Carrier Comparison
US and UK carrier roaming costs compared
Six major carriers serve the US and UK markets. Each charges a daily fee for international data roaming. A travel eSIM costs $4 to $15 for an entire week. Here is what every carrier charges, how their plans work, and how much you save with an eSIM instead.
All carriers at a glance
| Carrier | Country | Plan | Daily Rate | 7-Day Cost | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T | US | International Day Pass | $10/day | $70 | LTE |
| Verizon | US | TravelPass | $10/day | $70 | LTE |
| T-Mobile | US | Magenta (high-speed add-on) | $15/day | $105 | 256kbps* |
| Vodafone | UK | Roaming Passport | £6/day | £42 | LTE |
| EE | UK | Roam Abroad | £6/day | £42 | LTE |
| Xfinity Mobile | US | International Pass | $10/day | $70 | LTE |
Rates sourced from official carrier websites. Verified June 2026.
Compare carrier roaming by destination: Japan · United Kingdom · France · Thailand · Australia
US carriers
AT&T — International Day Pass
$10/day in 210+ countries. Without a plan, pay-per-use hits $200+/day. A 7-day trip costs $70 with the daily pass. A 14-day trip costs $140. Without International Day Pass, AT&T charges $2.05 per megabyte ($2,050/GB).
Verizon — TravelPass
$10/day flat for data, calls and texts. Billed every day your phone uses the network abroad. A 7-day trip costs $70 with the daily pass. A 14-day trip costs $140. Without TravelPass, Verizon charges $2.05 per megabyte ($2,050/GB).
T-Mobile — Magenta (high-speed add-on)
Free data at 256kbps; high-speed costs $5-15/day. *Usable speed requires the paid add-on. A 7-day trip costs $105 with the daily pass. A 14-day trip costs $210. The free 256kbps data cannot load modern web pages. Usable speed requires the paid add-on.
Xfinity Mobile — International Pass
$10/day with a 200 MB daily high-speed cap. Throttled after. A 7-day trip costs $70 with the daily pass. A 14-day trip costs $140. The 200 MB daily cap means heavy users get throttled after about 20 minutes of browsing.
UK carriers
Vodafone — Roaming Passport
Rest-of-world rate at £6/day. EU roaming included on most plans. A 7-day trip outside the EU costs £42 with the daily pass. Since Brexit, EU roaming is no longer automatically free on all UK plans. Check your specific plan terms before traveling.
EE — Roam Abroad
EU destinations included; rest-of-world zones cost £6/day with a daily cap. A 7-day trip outside the EU costs £42 with the daily pass. Since Brexit, EU roaming is no longer automatically free on all UK plans. Check your specific plan terms before traveling.
MVNOs: Google Fi, Visible, and Mint Mobile abroad
MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) resell service on the major carrier networks. Their international roaming terms differ from the Big Three:
Google Fi
Google Fi charges $10/GB for data in 200+ countries with no daily pass. You pay for what you use, capped at $60/month (6 GB). After the cap, data is free but throttled. For a traveler using 3 GB abroad, Fi costs $30. Compare that to $70 for a week on AT&T or $4 to $15 for a travel eSIM. Fi runs on T-Mobile's network in the US and roams on local carriers abroad at full LTE speed.
Visible
Visible offers no international data roaming. Your phone does not connect to data on foreign networks. Visible customers must rely on WiFi or install a travel eSIM for data abroad. Calls and texts to the US from Mexico and Canada are included on the Visible+ plan ($45/month), but no international data is available outside those two countries.
Mint Mobile
Mint Mobile offers a $5/day international pass called Minternational in 200+ countries. The pass includes unlimited talk, text, and 200 MB of high-speed data per day. A 7-day trip costs $35. A 14-day trip costs $70. Compare that to $4 to $15 for a travel eSIM over the same period. Mint runs on T-Mobile's network.
AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile plan details
AT&T International Day Pass: $10/day
AT&T International Day Pass covers 210+ countries. The $10 fee triggers automatically on first data, call, or text use each calendar day abroad. Each 24-hour billing period starts when you first connect. You can use your domestic plan data abroad, so there is no separate data cap. Without the pass, AT&T charges $2.05/MB ($2,050/GB). To disable auto-enrollment, call *611 or remove the add-on in the myAT&T app. Rates checked June 2026.
Verizon TravelPass: $10/day ($5/day in Canada/Mexico)
Verizon TravelPass costs $10/day in 210+ countries and $5/day in Canada and Mexico. The fee is billed per line per day. Two phones traveling together pay double. Verizon bills the full daily rate even if you use only 1 MB. TravelPass uses your domestic plan data; no separate data cap applies. Without TravelPass, Verizon charges $2.05/MB. Rates checked June 2026.
T-Mobile Magenta: free 256kbps + $5-15/day high-speed
T-Mobile Magenta and Magenta MAX include free international data at 256 kbps in 215+ countries. At 256 kbps, loading a web page takes 30+ seconds. Google Maps is unusable. The Go5G International Pass adds full-speed data at $5/day in most countries, and $15/day for the premium tier with unlimited high-speed. Mexico and Canada are included free with full 5G speed (up to 10 GB) on USMCA agreements. Rates checked June 2026.
How carrier roaming charges work
When your phone connects to a foreign network, your home carrier pays that network a wholesale access fee. Industry estimates put the wholesale cost at $0.01-0.05 per megabyte. Your carrier then marks that up 40x to 200x and bills you at retail rates. The daily pass model smooths this into a flat $10/day fee, but the economics underneath are the same: you are paying a premium for the convenience of not switching providers.
Three billing models exist. The daily pass (AT&T International Day Pass, Verizon TravelPass) charges a flat fee for any day you use data abroad. The throttled free tier (T-Mobile Magenta) includes data at speeds too slow for practical use. The pay-per-use model charges per megabyte with no cap, which is how $2,000+ bills happen.
Want to avoid charges entirely? Learn how to turn off data roaming before your next trip, or read what data roaming actually means and when it applies.
7-day trip cost comparison: carrier vs eSIM
Here is the total cost for a 7-day international trip on each carrier, compared to a travel eSIM. The eSIM price is based on a 5 GB plan at Airalo's average rate of $4.50/GB.
| Option | 7-Day Cost | 14-Day Cost | Savings vs eSIM |
|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T International Day Pass | $70 | $140 | eSIM saves $57-66 |
| Verizon TravelPass | $70 | $140 | eSIM saves $57-66 |
| T-Mobile Go5G Pass ($5/day) | $35 | $70 | eSIM saves $22-31 |
| T-Mobile Go5G Pass ($15/day) | $105 | $210 | eSIM saves $92-101 |
| Xfinity International Pass | $70 | $140 | eSIM saves $57-66 |
| Google Fi (3 GB used) | $30 | $60 | eSIM saves $17-26 |
| Mint Minternational | $35 | $70 | eSIM saves $22-31 |
| Travel eSIM (5 GB) | $4-13 | $8-22 | Baseline |
eSIM prices vary by destination. Range shown covers Nomad ($3.00/GB) to Airalo ($4.50/GB). All carrier rates verified June 2026.
How a travel eSIM compares to all three
A travel eSIM connects directly to a local carrier in your destination country, bypassing your home carrier entirely. You get the same LTE or 5G towers, the same signal quality, at a fraction of the price. The eSIM installs via QR code in under two minutes, and your home number stays active on your physical SIM for calls and texts.
The math is straightforward: seven days of AT&T roaming costs $70. Seven days of Airalo eSIM data costs $4.50. Same towers, same speed, 94% savings. The gap only widens on longer trips.
See the top eSIM providers ranked or check the EU roaming guide if you are traveling in Europe.
How eSIM pricing compares
A travel eSIM bypasses carrier roaming entirely. You install a local data plan on your phone and connect directly to networks in your destination country. Prices start from $3 to $5 per gigabyte, and a 7-day plan runs $4 to $15 depending on the destination and data size.
Compare that to $70 per week on AT&T or Verizon. The savings range from 78% to 94% across most destinations. See the top eSIM providers ranked.
What happens if you roam without a plan
Without a daily pass or international plan, AT&T and Verizon charge per megabyte. The rate is $2.05/MB on both carriers, which works out to $2,050 per gigabyte. A single background app update (50 MB) costs $102.50. Loading Instagram for 10 minutes uses about 100 MB and costs $205. A WhatsApp video call lasting 30 minutes consumes 750 MB and costs $1,537.
These charges often surprise travelers. Your phone connects to a foreign network automatically when you land, and background apps start syncing. Unless you turn off data roaming before you leave the plane, charges begin immediately. AT&T and Verizon both send a text notification when you first connect abroad, but by the time you read that text, your phone may have already used 5 to 20 MB in background activity ($10 to $41 in charges).
How to avoid surprise charges on each carrier
- AT&T: Turn off data roaming in Settings > Cellular > Data Roaming. Remove International Day Pass via myAT&T app if you don't want the $10/day auto-charge. Install a travel eSIM for data instead
- Verizon: Disable TravelPass in My Verizon app > Account > Manage Plan > International travel. Turn off data roaming on your phone. Switch to a travel eSIM for data
- T-Mobile: On Magenta plans, free 256kbps data runs automatically with no extra charge. To avoid the high-speed add-on cost ($5-15/day), do not purchase Go5G International Pass. Keep roaming on if you want free slow data, or turn it off and use an eSIM for full speed
- Xfinity Mobile: Disable the $10/day International Pass in the Xfinity Mobile app. Turn off data roaming. Note that Xfinity's 200 MB/day cap means even with the pass, heavy users get throttled
- Vodafone UK: Check if your plan includes EU roaming for free. Outside the EU, Roaming Passport costs £6/day. Disable in the My Vodafone app under Roaming settings
- EE UK: Post-Brexit, EU roaming charges returned on some plans. Check your specific plan terms. Disable Roam Abroad in the My EE app under Add-ons
Frequently asked questions
- Which US carrier has the cheapest international roaming?
- T-Mobile offers free international data on Magenta plans, but it runs at 256 kbps, too slow for maps or web browsing. For usable speeds, AT&T and Verizon both charge $10/day. A travel eSIM undercuts all three at $4-9 per week.
- Do I need a roaming plan to use my phone abroad?
- Without a plan, AT&T and Verizon charge $2.05 per megabyte, which adds up to $2,050 per gigabyte. You either need a daily pass, an eSIM, or to turn off data roaming entirely.
- Is Verizon TravelPass worth it?
- Only for overnight layovers or single-day trips. At $10/day, a 7-day trip costs $70 on TravelPass. A 7-day eSIM with the same LTE speeds costs $4.50-8.99 depending on the destination.
- Does T-Mobile international data work at usable speeds?
- T-Mobile includes international data on Magenta plans, but at 256 kbps, you cannot load a web page in under 30 seconds. To get usable speeds abroad, you need the high-speed add-on at $5-15/day, which makes it comparable to AT&T and Verizon.
Explore by destination
Roaming costs vary by country. See carrier rates and eSIM prices side by side for your specific destination:
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