eSIM Thailand
Thailand eSIM from 1,95€ on the AIS and dtac networks, from 1 GB to 50 GB or unlimited, prepaid with no contract and no registration – online the moment you land at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi.
Fair Use Policy
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 Thailand?
Get connected in under 2 minutes
Order and install before you fly
The eSIM arrives by email, usually within a few minutes. Install it at home over Wi-Fi – one tap on the link, or the QR code from the mail. Nothing is used up as long as you do not go online in Thailand. Use that moment to also set up LINE, Grab and Bolt with your home number and to file the Thailand Digital Arrival Card.
Land in Thailand
Whether you arrive in Bangkok at Suvarnabhumi (BKK) or Don Mueang (DMK), in Phuket (HKT), Chiang Mai (CNX), Krabi (KBV), on Koh Samui (USM), in Hat Yai (HDY), Udon Thani (UTH) or at U-Tapao near Pattaya (UTP): turn off airplane mode, switch on data roaming for the Simbye line and set mobile data to that line. One or two minutes later you are online – often before you reach passport control.
Keep going and top up
Validity starts with your first connection in Thailand, not with the purchase. Hotspot is allowed, so you can share with a laptop, a tablet or your travel partner's phone. When the data runs low you top up online – no shop, no new eSIM, and nothing changes on your phone.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
Which networks will you be on in Thailand?
Your phone picks whichever Thai network comes in best all by itself – AIS or dtac, with nothing for you to set up.
The Simbye eSIM uses 2 networks in Thailand: AIS · DTAC.
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.
In Thailand the eSIM uses AIS and dtac. dtac has belonged to True Corporation, the country's largest operator, since the 2023 merger, and the two networks have since been combined – so this is fully built-out infrastructure, not a niche carrier. Your phone decides on its own which network to use when you switch it on, and it will switch again while you travel. There is no APN to type in anywhere. You are already online in the terminal at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket or Chiang Mai. If you ever end up with no connection while others around you have signal: in your mobile network settings, switch network selection from automatic to manual once, pick the other network, then set it back to automatic.
In Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Phuket, Krabi and on Koh Samui you have signal almost everywhere – including on the Skytrain and the underground in Bangkok and on the big beaches such as Patong, Ao Nang, Chaweng or Haad Rin. It gets thin in the mountains around Pai and Mae Hong Son, in national parks like Khao Sok, Khao Yai and Erawan, on longer boat crossings to Koh Tao, Koh Lipe or the Similan Islands, and on back roads in Isaan. Out there you may drop to slow data, or to nothing at all for a few kilometres. Download your maps and tickets in advance if you are heading into those areas.
eSIM or a local SIM card in Thailand?
Thailand tilts to the eSIM since August 2025: a local card now needs your original passport and a live face scan at the counter, while the eSIM has you online the moment you switch airplane mode off at Suvarnabhumi.
| Compared | Simbye eSIM | Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| ID and registration | No registration, no ID document, no face scan | Since August 2025 the Thai regulator requires your original passport plus a live face scan at the counter |
| When you get online | Right after landing at Suvarnabhumi or Phuket: airplane mode off, done | Only after queuing at the sales counter in arrivals |
| Setup | Link or QR code from the email, calmly at home over Wi-Fi | Buy the card, swap the SIM, have the number activated at the counter |
| What you pay | Prepaid: fixed before you travel, in your own currency, no contract | The airport counter costs more than a shop in town, paid in baht |
| Thai phone number | No, data only – no calls, no SMS | Yes, comes with a Thai number for calls and SMS |
| Your home number | Stays active, so family, your bank and the airline can still reach you | With only one SIM slot you have to take your home card out |
| Validity | 7 to 180 days, counted from your first connection to a Thai network | Tourist plans are usually capped at 60 days |
| Topping up | Online at any time from anywhere, no new eSIM | Top up on the ground at 7-Eleven or at a kiosk machine |
Why roaming on your home contract gets expensive in Thailand
The data allowance you pay for at home is written for the country you bought it in. In Thailand your provider bills from its international roaming rate card, and that is a different world from your domestic tariff. This is exactly where the post-holiday bills people talk about come from.
Some providers sell day passes for long-haul destinations. They beat being charged per megabyte, but they cost for every holiday day and keep charging whether you use them that day or not. Across two or three weeks in Thailand that adds up fast.
So most people go with a local data connection. The only question left is how you get it: queue at the airport counter in Suvarnabhumi or Phuket and register with your passport and a live face scan – or have a prepaid Thailand eSIM already sitting on your phone when the plane touches down.
Where the network reaches, and where it does not
Thailand is well covered. In Bangkok you have signal on the Skytrain, in the underground, in the malls and around Khao San Road, and the same goes for Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Phuket Town, Patong, Ao Nang, Krabi Town and Koh Samui. On the short ferry crossings between the mainland, Samui and Koh Phangan you usually stay connected, though not the whole way.
It gets thin where Thai residents have little signal too: in the mountains around Pai and Mae Hong Son and along the Mae Hong Son loop, in Khao Sok, Khao Yai and Erawan national parks, on the boats out to the Similan Islands, Koh Tao and Koh Lipe, and on back roads in Isaan between Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani and the Lao border.
Plan for it rather than hoping. Save the region for offline use in your maps app beforehand, and keep boat tickets, hotel confirmations and the QR code from your arrival card as screenshots on your phone. Then a dead spot costs you time and not your connection to anything that matters.
Registration, phone number and the arrival card
Since 18 August 2025 the Thai regulator has required your original passport and a live face scan at the counter for every SIM and eSIM sold by a Thai operator, and tourist plans are usually capped at 60 days on top of that. None of it applies to this eSIM – it connects to the Thai networks as a guest. There is nothing to register, nothing to show and no queue to join.
The honest trade-off: you do not get a Thai phone number. Calls and SMS over the network are not possible, and apps that insist on a Thai number – MuvMi or LINE Pay, for example – stay closed to you. Also remember the Thailand Digital Arrival Card: mandatory for all foreign nationals since May 2025, filed online, and accepted no earlier than three days before arrival. Do it at home or on Wi-Fi, because the eSIM only puts you online once you are in Thailand.
What does an eSIM for Thailand cost?
Simbye offers 9 plans for Thailand from €1,95 to €46,95 — data packs from €1,95, unlimited from €18,95. Prepaid, no contract.
Plans for Thailand range from 1 GB to 50 GB, plus unlimited options.
Validity runs from 7 to 180 days and starts with your first connection in Thailand.
| 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 | €6,95 | €0,23 |
| 10 GB | 30 days | €11,95 | €0,39 |
| 20 GB | 30 days | €18,95 | €0,63 |
| Unlimited | 7 days | €18,95 | — |
| Unlimited | 15 days | €27,95 | — |
| 50 GB | 180 days | €41,95 | €0,23 |
| Unlimited | 30 days | €46,95 | — |
- Networks
- AIS Thailand + DTAC Thailand
- 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 Thailand eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
