UK eSIM for Indians (2026): prices vs Jio and Airtel, plus London tips

You have three ways to stay online in the UK: a Jio or Airtel roaming pack, a UK SIM from a shop at Heathrow, or a travel eSIM installed at home before you fly. Here is how they compare on price, coverage and bank OTPs.

Prices side by side

Other sizes: 1 GB for 7 days is ₹99, enough for a stopover, and 3 GB is ₹299, 20 GB is ₹1,399 and 50 GB is ₹2,899, each for 30 days. Unlimited plans give 1 GB a day at full speed, then 512 Kbps: ₹299 for 3 days, ₹449 for 5, ₹849 for 10, ₹1,299 for 15 and ₹2,299 for 30. The 30-day 5 GB plan at ₹399 also costs less than the 7-day version at ₹649. Every plan is on the UK eSIM page.

How much data you need

EE, O2, Vodafone and Three: who is strongest

eSIMKite's UK plans connect to EE, O2, Vodafone and Three, the four main UK networks. Opensignal's January 2026 report, based on tests from October to December 2025, found:

• EE strongest overall, with 11 awards, including reliability, consistent quality and download speed (53.2 Mbps). EE users found a 5G signal 77.4% of the time.
• Three fastest on 5G, with 5G downloads of 187 Mbps.
• O2 the winner for overall coverage.
• Vodafone and Three merged in 2025 as VodafoneThree, but still run as separate brands while their networks are joined up.

Across the UK, the average mobile download was 147.01 Mbps in September 2026, 54th in the world (Ookla). Two things catch visitors out. On the London Underground, station Wi-Fi works only through UK networks' own Wi-Fi services, so a travel eSIM or roaming SIM may not get it. Mobile signal is spreading instead: 4G and 5G already cover the whole Elizabeth line and parts of the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria, Bakerloo, District and Circle lines, with no app needed.

On trains between cities, Ofcom found mobile performance was poor on 58% to 83% of tests, depending on the network (June 2026), and train Wi-Fi did well only 1% of the time. Download maps and tickets before a long train journey.

Bank OTPs, WhatsApp and UPI

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

• Jio: keep your plan valid and the SIM switched on. Jio's 1-day and 10-day packs include 20 and 25 SMS. Without a pack, Jio charges ₹2 a minute for calls in the UK, incoming included. Check in the MyJio app what receiving SMS costs before you fly.
• Airtel prepaid: the ₹118 roaming activation pack (28 days) switches roaming on at standard charges, without buying data. Check in the Airtel Thanks app what receiving SMS costs.
• Airtel postpaid: new plans from ₹499 a month (since 8 October 2026) include one free roaming trip a year: 5 days, 5 GB, 60 minutes, 25 outgoing SMS and free incoming SMS.
• Vi: check your roaming options and SMS charges in the Vi app before you fly.
• WhatsApp and FaceTime calls work over the eSIM's data, and we found no reports of UK limits on them. VisitBritain notes that Indians prefer WhatsApp to any other way of keeping in touch. Skype closed on 5 May 2025.
• UPI does not work in UK shops. The UK is not among the countries that accepted UPI payments as of 31 August 2026, so carry a card or forex card.

Before you land

• Visa: Indian nationals visiting for tourism need a Standard Visitor visa, not the UK ETA. Check on GOV.UK.
• Wi-Fi on arrival. Heathrow has free Wi-Fi in every terminal on the Heathrow Wi-Fi network; you register on screen. At Gatwick, Free Gatwick Wi-Fi Vinci Airports is free and unlimited at up to 50 Mbps once you enter an email address.
• TfL Go. London's official transport app shows live times for the Tube, buses, Overground, DLR, Elizabeth line and trams, plans step-free routes and lets you top up pay as you go.
• Paying on the Tube and buses. TfL says many contactless cards issued outside the UK work for pay as you go, though overseas charges may apply, and a phone wallet linked to a non-UK card may not work. Tap the same card every time to get the daily cap: £8.90 in Zones 1 and 2, £16.30 in Zones 1 to 6, and £5.25 on buses and trams, where each fare is £1.75. Switching between phone and card breaks the cap.
• Leaving Heathrow. Uber lists average fares from London of £51 for UberX, £66 for Comfort and £80 for UberXL, and Bolt also runs in London. Heathrow's own taxi page points to WeKnow, a fixed-rate electric car service with desks in every arrivals hall, and to black cabs at the terminal ranks.

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 UK 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, 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 local SIM or roaming is the better choice

A roaming pack is the better buy if you will make many normal calls on your Indian number: Jio's ₹951 pack has 100 minutes out and 100 in over 10 days, and Airtel's ₹1,298 pack has 200 minutes. See Jio vs Airtel vs Vi roaming packs for every pack. On a new Airtel postpaid plan, check whether the free yearly trip (5 days, 5 GB) covers the UK; Airtel's announcement does not list the countries.

A UK SIM makes sense if you need a UK number, for a long stay with family or for local deliveries. Heathrow lists 11 Sim Local shops across Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5, in baggage reclaim, arrivals and the B gates, open 06:00 to 22:00 every day, selling SIMs from the main UK networks. The trade-off is a stop at the shop after a long flight, and taking your Indian SIM out unless your phone has a second slot. If you only need to message home and book a ride on arrival, the free Wi-Fi at Heathrow and Gatwick will do.

Questions

Get your UK eSIMQR code on screen and by emailQR code by email after a document check · 4G/5G · from $1.49

See UK plans

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.