How Do eSIM Plans Work?
Step 1: Purchase Your eSIM Data Pack
You'll receive an email with your eSIM after purchase, no matter where you are in the world.
Step 2: Receive Activation Details
You'll get a QR code or manual installation instructions via email and WhatsApp to activate your eSIM.
Step 3: Install And Activate Your New eSIM
Set up your eSIM before your trip, and once you reach your destination, enable the data plan to start using the internet.
Is My Mobile Phone eSIM Compatible?
- iPhone XR, XS, XS Max
- iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd & 3rd gen)
- iPhone 12, Mini, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 13, Mini, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 14, Plus, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 15, Plus, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 16, Plus, Pro, Pro Max, 16e
- iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 17e
- iPhone Air (eSIM only, no SIM tray)
- iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max
- iPhone Duo (foldable, eSIM only, no SIM tray)
- iPad Pro 11″ (2018+) & 12.9″ (2018+)
- iPad Air (2019+)
- iPad (2019+)
- iPad Mini (2019+)
- iPad 10th Gen (2022)
*Two eSIMs can be active at the same time on iPhone 13 and later. *iPhones from mainland China do not support eSIM. *Hong Kong/Macao models (except 13 mini, 12 mini, SE 2020, XS) lack eSIM. *US models of iPhone 14 and later do not have a physical SIM tray. *iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are eSIM only in the US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Guam, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. *iPhone Air and iPhone Duo have no SIM tray in any country. They run on eSIM only.
Explore Benin
Benin eSIM: Landed at Cotonou, Online Before the Taxi Reaches Haie Vive
A prepaid tourist eSIM for Benin travel, paid once, from USD 10.98 for a week of high-speed mobile data on an eSIM-ready iPhone or Android phone. Land at Cotonou Cadjehoun from Paris, Brussels, Istanbul, Addis Ababa or Casablanca, or cross from Lagos by road, switch on data roaming and your phone is online before the taxi reaches Haie Vive, with no roaming fees from home and no passport-registration queue at a carrier counter. It runs on the Celtis network, so the signal is a local one, the QR code arrives by email within minutes and there is no physical SIM card to buy, register or swap. Install your eSIM on Wi-Fi at home and it activates the moment it connects in Benin.
Coverage across Benin
Coverage on the Celtis network takes in Cotonou from the Dantokpa market to the Fidjrosse beach, the stilt village boats at Ganvie, Porto-Novo and the museums, Ouidah and the Route des Esclaves to the Door of No Return, the beach at Grand-Popo, the royal palaces at Abomey and Bohicon, Parakou and the main road north, with 4G in the cities and along the coast highway. Connectivity thins on the Ganvie lagoon beyond the village, in the Pendjari park and on the back roads of the Atakora hills, as it does on every network, so save the offline map and the hotel pin before the pirogue leaves Abomey-Calavi and let the hotel Wi-Fi handle the big photo backups.
Which Benin eSIM plan to choose
A week of meetings in Cotonou runs on the 1 GB for 7 days data plan at USD 10.98. Two weeks of maps, ride bookings and WhatsApp between Cotonou, Ouidah and Grand-Popo fits 2 GB for 15 days at USD 13.98, and 3 GB for 30 days at USD 19.98 covers a month of messages and photos to the cloud. Activation happens the first time the eSIM connects in Benin, the clock on the days starts then, and if the data allowance runs low a top-up takes a minute online, which matters on a line-up built for messaging and maps rather than video calls.
Beyond Benin on the same trip
Carrying on to Togo, Ghana, Nigeria or the rest of the continent on the same West Africa trip? The Africa eSIM covers Benin on the MTN network, the other national network, along with Togo, Ghana, Nigeria and the rest of Africa on one install. Based in Benin the whole time? The Benin plan is the better value. Crossing the Togo and Ghana borders along the coast road? The Africa plan on the other network is the one to pick for the wider trip.
Choose a plan, check out and the QR code is in your inbox before the packing is finished; switch on data roaming at the gate and stay connected from the arrivals hall.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the operators keep counters at Cadjehoun, but every SIM in Benin is registered in person against your passport, the counters are busiest when the Paris and Brussels flights land late in the evening and the taxi negotiation outside is enough to handle on its own. The eSIM needs none of that: it is installed on Wi-Fi at home with nothing to register, and the maps and the hotel pin are open before you reach the kerb.
Yes: Ouidah, the Door of No Return beach, Grand-Popo, Porto-Novo and Abomey-Calavi all carry a 4G signal on the Benin plan, and the Ganvie pirogues stay connected within sight of the shore. Out on the lagoon beyond the village and on the back roads north of Abomey, connectivity thins, as it does on every network, so save the offline map and the hotel pin before the pirogue leaves the jetty.
An eSIM is a digital SIM built into your phone. Instead of swapping a plastic card, you scan a QR code, or tap one link on a recent iPhone, and the plan installs in about a minute alongside your existing SIM. Your home number stays exactly as it is, and you can switch between plans in Settings whenever you like.
You pay once, from a few dollars, instead of a daily roaming charge, and there is no airport kiosk, no ID check and no card to swap. Buy it at home, install it on Wi-Fi, and you land with maps, ride apps and WhatsApp already working in the arrivals hall. If plans change, every eSIM tops up online in about a minute.
As a guide: 1 GB covers a week of maps, messaging and a few photos a day; 5 GB over a month suits social media and daily browsing; 20 GB or unlimited suits streaming, video calls and working on the road. If in doubt, start small: every plan tops up online in about a minute, so you never pay for data you will not use.
Yes. Our regional plans cover many destinations on one eSIM, so a multi-stop trip needs nothing new at each border: Europe, Asia, Latin America, North America, Africa, Oceania and a World eSIM for trips that cross regions. The countries included are listed on each regional plan page, and you can combine a regional plan with a country plan for the best value.
No. Most people are done in under two minutes: scan the QR code from the activation email, or on iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later simply tap the Direct Installation link in the same email and the eSIM installs itself. Step-by-step guides are here for iPhone guide and Android guide, our support team is on hand, and a refund guarantee covers you if the eSIM cannot be installed on your device.
Most phones from the last five years support eSIM, including every iPhone from the XR onwards and recent Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel models. Check your model in our compatibility guide before you buy. If your phone was bought on a carrier contract it may need to be unlocked first, which your carrier can do.
Open the activation email, then on iPhone go to Settings, Cellular, Add eSIM and scan the QR code, or tap the Direct Installation link on iOS 17.4 or later. On Android go to Settings, Connections, SIM Manager and scan. Most phones can scan the QR code straight from a screenshot in your photo gallery, so no second phone is needed. Once the eSIM appears in your cellular settings it is installed and ready. Full walkthroughs: iPhone guide and Android guide.
Install it any time before you travel, on Wi-Fi at home: the eSIM does not expire while it sits on your phone. When you land, switch it on and enable data roaming, and your days start counting from that first connection abroad, not from the day you bought it. You can also install on arrival, as long as you have Wi-Fi to download the eSIM.
Yes. Your phone runs as a dual SIM, with your home SIM and the travel eSIM side by side, and most phones store several eSIMs at once with one active for data at a time. Keep a plan for each country on your trip and switch between them in Settings as you cross borders.
Yes. Tethering is included on every plan, so your laptop or a second phone can share the connection whenever you need it.
Your connection pauses rather than charging you more. Top up online in about a minute using the link in your activation email, or in the Yabb app, and you are back online with the same eSIM.
The activation email includes a link to a live usage page for your eSIM, so you can see exactly how much data is left at any time and top up before it runs out.
Top local carriers at up to 5G speeds. The network for this destination is shown above the plans on this page, and the eSIM connects to it automatically when you land.
Choose a 90-day plan where one is offered, or top up your existing plan as you go. Either way the eSIM stays on your phone for the whole trip.
Travel eSIMs are data only, which is exactly why there is no ID or address check to buy one. Everything you normally use runs on the data: WhatsApp, FaceTime, iMessage, Uber, maps and your bank app. If you want a real phone number for calls and SMS abroad, our Yabb app gives you calls, texts and a temporary local number without roaming charges. In a few countries we also sell plans that include a local number, minutes and texts, shown in the plan name; those minutes and texts are for local calls and local texts within that country only.
Yes. WhatsApp, iMessage and Signal stay on your existing number with every chat intact; there is nothing to re-register. The eSIM simply supplies the data they run on.
Yes, with your home SIM left in the phone. The eSIM carries all your data, and most carriers deliver incoming text messages to your home number abroad at no charge, so one-time codes from your bank, Google, Airbnb and the rest arrive exactly as they do at home. Keep the home SIM switched on with data roaming turned off, and only the eSIM uses data. Two things to know before you fly: making a call or sending a text from the home SIM is what triggers roaming charges on most carriers, so leave calling and texting to WhatsApp and the like, and a few carriers do charge for incoming texts or block them abroad, so a quick check with your carrier before you leave settles it.