eSIM Philippines
Philippines eSIM from 3,95€ on the Globe network: 1 to 20 GB or unlimited, prepaid with no contract and no SIM registration, online by QR code minutes after you land in Manila or Cebu.
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2GB highspeed/day, then unlimited at 1Mbps
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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 the Philippines?
Get connected in under 2 minutes
Install it before you fly
After your purchase you get an email with a link and a QR code. Install the eSIM calmly at home on Wi-Fi, it takes two minutes. That does not start the clock – your plan only begins when you first connect in the Philippines.
Switch it on after you land
Whether you arrive at Manila NAIA (Terminals 1 to 3), Mactan-Cebu International, Clark, Kalibo for Boracay, Bohol-Panglao International, Puerto Princesa or Davao: turn on data roaming for the Simbye line and set it as your data line. It connects to the Globe network, and from that moment your plan is running.
Top up as you go
If you run low, you can top up any time through the app or the website. It stays the same eSIM, with nothing to reinstall. Your home line can stay active alongside it so calls and SMS codes still reach you – just leave data roaming off on that one. What your provider charges for incoming calls abroad is in its own price list.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
Which networks will you be on in the Philippines?
In the Philippines your eSIM connects to the Globe network on its own – no APN, nothing to set up.
Average measured mobile internet performance, nPerf barometer (measured 01.07.2025 - 30.06.2026). What you actually get depends on where you are, the time of day and your phone.
There is nothing to configure. When you land and your phone looks for a network, it picks Globe. You never type in an APN. What you do need to do: switch on data roaming for the Simbye line and set that line as your data line, while leaving data roaming off on your home SIM so it cannot run up data charges. Incoming calls and texts are still billed by your home provider at its own overseas rates. If nothing happens after landing, ten seconds of airplane mode almost always sorts it out. Your plan makes no difference to the network: 1 GB for seven days or unlimited across 30 days, you are on the same Globe network either way. To be straight with you: this is one network. Switching over to Smart or DITO is not possible with it.
Where Globe reaches: across Metro Manila, Cebu City and Mactan, Davao, Iloilo, Baguio and Clark you have signal almost everywhere, and the same goes for the travel spots themselves – White Beach on Boracay, El Nido, Coron, Puerto Princesa, Panglao and General Luna. Where it does not: once you leave town it thins out. On island-hopping boats, at remote beaches and dive sites and on many inter-island crossings you will be offline, and that applies to every provider. Download your maps and tickets in advance and an hour without signal stops being a problem.
eSIM or a local SIM card in the Philippines?
The eSIM is the lighter option for the Philippines: it sits outside the SIM registration rules and follows you from Palawan to Siargao, while a local card wants your passport, a local address and often an onward ticket.
| Compared | Simbye eSIM | Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| ID and registration | Not required. The eSIM issues no Philippine number and falls outside the SIM registration rules. | Mandatory. For registration the operators ask for your passport, an address in the country and usually a return or onward ticket. |
| Time after landing | Installed at home by QR code, online the moment you step off the plane. | Find the counter in arrivals, queue, fill in the registration form, wait. |
| Phone number | None. Data only, no calls and no SMS over the network. | A Philippine +63 number, which is what makes GCash, SMS codes and calls work. |
| Validity and data | 7 to 30 days, 1 to 20 GB or unlimited, top up any time. | Tourist SIMs are often capped at around 30 days from registration. |
| Paying | Online in advance, the price is settled before you travel. | On the spot in pesos, and cash is usually the smoothest option at the airport counter. |
| Your home number | Stays active in the phone, so SMS codes and calls still reach you, at your provider's overseas rates. | On a single-SIM phone you have to swap it out, which puts your number offline. |
| Island hopping onward | Same eSIM on Palawan, Cebu, Bohol and Siargao, nothing to do. | Same SIM, but you top up the credit and data packages yourself. |
| Hotspot | Allowed, you can share with a laptop or tablet. | Handled differently depending on the package, worth asking at the counter first. |
Why roaming on your home plan gets expensive here
In the Philippines your plan from home only works at your provider's roaming rates, and those are entirely its own call: some bill per megabyte, some sell a daily package for overseas travel, some throttle you after a few hundred megabytes. It is in your price list under country group or world zone – checking takes five minutes and is worth it before any long-haul trip.
Then there is how a trip here actually works. Almost everything runs through your phone: calling a Grab, looking up the ferry to Bohol, messaging the resort on Siargao, keeping Google Maps open while the jeepney crawls through Quezon City, rebooking the domestic flight to Caticlan. This is not emergency data for two days, it is constant use across two or three weeks. With a prepaid eSIM and no contract the price is settled before you fly and nothing new turns up on the bill when you get home. Plans run 7 to 30 days, from 1 GB up to unlimited, and if you stay longer you simply top up.
Where the Globe network reaches, and where it does not
In the cities you have signal essentially throughout. Metro Manila including Makati, Bonifacio Global City, Ermita and Quezon City is densely covered, as are Cebu City and Mactan island, plus Davao, Iloilo, Baguio and Clark. The travel spots themselves hold up too: White Beach on Boracay, the town centres of El Nido and Coron, Puerto Princesa, Panglao on Bohol and General Luna on Siargao.
The honest other half is that the Philippines is made up of more than 7,000 islands and coverage often stops at the edge of town. On an island-hopping boat in Bacuit Bay, at Nacpan Beach, at remote dive sites, in the rice terraces around Banaue and on many ferry crossings you are simply offline – and that is true for every provider, a local SIM card included. Travellers also report that Smart reaches further than Globe in places on Siargao and in parts of Palawan. If you know you are heading to remote islands, download maps, tickets and booking confirmations first. Then a day without signal becomes part of the holiday rather than a problem.
How much data do you need in the Philippines?
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.
SIM registration in the Philippines: what applies to you and what does not
Under the SIM Registration Act (Republic Act 11934), every SIM card and eSIM issued by a Philippine provider has to be registered before it works. As a tourist the operators ask for your passport, an address in the country and usually a return or onward ticket. Tourist SIMs are then often limited to around 30 days from registration.
Your Simbye eSIM does not fall under this. It issues no Philippine number and simply roams on the Globe network, so there is nothing to register, no contract to sign, and you can set it up before you fly. The trade-off belongs in the picture too: without a +63 number, services that insist on a Philippine number stay closed to you, GCash above all. If you need that, buy a local SIM in addition.
What does an eSIM for the Philippines cost?
Simbye offers 8 plans for the Philippines from €3,95 to €55,95 — data packs from €3,95, unlimited from €23,95. Prepaid, no contract.
Plans for the Philippines range from 1 GB to 20 GB, plus unlimited options.
Validity runs from 7 to 30 days and starts with your first connection in the Philippines.
| Plan | Validity | Price | Per travel day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | 7 days | €3,95 | €0,56 |
| 3 GB | 30 days | €9,95 | €0,33 |
| 5 GB | 30 days | €13,95 | €0,46 |
| 10 GB | 30 days | €18,95 | €0,63 |
| Unlimited | 7 days | €23,95 | — |
| 20 GB | 30 days | €27,95 | €0,93 |
| Unlimited | 15 days | €36,95 | — |
| Unlimited | 30 days | €55,95 | — |
- Networks
- Globe Philippines
- 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 Philippines eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
