Singapore eSIM for Indians (2026): Changi SIM, Jio and Airtel compared

Most Indian travellers to Singapore pick one of three options: switch on a Jio or Airtel roaming pack, buy a tourist SIM at Changi, or install a travel eSIM before leaving home. Here is how they compare on price, data and effort, and how to keep bank OTPs reaching your Indian number.

Prices side by side

More sizes are on the Singapore plans page. 1 GB for 7 days is ₹99, enough for a stopover, and the 30-day plans run from 3 GB at ₹299 to 20 GB at ₹1,399 and 50 GB at ₹2,899. Unlimited gives 1 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps: ₹249 for 3 days, ₹399 for 5 days, ₹749 for 10 days, ₹1,199 for 15 days and ₹2,099 for 30 days. Pick the 30-day version of a size: on the same page, 5 GB for 7 days is ₹2,999, against ₹449 for 30 days.

How much data you need

Networks and speed in Singapore

The eSIMKite Singapore eSIM connects to Singtel, StarHub, M1 and TPG Telecom. Your phone picks the strongest one where you are, so you are not tied to a single operator's coverage. Independent reports rate the main networks well:

• Best network: Opensignal's July 2026 Singapore report, based on data from April to June 2026, named Singtel Best Network, with 9 awards: 6 outright and 3 shared. StarHub won 3 outright and shared 4.
• 5G: in the same report Singtel won 5G Availability at 79.9%, nearly 10 points ahead of StarHub, and kept the 5G Coverage award with a score of 9.5 out of 10.
• 5G downloads: in Opensignal's December 2025 report, M1 users had the fastest 5G download speeds, with Singtel and StarHub tied for second.
• Country speed: Ookla's Speedtest Global Index for September 2026 puts Singapore's average mobile download at 238.83 Mbps, 18th in the world.

These are national results, not figures for a particular street, mall or MRT station, so treat them as a guide. The useful point for a traveller is that the eSIM can use Singtel, StarHub and M1, the three operators these reports rank, whether you are at Changi, on Orchard Road or out at Sentosa.

Bank OTPs, WhatsApp and UPI

A travel eSIM is data only. Your Indian SIM stays in the phone as the second line, so your number, bank SMS and WhatsApp account stay as they are. More in keeping WhatsApp and bank OTPs working abroad.

• Jio: the ₹951 10-day pack includes 25 SMS and the ₹589 1-day pack includes 20. If you skip a pack, check in the MyJio app how SMS works on your plan abroad.
• Airtel prepaid: the ₹998 and ₹1,298 packs include 20 SMS. Airtel's ₹118 roaming activation pack lasts 28 days at standard charges; check SMS costs in the Airtel Thanks app before you fly.
• Airtel postpaid: the free roaming trip on Airtel's new postpaid plans, from 8 October 2026, includes free incoming SMS.
• Vi: we had no current Vi roaming figures for this guide, so check in the Vi app whether you need a pack to receive SMS abroad.
• WhatsApp and calling apps: Freedom House's 2025 report on Singapore found no blocked social media and no restricted networks. WhatsApp, FaceTime, Telegram and Skype calls have no known restrictions, and WhatsApp keeps your Indian number.
• UPI: Singapore is one of the countries where Indian UPI apps can pay merchants (August 2026), but only at some of them. HitPay merchants have taken UPI since March 2025, and in September 2026 FOMO Pay and NPCI International named Resorts World Sentosa as an early merchant. UPI and PayNow have also been linked for person-to-person transfers since February 2023.
• Cards: international credit and debit cards work at Changi's SIM counters, and MRT gates take contactless Visa, Mastercard and NETS cards and phone wallets. Foreign cards pay an admin fee on fares, so carry a card as well as UPI.

Before you land in Singapore

Every traveller who clears immigration must submit the SG Arrival Card within 3 days before arrival, counting the arrival day. It is free on the ICA website or in the MyICA Mobile app, and ICA warns that sites charging a fee are not linked to it. Fill it in at home on Wi-Fi rather than at the gate.

Indian passport holders need a Singapore visa before travel, through an authorised agent or a Singapore mission; check ICA's visa page, updated 25 June 2026.

• Rides: Changi lists Grab, Gojek, Zig, Tada, Ryde and Geolah, with pick-up points at Terminals 1 to 4. These apps need data the moment you land, which is where the eSIM helps.
• Taxi: a metered taxi to the city takes about 30 minutes and costs SGD 25 to 45, plus an airport surcharge of SGD 8 from 5 pm to 11:59 pm and SGD 6 at other times.
• MRT: at Changi Airport station (CG2) you can tap a contactless bank card or phone wallet, or use an EZ-Link or NETS FlashPay card or the Singapore Tourist Pass.
• Changi App for airport services, and MyICA Mobile for the arrival card. Install both at home.

Set it up at home

1. Check your phone takes an eSIM: iPhone XS or newer, Google Pixel 3 or newer, and recent Samsung Galaxy S and Z models. Dial *#06#: if an EID shows, it does.
2. Buy the Singapore plan and scan the QR code on Wi-Fi before you leave India. It takes about two minutes.
3. Leave the eSIM line off until you land. The plan starts counting when the eSIM first connects at your destination, not when you buy it.
4. After landing at Changi, turn the eSIM line on, switch on data roaming for it, and set it as the line for mobile data.

Step-by-step pictures for iPhone and Android are in how to install a travel eSIM.

When a Changi SIM or roaming is the better choice

A travel eSIM is not always the right pick. If you will make many normal calls on your Indian number, a Jio or Airtel pack includes 100 to 200 minutes and a data eSIM has none; Jio also lists ₹2 a minute for calls to India from Singapore without a pack. If you are on one of Airtel's new postpaid plans, the free trip gives 5 GB and 60 minutes for 5 days once a year, though Airtel's release does not list the countries, so check the app first. For heavy data or a long stay, a Changi tourist SIM is better value: Singtel, StarHub and M1 each sell 100 GB for SGD 12, valid 10 to 15 days, and M1 sells 100 GB plus 100 GB of roaming for 120 days at SGD 14. All three also sell tourist eSIMs. The trade-off is buying at a counter after you land, registering it with your passport, and paying in SGD cash or by card.

Questions

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Written by the eSIMKite team and checked by Vicky Pathak. Prices checked on 21 October 2026. We sell travel eSIMs, so every outside figure links to where we found it.