Italy eSIM – mobile data for your trip
Italy

eSIM Italy

Italy eSIM from 1,95€ on the TIM, Vodafone and Wind networks: 1 to 50 GB or unlimited, prepaid with no contract and no registration, online the moment you land at Rome Fiumicino.

7 to 180 days to choose from
Compatible with iPhone and Android
Hotspot ready for laptop or tablet
Money-back guarantee
Secure payment

Fair Use Policy

2GB highspeed/day, then unlimited at 1Mbps

1GB
Valid for 7 Days
2,44€ 1,95€
3GB
Valid for 30 Days
4,94€ 3,95€
Popular
5GB
Valid for 30 Days
7,44€ 5,95€
10GB
Valid for 30 Days
14,94€ 11,95€
20GB
Valid for 30 Days
22,44€ 17,95€
50GB
Valid for 180 Days
47,44€ 37,95€

Your Selection

Italy eSIM-
NetworkTIM, Vodafone, Wind
Duration-
Total-

Your plan only starts counting when the eSIM first connects at your destination — so you can buy today and travel in three weeks.

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4.82891 reviews
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How does Simbye eSIM work for Italy?

Get connected in under 2 minutes

1

Order before you fly

Pick a plan, pay, done. The email with the setup link and the QR code arrives straight away. Install the eSIM at home on WLAN — it then sits quietly on your phone until you need it.

2

Switch it on in Italy

After landing at Rome Fiumicino, Rome Ciampino, Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate, Bergamo Orio al Serio, Venice Marco Polo, Naples Capodichino, Bologna, Pisa, Catania or Palermo, turn on data roaming for the Simbye line. Your phone finds Vodafone or Iliad by itself, no manual access point needed — and the validity starts with exactly that first connection.

3

Keep your own number

Your normal SIM can stay switched on for calls and texts, you just turn its data off. WhatsApp keeps working under your usual number, only now over the Italian data. Hotspot for a laptop or tablet is allowed, and if you run low you top up online.

Check Device Compatibility

Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing

Which networks will you be on in Italy?

Your phone switches between TIM, Vodafone and Wind on its own — there is nothing for you to set up.

The Simbye eSIM uses 4 networks in Italy: TIM · Vodafone · Wind · Iliad.

TIM
84Mbit/sDownload
15Mbit/sUpload
45msLatency
Vodafone
122Mbit/sDownload
18Mbit/sUpload
38msLatency
Wind
103Mbit/sDownload
15Mbit/sUpload
45msLatency
Iliad
No independent measurement for this network

Source: nPerf averages, 01.01.2025 – 31.12.2025.

The eSIM is a guest on Italy's mobile networks. After you land, your phone picks whichever operator it gets the best signal from — for this plan that means TIM, Vodafone and Wind. You don't choose an operator and you don't type in any settings. If it ever stalls somewhere, ten seconds of airplane mode or a manual network search in your settings almost always gets the phone back on.

In Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, Naples, Turin and Bologna you normally get fast 4G, and 5G in many districts. Coverage is solid in the places most travellers actually go, too: Lake Garda, Lake Como, the Cinque Terre, Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, Puglia and the coastal towns of Sicily and Sardinia. It thins out once you leave them — in the Dolomites, the Apennines and the interior of Sardinia, Calabria and Basilicata there are valleys and hiking trails with no signal at all. Rome's and Milan's metro tunnels are not covered everywhere, and on the ferry to Sardinia or Sicily the connection drops once the coast is out of sight.

eSIM or a local SIM card in Italy?

eSIM, if you want to land already connected: it rides the TIM, Vodafone and Wind networks without the ID registration Italy has demanded of prepaid cards since 2005, and your usual number stays live beside it.

Simbye eSIM
ID and registration
Not needed — the eSIM travels as a guest on the TIM, Vodafone and Wind networks
Effort on arrival
Set up at home with a QR code, online by the time you reach the baggage belt
When validity starts
Only on your first connection in Italy, not at purchase
Italian phone number
No, you keep your usual number on your home SIM
Calls and texts
Not over the network — WhatsApp, FaceTime and Teams run over data
Topping up
Top up online anytime, wherever you are
Second line
Runs alongside your home number, so people reach you as usual
Paying
Online before you travel, the price is fixed in advance
Local SIM card
ID and registration
Required: since 2005 Italy registers every prepaid SIM against an ID document, so no valid document means no SIM
Effort on arrival
Find a shop, queue, sign a form, swap the card
When validity starts
From activation in the shop, even if you travel on the next day
Italian phone number
Yes, with its own Italian number
Calls and texts
Calls and texts included
Topping up
Via shop, machine or a carrier app that is often Italian-only
Second line
You have to take out your home SIM or need a second card slot
Paying
On the spot by card or cash, and airport offers are usually pricier than city shops
ID and registration
Not needed — the eSIM travels as a guest on the TIM, Vodafone and Wind networks
Required: since 2005 Italy registers every prepaid SIM against an ID document, so no valid document means no SIM
Effort on arrival
Set up at home with a QR code, online by the time you reach the baggage belt
Find a shop, queue, sign a form, swap the card
When validity starts
Only on your first connection in Italy, not at purchase
From activation in the shop, even if you travel on the next day
Italian phone number
No, you keep your usual number on your home SIM
Yes, with its own Italian number
Calls and texts
Not over the network — WhatsApp, FaceTime and Teams run over data
Calls and texts included
Topping up
Top up online anytime, wherever you are
Via shop, machine or a carrier app that is often Italian-only
Second line
Runs alongside your home number, so people reach you as usual
You have to take out your home SIM or need a second card slot
Paying
Online before you travel, the price is fixed in advance
On the spot by card or cash, and airport offers are usually pricier than city shops

Why a data eSIM for Italy is worth it

Roaming on your home contract is the most expensive and the least predictable way to get online in Italy. Many tariffs release only part of your allowance abroad, others charge a daily fee, and what it actually added up to often only shows on the bill after the trip.

This eSIM turns that around. You pay in advance, the bundle is prepaid, and when the data is used up nothing keeps counting and no one sends you an extra invoice. No contract, no ID registration, no shop visit: you install it at home with a QR code in a few minutes, and you can do it a week before departure.

Then there is the practical reason that has nothing to do with price: a second line for the work phone, for a child or for whoever is driving the rental car, without anyone swapping their number. Your usual number stays active, and calls and texts still arrive there.

Where the network reaches — and where it doesn't

In the cities — Rome, Milan, Turin, Bologna, Florence, Naples, Venice, Verona, Bari, Palermo, Catania — you normally get a fast connection, with 5G in many districts. The route from the airport into town is covered almost everywhere without gaps, whether you take the Leonardo Express from Fiumicino to Roma Termini or the Malpensa Express into Milano Centrale.

The holiday regions hold up well too: Lake Garda, Lake Como, the Cinque Terre, Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, Puglia and the beach towns of Sicily and Sardinia. Turn inland and the picture changes. In the Dolomites and the Apennines, in the mountain villages of Calabria and Basilicata and on hiking trails away from the towns, the signal can vanish completely. Download maps, tickets and booking confirmations while you still have coverage.

Three situations catch travellers out regularly. Rome's and Milan's metro tunnels are not covered everywhere, although the stations usually are. On the high-speed train between Rome and Milan the connection keeps dropping inside the long tunnels. And on the crossing to Sardinia, Sicily or the smaller islands it goes once the coast is out of sight — the ship's own onboard service is separate and costs extra.

How much data do you need in Italy?

So you can work it out instead of guessing: how much an hour costs in the apps you actually use on holiday.

Just staying reachable

1–3 GB

Messages, the map now and then, checking mail. Everything else runs on the hotel Wi-Fi.

3 GB is plenty

An ordinary holiday

5–10 GB

Navigating, social media, uploading photos, a few videos in the evening.

10 GB is the safe choice

Out a lot, or a laptop along

20 GB and up

Streaming in the evening, video calls home, keeping a laptop or tablet online through your phone.

20 GB, or a plan with unlimited data

Data used per hour

WhatsApp
around 30 MB per hour
on a call — messaging costs almost nothing
Google Maps
2–5 MB per hour
navigation without satellite view
Spotify
40–70 MB per hour
depending on the sound quality you set
Web and email
60–240 MB per hour
news sites, mail, searching
Instagram
400–600 MB per hour
scrolling the feed
TikTok
840 MB – 1 GB per hour
videos play back to back
YouTube
0.5 – 1.5 GB per hour
depending on picture quality
Netflix
up to 3 GB per hour
in HD. On "save data" around 170 MB

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.

What does an eSIM for Italy cost?

Simbye offers 9 plans for Italy from €1,95 to €46,95 — data packs from €1,95, unlimited from €18,95. Prepaid, no contract.

Plans for Italy range from 1 GB to 50 GB, plus unlimited options.

Validity runs from 7 to 180 days and starts with your first connection in Italy.

Plan Validity Price Per travel day
1 GB 7 days €1,95 €0,27
3 GB 30 days €3,95 €0,13
5 GB 30 days €5,95 €0,19
10 GB 30 days €11,95 €0,39
20 GB 30 days €17,95 €0,59
Unlimited 7 days €18,95
Unlimited 15 days €32,95
50 GB 180 days €37,95 €0,21
Unlimited 30 days €46,95
Networks
TIM + Vodafone + Wind
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 Italy eSIM

Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.