travel.to vs International roaming
Carrier roaming costs $10–25 per gigabyte. travel.to is an eSIM that costs an order of magnitude less and activates in 60 seconds.
International roaming through your home carrier is the most expensive way to use data abroad. eSIMs from a dedicated provider like travel.to typically cost 80–95% less, with no bill surprises after the trip.
Side by side
How the two compare on what matters.
Feature
International roaming
travel.to
Notes
Feature
Per-gigabyte cost
International roaming
$10–25 / GB (US carriers · post-EU-cap)
travel.to
$1.30–$3 / GB effective (depending on plan)
Notes
A single bad day of roaming costs more than a month of travel.to unlimited.
Feature
Setup time
International roaming
Phone call to enable international roaming
travel.to
Scan a QR, 60 seconds
Notes
Roaming needs prior arrangement. eSIM is on-demand.
Feature
Bill surprises
International roaming
Common · usage caps, daily charges, "you reached your limit" texts
travel.to
Pre-paid, no overage charges, plan price is the total
Notes
You pay once for the eSIM. The bill at the end of the month doesn't include it.
Feature
Coverage
International roaming
Same as your home carrier's roaming partners
travel.to
Same partner networks · same coverage
Notes
No difference in physical coverage. Different billing relationship.
Feature
Speed throttling
International roaming
Often throttled below local speed after a cap
travel.to
Full local speed up to fair-use (50 GB), then 5 Mbps
Notes
Local-carrier-grade speed is the default with eSIM.
Feature
Home number
International roaming
Same · keeps receiving SMS
travel.to
Same · runs as second line, home number keeps SMS for 2FA
Notes
Identical on this front. eSIM doesn't replace your number.
Our angle
Why an eSIM beats roaming on every axis except convenience-of-doing-nothing.
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1
An order of magnitude cheaper per gigabyte.
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2
No bill surprises — the price you see at checkout is the total.
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3
No prior arrangement with your home carrier.
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4
Full local-speed instead of artificially throttled roaming.
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5
Keep your home number for 2FA — eSIM is a second line, not a replacement.
Try travel.to · pick a destination.
100% refund if it fails to activate. You'll know within 60 seconds of landing.