For the last 6 months, I have been using a new phone plan that costs 5$ a month, is incredibly flexible, and costs the same internationally and locally. Let me explain how I set this plan up, the advantages, and the disadvantages.
eSIMs
My phone plan is based on eSIM technology. An eSIM allows you to set up a phone plan without needing to insert a plastic SIM card into your phone. Instead, you scan a QR code and instantly (1-2 minutes) access the phone plan. eSIMs are supported by all iPhones since the iPhone XR, all Google Pixel phones since Pixel 4, some Samsung phones, and a variety of other phones (full list at https://esim.holafly.com/how-to/esim-phones/). But the phone must be carrier unlocked.
You can buy eSIM plans that include a phone number or without a phone number. The plans that include a phone number typically cost 10-20$ a month, similar to Mint Mobile. But the plans that only include data can cost less than $5 a month for 5GB of data!
Unfortunately, we need phone numbers to keep in touch with family, make plans with friends, and receive authentication codes for two-factor authentication (2FA). Google Voice is a free service that allows you to transfer an existing US-based phone number (or generate a new phone number) and continue to use it without paying for a phone plan (calls and texts use data instead of the cell network). In conjunction with my $5 data eSIM, I have a complete phone plan with data and a phone number! Now that I have explained the basics, let’s get into the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.
Advantages
eSIM plans are incredibly cheap. This is because eSIMs eliminate vendor lock-in on phone plans. It is trivial to switch from one eSIM provider to another. This enables vicious price competition to drive eSIM plan costs to the floor. A quick perusal of https://esimdb.com/ will reveal 30-day plans costing less than $3 a month. I pay a little extra at $5 to avoid some of the disadvantages discussed later.
eSIM plans are flexible internationally. Another perusal of https://esimdb.com/ will reveal plans for many different individual countries as well as plans that work across groups of countries. If you are traveling a lot, you can buy a plan that works with all countries you will visit or you can buy individual plans for each country.
Google Voice allows you to use your US number internationally for free. Since Google Voice allows you to send and receive calls and texts with your US number using data, you can travel to any country and still use that number without additional fees (as long as you have wifi or data access). This is especially useful for 2FA which is often required by banks (but caveats apply as we will discuss later).
Emergency calls work wherever you are. You don’t need any phone plan at all to make emergency calls (at least in every country I am aware of). As a result, it is just as safe to use an eSIM as having a regular phone plan.
Disadvantages
Reliability and support for eSIMs is not great. I had a bad experience with an eSIM provider called GlobalYO where I purchased a plan working across most European countries, but it did not work in Poland. I reached out for support and received no reply. I finally received a refund when I made a negative App Store review. This illustrates that eSIMs are not totally reliable and support is inconsistent. Since you need Wifi to install a new eSIM, you can find yourself in tricky situations. I am now paying a bit more for a Sparks eSIM through MobiMatter which claims to offer support, but I have not tested the support capabilities yet. eSIMs are not totally reliable, but neither are traditional phone plans. It is always worth taking steps like downloading offline maps to avoid being surprised while traveling.
2FA does not always work as expected. Some banks require text message verification to access your account. And some banks will not send text messages to Google Voice (because it is a VoiP number). If a bank offers voice-based 2FA (where they make a voice call and read a code to you) this will probably work. But if you need access to a 2FA system that will not text Google Voice and does not offer voice-based code delivery, you should not use the approach described here. I have found a workaround for receiving one-time verification codes using free non-VoiP numbers at https://www.textverified.com/free. But this should not be used for ongoing access because the free numbers can change and the verification numbers are public.
eSIM traffic is routed through Poland. For some reason a lot of eSIMs are based out of Poland and web traffic is routed through Poland. I have not had problems with pages loading slowly, but some apps or websites require that you have a US-based IP address. You can still use these apps and websites by connecting to a Wifi network in the US or by using a free VPN like https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vpn-free-vpn-super/id1528940523.
eSIM plans do not auto-renew. Many plans offer top-ups which are great because they allow you to continue using your installed eSIM instead of installing a new one. But no plans I have found offer auto-renewal. Instead, you need to create a calendar reminder to perform a top-up every month.
Google Voice is not the best. It is a great service, but it does not provide as smooth of an experience as the built-in call and messaging apps. I don’t text people using my US number that much (I am more likely to use Signal, Whatsapp, or Facebook Messenger) so this is fine for me.
Conclusions
Whether my phone plan is a good fit for you requires introspection into your priorities and situation. If you are comfortable with technology, already have an eSIM-compatible phone, are willing to spend some time setting up a new cell plan, are on a tight budget, and travel internationally regularly, this plan is perfect for you and probably would meet your needs better than a normal phone plan. If only some of those descriptors are true for you, you should take another look at the disadvantages to see if the hassle is worth it. Either way, I hope you learned something about eSIMs!
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