Best eSIM for France: prices, networks and unlimited plans compared, with tips for Monaco and overseas France

Quick answer: which France eSIM to choose

• A week in Paris or a city break: a France plan with 3 to 5 GB is enough for most travellers. Hotels and many cafés have WiFi.
• A road trip through Provence, Brittany or the Alps: 10 GB or more, ideally on a plan that can use more than one French network.
• France plus London, Switzerland, Italy or Spain: a Europe plan covers them all with one eSIM. Check the country list if Monaco or Andorra is on your route.
• Remote work or lots of streaming: an unlimited plan with at least 2 GB a day at full speed and a usable speed after that.
• Guadeloupe, Martinique or Réunion: a France plan will not work there. Buy a plan for the island itself or a global plan that lists it.

France eSIM prices: the cheapest plan for every data amount

France is one of the best-served eSIM destinations: 39 providers in our database sell plans that cover it, and about 1,300 of those plans are for France alone. The table shows the cheapest plan for each data amount with at least 7 days of validity, including Europe and global plans:

The cheapest offer is not always the best fit. Before you buy, check:

• Validity: some of the cheapest France plans run for only 7 days. For a two-week trip, compare them with 15- and 30-day plans; more than 400 France-only plans last 30 days or longer.
• Coverage: a France plan is cheaper per gigabyte, but a Europe plan saves a second purchase if you cross a border.
• Network: the plan card names the network. Plans that can use two or more French networks are better for the countryside.
• Day passes: our database lists more than 500 day passes that cover France, useful for a stopover or a single day in Paris.

Prices are refreshed daily. All plans with filters for data, validity, network and 5G are on our France eSIM page, and current discounts are on our promo codes page.

Unlimited data in France: what happens after the daily limit

Almost a third of the plans that cover France are sold as unlimited. Nearly all of them give you a daily allowance at full speed and then slow down. What matters is the speed after the limit, and it varies a lot:

• 1 Mbps or more: about a third of the unlimited plans. Enough for maps, music and social media, and video at low quality.
• 384 to 512 kbps: the largest group. Messaging, email and slow-loading maps work; video does not.
• 128 kbps: almost one in five plans. In practice only text messages get through.

The table only shows plans with at least 2 GB a day at full speed. If you mainly need maps, messaging and the odd video call, a fixed plan with 5 to 10 GB is often cheaper. Our guide Unlimited eSIM plans: how unlimited are they really? explains the fair-use rules in detail.

Orange, SFR, Bouygues or Free: which network is best?

France has four mobile network operators, and travel eSIMs use all of them:

• Orange: the former state operator and by far the most common network for travel eSIMs. Around seven in ten France-only plans in our database name Orange, from almost 30 providers.
• SFR: one of the three established operators, used by around ten providers in our database.
• Bouygues Telecom: used by around a dozen providers, often as one of several networks a plan can switch between.
• Free Mobile: the youngest operator, launched in 2012, and named by around 14 providers.

In Paris, Lyon, Marseille and the other cities, all four work well. Differences appear in the mountains, in sparsely populated areas such as the Massif Central and in some rural valleys. If you are heading there, choose a plan that lists two or more French networks; around four in ten France-only plans with network details do. 5G is common: about three quarters of the France-only plans state it, and you get it in cities and larger towns if your phone supports it. On our France page you can filter by network and 5G.

Which plan suits your trip?

How much data you need depends less on the country than on how you travel. As a rough guide for one person:

Offline maps and downloading playlists over hotel WiFi cut your mobile data use considerably. If you are unsure, pick a provider that allows top-ups and start with the smaller size. Typical values per activity are in our guide How much data do I need for travel?

Monaco, Andorra, Switzerland and the UK: check the country list

Many trips to France cross a border, and here plans differ more than in price. Our database shows clear patterns:

• Monaco: the most common gap. Monaco is not in the EU and has its own network operator. Only around 80 of the roughly 3,400 Europe plans that cover France include Monaco, and no France-only plan does. If you visit Monaco from Nice, choose one of the global plans that list Monaco or a separate Monaco plan.
• Andorra: also outside the EU. Only about one in eight Europe plans includes it; for a ski trip there, check the list or see our Andorra page.
• Switzerland: more than eight in ten Europe plans include it, which matters for day trips to Geneva or Basel.
• United Kingdom: nearly all Europe plans that cover France also cover the UK, so one eSIM is usually enough for Paris and London. More on the UK in our UK eSIM guide.

For a longer route through several countries, our Europe eSIM guide compares the regional plans.

Corsica and overseas France: Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion

Corsica is part of metropolitan France and is served by the same national networks, so a France plan works there just as it does on the mainland.

The overseas departments are different. Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion and Mayotte are part of France and the EU, but they have their own mobile networks, and travel eSIMs treat them as separate destinations. None of the France-only plans in our database include them, and only a small share of Europe plans do. Your options:

• A plan for the island: there are hundreds of plans each for Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion, from around 30 providers.
• A global plan: about seven in ten global plans that cover France also cover Réunion, and around four in ten cover Guadeloupe and Martinique. Worth it if the island is one stop on a longer journey.
• An EU SIM card: the EU roaming rules also apply in the overseas departments, so check your home plan first.

French Polynesia and New Caledonia are not part of the EU, so EU roaming does not apply there. They also need their own plan; only a few global plans include them.

Do you need an eSIM in France? Roaming, airport SIM or eSIM

Whether a travel eSIM is worth it depends on where your SIM card is from:

• EU and EEA SIM cards: you use your home allowance in France at no extra cost. Some carriers set a fair-use limit for data abroad; if it is low, a travel eSIM for extra data can still make sense.
• UK SIM cards: the EU rules no longer apply, and many UK carriers charge a daily fee in the EU. A travel eSIM is usually cheaper for trips longer than a few days.
• Swiss, US, Canadian and other SIM cards: roaming in France is usually charged per day or per megabyte. A travel eSIM for data is almost always the cheaper option.

You can also buy a prepaid SIM card in France, for example at the Paris airports or in operator shops in town. French operators have to register prepaid SIM cards to a name, so bring your passport or ID, and expect to wait in line after a long flight. A travel eSIM avoids that: you install it at home and have data as soon as you land. A local SIM can be worth it for long stays or if you need a French phone number, because travel eSIMs are mostly data-only and only a handful of France-only plans include calls and SMS.

Whatever you choose, you can keep your home SIM active for calls and SMS while the eSIM handles data; see Dual SIM with a travel eSIM. Our guide eSIM vs roaming vs local SIM compares the three options in general.

How to set up your France eSIM

1. Check your phone supports eSIM and is unlocked; see Does my phone support eSIM?
2. Buy and install the eSIM at home over WiFi, a day or two before you travel. Many plans start only when they first connect in France; the plan details say when the validity begins.
3. Keep your home SIM for calls and SMS, and switch off data roaming on it.
4. After landing, turn on the travel eSIM, select it for mobile data and enable data roaming for the eSIM.
5. Test it at the airport or station, where WiFi is available if something goes wrong. If you have no signal, see eSIM not working abroad.

Step-by-step instructions are in our guides for iPhone and Android.