Madagascar eSIM – mobile data for your trip
Madagascar

eSIM Madagascar

Madagascar from 4,95€ runs on the Airtel and Orange networks: a data eSIM with 1 to 3 GB, prepaid and contract-free, set up with a QR code — you are online when you land at Ivato.

Plans for 7 or 15 days
Your SIM card for Madagascar, as an eSIM
Activates in minutes
Money-back guarantee
Secure payment
1GB
Valid for 7 Days
6,19€ 4,95€
3GB
Valid for 15 Days
29,94€ 23,95€

Your Selection

Madagascar eSIM-
NetworkAirtel, Orange
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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How does Simbye eSIM work for Madagascar?

Get connected in under 2 minutes

1

Set it up before you fly

After the purchase you get an email with a link and a QR code. One tap on the link, or one scan with the camera, and the eSIM sits in your phone next to your usual card. Nothing starts counting yet.

2

Switch it on after landing

Whether you arrive at Ivato near Antananarivo or at Fascene on Nosy Be: set the eSIM as your data line and leave data roaming on. Your phone attaches to Airtel or Orange, usually within a few minutes.

3

Let it run, top it up

Validity starts with that first connection. You can watch your usage in the Simbye app, and when it gets tight you top up in seconds — no new eSIM, no new QR code.

Check Device Compatibility

Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing

Which networks will you be on in Madagascar?

You never pick a network — your phone takes whichever one is actually standing where you are.

The Simbye eSIM uses 2 networks in Madagascar: Airtel · Orange.

Airtel
10Mbit/sDownload
6Mbit/sUpload
88msLatency
Orange
57Mbit/sDownload
17Mbit/sUpload
44msLatency

Source: nPerf averages, 01.04.2025 – 31.03.2026.

The eSIM is registered on Airtel and Orange at the same time. When you switch it on, your phone picks whichever signal is stronger, and falls back to the other one if that signal drops. There is nothing to configure, no access point to type in and no number to register. One thing matters: data roaming has to stay switched on, or the connection stays silent even though everything else is set up correctly.

The masts stand thickest in Antananarivo and around Ivato airport, plus Toamasina, Mahajanga, Antsirabe, Fianarantsoa, Toliara and Antsiranana. On Nosy Be you have coverage in Hell-Ville, Ambatoloaka and along the hotel beaches, and the same holds in Morondava and in the village of Andasibe. Along the RN7 between Antananarivo and Toliara the signal drops out repeatedly between the stopover towns, and on the trails of the national parks — Isalo, Ranomafana, Tsingy de Bemaraha, Andringitra, Masoala — you usually have nothing at all. Download your maps, bookings and music while you are still in town. That is where two networks pay off: the eSIM uses both Airtel and Orange, so where one has nothing the other often still does — turn off automatic network selection and pick the other one by hand. A single local SIM gives you only one shot.

eSIM or a local SIM card in Madagascar?

Madagascar leans eSIM: the airport counter photographs your passport and entry stamp and wants ariary from scarce ATMs, while yours is set up at home and switches between Airtel and Orange by itself. Mobile money needs the local number.

Simbye eSIM
ID requirement
No registration, no passport, no form
When you get online
Set up at home, connected as you taxi to the gate
Opening hours
Around the clock, night flights included
Paying
In advance from home, with the card you already use
Local phone number
None — this is a data-only plan
Mobile money
Not usable, because there is no local number
Network
Airtel and Orange, the phone switches on its own
Topping up
Any time from the app, no new eSIM
Local SIM card
ID requirement
Mandatory: the counter photographs your passport and entry stamp
When you get online
Only after the queue at the arrivals hall counter
Opening hours
The Ivato kiosks are not open for every late arrival
Paying
Cash in ariary — which you need to find first, ATMs are scarce
Local phone number
Yes, a Malagasy number for calls and texts
Mobile money
MVola, Orange Money or Airtel Money are switched on
Network
One network, chosen for you at the counter
Topping up
Buy a scratch card or top up by mobile money
ID requirement
No registration, no passport, no form
Mandatory: the counter photographs your passport and entry stamp
When you get online
Set up at home, connected as you taxi to the gate
Only after the queue at the arrivals hall counter
Opening hours
Around the clock, night flights included
The Ivato kiosks are not open for every late arrival
Paying
In advance from home, with the card you already use
Cash in ariary — which you need to find first, ATMs are scarce
Local phone number
None — this is a data-only plan
Yes, a Malagasy number for calls and texts
Mobile money
Not usable, because there is no local number
MVola, Orange Money or Airtel Money are switched on
Network
Airtel and Orange, the phone switches on its own
One network, chosen for you at the counter
Topping up
Any time from the app, no new eSIM
Buy a scratch card or top up by mobile money

Why your home contract gets expensive in Madagascar

What roaming in Madagascar costs is set by your own operator, not by the network on the ground. The price usually sits in a country zone far down the tariff sheet, often as a daily flat rate or an amount per megabyte, and it varies so much between operators that quoting a general figure here would be worthless. That is exactly the problem: before you travel, you do not know what you are agreeing to.

On top of that, roaming runs quietly. Your phone attaches by itself as you taxi in, apps sync in the background, a video loads — and you see the bill weeks later at home. A prepaid eSIM turns that around: you pay a fixed amount up front, the allowance is capped, and when it is used up it stops. No contract, no notice period, no extra charge next month.

How far Airtel and Orange actually reach

Madagascar is big, and the network follows people rather than sights. In Antananarivo, around Ivato airport, and in Toamasina, Mahajanga, Antsirabe, Fianarantsoa, Toliara and Antsiranana you normally have stable mobile internet. On Nosy Be the same goes for Hell-Ville, Ambatoloaka and the hotel beaches, and it holds in Morondava and the village of Andasibe.

Between those points it thins out. On the RN7 from Antananarivo to Toliara you have signal in the stopover towns and often nothing at all for minutes in between. In the national parks coverage usually reaches the gate and the lodges, and stops on the trails of Isalo, Ranomafana, Tsingy de Bemaraha, Andringitra or Masoala. That is not a fault in your eSIM, it is where the masts stand — and the reason to download maps, booking confirmations and music before you leave town.

How much data do you need in Madagascar?

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.

3 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.

3 GB

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 Madagascar cost?

Simbye offers 2 plans for Madagascar from €4,95 to €23,95 — prepaid, no contract.

Plans for Madagascar range from 1 GB to 3 GB.

Validity runs from 7 to 15 days and starts with your first connection in Madagascar.

from €4,95

2 plans · 7–15 days

  • 1 GB €4,95 7 days €0,70 per travel day
  • 3 GB €23,95 15 days €1,59 per travel day

Good to know

Networks
Airtel + Orange
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 Madagascar eSIM

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