Prepaid SIM/eSIM in Israel: How to Buy a 4G Internet Chip?
Roaming fees
Planning a trip to Israel and wondering if you can use your French phone plan? That’s a bad idea. While you can now use a French plan across the EU without fearing a hefty bill, it’s not the case elsewhere.
If you use your French SIM card in Israel, the bill will skyrocket. In fact, just using a single megabyte will cost you.
| Carrier | Rate |
|---|---|
| Orange | €13.31/MB |
| SFR | €13.20 / MB |
| Free Mobile | Included in the €20 plan |
| Bouygues Telecom | €10.24 / MB |
Buy a SIM card before you leave
To avoid having to mortgage your house for 4G in Israel, one solution is to order a prepaid SIM card before your trip. The specialized company will mail you a prepaid SIM card, and all you have to do is pop it into your phone upon arrival in Israel.
With Holafly
Holafly is a Spanish company that offers this service.
Check out Holafly’s offers in Israel and get a PROMO CODE by clicking on this link.
Holafly offers two different packages based on how much data you want.
| Validity | Data volume | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 8 GB | 34 € |
| 30 days | 12 GB | 44 € |
On Amazon
Amazon regularly offers prepaid SIM cards for Israel, but it’s not the case right now.
Get an eSIM valid in Israel
If you have a phone compatible with eSIM, you can go for this option, which doesn’t require a physical chip.
Holafly also offers this service (see our detailed review).
Click here to see Holafly eSIM offers for Israel. Feel free to use the promo code NOMADBENTO
The offers are however less attractive than with a physical chip, and only valid for 15 days.
| Validity | Data volume | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 15 days | 3 GB | 34 € |
| 15 days | 5 GB | 44 € |
Buying a 4G SIM at the airport
Upon arriving at Ben Gurion Airport, after passing through immigration, look ahead to your left: two shops sell prepaid SIM cards for tourists:
- 019 Mobile
- Steimatzky bookstore
Prices are nonetheless higher than what you’ll find in town.
| Price | Data volume | Calls and texts | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| US$29 | 10 GB | Unlimited | 10 days |
| US$49 | 30 GB | Unlimited | 30 days |
| US$59 | 100 GB | Unlimited | 30 days |
Buying a SIM card in town
There are three operators in Israel:
- Cellcom
- Partner (Orange)
- Pelephone
You can easily buy a SIM card in their stores or at phone kiosks just about anywhere. No passport or activation procedure needed.
As an illustration, here are the internet packages you can get with Cellcom.
| Rate | Data | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| ₪99 | 15 GB | 30 days |
| ₪129 | 20 GB | 30 days |
| ₪149 | 200 GB | 30 days |