eSIM Ecuador
Ecuador eSIM from 3,95€ on the Claro and Movistar networks: prepaid data packs, no contract, no sign-up — set up by QR code and connected the minute you land in Quito, with top-ups whenever you need them.
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 Ecuador?
Set up days before you fly
After the purchase you get an email with one link inside. Tap it and the eSIM lands on your phone, right next to your everyday SIM. It stays asleep for now — no data, no days ticking — so you can sort this out long before departure.
Landed? Flip one switch
Landed in Quito, Guayaquil or Cuenca? Open Settings and turn on data roaming for the Simbye line — that single switch is all it takes. The phone finds the better of the two Ecuadorian networks by itself and you are online within moments, before your bag reaches the belt.
Stay reachable, top up in the app
Because your normal card never leaves the phone, you stay reachable on your usual number for calls and texts the whole trip. And if you burn through the data faster than planned, open the app and add more — the eSIM keeps working, no new installation needed.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
Which networks will you be on in Ecuador?
Your phone takes whichever Ecuadorian network is actually reaching you where you stand — Claro or Movistar.
The Simbye eSIM uses 2 networks in Ecuador: Claro · Movistar.
| Networks | Download | Upload | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 22Mbit/s | 11Mbit/s | 48ms |
 | 24Mbit/s | 13Mbit/s | 38ms |
Source: nPerf averages, 01.07.2025 – 30.06.2026.
You are not locked to a single operator in Ecuador. The line reads both Claro and Movistar and settles on whichever one is genuinely reaching you where you stand — a courtyard in Quito's old town, a beach in Montañita, a bus seat somewhere on the Panamericana. Step off the plane at Mariscal Sucre in Quito or José Joaquín de Olmedo in Guayaquil and the phone is usually registered by the time you reach immigration. There is nothing to configure: no APN to type in, no profile to pick, no app to open first. If you ever stare at an empty signal bar, put the phone in airplane mode for about ten seconds and let it search again. Still nothing? Turn off automatic network selection and choose the other Ecuadorian network by hand.
Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca are solidly covered, and so are the places most people actually go: Baños, Otavalo's market town, Mindo's cloud forest edge, the beach strip around Montañita and Puerto López. It thins out once you leave the paved world. The Oriente is the honest gap — around Cuyabeno and the lodges downriver from Coca or Tena you can spend a full day with nothing, and Yasuní is effectively offline. High ground is patchy too: the páramo on the Quilotoa loop, the trails on Cotopaxi and Chimborazo, and the deep valleys the Panamericana drops into between Ambato and Loja. On the Galápagos, signal follows the settled ports and disappears on the crossings between islands. Where one network gives you nothing, the other often still has a bar — switch off automatic selection and pick it manually.
eSIM or a local SIM card in Ecuador?
The eSIM wins on speed and paperwork: you land in Quito already online, with no passport photocopied at a counter. The local SIM wins on one point only — it gives you an Ecuadorian number.
| Feature |  Simbye eSIM |
Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| Getting online | Registers on its own as you taxi in at Quito or Guayaquil. | You buy and activate it after landing, once a shop is open. |
| ID and registration | Nothing to register in Ecuador; your details stay with your Simbye account. | ARCOTEL rules mean your passport is scanned and the line is registered. |
| Where you get it | Installed at home from your phone, days before you fly out. | Claro and Movistar shops at the airport or in town. |
| Paying | Card payment in your own currency, done before the trip starts. | Cash at the counter after landing, often with a queue in front. |
| Your own number | Your usual number stays active for WhatsApp, calls and app logins. | Your home number goes quiet while the local SIM sits in the tray. |
| Topping up | Top up in the Simbye app or online, wherever you are. | Recargas at pharmacies, kiosks and supermarkets, usually asked for in Spanish. |
| Coverage and networks | Reads Claro and Movistar, staying on whichever reaches you. | One operator only, so a weak patch stays weak until you switch. |
| An Ecuadorian number | No local number — data only, though WhatsApp calls still go through. | You get a +593 number for local calls, taxis and deliveries. |
For most travelers the eSIM is the simpler choice: set up before departure, no queuing on arrival.
How much data do you need in Ecuador?
Trip length
How you use your phone
What does an eSIM for Ecuador cost?
from 3,95€
4 plans · 7–30 days
Simbye offers 4 plans for Ecuador from 3,95€ to 26,95€ — prepaid, no contract.
Plans for Ecuador range from 1 GB to 10 GB.
Validity runs from 7 to 30 days and starts with your first connection in Ecuador.
Data plans
- 1 GB 7 days 3,95€ 0,56€ per travel day
- 3 GB 30 days 8,95€ 0,29€ per travel day
- 5 GB 30 days 15,95€ 0,53€ per travel day
- 10 GB 30 days 26,95€ 0,89€ per travel day
Good to know
- Networks
- Claro + Movistar
- 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
- Roaming on your home contract gets billed here — this eSIM is prepaid, so nothing is added afterwards
Frequently Asked Questions about Ecuador eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
An eSIM for Ecuador is a data plan you install here before you fly. After payment an email arrives with a link and a QR code, so you tap it on Wi-Fi at home and the profile sits next to your normal SIM, dormant. Nothing is used up until you land in Quito or Guayaquil and switch data roaming on for that line.
Yes, Ecuador has eSIM and it works there. Claro and Movistar both run eSIM-capable networks, and a visiting profile registers on them like any roaming phone. Your handset needs to support eSIM and must not be carrier-locked. Nothing here is closed to foreign providers, so travellers landing at Mariscal Sucre or José Joaquín de Olmedo are usually online before immigration.
An eSIM for Ecuador starts at 3,95€ - the exact price depends on how much data and how many days you need, and the table above on this page shows every size with the current amount in your own currency. You pay once, up front, by card, and nothing after that. There is no contract behind it and no monthly charge to cancel later.
No, it's not a Movistar eSIM contract line. This is a prepaid travel profile that reads both Claro and Movistar and settles on whichever one is actually reaching you. Getting a Movistar line of your own means a shop visit inside Ecuador, whereas this is bought online before departure with no counter involved.
Yes, you can use an eSIM for Ecuador alongside your current mobile plan. Your usual SIM stays in the phone with its data switched off, so calls and texts still reach you on your own number while the Simbye line carries the data in Ecuador. You simply set the Ecuador line as your data line.
No, you don't have to register or show your passport in Ecuador. Nothing is registered in Ecuador and no document is scanned at a counter, because the line was set up before you flew and your details stay with your Simbye account. A local prepaid card is different: bought in a Claro or Movistar shop, it is registered in the buyer's name at the counter.
No, you don't get an Ecuadorian phone number with it - this is data only. Calls and messages run through apps over the data connection, so WhatsApp calls, voice notes and video work normally. What you cannot do is receive an Ecuadorian SMS code, which some local banking and delivery services insist on.
No, it stops working in Peru or Colombia. This plan is for Ecuador, so it stops finding a network it is allowed to use the moment you cross a border. If your route carries on to Peru or Colombia, take a plan whose coverage already includes them rather than sorting it out at the border post.
How much data you need for Ecuador depends on use - roughly 300 to 500 MB a day covers maps and messengers between Quito, Otavalo and Baños. Uploading photos and scrolling social lifts that to roughly 1 GB a day. Streaming video or sharing a hotspot on long Panamericana bus rides can easily double it again. Two weeks of light use lands near 5 GB.
Which eSIM is best for Ecuador depends on where you travel, how much data you use and how long you stay. This one reads both Claro and Movistar, so your phone takes whichever actually reaches you in Quito, on the coast or on the road. Cloud forest and Amazon corners stay thin on any network. It is data only, with no Ecuadorian number.
Ready for Ecuador?
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.
