eSIM India
India eSIM from 2,95€ on the Airtel and Vi networks, 1–20 GB or unlimited for 7 to 30 days, prepaid without a contract and without registration — online the minute you land in Delhi or Mumbai.
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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 India?
Get connected in under 2 minutes
Set it up before you fly
You buy the eSIM online and get an email with a setup link and a QR code straight away. Install it at home on Wi-Fi, it takes a few minutes and uses nothing yet. The plan only starts counting when you first connect in India.
Land in India and switch on data roaming
Whether you arrive at Delhi (Indira Gandhi International), Mumbai (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International), Bengaluru (Kempegowda), Hyderabad (Rajiv Gandhi), Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi or Goa (Manohar International): turn off airplane mode after landing and make sure data roaming is on for the eSIM and that it is selected as your data line. The network usually shows up while you are still at the gate.
Top up on the road
If your data runs low you top up online, with no shop visit and no new eSIM. The setup stays on your phone. To stretch the data, download maps and shows on hotel Wi-Fi and switch the hotspot off when you do not need it.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
Which networks will you be on in India?
Your India eSIM is a guest on the Bharti Airtel and Vi (Vodafone Idea) networks – there is nothing to set up, the phone picks a network by itself.
The Simbye eSIM uses 2 networks in India: Bharti Airtel · Vi.
Average measured mobile internet performance, nPerf barometer (measured 01.04.2025 – 31.03.2026). What you actually get depends on where you are, the time of day and your phone.
The first time you switch your phone on in India it picks one of the partner networks on its own: Bharti Airtel or Vi (Vodafone Idea). Fascel today belongs to Vi and shows up mainly in Gujarat as a network name, so do not be surprised by a name you have never seen. All that matters is that data roaming is switched on for the eSIM. If the connection gets stuck in one spot, turn off automatic network selection and pick the other network by hand. Jio, the operator with the widest rural reach, is not part of the package.
In the cities and along the main roads the service is solid: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi and the beaches of Goa. Landing at Indira Gandhi International in Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji in Mumbai or Kempegowda in Bengaluru, you are usually online before you reach the baggage belt. On the classic Delhi–Agra–Jaipur route, in Rajasthan between Jodhpur and Udaipur and in Kerala around the backwaters you will normally stay connected. It gets thin off that track: in the Himalayas around Leh, in Ladakh and the Spiti valley, in parts of the northeast and on the Andaman Islands. Some of those places are only covered by Jio or the state-owned BSNL, and neither is one of the partner networks. On long train journeys such as Delhi to Varanasi the signal drops out again and again anyway, so download maps and tickets before you go.
eSIM or a local SIM card in India?
India makes the case clearest of all: a local SIM wants your passport, visa, a photo and an Indian address, and activation can drag into the next day, while the eSIM is running the minute you land in Delhi.
| Compared | Simbye eSIM | Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| Buying and setup | Online before you fly, from a link or QR code in the email | At an airport counter or phone shop, with a form and a photo |
| ID requirements | None, you buy with your normal payment details | Passport, visa, passport photo and an address in India |
| Time until you are online | Straight after landing in Delhi or Mumbai | Activation often takes hours, sometimes until the next day, usually with a verification call |
| Payment | In your own currency with your own card, before the trip | Cash in rupees or by card, and foreign cards are not accepted everywhere |
| Contract and validity | Prepaid, 7 to 30 days, nothing keeps running afterwards | A prepaid card that has to be topped up and kept alive under Indian rules |
| Indian phone number | No, data only, no +91 number | Yes, you get a +91 number and with it the verification codes of Indian apps |
| Topping up | Online at any time, no shop needed | Top-ups through Indian apps or kiosks, often only with an Indian payment method |
| Second line | Your home number stays active and reachable | The plastic card takes the slot, and with only one slot your home SIM has to come out |
What roaming on your home plan costs you in India
Your operator does not switch to Indian prices when you land. It either bills you by the megabyte or sells you a day pass, and on a two or three week trip that pass is charged again every single day, including the days you only open the map for a minute.
There is a second part most people only see on the bill: the phone starts syncing the moment you switch it on after landing, photos, mail accounts, app updates. If it does that on your home plan, you pay for it. With a prepaid data eSIM the frame is set in advance: you know what you bought, no contract keeps running beside it, and your home number stays reachable for calls and texts as long as you leave data roaming switched off on that line.
Where the networks reach, and where they do not
Airtel and Vi cover the cities and the main corridors reliably: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kochi and the coast of Goa. On the golden triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, in Rajasthan between Jodhpur and Udaipur and in Kerala around Alleppey and Munnar you will get through fine.
It gets thin in the mountains and at the edges of the country: around Leh, in Ladakh, in the Spiti valley, in parts of the northeast and on the Andaman Islands. Some of those areas are only served by Jio or the state-owned BSNL, and neither is a partner network for this eSIM. On long train journeys the signal drops out regularly anyway. Download your maps, tickets and translations beforehand and none of that becomes a problem.
How much data do you need in India?
So you can work it out instead of guessing: how much an hour costs in the apps you actually use on holiday.
The Netflix and Spotify figures come from the providers themselves (Netflix Help Center, Spotify Support, retrieved 28 Aug 2026). The rest are network-operator estimates (o2, Vodafone, EE) and vary with picture quality and reception.
No Indian phone number: what works and what does not
This eSIM is a data-only plan. You get no +91 number, you cannot make calls over the network and you cannot receive SMS. In practice that means the verification codes of Indian apps such as Ola, Rapido, Swiggy, IRCTC or a UPI payment app will not reach you, as those need an Indian card. Everything that runs over the internet works normally, WhatsApp included: messages and calls are not blocked in India.
The second thing worth knowing: authorities in India occasionally shut down mobile internet in a region, in the past mainly in Jammu and Kashmir and in Manipur, sometimes for a day during exams or unrest. That affects every mobile network in the district concerned, this eSIM included. It is not down to the plan and there is nothing we can do to route around it.
What does an eSIM for India cost?
Simbye offers 7 plans for India from €2,95 to €55,95 — data packs from €2,95, unlimited from €23,95. Prepaid, no contract.
Plans for India range from 1 GB to 20 GB, plus unlimited options.
Validity runs from 7 to 30 days and starts with your first connection in India.
| Plan | Validity | Price | Per travel day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | 7 days | €2,95 | €0,42 |
| 5 GB | 30 days | €12,95 | €0,43 |
| 10 GB | 30 days | €20,95 | €0,69 |
| Unlimited | 7 days | €23,95 | — |
| 20 GB | 30 days | €32,95 | €1,09 |
| Unlimited | 15 days | €36,95 | — |
| Unlimited | 30 days | €55,95 | — |
- Networks
- Bharti Airtel India + Vi (Vodafone Idea) + Fascel India
- 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 India eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
