Compare the Best Travel eSIMs for Egypt
Prepaid data eSIMs for visitors to Egypt, every plan ranked by real price per GB. This is not a Egypt contract or a local SIM. Updated daily.
The 3 best Egypt eSIMs right now
Sim Local✓ Verified partner
Yesim✓ Verified partner
Ubigi✓ Verified partner
What Egypt data actually costs
Egypt travel eSIM prices look random until you convert every plan to one number: the real cost per gigabyte. Here is what that reveals right now.
The cheapest plan at each size, 30 days
| Data | Cheapest provider | Total | Price per GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 GB | Yesim | $48.93 | $0.98/GB | Get plan ↗🏷 15% off with code TRAVELCITY |
| 25 GB | Ubigi | $39 | $1.56/GB | Get plan ↗🏷 10% off with code TRAVELCITY10 |
| 20 GB | Yesim | $20.48 | $1.02/GB | Get plan ↗🏷 15% off with code TRAVELCITY |
| 10 GB | Yesim | $17.30 | $1.73/GB | Get plan ↗🏷 15% off with code TRAVELCITY |
| 5 GB | Yesim | $12.69 | $2.54/GB | Get plan ↗🏷 15% off with code TRAVELCITY |
| 1 GB | Yesim | $3.34 | $3.34/GB | Get plan ↗🏷 15% off with code TRAVELCITY |
Cost per GB rises from $0.98/GB at 50 GB to $3.34/GB at 1 GB. Buying a little more data than you expect to use is almost always cheaper per gigabyte than buying exactly what you need.
The "unlimited" trap
The same words, unlimited for 30 days, cover a wide price range, and most plans slow down after a daily threshold that the label hides.
| Provider | Unlimited, 30 days | Fair-use cap | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maya | $49.99 | Confirming | Get plan ↗🏷 10% off with code ATESIM |
| Ubigi | $69 | Confirming | Get plan ↗🏷 10% off with code TRAVELCITY10 |
| Yesim | $78.60 | Confirming | Get plan ↗🏷 15% off with code TRAVELCITY |
| Airalo | $90 | Confirming | Get plan ↗ |
Unlimited 30 day plans run from $49.99 to $90, a spread of about 80 percent, for a label that means the same thing on paper. Check the daily cap before you buy, especially if you plan to tether a laptop.
Do not overpay for coverage you will not use
If your whole trip is in Egypt, a Egypt only plan is far cheaper per gigabyte than a Africa or global plan carrying the same data. Same provider (Airalo), same 20 GB, 30 days:
| Airalo plan | Price | Price per GB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt only | $41 | $2.05/GB | Get plan ↗ |
| Africa | $43 | $2.15/GB | Get plan ↗ |
| Global | $66 | $3.30/GB | Get plan ↗ |
A Egypt only plan costs much less per gigabyte than a regional or global plan with the same data. Only pay for the wider plan if you are actually crossing borders on this trip.
Which network does your Egypt eSIM use?
This is the question that decides your real signal, and almost no comparison site answers it. Your travel eSIM connects to one or more local networks as a visitor, and that choice matters the moment you leave the big cities, because rural coverage varies a lot between them.
| Provider | Host network | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Airalo | Orange Egypt | Confirmed |
| GigSky | Orange Egypt | Confirmed |
| Ubigi | Orange Egypt | Confirmed |
| Nomad | Orange Egypt and Etisalat Misr (e& Egypt) | Confirmed |
| Saily | Not publicly disclosed | Confirming |
| Yesim | Not publicly disclosed | Confirming |
Four of the six providers confirm an Orange Egypt based host, with Nomad adding Etisalat Misr as a second network; Orange is a strong city and tourist-zone carrier, though travelers heading into remote desert sometimes prefer Vodafone reach, and Saily and Yesim do not publish their Egyptian host.
Coverage by where you are going
- Vodafone Egypt and Orange Egypt have the country's widest reach and carry most travel eSIM traffic, with strong 4G across Cairo, Alexandria, Giza, and the Nile valley.
- Red Sea resorts including Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, plus Luxor and Aswan, have reliable 4G in and around town centers and hotel zones.
- Commercial 5G went live on 4 June 2025 across Vodafone, Orange, e& Egypt, and Telecom Egypt, starting in Cairo and parts of Upper Egypt, so 5G is available but not yet nationwide.
- VoIP calling on apps such as WhatsApp, FaceTime, and Skype has long been restricted or blocked in Egypt, and many travelers report these calls work on a roaming eSIM even though they fail on local SIMs.
- Deep desert excursions, remote dive sites, and stretches far from main highways can drop to weak signal or no coverage regardless of provider.
- The Cairo Metro has partial mobile coverage in stations and some tunnels, but expect gaps between stations.
Travel eSIM vs a local Egypt SIM
A travel eSIM is installed before you fly, connects automatically on landing, and routes your data through an international roaming connection. That routing is why travelers repeatedly report WhatsApp and FaceTime calls working on a roaming eSIM in Egypt when the same calls are blocked on a local SIM. You skip the passport-based SIM registration and airport kiosk queues, and four of the six providers here ride Orange Egypt, a strong network in cities and tourist areas.
A local prepaid SIM from Vodafone, Orange, e&, or WE is cheaper per gigabyte and can include an Egyptian phone number for local calls and SMS. The trade-offs are that VoIP calling apps are commonly blocked on local networks, you must show your passport to register the SIM, and setup takes longer. Local SIMs make sense for long stays or very heavy data use where price per gigabyte outweighs the convenience.
Quick rule: Short trip and you want WhatsApp calls to work, use a travel eSIM; long stay, heavy data, and you need a local number, use a local SIM.
Egypt's networks are Vodafone, Orange, e& Egypt and WE, and VoIP apps like WhatsApp and FaceTime are frequently blocked on local SIMs while the same calls often work on a roaming travel eSIM because the traffic does not pass through a local Egyptian ISP.
How a Egypt travel eSIM works
A travel eSIM replaces expensive roaming with a cheap local data plan you activate in seconds. There is no plastic SIM and no airport queue. Roaming with your home carrier can run 6 to 12 dollars a day, so a week easily tops 50 to 80 dollars for service you already pay for at home.
Three things to get right:
- Check your phone supports eSIM before you buy.
- Install the eSIM at home over WiFi, but wait to activate it until you land, because the validity period usually starts on activation.
- Keep your physical SIM in the phone for calls and texts on your normal number.
How we rank Egypt eSIMs
Every plan on this page is sorted by real price per GB (total price divided by included data, normalised to USD), so a cheap-looking 1 GB plan cannot outrank a better-value 10 GB one. We refresh prices daily and only list providers with a track record of activating on arrival. We earn a small affiliate commission when you buy through our links. It funds the price tracking and never changes the order you see.
Egypt travel eSIM FAQ
Can I make WhatsApp calls in Egypt on a travel eSIM?
Egypt has long restricted or blocked VoIP calling on apps like WhatsApp, FaceTime, and Skype, and Skype's own service shut down in May 2025. On a local Egyptian SIM these voice and video calls are often blocked. Many travelers report that WhatsApp and FaceTime calls do work on a roaming travel eSIM, because your data routes through an international roaming connection rather than a local Egyptian ISP. Results are not guaranteed, so treat working VoIP as a likely bonus rather than a promise.
Which network do these eSIMs use in Egypt?
Airalo, GigSky, and Ubigi all confirm they use Orange Egypt, and Nomad uses Orange Egypt plus Etisalat Misr. Orange is a strong performer in Cairo, other major cities, and tourist zones like Luxor, Hurghada, and Sharm el-Sheikh. Saily and Yesim do not publicly disclose their Egyptian host network, so their exact operator is being confirmed.
Is there 5G in Egypt?
Yes. Egypt's regulator officially launched commercial 5G on 4 June 2025, with Vodafone, Orange, e& Egypt, and Telecom Egypt all activating networks. Early rollout focused on Cairo and parts of Upper Egypt, so 5G is available in select areas but not yet nationwide. Whether you get 5G on an eSIM depends on your plan, device, and location, with 4G being the standard experience for now.
Will my eSIM work at Red Sea resorts and in Luxor and Aswan?
Yes. Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh, Luxor, and Aswan have reliable 4G in town centers, hotel zones, and around the main attractions on Orange and Vodafone. Signal can weaken on desert excursions, remote dive sites, and long stretches away from main roads. Download offline maps before heading into the desert or to isolated areas.
Should I get a travel eSIM or a local SIM card?
A travel eSIM is the simpler choice for most short trips, since you install it before flying, skip passport-based SIM registration, and often keep VoIP calling working through roaming. A local SIM from Vodafone, Orange, e&, or WE is cheaper per gigabyte and can include an Egyptian phone number, but VoIP apps are commonly blocked on local networks and setup takes longer. Choose local only for long stays or very heavy data use.
Do any of these providers offer unlimited data for Egypt?
Airalo offers a true Egypt unlimited plan with a 3 GB per day full-speed cap before throttling to 1 Mbps. Yesim advertises unlimited Egypt plans but does not publish the daily throttle threshold. GigSky, Ubigi, and Nomad sell fixed-data allowances only, and Saily covers Egypt through its multi-country Global Unlimited plan at 30 GB over 30 days before slowing down.