Best eSIM for Germany: prices, Telekom, Vodafone and O2 networks, unlimited plans and tips for train travel

Quick answer: which Germany eSIM to choose

• City break in Berlin, Munich or Hamburg: a Germany plan with 3 to 5 GB covers maps, messaging and social media for a few days.
• One or two weeks with train travel: a Germany plan with around 10 GB that names two or more networks, so your phone can switch when one drops out.
• Germany as part of a European trip: a Europe plan, but check the country list if you also visit Switzerland or the UK.
• Trade fair, remote work or heavy streaming: an unlimited plan with at least 2 GB a day at full speed.
• You already have a SIM from an EU country: you may not need a travel eSIM at all, see below.

Germany eSIM prices: the cheapest plan for every data amount

Germany is one of the best-served destinations in our database: all 39 providers sell plans that include it, and about 1,250 of those plans are for Germany alone. The table shows the cheapest plan for each data amount with at least 7 days of validity, including Europe and global plans:

Prices for the same amount of data vary a lot. When we compared 5 GB plans valid for 7 to 30 days for this guide, 38 providers offered one, and the typical price was around six times the cheapest. Comparing before you buy pays off more for Germany than for most destinations.

How much data you need depends on how you use your phone. Maps, messaging and some browsing use around 0.5 GB a day; video calls and streaming use a lot more. Our guide to data usage on a trip has the figures for each app. If you are unsure, check whether the plan can be topped up, so you can add data later instead of buying a second eSIM.

Telekom, Vodafone or O2: which network does your eSIM use?

Germany has three mobile networks: Telekom (Deutsche Telekom), Vodafone and O2, which is run by Telefónica Germany. Some providers still list E-Plus; that network was merged into O2 years ago, so those plans use O2 today. 1&1, a newer fourth operator, does not appear in any plan in our database. This is how often the networks appear in the Germany-only plans that name one:

The result is unusual compared with other countries. Vodafone appears in almost nine in ten Germany-only plans and O2 in about eight in ten, but Telekom in only one in five, and only 7 of the 36 providers with Germany-only plans offer it at all. Travel eSIMs connect through roaming agreements, and most of them use Vodafone and O2 in Germany.

Does that matter? In the cities, all three networks work well for typical travel use. In independent network tests in Germany, Telekom has usually come out on top in recent years, so a plan with Telekom can be worth a small premium if you spend a lot of time in rural areas. For most travellers, the more useful rule is this: about 78 % of the Germany-only plans name at least two networks. A phone with access to two networks can switch to the stronger one when the other has no signal.

5G is common: about three quarters of the Germany-only plans in our database state 5G. You get it in the larger cities if your phone supports it; outside them, 4G is the normal case.

Coverage on trains, motorways and in the countryside

Germany has a reputation for gaps in mobile coverage, and travellers notice it most on trains. On rural stretches between cities and in tunnels, mobile data can drop out for minutes at a time, whichever network you use. The gaps have become smaller in recent years, but they have not disappeared.

Deutsche Bahn offers free Wi-Fi on its ICE long-distance trains. It also relies on the mobile networks along the line, so it tends to slow down in the same places. These steps help on a long train journey:

1. Choose a plan that names two or more networks, so your phone can switch automatically.
2. Download offline maps and your tickets, including the DB Navigator app ticket, before you board.
3. Download films, playlists and podcasts on hotel Wi-Fi rather than streaming on the train.
4. If the connection hangs after a gap, switch flight mode on and off to force your phone to look for the best network again.

On motorways and in the larger towns, coverage is generally good. In hilly and thinly populated areas, expect weak spots. A plan with more networks helps more there than a bigger data allowance.

Unlimited eSIMs for Germany: what the fair-use limits mean

About 28 % of the plans that cover Germany are sold as unlimited. As with almost every unlimited travel eSIM, the speed is reduced after a daily amount of data. The table shows the cheapest unlimited plans for each length of stay:

The table only shows plans with at least 2 GB a day at full speed, because the daily limit decides how useful a plan is. Of all unlimited plans covering Germany, about a third allow only 1 GB a day at full speed, and around 28 % allow 3 GB or more. What happens afterwards varies as well: about one in five plans drop to 128 kbps, which is too slow for anything but messaging, while about a third keep at least 1 Mbit/s, enough for maps and music.

An unlimited plan makes sense if you work remotely, share your connection with a laptop or stream a lot. Most plans covering Germany allow hotspot use, and only a handful in our database rule it out; our hotspot guide explains the settings. For a normal holiday, a fixed data plan is usually cheaper. More on the different limits in our guide to unlimited eSIMs.

Germany-only plan or a Europe plan?

Germany is part of nine in ten Europe plans in our database, so a Europe plan is a safe choice if you cross borders. It costs a little more: in our data, the typical price per gigabyte of a Europe plan was about a fifth higher than that of a Germany-only plan, and global plans cost around five times as much per gigabyte. For a trip to Germany alone, a Germany plan is the cheaper option.

Check the neighbours on your route. Of the Europe plans that include Germany, nearly nine in ten also cover Austria, the Netherlands and the UK, but only about three quarters include Switzerland and only about a third include Serbia. Switzerland is the most common surprise, because it is easy to forget that it is not part of the EU.

Our guide to the best eSIM for Europe compares the regional plans in detail.

Do you need a travel eSIM in Germany at all?

It depends on where your SIM card comes from:

• SIM from an EU or EEA country: you can use your normal plan in Germany under the EU roaming rules, within your provider's fair-use limits. A travel eSIM only helps if your allowance is small. Our guide to free roaming in the EU explains the exceptions.
• SIM from Switzerland or the UK: EU roaming does not apply automatically, and many contracts charge a daily fee or a price per megabyte. A travel eSIM is usually much cheaper.
• SIM from the US, Asia or elsewhere: roaming is usually expensive or comes with small allowances, so a travel eSIM is normally the better deal.

A local German SIM card is an option for long stays, but since 2017 operators have had to check the identity of anyone buying a prepaid SIM, usually with a passport and a video call or in a shop. Travel eSIMs are mostly data only: only a handful of Germany-only plans in our database include calls and SMS. Keep your home SIM active for calls and text messages, as explained in our dual SIM guide.

How to set up your Germany eSIM before you travel

1. Check that your phone supports eSIM and is not locked to your carrier: how to check eSIM compatibility.
2. Buy the plan a few days before you leave and look at our promo codes first.
3. Install the eSIM at home over Wi-Fi: on iPhone or on Android.
4. Check when the validity starts: on most plans it runs from the first connection in Germany, see when to activate an eSIM.
5. After landing, switch mobile data to the eSIM and turn on data roaming for it; turn off data roaming on your home SIM.

You can compare all plans with filters for data amount, validity, networks and unlimited on our Germany eSIM page.