Israel eSIM
Israel runs on Hot Mobile and Pelephone here: data plans from 1GB up to 20GB or unlimited, prepaid and with no contract, so you are online a few minutes after landing in Tel Aviv.
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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.
Which networks will you be on in Israel?
Your eSIM picks whichever Israeli network has the better signal on its own — there is nothing for you to set up.
Average measured mobile internet performance, nPerf barometer (measured 01.01.2025 – 31.12.2025). What you actually get depends on where you are, the time of day and your phone.
You get access to two Israeli networks, Hot Mobile and Pelephone. Your phone decides between them by signal strength and switches as you move, so there is nothing to choose at checkout. If you do get stuck in a valley or behind thick old city walls, you can switch network selection from automatic to manual once and pick the other one by hand. No APN needs to be typed in anywhere. It is worth knowing how Israel builds its masts: Pelephone built its 4G network together with Cellcom, and Hot Mobile built its own together with Partner. You are on the same infrastructure the big Israeli carriers use.
Coverage is dense wherever people live: Tel Aviv and the Gush Dan area, Jerusalem, Haifa, Netanya, Herzliya, Ashdod and Be'er Sheva, plus the whole coastal strip in between. The routes travellers actually take are covered too — Highway 6 and the coast road, the train line from the airport up to Jerusalem, the Dead Sea with Ein Gedi and the climb to Masada, the Sea of Galilee with Tiberias, Nazareth, Akko, and Eilat down on the Red Sea. It thins out in the Ramon Crater, in the wadis of the Negev desert, in parts of the Golan Heights and in narrow Galilee valleys. And the network stops at the border: in Jordan and in Sinai this plan leaves you offline.
How much data do you need in Israel?
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.
You need your passport for an Israeli SIM card, not for this eSIM
In Israel, mobile carriers ask for identification when you buy. It is why a shop run by Cellcom, Partner, Pelephone or Hot Mobile asks for your passport before handing over a SIM or an Israeli number.
This eSIM registers you as a guest on the Hot Mobile and Pelephone networks. You buy it with an email address, no ID scan and no sign-up at a counter. The trade-off comes with it: you get no Israeli phone number. SMS codes from Israeli apps and services will not reach you — create those accounts while your own number still receives texts.
Your eSIM in Israel at a glance
- Networks
- Hot Mobile Israel + Pelephone Israel
- 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
eSIM or a local SIM card in Israel?
| Compared | Simbye eSIM | Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| ID document | No ID upload, you buy with an email address | No passport at the counter, no SIM |
| Online from when | Set up at home, connected the moment you land | Only after queueing in the terminal or in a shop in town |
| Shabbat | Buy and top up around the clock, Friday evening included | Many shops are shut from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening |
| Israeli phone number | No, data only, no +972 number | Yes, a local number for calls and SMS codes |
| Paying | Online in advance in your own currency | On the spot in shekels, price revealed at the counter |
| SIM tray | Stays free, your home SIM and WhatsApp number stay in | A physical card, your home SIM has to come out |
| Topping up | Any time online, no trip back to a shop | Back to the shop or through a Hebrew interface |
| If something goes wrong | Support by email in English or German | Complain in person, usually in Hebrew |
Why your home contract gets expensive in Israel
For almost every mobile contract in the world, Israel sits outside what the monthly price already covers. What your provider charges there lives in a price list nobody reads before a trip: sometimes a daily pass, sometimes a rate per megabyte, sometimes both in tiers, and something different again for calls. You only see the result on the bill weeks later, when nothing can be changed any more.
That is exactly why a prepaid plan pays off for this country, whether you are coming from the United States, Turkey, Brazil, Japan or Germany. You fix an amount before you fly, and it cannot get more expensive than that. When the data is gone, you top up or you leave it. No contract, no notice period, no surprise charge next month.
Where Hot Mobile and Pelephone actually reach
The populated areas are well covered: Tel Aviv and Gush Dan, Jerusalem, Haifa, Netanya, Herzliya, Ashdod and Be'er Sheva along with the coastal strip in between. The tourist routes have signal too — the Dead Sea, Ein Gedi and the climb to Masada, Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, Akko, Mount Carmel and Eilat right down south. Whether it is a local SIM or this eSIM: Israeli carriers share their radio networks in pairs — Partner with Hot Mobile, Cellcom with Pelephone.
It thins out where almost nobody lives: the Ramon Crater, the wadis of the Negev desert, parts of the Golan Heights and steep valleys in Galilee. Expect dead spots there and download your route offline first. And the network stops at the border: a day trip to Petra or a hop over to Sinai is no longer covered by this plan. In the West Bank, in Bethlehem or Jericho for instance, Israeli networks are reachable in many places but patchy — do not rely on them there.
How does Simbye eSIM work for Israel?
Get connected in under 2 minutes
Buy it and get the QR code
Pick your data plan, pay, and the QR code plus a setup link arrive by email, usually within minutes. No ID upload, no contract, no queue at a counter.
Set it up before you fly
Install the eSIM calmly at home over Wi-Fi, either with the link or the QR code. It stays quiet until you land — at Ben Gurion near Tel Aviv or at Ramon near Eilat.
Switch it on after landing
Set the eSIM as your data line and turn data roaming on for it. Hot Mobile or Pelephone registers you, and that is the moment your plan starts running. No APN to type in.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
The apps you actually need in Israel
The real obstacle is not the app, it is the sign-up: almost everything verifies by SMS, and this eSIM comes without an Israeli number. So set Gett, Wolt and Cellopark up at home while your own number still receives texts — after that the apps only need data. Bit, the app Israelis use to send each other money, requires an Israeli bank account and is not available to you; if someone says "just Bit it to me", pay cash or by card. Waze is what practically everyone in Israel navigates with, the camera translation in Google Translate handles Hebrew signs and menus, and WhatsApp is the channel where hosts, guides and restaurants actually reply.
Gett
The most widely used taxi app in the country, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to Haifa. Yango is the second option; do not count on Uber in Israel.
Sign-up runs on an SMS code, and those do not always arrive on foreign numbers. Set the app up at home while your own SIM still receives texts.
Moovit
Built in Israel and the default for buses, trains and light rail. Live departures, and you can pay for the ride inside the app by scanning the QR code next to the driver.
Buses no longer sell tickets on board. Without a paid ride in the app or a Rav-Kav card in your hand, you are not getting on. If the in-app payment does not take your card, buy a Rav-Kav card from a machine.
Israel Railways
Trains from Ben Gurion Airport to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, on to Haifa and Be'er Sheva with a change in Tel Aviv, English interface.
From Friday afternoon until Saturday evening no trains and almost no buses run for Shabbat. If you land on a Friday, arrange your transfer in advance.
Wolt
Food, groceries and pharmacy to your door in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and most cities. English interface, foreign cards accepted.
The other big delivery app, 10bis, needs an Israeli ID number to link a payment card, which makes it useless for visitors.
Cello (formerly Cellopark)
Parking fees by app, which matters if you rent a car: kerbs painted blue and white are paid parking, and payment usually goes through an app.
The rival app Pango requires an Israeli phone number and an Israeli ID number. Even with Cellopark, signing up on a foreign number sometimes needs their support team.
Home Front Command
The official government alert app with location-based warnings and instructions, available in several languages.
Depending on the country setting of your App Store account it may not show up on an iPhone. Download it only from the App Store or Play Store — fake copies from other sources have been reported.
Frequently Asked Questions about Israel eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
