Choosing the best eSIM for Mexico, a practical buyer's guide

As a rough weekly guide:

• Light use, 1–2 GB a week: maps, WhatsApp, email, a few searches and the occasional photo. Enough if your hotel has good Wi-Fi.
• Moderate use, 3–5 GB a week: you also use ride-hailing apps regularly, post stories, make short video calls and use your phone as a guide at ruins and museums.
• Heavy use, 7–10 GB or more a week: streaming, sharing your connection with a laptop or travel companion, or working remotely from the beach.

Many visitors get around Mexico by hire car or ride-hailing, and live navigation uses data steadily, a little at a time. If you're planning a long road trip, factor that in. If in doubt, start mid-sized: most plans can be topped up from your customer area.

Total-data plans give you a fixed amount of data for a set period; for Mexico we offer 0.5–50 GB. You use it at your own pace and don't lose what you don't use on a given day. Daily plans give you a high-speed allowance every day; once it's used up you stay connected at reduced speed until it resets the next day. That reduced speed is fine for messaging, not for video or uploading large photos.

If you alternate beach days on hotel Wi-Fi with excursion days, total data usually works out better value. If you'll be using your phone heavily every day, for work for instance, a daily plan takes away the worry about the counter.

Startia's Mexico plans connect to Telcel and AT&T Mexico, and your phone can use whichever has the better signal at the time. Both offer 5G in parts of their networks, mainly in large cities; you'll need a compatible phone, though 4G is more than enough day to day.

Coverage is good in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Oaxaca city, Puebla and the best-known beach destinations. On the Yucatán Peninsula, Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Mérida are well covered, but there's no signal inside cenotes (you're underground) and it can be weak or absent in jungle areas around some of the more remote Mayan sites. In Baja California, cities such as Tijuana, Ensenada, La Paz and Los Cabos have good coverage, while long stretches of highway through the central desert can leave you without signal for hours: download offline maps and don't rely on your phone to navigate. The same goes for mountain areas in Chiapas, Oaxaca or the Copper Canyon region.

A technical note: on these plans traffic reaches the internet through a hub in Asia, so your IP address won't be Mexican. You won't notice in everyday use, although the odd local website or app may show you content for another region.

If your trip crosses the border, say Los Angeles and Baja, or New York and the Riviera Maya, have a look at the regional North America plan (Mexico, USA and Canada). It covers all three countries on the same eSIM. Note that in Mexico this plan uses the Movistar network on 4G, whereas the Mexico-only plan uses Telcel and AT&T. If you'll spend nearly all your trip in Mexico, the dedicated plan is the stronger choice; if you're splitting days between countries, the regional plan saves you installing several eSIMs.

• Cash: street stalls, markets, some taxis and small towns run on pesos in cash. Use your phone to find cash machines inside banks or shopping centres.
• Ride-hailing apps: widely used in cities, and they need data to book and track your ride.
• Calls: the eSIM is data-only. For restaurant bookings or getting hold of a guide, WhatsApp is the norm in Mexico.
• Turn off data roaming on your home SIM when you arrive to avoid charges, and leave it on for the eSIM.

• Price per GB: our Mexico catalogue starts at €2.80/GB.
• Validity: it should cover the whole trip and start when you connect in Mexico.
• Networks: which local operators the plan uses and whether 5G is available.
• Hotspot: if you need it, check the offer allows it.
• Top-ups without switching eSIM.
• Support language: ours answers in English and Spanish, which helps when something goes wrong.
• Refunds if you end up not travelling.

Startia eSIM is the travel eSIM brand of Startia Operadora, a Spanish telecoms operator. Our Mexico plans start from €4.99, with total-data plans valid for 1–30 days alongside daily plans. For a week on the Riviera Maya with moderate use, the 5 GB plan is usually enough; for two weeks travelling around the country, the 10 GB plan is a good starting point. Every plan, with current pricing, is on our Mexico eSIM page.

You receive the eSIM straight away by email and on your order page, with a QR code and manual installation details; on iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later there's also a one-tap install button. Install it at home: validity starts on the first connection to a network in Mexico.

To compare with other brands, we keep a comparison of their public prices, with the date and source: Startia vs Airalo and Startia vs Holafly. Check price per GB, validity and conditions, and choose to suit your trip.

Which networks does the Startia eSIM use in Mexico?

The Mexico plan uses Telcel and AT&T, with 5G where available. The regional North America plan uses Movistar on 4G in Mexico.

Is there coverage in cenotes and the jungle?

Not inside cenotes, and it can be weak in remote jungle areas. In the towns and tourist areas of Yucatán, coverage is good.

Will the eSIM work if I cross into the USA?

The Mexico plan only works in Mexico. If you're crossing the border, choose the North America plan, which covers Mexico, the USA and Canada.

Does it come with a phone number?

No, it's data-only. You can call over WhatsApp or FaceTime and keep your home SIM for calls and texts.

When does the validity start?

When you first connect to a network in Mexico, not when you buy or install it.