What is data roaming?
Data roaming is your home carrier letting the phone use another country's network, billed by your carrier at its own rates. It is convenient and, without a pass, expensive. With a travel eSIM the same switch has two sides: off for your own SIM so it does not bill you, on for the eSIM so it can pass data.
What a day of roaming costs
Prices read on the carriers' own pages, with the date. A day pass is charged for every day the phone touches data abroad, whether you use 20 MB or the whole allowance.
| Home carrier | Pass | Price | Two weeks | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telstra (Australia) | International Day Pass 2 GB a day, Zone 2–3 (Asia, Europe, Americas) | A$10 a day | A$140 | 2026-09-05 |
| AT&T (United States) | International Day Pass per line, per day used abroad | $12 a day | $168 | 2026-09-05 |
| Rogers (Canada) | International Travel Pass, 14 days 180+ destinations | C$100 for 14 days | C$100 | 2026-09-05 |
Every price above links to the carrier's own page, so you can check it against your plan — passes differ by tariff and by zone. Switched roaming on and still no data? The six checks.
The two switches that matter
When roaming is still the right choice
A one-day stopover, a phone without eSIM, or a plan that already includes the country at no extra cost. For anything longer, a travel eSIM for the destination costs less than the pass and keeps your number working through your own SIM.
Rules of the country
Roaming and eSIM both meet whatever the destination requires: an identity check, a handset registry, an APN typed by hand. The rules section reads them from the primary documents, country by country.