, a tablet, or a partner whose device does not support eSIM. No throttling on the first 5 GB like some Indian carrier bundles impose.
Your QR code lands in your inbox minutes after purchase.
Pay one upfront price — no surprise charges abroad.
Your physical SIM stays active for calls and texts.
Connect to top-rated local networks at full speed.
Real humans ready to help, any time zone, any day.
Scan once and you're online — no app, no SIM swap.
Our India eSIMs run on Jio, Airtel and Vi (Vodafone Idea). Jio has the broadest 5G footprint — live across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and 60+ tier-2 cities since 2024.
Airtel 5G is strong in metros, Vi remains 4G-mostly. All three carriers fall back to LTE in smaller towns and rural corridors.
Expect long signal-dead zones in rural Rajasthan, Ladakh, and the Andaman Islands — pre-download Maps.me regions and any train PNRs before leaving Delhi or Mumbai. Cellular thins fast on mountain roads in Himachal and Uttarakhand; the Leh–Manali highway has stretches with no signal for hours.
Goa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu coastal highways have consistent 4G. The Golden Triangle (Delhi–Agra–Jaipur) is saturated with 5G on Jio and Airtel.
Network
Make sure your phone supports eSIM — most recent models do.
Pick a plan and pay securely. Your QR code arrives by email in minutes.
Scan the QR code, enable data roaming on arrival, and you're online.