An eSIM with a phone number costs more than a data only eSIM of the same size, because voice and SMS are sold separately by mobile networks and a plan that includes them carries that cost. For most travellers the cheapest arrangement is not an eSIM with a number at all: it is your own number kept live on your home SIM, paired with a cheap data only eSIM for the internet.
This guide covers what a number actually costs you, the three cases where you genuinely need a local one, and the cheapest route to a number when you do.
In this guide:
- The short answer
- Why numbered plans cost more
- The setup most travellers should use
- When you genuinely need a local number
- The cheapest ways to get a number
- What not to do
- Buying the data half from Viasimo
The short answer
Keep your home number on your existing SIM, turn off its data roaming, and add a data only travel eSIM for internet. Your number keeps ringing, bank codes keep arriving, and you pay data prices rather than roaming prices for everything else. This is cheaper than a numbered plan in almost every case and needs a dual SIM capable handset, which every eSIM capable phone is by definition.
Buy a plan that includes a local number only in the three cases listed further down. Otherwise you are paying for voice and SMS you will not use.
Why numbered plans cost more
Mobile networks price data, voice and SMS as separate wholesale products. A data only eSIM buys one of the three. A plan with a number buys all three plus the number itself, which networks allocate from a finite national pool and which usually carries registration obligations.
That is why the price gap exists and why it is fairly consistent across providers and countries. It is not a markup choice; it is a different product.
| Data only eSIM | eSIM with a local number | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Mobile internet | Internet plus local calls and SMS |
| Typical price at the same data size | Lower | Higher |
| Calls and messages | Over data: WhatsApp, FaceTime, Signal, Telegram | Over data, plus the local network |
| Receives bank SMS sent to your home number | On your home SIM, yes | On your home SIM, yes |
| Receives SMS sent to the local number | No | Yes |
| Registration requirements | Usually none | Sometimes identification, depending on the country |
The last row matters more than people expect. Several countries require SIM registration with identity documents for any line that carries a number, which is one of the reasons numbered travel plans are less common than data plans. Our guide to eSIM registration rules by country covers where this applies.
The setup most travellers should use
Four steps, done before you fly.
- Leave your home SIM or eSIM in place and enabled for calls and texts.
- Turn off data roaming on that home line, so it can never bill you for data.
- Install the travel eSIM and set it as the data line.
- Check that your messaging apps are not set to use the travel line for anything.
The result is a phone where your real number rings, your real number receives SMS codes, and all data goes over the cheap plan. Receiving calls and texts while roaming is normally free or inexpensive, unlike data, which is where roaming bills are actually built. Our guide to avoiding roaming bill shock explains that split in detail, and the dual SIM travel setup guide has the exact settings on iPhone and Android.
One refinement worth making: set your home line as the default for calls and the travel eSIM as the default for data, and turn off automatic line switching for data. Automatic switching is the most common reason a traveller with a perfect setup still gets a roaming charge.
When you genuinely need a local number
Three cases, and they are narrower than they look.
- You must receive SMS from local businesses. Some car rental, delivery, ride hailing and reservation systems send codes only to a local number and will not accept a foreign one. This is the most common real reason.
- You will take inbound calls from local landlines. A local restaurant, clinic or contractor calling you back cannot reach a foreign number without international dialling, and often will not try.
- You are signing up for local services that verify by text. Particularly common for long stays, domestic banking, and some national transport or government apps.
If your trip is sightseeing, business meetings, or visiting family, none of these usually apply. Your contacts reach you on your existing number, and apps handle the rest over data. The detail on which apps need what is in do eSIMs have a phone number, and WhatsApp calling abroad covers voice quality over a travel data plan.
The cheapest ways to get a number
If you do need one, the options rank fairly clearly on price.
- Your own number, kept live. Free beyond your normal contract, works everywhere, and trusted by every bank and service. Always the first option.
- A virtual number from a voice over IP service. Cheap, often a small monthly fee, and runs over the travel eSIM’s data. Good for giving out a contact number and taking calls. The limitation is that some banks and government services reject virtual numbers for verification codes.
- A travel eSIM plan that includes a local number. More expensive than data only but a genuine local line, with local SMS delivery that works where virtual numbers are rejected. Worth it for long stays.
- A local carrier prepaid SIM bought on arrival. Cheapest per gigabyte for stays over about a month, most expensive in time, and usually requires identification and a store visit. The trade offs are set out in eSIM or local SIM at the airport.
For most trips the answer is option one plus a cheap data plan, which is why the cheapest eSIM plan guide spends its time on price per gigabyte rather than on numbers.
What not to do
Two mistakes cost travellers real money and real access every season.
Do not re register WhatsApp on a temporary local number. Your WhatsApp account belongs to the number you registered with. Moving it to a travel number moves your chats, your groups and your contacts’ ability to find you, and you have to move it back afterwards. Keep your home number and let WhatsApp run over the eSIM’s data, exactly as covered in keeping your WhatsApp number abroad.
Do not switch your home line off entirely to avoid charges. A disabled home line cannot receive the bank verification codes you will need the moment you try to pay for something, which is the failure mode described in bank OTP SMS codes abroad. Turn data roaming off, not the line.
Set up that way, the cheapest eSIM with a phone number turns out to be a data only plan sitting next to the number you already own. Compare live prices for your destination on the destinations index and buy at the size you will actually use.
Buying the data half from Viasimo
The arrangement this guide recommends, your own number plus cheap data, is exactly what a Viasimo plan is built for: a prepaid data only eSIM that sits alongside your existing line rather than replacing it.
In practice:
- Your number stays yours. The travel plan carries data; your home SIM keeps ringing and keeps receiving bank codes.
- One off prepaid pricing. Nothing renews, and there is no subscription to cancel when you are home.
- No identity paperwork for the data plan, and no store visit.
- QR code by email in minutes, installed at home over Wi Fi with no app to download.
Compare sizes for your destination on the destinations index, or go straight to the USA, the UK, Europe or India.
The quickest route from here is the eSIM plan picker, where choosing a destination and a trip length lists the plans available for it.
