eSIM Germany
The Germany eSIM from 1,95€ runs on Telekom, Vodafone and O2, with 1 to 50 GB or unlimited internet, prepaid with no contract and no registration — land in Frankfurt, switch on, you're online.
Fair Use Policy
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 Germany?
Set it up before you fly
Buy the eSIM at home while you're still on Wi-Fi. The email arrives within minutes and contains a link that installs the eSIM in one step, plus a QR code and the details to type in by hand if you prefer. There is nothing to configure yourself.
Land and switch on data roaming
Whether you arrive at Frankfurt (FRA), Munich (MUC), Berlin Brandenburg (BER), Düsseldorf (DUS), Hamburg (HAM), Cologne/Bonn (CGN) or Stuttgart (STR): airplane mode off, pick the new line as your data connection in settings and turn on data roaming for it. The line carries the German network operator's name, not the shop's name. You'll be connected within a minute or two.
Use it, top it up when it runs low
Validity starts with the first connection to a German network, not with the purchase. Hotspot is allowed, so you can share with a laptop, a tablet or your travel companion's phone. When data runs low you top up online — the same eSIM stays in place, nothing to install again.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
Which networks will you be on in Germany?
Your phone picks whichever German network carries best where you happen to be standing — Telekom, Vodafone or O2.
The Simbye eSIM uses 3 networks in Germany: Telekom · Vodafone · O2.
| Networks | Download | Upload | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 147Mbit/s | 25Mbit/s | 30ms |
 | 92Mbit/s | 18Mbit/s | 37ms |
 | 71Mbit/s | 15Mbit/s | 36ms |
Source: nPerf averages, 01.01.2025 – 31.12.2025.
The eSIM isn't tied to one operator. When you switch on in Germany, your phone connects to whichever of the three big networks — Telekom, Vodafone or Telefónica/O2 — has the best signal where you are. You're already online in the arrivals hall at Frankfurt, Munich or Berlin Brandenburg. There is nothing to configure, no manual APN, no extra app. If a spot still gives you nothing, one of two things almost always fixes it: airplane mode on for ten seconds and off again, or turning off automatic network selection in your mobile settings and picking a different German network by hand.
How far the networks reach varies a lot inside Germany. Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt am Main, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig are densely covered and 5G is normal in the city centres; the same holds for the classic destinations — Heidelberg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the Moselle villages, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Rügen and Sylt — at least in the town centre itself. Out in the countryside it gets patchy: current coverage studies put roughly 13 percent of Germany's land area in the poorly served category, least of it in Schleswig-Holstein, most of it in wooded, hilly Hesse. You notice it in the Bavarian Forest, the Harz, the Eifel, the Sauerland, the Black Forest away from the valleys, and in parts of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg. And the railway stays the sore spot: you have signal along the main ICE lines, but tunnels, cuttings and regional routes cut the connection again and again. That hits every SIM equally, German or foreign.
eSIM or a local SIM card in Germany?
Germany pushes you towards the eSIM: prepaid cards here have needed a passport check since 2017, airports have no SIM stands, and the shop you would be hunting for is closed on Sunday.
| Feature |  Simbye eSIM |
Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| ID and registration | Not required — you buy the eSIM online and use the German networks as a guest from abroad | Mandatory since 1 July 2017: no German prepaid SIM card is activated without a passport or ID card, online via video or postal ident |
| When you get online | The moment the plane touches down in Frankfurt or Munich — you set it up back home | Only after finding a shop, the ID check and activation; and on Sundays almost every shop in Germany is closed |
| At the airport | Nothing to do, you head straight for the ICE or the S-Bahn | Unlike in Asia there are no rows of SIM stands at German airports; you go hunting for an electronics store, supermarket or kiosk |
| Buying and paying | Online in advance by card or PayPal, no cash needed | On the ground often cash or a German Girocard only; foreign credit cards are regularly declined in small shops |
| Data and topping up | 1 to 50 GB or unlimited internet, 7 to 180 days; top up online any time with nothing to install again | Fixed bundles on the card; credit comes from a supermarket voucher or an online account that often needs a German bank account |
| Phone number | None — data only, no calls, no SMS over the network | A German number is included, but with an ID check and usually a minimum top-up |
| Your home number | Stays reachable, your normal SIM stays in the phone | Swap the card and you're no longer reachable on your own number, unless your phone takes two cards |
| Validity | Starts with the first connection to a German network | Runs from activation, even if you only arrive days later |
For most travelers the eSIM is the simpler choice: set up before departure, no queuing on arrival.
How much data do you need in Germany?
Trip length
How you use your phone
What does an eSIM for Germany cost?
from 1,95€
9 plans · 7–180 days · unlimited from 19,95€
Simbye offers 9 plans for Germany from 1,95€ to 47,95€ — data packs from 1,95€, unlimited from 19,95€. Prepaid, no contract.
Plans for Germany range from 1 GB to 50 GB, plus unlimited options.
Validity runs from 7 to 180 days and starts with your first connection in Germany.
Data plans
Unlimited
- 1 GB 7 days 1,95€ 0,27€ per travel day
- 3 GB 30 days 3,95€ 0,13€ per travel day
- 5 GB 30 days 5,95€ 0,19€ per travel day
- 10 GB 30 days 11,95€ 0,39€ per travel day
- 20 GB 30 days 18,95€ 0,63€ per travel day
- 50 GB 180 days 38,95€ 0,21€ per travel day
- Unlimited 7 days 19,95€ 2,85€ per travel day
- Unlimited 15 days 28,95€ 1,93€ per travel day
- Unlimited 30 days 47,95€ 1,59€ per travel day
Good to know
- Networks
- Telekom + Vodafone + O2
- 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 Germany eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
Yes, an eSIM works in Germany. An eSIM for Germany is a digital SIM card built into your phone. All three German networks have supported eSIM for years. You just need a phone that handles eSIM — iPhone XS and newer, most Android devices from 2019 on — and it must not be locked to a single operator.
You can buy an eSIM for Germany online, in a few minutes. You pick the data amount and the validity, get the QR code by email and scan it in your phone's settings — no shop, no appointment, no delivery. You can do it weeks before departure, because the validity only starts in Germany.
No, you don't need ID or have to register. Germany's registration rule applies to prepaid cards from German operators: since 1 July 2017 no SIM card there is activated without a passport or national ID, online via video or postal ident. You're using the German networks as a guest from abroad, and no registration is foreseen for that.
With this Germany eSIM, you'll be on one of the three big ones: Telekom, Vodafone or Telefónica/O2. Your phone picks the strongest signal by itself when you switch on — nothing to configure, no APN to type in.
No, you can't make calls or receive SMS. This is data only, with no phone number. Calls over WhatsApp, FaceTime or Signal run on the data and work normally. To keep receiving SMS codes from your bank, leave your own SIM in the phone and active — and take the data from the eSIM.
Only once the eSIM first connects to a German network does the validity start in Germany. So you can buy and install it weeks ahead without losing any days.
You'll mostly have internet on the ICE train, but not continuously. There's signal along the main lines, while tunnels, cuttings and rural sections cut it off. That affects every network equally and comes down to the route, not to your eSIM.
An eSIM for Germany starts at 1,95€; the price depends on the data volume and number of days you pick, and the table above on this page lists each Germany plan with its current rate. A few days of maps and messaging uses far less data than two weeks of streaming and video calls, so choose the bundle that fits your trip.
How much data you need for Germany starts at 1-3 GB a week for a city trip with maps, train apps and messaging. Add daily photo and story uploads and you are near 500 MB a day, so 5-10 GB over two weeks. Streaming on ICE rides or tethering a laptop for work runs 1-2 GB daily, so pick a bigger size or unlimited.
The eSIM that's best for Germany depends on your trip, not on a brand. Check coverage where you are actually going, how much data you need, how long it runs, and whether you need a German number. This eSIM moves between Telekom, Vodafone and O2 and takes the strongest signal, from 1 to 50 GB or unlimited for 7 to 180 days. It is data only.
Ready for Germany?
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.
