Philippines eSIM

Philippines plans start at $1.99. Unlimited plans run from $1.99 for 1 day to $33.99 for 30 days, each with a full-speed allowance per day that is printed on the plan. Fixed-data plans start at $1.99 for 1 GB over 7 days. Every price includes 18% GST, and nothing is added at checkout.

Switch the eSIM line on, set it as your mobile data line and turn Data Roaming on for it. Within a minute or two your phone should show Globe or SMART, on 5G where your phone supports it. If nothing connects, turn Airplane Mode on and off once, or pick the network by hand in your phone's settings.

For maps, messaging, social media and the odd video call, about 1 GB a day is plenty — Unlimited · 7 days (1 GB/day) here gives you that for $9.49. For a light trip, 3 GB · 30 days is $4.49. If you stream or work online, a bigger plan such as 20 GB · 30 days ($24.99) is the safer choice.

Not always, and it is worth knowing before you fly. Your phone connects to a local network in the Philippines, but the data itself reaches the internet through our supplier's gateway in Hong Kong and Singapore, so a website reading your IP address may place you in one of those countries rather than in the Philippines. Browsing, maps, messaging and calls over WhatsApp or FaceTime are unaffected. What can be affected is a banking app that checks your location, a streaming service that shows a country's own catalogue, and any site that blocks traffic from outside its region. If your bank is strict about this, keep your home SIM reachable for one-time codes, which is how these plans are designed to be used anyway.

Plans for the Philippines roam onto Globe and SMART — the same networks local subscribers use. Your phone picks whichever is strongest where you are. 5G is available where the network and your handset both support it, otherwise 4G.

Trip lengths for the Philippines run from 1 day up to 365 days. Pick the one that covers your dates. The number of days can't be changed once a plan is running: a top-up adds data where the eSIM supports it, and a second eSIM adds more days.

The data never runs out, but the full speed does. Every unlimited plan for the Philippines gives you a set allowance each day at full speed — it is printed on the plan, for example "1 GB/day" — and once you have used it the connection slows down until the next day rather than stopping. Maps, messaging and email stay usable; video and large downloads will not. You are never charged extra and you are never cut off.