Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
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 Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia eSIM: connected from Jeddah arrivals to the Haram, no counter and no ID queue
Arriving for Umrah, a Riyadh business week or an AlUla trip, the last thing you want is the SIM counter queue with a passport scan and a fingerprint. The eSIM4 Saudi Arabia eSIM is a prepaid tourist eSIM, installed at home over Wi-Fi with no physical SIM card, from USD 3.98 for a week of high-speed mobile data, and it connects on its own when the doors open at Jeddah, Riyadh, Madinah or Dammam. It runs on the Zain network, and the email with the QR code arrives within minutes of paying.
Coverage across Saudi Arabia
Coverage on the Zain network is 4G and 5G across Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Dammam and Al Khobar, along the Haramain high-speed rail between Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah, and on the main highways between the cities. In the Haram in Makkah the networks are built for the crowds, so the Nusuk app and family messages keep working at the busiest hours. AlUla, Taif and the Red Sea resorts are covered, and only on the open desert roads between them does connectivity thin, on every network, so save the offline map before a road day.
Which Saudi Arabia eSIM plan to choose
1 GB over 7 days is USD 3.98, enough for maps, messaging and a few photos a day. 5 GB over 30 days is USD 13.98 for a longer stay with photos going home every evening. 20 GB over 30 days is USD 40.98 for a working trip. Unlimited data runs from USD 6.98 for 1 day up to USD 95.98 for 30 days, for anyone who would rather never look at a data counter. Every plan tops up online in about a minute if the trip stretches, and the days only start counting when the eSIM first connects in Saudi Arabia, so buy it whenever you like, install your eSIM on Wi-Fi at home and activate data roaming when you land.
Beyond Saudi Arabia on the same trip
Continuing to Dubai, Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat or Amman on the same trip? This plan stops at the Saudi border. The Middle East and North Africa eSIM covers Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Egypt and five more countries on one plan, from USD 4.98 for 1 GB over 7 days.
Pick a plan, check out and stay connected from the arrivals hall; the QR code will beat you to the suitcase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. It covers Jeddah and Madinah airports, the Haramain high-speed train, the Haram in Makkah, the Nabawi Mosque in Madinah and the hotel towers around both, and the Nusuk app, Google Maps and WhatsApp all run on it. Buy one plan per phone, install each over Wi-Fi at home before you put on ihram, and every phone in the family is live from the moment you land, with no counter and no fingerprint scan between you and the first tawaf. The days only start counting from the first connection in Saudi Arabia, so a plan bought weeks ahead loses nothing, and the unlimited plans from USD 6.98 a day suit a group that video-calls home every evening.
For most visitors, yes. Saudi Arabia lifted its ban on internet calls in 2017, and pilgrims on Reddit report that WhatsApp voice and video calls connect on a roaming eSIM in Makkah and Madinah, because the data runs through the home gateway of the eSIM rather than a local line; the same calls on hotel Wi-Fi or a Saudi SIM are the ones people describe as blocked. Keep calls on the eSIM data rather than the hotel Wi-Fi, and messages, photos and voice notes work everywhere regardless.
You can, but it is the slow way in. The counters after customs take your passport and a fingerprint, the packages start higher than the street price, and visitors report that not every counter will sell an eSIM for a phone without a SIM slot; the SIM ordered in the Nusuk app still has to be collected and activated at a counter on arrival. The Saudi Arabia eSIM is a foreign line roaming on Zain: no counter, no fingerprint and no physical SIM card to swap. Buy it at home, install it over Wi-Fi, and it is live when you land, with the Haramain timetable already on your screen.
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.