SIM card, eSIM or US prepaid plan: which one for your stay
Where you are from, how long you are staying, and whether you need a real US number. A decision matrix built only from published plan terms, never from speed tests.
What lands here first
A matrix that takes where you are from, how long you are staying and whether you need a real US number, then narrows it to one of four answers: keep your home SIM, add a travel eSIM, buy a US prepaid SIM, or park the number and start fresh. Built from published plan terms only.
- 1The four paths side by side, with what each one costs over a typical stay
- 2Which paths give you a US number that banks will text
- 3What changes if your stay is under 30 days, a semester, or more than a year
Each page goes live only once its sources check out, and every arrival is dated in the rule changes log. If you need one of these sooner, write to [email protected] and we will move it up.