We've not long returned from an awesome 2 week European road trip adventure, where we spent almost a week of it in beautiful France.
Picture vineyards of Burgundy, cute French villages, and the stunning beaches of the South of France.
Well, how did we stay connected whilst navigating this beautiful country?
With a trusty eSIM of course!
Gone are the days of physical sims, and we've been using eSIMS since 2021 for every trip.
And this one was no different.
But this isn't my first time using an eSIM in France.
I've actually tested 3 so far.
2 on previous trips, and one more on this trip...
So I rounded up the ones I've used, and a couple of my other favourite eSIMS for good measure, and I'm bringing you the best eSIMS for France!
Quick answer? Roamless Europe 10 GB came out on top for price, performance and painless set-up. Grab 20 % off with code DBTF20.
An eSIM is the digital twin of a plastic SIM card, already soldered inside most modern phones.
Instead of running around like a mad person when you arrive in a new country...panciked and the airport WiFi is just too slow, all you need to do is sort your eSIM out.
Most eSIMS you can have set up before you go on your trip, and they'll activiate as soon as you land in your country!
Roamless is a fast-growing travel-tech start-up headquartered in Amsterdam.
Its Single Global eSIM™ automatically hops onto the strongest network in each country and comes with both FIX (bundles) and FLEX (pay-as-you-go) pricing.
Every new account gets 500 MB free to test the waters and with our 20% off, it's going to cost you even less. So a pretty good deal!
Roamless works in two main ways: they've got their Fix and their Flex.
We used a fixed version of the eSIM on this journey.
And you can opt for a French only eSIM if you wish. For 5GB it's less than $10, and for 10GB it's less than $16, or if you really want the full max of 20GB (You're really going to have to work hard to use all that on a trip!), then it's $23.
These are all already excellent prices in my opinion.
But if you're French trip is also going to include some nearby European countries, then you can opt for their Europe eSIM, which is what we used.
We got 10GB to last 2 weeks, and we crossed into France, Italy, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, and Belgium. And not once did I have to do anything.
Everytime I entered a new country, I'd get a little message saying "Hey" and letting me know much data I had left..as shown below!
It easily switched onto each network with ease.
I remember, back in the day when I used my home network for European travel, every time I crossed a border, I'd have to restart my phone to get it to recognise a new network. NOT NOW!
Not on this Roamless eSIM. It did itself, no phone retarting required ;)
Brad and I tested the eSIM on two different phones too.
One Samsung and one iPhone...it's easy to set the eSIMS up on both versions, fuss free.
Also you can make in-app calls, which is pretty cool!
And not something I have tested- as of yet!
But you can check out our full experience with Roamless here too.
Maya Mobile is another one of my favourite eSIM providers.
I've been using them since 2021 and I've constantly found the pricing competitive, and the service good.
I used them for a few weeks when we were road tripping France back in 2022 as part of a greater road trip, and as usual, I found the service very good!
Back then they had a European eSIM which included France, and then some French eSIMs on their own.
Fast forward to 2025 and they've a whole host of great deals, including unlimited data options!
They're a range of good deals. If you need data heavy, 40GB for less than $33 is a good deal, but honestly, unless you're going to be doing some serious online work, you won't ever get through this much data!
The unlimited option looks pretty good (this wasn't around when I first used this eSIM in France), but Maya Mobile do throttle speeds on unlimited eSIMS. I believe it's currently 2GB of fast data, then it's slowed down.
This is unfortunate, as it wasn't a thing back when I tested it either.
Whereas, compare that to someone like Roamless above, they won't ever throttle your speed, regardless of the plan you opt for.
The Unlimited option is great if you spend a lot of time scrolling on Instagram and Tiktok! Or you love sharing your travels in the moment! And it offers both 4G and 5G coverage where available. They also offer a Europe+ eSIM (35 countries) that costs the same as a France-only plan, so city-hoppers win.
I can't have a guide on best eSIMS for France without mentioning, the French-Japanese joint-venture Ubigi. They ride on Transatel’s MVNO network and offer a very good data only deal.
The French plan of 10GB is only $9 - I mean, that is crazy good value.
I have NOT personally tested their French eSIM, but I have used Ubigi in the past for other European destinations, and honestly, I've had no issues.
Personally, I don't love their website, or it's set up, it feels very clunky to me.
But I'm sure it's possible to get over that ;)
The Ubigi app gives real-time usage graphs, auto top-ups and multi-device management (great for families). Annual “Europe Monthly” passes (5 GB/month for $59) suit frequent visitors.
Spanish brand Holafly pioneered flat-fee unlimited travel eSIMs. In France, plans start at $6.90 (1 day) and drop to $1.55/day on 90-day bundles, but when I tested them out it was before they had truly unlimited data.
But nowadays they are known for their unlimited data packages, and you can purchase per day, and naturally, the more days you opt for, the cheaper it is.
But the one thing I don't LOVE is the fact that they only let you hot spot 500MB per day. This is enough of an issue for me not to opt for them on trips where I'm working from my phone, or my laptop. But if I just need internet to use my phone for Google maps, find places to eat etc, then it's a great value option. I don't believe they throttle speeds, but if you've experienced that otherwise, do let us know!
So there you have it, my guides to eSIMS in France.
To reiterate, I've used 3 of these 4 eSIMS in France, personally, Roamless, Maya and Holafly, and I've included Ubigi beause they're part French, and also because they offer a great deal. And I have used them before, just not in France itself!
But if you want my humble opinion.
I think Roamless is the best option. Whether you go directly for a French eSIM or a European one, the fact you can opt for a straight up fixed data package, or do a pay-as-you go on both data and phone calls, I think it's a really good deal, and as I've experienced, there's been no issues with connections! I had 5G the entire time, expect for one 4G blip (haha) in the mountains which was due to a lack of signal in general! :p
Before you buy, double-check your handset supports eSIM and is network-unlocked.
Apple
Samsung
Google Pixel
Other brands
Tip: If you don’t see your model, open Settings › About Phone and look for “Add eSIM” or “SIM manager”.
During our week across France, Roamless with the DBTF20 discount gave us the best bang for buck and zero stress at border crossings. But whether you’re sipping Bordeaux in Saint-Émilion or crunching deadlines from a Paris café, one of these four eSIMs will keep you online!
Have you got a favourite?
Let me know!
Love,
Cazzy
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