Unlimited eSIMs, without the hidden throttling

Providers often point at the local network, but in our experience that's rarely the real story. Most eSIMs actually run on an international roaming partner (with some exceptions), and your limit comes from the deal your provider makes with that partner: what's on offer, and how much they pay for it. Better deals mean higher limits.

So the 'local network' they blame is usually that roaming network. Not a lie exactly, more a play on words. It also explains why switching to another local network changes nothing.

Pinning it on the local network makes for easy marketing. But the essence is simple: your agreement is with the seller you buy from, not the network, so that's where the responsibility for the limit lies, not with the local network.

Usually not in the way you'd hope. For most providers, 'unlimited' means a fixed amount of high-speed data per day, and then unlimited data at a reduced speed once that's used up. What that reduced speed actually is varies a lot per provider, and sometimes it's so slow the eSIM is basically unusable on a modern phone.

When a provider shares that throttled speed with us, you'll find it behind the info button on an unlimited plan. As a rough guide: 3 to 5 Mbps is still fine for browsing and even light video, 1 to 2 Mbps covers the essentials, below 1 Mbps it gets frustrating, and at 256 kbps or less it's effectively unusable, which is not something we'd want to call unlimited.

One more thing to watch is hotspot (sharing data with, say, your laptop). Some providers block it or cap it at, for example, 1 GB a day. In our view a hard cap like that shouldn't be sold as 'unlimited', because it limits how you actually use your data. Most eSIMs on Find Your eSIM don't have this restriction, but there are exceptions, so always check your provider's terms.

Yes, but they are extremely rare. For a handful of European destinations, Orange Travel, for example, has eSIMs with no daily limit. The catch is that they're meant for personal use, so using your eSIM as a router isn't allowed and can get you blocked. In a place like Thailand you'll also find eSIMs with no hard cap, though again, not for use as a router.

Some providers advertise their eSIMs as 'truly unlimited' or 'no throttling'. What we sometimes see is that there's no hard cap, but the eSIM is slow from the very start, for example limited to 15 Mbps out of the gate, often combined with very low network priority (so you're the first to drop when the network is busy).

If you come across one of these, always ask what speed they guarantee under normal conditions, and stay cautious.

For two reasons. First, you don't want to hit a hard limit out of nowhere while you're travelling. Second, you want to compare fairly and be sure you're not overpaying.

When a provider only says things like 'in rare cases' or 'Data speed may be limited in accordance with the network operator's Fair Usage Policy', a fair comparison becomes impossible and they sidestep their responsibility. You have no idea whether you get 500 MB a day or 10 GB, so you can't tell if the price is fair, or how it stacks up against providers that are upfront.

That's why we always suggest looking for a concrete fair-use policy that's clear about limits and speeds. It's better for your own peace of mind, and it means vague marketing doesn't get rewarded.

A few things that should set off alarm bells for us:

• The provider says it's 'unlikely' your speed will be reduced, without naming a concrete limit.
• It claims the limit is up to the local network, again without a concrete number.
• It says you can contact customer support if you hit the limit 'unexpectedly'. Be careful here: you don't want to spend hours on wifi waiting for support, with no guarantee they'll actually do anything.
• It only says the data is 'enough for most users'. Most people don't need unlimited in the first place, so that tells you nothing.

Our advice: only buy an unlimited plan when you're clear on the limit, and ideally the speed after it (and remember, below 1 Mbps even browsing gets difficult).

The good news is that the vast majority of providers in this tool are upfront on their own website about their eSIM's limits.

A few do share this data with us but don't show it clearly at checkout. That's exactly where Find Your eSIM comes in. That said, we do think those providers should make their own sites clearer too.

Honestly, we'd steer you away from buying unlimited data when you don't even know if you'll need it. Most people are fine with far less, and 10 GB is often plenty for two weeks.

You got an eSIM to avoid sky-high roaming bills and pricey airport SIMs, so don't get talked into an expensive unlimited plan you don't actually need. That's just money down the drain.