eSIM Costa Rica
Costa Rica eSIM from 3,95€ on the Claro and Liberty networks: prepaid data packs with no contract and no sign-up — scan the QR code and you're online the minute you land in San José.
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 Costa Rica?
Ready before you pack
Right after checkout an email arrives with your personal link. Tap it once and the eSIM installs itself, taking its place beside your usual card in the phone. The plan does not start yet — set it up calmly at the kitchen table before you even pack.
One switch when you land
When you arrive in San José, Liberia or Tamarindo, turn on data roaming for the Simbye line — nothing else. Your phone registers on the better of the two local networks by itself, usually before you leave the plane. The setting sits under mobile data; it takes seconds.
Keep your number, top up anytime
Your own SIM stays right where it is, so calls and texts to your usual number keep arriving while the Simbye line handles the data. If the volume runs low mid-trip, top up in the app in moments — the eSIM stays installed, nothing to scan again.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
Which networks will you be on in Costa Rica?
Your phone takes whichever Costa Rican network reaches you best where you are standing — Claro or Liberty.
The Simbye eSIM uses 2 networks in Costa Rica: Claro · Liberty.
| Networks | Download | Upload | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 80Mbit/s | 21Mbit/s | 43ms |
| Liberty | 24Mbit/s | 11Mbit/s | 40ms |
Source: nPerf averages, 01.04.2025 – 31.03.2026.
You are not tied to one operator here. The line reads both Claro and Liberty and stays on whichever one is actually reaching your corner of the country. Land at Juan Santamaría outside San José or at Daniel Oduber in Liberia and the phone is usually registered before you have collected your bag, which matters when the shuttle driver is calling. Nothing needs configuring: no APN, no profile to choose, no app to open first. If you end up staring at an empty bar, put the phone into airplane mode for roughly ten seconds and let it look again. If that changes nothing, turn off automatic network selection and pick the other Costa Rican network by hand.
San José, Liberia, Alajuela and the whole Central Valley are solid, and the tourist spine holds: La Fortuna under Arenal, Monteverde's village, Manuel Antonio, Jacó, Tamarindo, Nosara, Santa Teresa and Puerto Viejo. Then it drops away fast. The Osa Peninsula is the real gap — inside Corcovado and around Drake Bay, you should assume nothing, the boat from Sierpe is quiet the whole way. Tortuguero's canals are much the same once you leave the village. Height and forest do the rest: the cloud forest trails above Monteverde, the climb to Chirripó, and the pass over the Cerro de la Muerte on Route 2 all cut out. Where one network has nothing, the other often still holds — switch off automatic selection and choose it manually.
eSIM or a local SIM card in Costa Rica?
The eSIM saves you the arrivals queue: online at Juan Santamaría or Liberia while your bag is still coming, with no passport at a counter. The local SIM's one advantage is a Costa Rican number.
| Feature |  Simbye eSIM |
Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first bar | Registered before you collect your bag, while the shuttle driver calls. | After the queue at the arrivals stand, which may be closed late. |
| ID at the counter | Nothing registered in Costa Rica; no passport shown, no form signed. | Expect to show your passport when the local line is set up. |
| Where you pick it up | Installed at home from the mail, days before your flight leaves. | Airport stands, Claro shops in town. |
| Paying for it | Card payment in your own currency, settled before you travel. | Colones or dollars in cash, and small notes help at the desk. |
| Your everyday number | Your usual number stays live for WhatsApp, banks and airline messages. | Your number goes dark the moment the local SIM goes in. |
| Getting more data | Topped up in the app, from a beach in Guanacaste if needed. | Recargas at supermarkets and pulperías, usually explained in Spanish. |
| Reception | Reads Claro and Liberty, keeping the stronger one. | One network only, so a dead valley stays dead all week. |
| A Costa Rican number | No local number — data only, though WhatsApp calls go through. | A +506 number for hotel calls, tour operators and taxi drivers. |
For most travelers the eSIM is the simpler choice: set up before departure, no queuing on arrival.
How much data do you need in Costa Rica?
Trip length
How you use your phone
What does an eSIM for Costa Rica cost?
from 3,95€
4 plans · 7–30 days
Simbye offers 4 plans for Costa Rica from 3,95€ to 28,95€ — prepaid, no contract.
Plans for Costa Rica range from 1 GB to 10 GB.
Validity runs from 7 to 30 days and starts with your first connection in Costa Rica.
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 14,95€ 0,49€ per travel day
- 10 GB 30 days 28,95€ 0,96€ per travel day
Good to know
- Networks
- Claro + Liberty Costa Rica
- 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 Costa Rica 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 Costa Rica right here on this page, before you fly. An eSIM for Costa Rica is a digital SIM card built into your phone. Choose a plan, pay with your usual card, and the install link and QR code arrive by email within minutes. You set it up at home on Wi-Fi, so there is no arrivals stand to find at Juan Santamaria or Liberia.
You need some way to get online in Costa Rica, this eSIM for Costa Rica needs no shop visit. Costa Rican networks carry eSIM, this profile reads both Claro and Liberty. The phone is usually registered before you have collected your bag, which matters when the shuttle driver is already calling.
An eSIM for Costa Rica starts at 3,95€; the final price depends on the data and days you book. The price table above on this page shows every plan with its amount in your own currency before you pay. It is prepaid, so nothing is added later at a counter and nothing renews on its own when the days run out.
The network you'll be on in Costa Rica is, in effect, both. The line reads Claro and Liberty and stays on whichever one actually reaches your corner of the country. Nothing needs configuring. Where one has nothing, the other often still holds, so turn off automatic network selection and pick the other one by hand.
Yes, the signal holds outside San Jose on the tourist spine: La Fortuna under Arenal, Monteverde village, Manuel Antonio, Jaco, Tamarindo, Nosara, Santa Teresa and Puerto Viejo. Then it drops away fast. The Osa Peninsula is the real gap, Corcovado, Drake Bay, the boat from Sierpe should be treated as offline.
No, you don't have to register the line with an ID document. A local prepaid line in Costa Rica is tied to an identity document, which is why a shop asks for your passport and sends a code to confirm it. This eSIM is a visiting line connecting to Claro and Liberty, so there is no store visit and no portal to sign into.
No, you don't get a Costa Rican phone number - this is a data plan without a +506 number. Your usual number stays live on your normal SIM for WhatsApp, banks and airline messages. The limit to know: a local app or tour operator that texts a +506 code cannot reach you, though WhatsApp calls go through fine.
For a week in Costa Rica, with maps, messaging, shuttle bookings and a few photos a day, smaller plans are enough for most people. Video on the road, cloud backups of your wildlife photos and a laptop on the hotspot are what drain an allowance. Start smaller if you are unsure, adding data takes a minute.
No, you can't use the same plan in Nicaragua or Panama - it's written for Costa Rica and stops at the border, because the profile is only cleared for Costa Rican networks. For a route that crosses into neighbouring countries, take a plan that lists them all rather than buying a fresh eSIM at each crossing.
The eSIM that is best for Costa Rica depends on where you go and what you need. This eSIM reads both Claro and Liberty, so your phone takes whichever reaches you, which helps when you move between San Jose, La Fortuna, Monteverde and the Pacific beaches. It is prepaid data only, with no Costa Rican number. Judge it on data volume and days, and expect remote park roads to stay thin on any network.
Ready for Costa Rica?
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.
