eSIM Israel
Israel from 1,95€ 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.
How does Simbye eSIM work for Israel?
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
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.
The Simbye eSIM uses 2 networks in Israel: Hot Mobile · Pelephone.
| Networks | Download | Upload | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Mobile | 80Mbit/s | 11Mbit/s | 81ms |
| Pelephone | 71Mbit/s | 11Mbit/s | 45ms |
Source: nPerf averages, 01.01.2025 – 31.12.2025.
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.
eSIM or a local SIM card in Israel?
Israel makes the eSIM the practical choice: shops close from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening, while yours can be bought and topped up at any hour, and no passport is handed over. A local card brings a +972 number instead.
| Feature |  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 |
For most travelers the eSIM is the simpler choice: set up before departure, no queuing on arrival.
How much data do you need in Israel?
Trip length
How you use your phone
What does an eSIM for Israel cost?
from 1,95€
8 plans · 7–30 days · unlimited from 23,95€
Simbye offers 8 plans for Israel from 1,95€ to 57,95€ — data packs from 1,95€, unlimited from 23,95€. Prepaid, no contract.
Plans for Israel range from 1 GB to 20 GB, plus unlimited options.
Validity runs from 7 to 30 days and starts with your first connection in Israel.
Data plans
Unlimited
- 1 GB 7 days 1,95€ 0,27€ per travel day
- 3 GB 30 days 4,95€ 0,16€ per travel day
- 5 GB 30 days 6,95€ 0,23€ per travel day
- 10 GB 30 days 11,95€ 0,39€ per travel day
- 20 GB 30 days 19,95€ 0,66€ per travel day
- Unlimited 7 days 23,95€ 3,42€ per travel day
- Unlimited 15 days 38,95€ 2,59€ per travel day
- Unlimited 30 days 57,95€ 1,93€ per travel day
Good to know
- Networks
- Hot Mobile + Pelephone
- 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 Israel eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
No, this isn't a Cellcom eSIM. This eSIM connects through Hot Mobile and Pelephone. For reception that barely matters: Pelephone built its 4G network together with Cellcom, and Hot Mobile built its own together with Partner. You are on the same masts the large Israeli carriers use.
This card is called eSIM in Hebrew and شريحة إلكترونية in Arabic. Spellings like סלקום esim refer to the cards of the Israeli carrier Cellcom — ours is not one of them, it runs on Hot Mobile and Pelephone. The language your phone is set to makes no difference to the setup.
No, it can't make calls or receive SMS. This is a data-only plan with no Israeli number, so you cannot make normal calls or receive text messages over the network. Calls through WhatsApp, FaceTime or Telegram run on the data and work as usual.
It often works in Bethlehem or Jericho, but not reliably. Israeli networks reach many places in the West Bank, including parts of Bethlehem and Jericho, but there are spots with no usable signal. The Palestinian carriers run separate networks this plan cannot use. Treat coverage there as a bonus, not a given.
No, it doesn't cover a trip to Petra or Sinai - Israel only. The moment you cross into Jordan or Egypt you are without data. Download maps and tickets beforehand and count on Wi-Fi over there.
An eSIM in Israel is a digital SIM that runs on local partner networks like a normal plastic SIM. You get 4G and 5G data in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Eilat, and along the main roads through the Negev and Galilee, so maps, rides and messaging work once you switch the line on.
You get an eSIM in Israel by buying it online and installing it before you fly. Pick your data size on this page, pay, and the QR code plus the manual settings arrive by email within minutes. Scan the code over Wi-Fi at home, then switch the line on after landing at Ben Gurion, with no shop and no queue.
An eSIM for Israel starts at 1,95€, and the final price depends on the data size and number of days you choose. A few days in Tel Aviv needs a much smaller bundle than a two-week trip around the whole country.
Data need for Israel starts at 1-3 GB a week for Tel Aviv and Jerusalem maps, bus apps and messaging. Daily photo uploads from the Old City or the Dead Sea push you to roughly 500 MB a day, so 5-10 GB over two weeks. Streaming or tethering a laptop runs 1-2 GB daily, where unlimited saves the constant topping up.
What's best for Israel depends on your trip. Judge coverage where you travel, the data size, how long it runs, and whether you need an Israeli number. This eSIM uses Hot Mobile and Pelephone, which share a network, and runs from 1 GB up to unlimited. It is data only: strong for maps and messaging, but it gives you no local number for calls.
Ready for Israel?
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.
