Roaming Cost Calculator
Compare international roaming costs vs buying a local SIM card for your trip. Enter your home country, destination, and usage to see which option saves more money.
Did this tool work for you?
How to use this calculator
- 1
Select your home country (where your phone plan is based).
- 2
Choose your destination country.
- 3
Enter the number of days you will be travelling.
- 4
Set your estimated daily data usage in GB and daily call minutes.
- 5
The calculator compares your carrier's typical roaming daily pass cost against buying a local SIM at your destination.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the roaming and SIM prices come from?
From two small tables inside the tool. The home-country table holds one daily pass price per country (US $10, UK £2, India ₹150, Canada CA$13, Australia A$10). The destination table holds one tourist SIM price and validity per country. They are fixed example figures, not live carrier prices, and real prices, plans and rules change, so check your carrier and the SIM seller before travelling.
How is the roaming cost calculated?
Daily pass price × trip days. The tool charges every day of the trip. If your carrier bills only on the days you use the phone, the real figure could be lower; check your carrier’s terms. A 7-day trip from the US shows $70.
How is the local SIM cost calculated?
One pack costs the listed price and lasts the listed number of days. If the trip is longer than that, the tool buys more packs: 21 days in the UAE on a 7-day AED 50 pack is 3 × 50 = AED 150. Japan is priced per day, so 10 days shows ¥15,000. The calculation does not check whether the pack’s data allowance covers your usage.
Do the data and call inputs change the answer?
No. The daily data and daily call minutes fields are not used in the calculation. The comparison uses only trip days, home country and destination. If you need a lot of data, check the pack allowance listed in the result against your needs yourself.
How can it compare prices in different currencies?
It converts both amounts to US dollars with a fixed, rough table (for example £1 = $1.27, ₹1 = $0.012, ¥1 = $0.0067) and shows the gap in your home currency. These are static estimates, not live rates, so a close result should be treated as a tie.
What does it say when home and destination are the same?
It returns a note that no roaming applies. Only five home countries are supported (US, UK, India, Canada, Australia). If a combination is missing from either table, it asks you to check carrier and local SIM options instead of showing a number.
Does it cover eSIMs, EU roaming or plan allowances?
No. It does not model eSIM providers, regional roaming rules or the roaming allowance in your own plan. For UK-based travellers the result adds a note that EU roaming terms are not modelled and that you should check your own plan.
Roaming cost calculator: carrier day pass against a local SIM
The comparison in outline
Two prices are compared for the same trip length. The roaming price is a per-day pass multiplied by the days abroad. The local SIM price is a tourist pack in the destination, bought again if the trip outlasts it. Because the two are in different currencies, the tool converts them to dollars using a fixed rate table and states the gap in your home currency. Everything depends on the built-in example prices, which are not current quotes.
| Destination | Price | Validity | Listed contents |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $20 | 7 days | About 5 GB data and calls |
| United Kingdom | £10 | 14 days | 5–10 GB data |
| India | ₹300 | 28 days | 1.5 GB/day and calls |
| Canada | CA$40 | 30 days | 10–20 GB, limited calls |
| Australia | A$30 | 28 days | 20–30 GB and calls |
| UAE | AED 50 | 7 days | 25 GB and calls |
| Thailand | THB 299 | 15 days | 10–15 GB data |
| Japan | ¥1,500 per day | Per day | Data only |
Worked examples
These came from running the calculator; the amounts depend entirely on the example prices above.
| Trip | Roaming | Local SIM | Tool’s verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| US to UK, 7 days | $70 | £10 | Local SIM about $57 cheaper |
| US to Japan, 10 days | $100 | ¥15,000 | Roaming about $1 cheaper |
| India to UAE, 21 days | ₹3,150 | AED 150 (3 × 50) | Roaming about ₹250 cheaper |
| Australia to US, 30 days | A$300 | $100 (5 × $20) | Local SIM about A$146 cheaper |
Why the pack count matters
The UAE example shows how a short-validity pack changes the verdict. A single AED 50 pack looks cheap against ₹3,150 of roaming, but a 21-day stay needs three packs, which lifts the SIM side to AED 150 and flips the result. The tool buys another full pack whenever the trip exceeds the validity, even if only one day of the last pack is used. Real sellers may offer longer packs or top-ups at different prices, which this tool does not model.
What the tool cannot tell you
It does not know your data usage, your carrier’s actual pass price, whether your plan includes roaming, or whether your phone is unlocked for a local SIM. The daily data and call fields are collected but ignored, so a heavy user and a light user get the same figure. Use the result to see whether SIM-versus-roaming is worth a closer look; then ask your carrier for today’s pass price.
A short checklist before you decide
Confirm the roaming price with your carrier, since some plans include days abroad. Check that your phone accepts a local SIM and that you can receive any verification codes sent to your home number. Compare the pack’s validity with your trip length. If you need to keep your number active, remember that a local SIM replaces it in the phone unless it supports two SIMs.
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Results are estimates for informational purposes only and do not constitute professional financial, medical, legal, or technical advice. Read full disclaimer →