eSIM France
France eSIM from $1.99 on the Orange, Bouygues and Free networks: 1 to 50 GB or unlimited data, prepaid with no contract and no registration — online the moment you land at Paris Charles de Gaulle.
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2GB highspeed/day, then unlimited at 1Mbps
Your Selection
Your plan only starts counting when the eSIM first connects at your destination — so you can buy today and travel in three weeks.
How does Simbye eSIM work for France?
Install it at home
You buy the plan and get the eSIM by email: a link to tap, plus a QR code and the details to type in by hand. Set it up on your home Wi-Fi, it takes about two minutes. The clock is not running yet — validity starts with your first connection in France.
Switch it on after landing
Whether you arrive at Paris Charles de Gaulle, Paris Orly, Beauvais-Tillé, Nice Côte d'Azur, Lyon Saint-Exupéry, Marseille Provence, Toulouse-Blagnac, Bordeaux-Mérignac, Nantes Atlantique or EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse: turn on data roaming for the Simbye line and set it as the line for mobile data. Orange F appears in the status bar within a few minutes.
Running — and easy to top up
From here you browse as usual, hotspot for your laptop or tablet included. Your own number stays reachable on your home SIM. When the data runs low, you top up in your account without installing a new eSIM.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
Which networks will you be on in France?
The eSIM runs on the Orange, Bouygues and Free networks — your phone picks the strongest one where you are, there is nothing to configure.
The Simbye eSIM uses 3 networks in France: Orange · Bouygues · Free.
| Networks | Download | Upload | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 129Mbit/s | 16Mbit/s | 36ms |
 | 120Mbit/s | 17Mbit/s | 30ms |
| Free | 106Mbit/s | 14Mbit/s | 36ms |
Source: nPerf averages, 01.01.2025 – 31.12.2025.
The moment you land in France your phone finds the network by itself and takes whichever of the three is strongest where you are. The status bar then shows the operator’s name — usually “Orange F”, depending on the region “Bouygues Telecom” or “Free” — rather than Simbye. That is correct. You never have to type in an access point by hand. Only two switches matter: turn on data roaming for the Simbye line, and set the Simbye line as the one used for mobile data. If nothing happens after ten minutes, toggle flight mode on and off, or turn off automatic network selection and pick one of the three networks yourself.
Coverage is dense in Paris and across the Île-de-France — the Métro and RER have had full 4G since mid-2020, tunnels included. It is just as reliable along the Côte d’Azur between Nice, Cannes and Antibes, in Marseille and Provence, in Lyon, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Nantes and Lille, around the Loire châteaux near Tours and Amboise, on the Atlantic coast at Arcachon and Biarritz, in Brittany and Normandy, and along the Corsican coast between Ajaccio, Bastia and Bonifacio. It thins out where almost nobody lives: the side valleys of the Alps and Pyrenees, the gorges of the Ardèche and the Verdon, inland Corsica and parts of the Massif Central.
eSIM or a local SIM card in France?
In France the eSIM saves you a detour: you land already online, while a French card means a shop that shuts for lunch and on Sundays, plus your passport for the registration — though it does add a French number.
| Feature |  Simbye eSIM |
Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| ID required | No, there is nothing to register | Yes, the seller asks for your passport and registers the card in your name |
| When you get online | Minutes after landing, the eSIM is already on your phone | Only after finding a shop — French shops close for lunch and are mostly shut on Sundays |
| Where you get it | By email, wherever you happen to be | Airport shop, an Orange, SFR, Bouygues or Free store, sometimes a tabac |
| Data and validity | 1 to 50 GB or unlimited, 7 to 180 days | Mostly monthly packs, shorter or longer terms are rare |
| Phone number | None, data only — your own number stays active | Comes with a French +33 number |
| Payment | Card in advance, in your own currency | Cash or card in euros on the spot |
| Language | Purchase and setup in your language | Advice and plan details at the counter are almost always in French |
| Topping up | Any time in your account, same eSIM stays on the phone | Reload by voucher code, app or in store, often only in French |
For most travelers the eSIM is the simpler choice: set up before departure, no queuing on arrival.
How much data do you need in France?
Trip length
How you use your phone
What does an eSIM for France cost?
from $1.99
9 plans · 7–180 days · unlimited from $19.99
Simbye offers 9 plans for France from $1.99 to $49.99 — data packs from $1.99, unlimited from $19.99. Prepaid, no contract.
Plans for France range from 1 GB to 50 GB, plus unlimited options.
Validity runs from 7 to 180 days and starts with your first connection in France.
Data plans
Unlimited
- 1 GB 7 days $1.99 $0.28 per travel day
- 3 GB 30 days $3.99 $0.13 per travel day
- 5 GB 30 days $5.99 $0.19 per travel day
- 10 GB 30 days $11.99 $0.39 per travel day
- 20 GB 30 days $18.99 $0.63 per travel day
- 50 GB 180 days $39.99 $0.22 per travel day
- Unlimited 7 days $19.99 $2.85 per travel day
- Unlimited 15 days $34.99 $2.33 per travel day
- Unlimited 30 days $49.99 $1.66 per travel day
Good to know
- Networks
- Orange + Bouygues + Free
- Setting it up
- A link in your email, or the QR code — one tap is enough
- Network technology
- 4G/LTE — and 5G where the network already offers it
- APN and settings
- Nothing to set. The eSIM brings everything with it
- Hotspot
- Allowed — for a laptop, tablet or a travel companion
- Adding more data
- Top up any time, without setting anything up again
- Calls and texts
- Not included — WhatsApp calls run over the data
- Your own number
- Stays in the phone and stays reachable
- Contract
- None. The plan ends by itself
- Worth knowing
- Prepaid instead of a contract — useful as a second line, or when your own data allowance is used up
Frequently Asked Questions about France eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
You can buy an eSIM for France right here, online in a few minutes. After the purchase the QR code arrives by email, you scan it and the eSIM sits on your phone — no shop, no ID, no queue ticket. You can set it up at home; it only goes live in France.
The network an eSIM for France uses is Orange, Bouygues and Free, on 4G and 5G. Your phone takes whichever is strongest where you are and shows that operator’s name, for example “Orange F” rather than Simbye. That is normal.
No, you don't get a French phone number. This is a data-only plan with no number of its own. Your existing number stays reachable on your normal SIM, and WhatsApp and Telegram keep running on your existing account.
No, you can't make calls or receive SMS over the mobile network. Over the internet, yes: WhatsApp, FaceTime, Signal, Telegram and Zoom all work normally, and none of them are blocked in France. SMS codes from your bank will still only arrive on your home number.
It doesn't work in Belgium, Spain or Monaco. The plan is for France — the mainland and Corsica. Monaco has its own network and is not included. For a trip across several countries, the Europe eSIM is the better fit.
No, it doesn't work in Guadeloupe or elsewhere overseas. The overseas territories run their own networks and are not part of this plan, even though they belong to France.
No, you don't have to register anywhere in France. There is no ID to hand over and no form to fill in for the eSIM. That is the difference from a prepaid card bought in a French shop, where your passport is required.
An eSIM for France starts at $1.99; the rest depends on how much data you need and how long you stay, and the table above lists every France plan with volume and validity. A weekend in Paris uses far less than two weeks of maps, streaming and hotspot use, so match the size to your trip.
Yes, eSIM is available in France nationwide. An eSIM for France is a digital SIM card built into your phone. Your travel eSIM connects to a local French network across the mainland and Corsica, so you get the same coverage as a local SIM card. All you need is an eSIM-capable, carrier-unlocked phone and a minute of Wi-Fi to install the profile.
The eSIM that's best for France depends on your route, your data use, your trip length and whether you need a French number. Your phone takes whichever of the three French networks is strongest where you stand, so cities, the Côte d'Azur and the main rail lines are well covered while remote rural corners stay weaker. This plan is data only, with no number for calls.
Ready for France?
Pick a plan, tap the link in your email — you are online from the moment you land.
Choose a planPrepaid, no contract. The plan simply ends on its own.
