Guide · 14 min read

Roaming on US carriers: what AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and 13 more charge abroad, side by side

In short

On postpaid plans, AT&T’s International Day Pass and Verizon’s TravelPass both cost $12 a day; Verizon charges $6 in Mexico and Canada (checked on October 29, 2026). T-Mobile’s International Pass starts at $10 for 2GB for up to 24 hours, and several international roaming plans already include data abroad.

Information verified on October 29, 2026 at the official sources listed below. Carriers change prices and terms; your own plan decides what you pay.

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Compare with a travel eSIM for Europe — from $2.99

This site is not affiliated with any carrier named on this page; we sell eSIMs. How we compare

You may not need an eSIM. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and most other US carriers already include Mexico and Canada on their unlimited plans. Some plans also carry data abroad: 15GB on T-Mobile Experience Beyond, 20GB on AT&T Elite 2.0, 50 GB on Google Fi Unlimited Premium.

Bill traps come first. On AT&T and Verizon, a call made or answered, or a text sent, starts a $12 pass day even with data roaming off. Without a pass, both bill pay-per-use rates of $2.05 per MB (AT&T rates, Verizon rates).

T-Mobile starts an International Pass at once if you set no start date. We compare public packages; check your own plan.

What do US carriers charge abroad?

Here the international roaming plans of 16 US carriers sit side by side: pass price, data abroad, and Mexico and Canada. Every row carries its check date and the carrier’s own page; the table lists public packages as printed and ranks none of them.

CarrierPass or pay-per-use priceData abroad on the plan (outside Mexico and Canada)Mexico and CanadaChecked on, source
AT&TInternational Day Pass: $12 a day, $6 for each extra line used the same day (postpaid unlimited plans)Elite 2.0: 20GB a month in 210+ destinationsIncluded on eligible AT&T unlimited plans; “Roaming may be at 2G speeds”October 29, 2026, att.com
VerizonTravelPass (postpaid): $12 a day, 5 GB at high speed per session, then 3GUnlimited Ultimate: 15 GB a month in 210+ destinationsIncluded on Unlimited plans and Simplicity; TravelPass $6 a day on other plansOctober 29, 2026, verizon.com
T-MobileInternational Pass (postpaid): $10 for 2GB for up to 24 hoursExperience Beyond 15GB, More 5GB, then up to 256Kbps, in 215+ countries and destinationsBeyond 30GB, More 15GB, then up to 256kbps; Essentials up to 128kbpsOctober 29, 2026, t-mobile.com
Mint MobileMinternational Pass: $5 for 1 day with 1GB, $10 for 3 days with 3GB, $20 for 10 days with 10GBNoneCanada: 3GB a month on every plan; Mexico: check with MintOctober 29, 2026, mintmobile.com
Xfinity MobileGlobal Travel Pass: $10 a day per line, 5 GB, then 3G (By the Gig, Unlimited)Plus, Select, Premium Unlimited: 10 GB a billing cycle in 215+ destinationsUnlimited bought and activated after March 22, 2024: 5 GB a month; Plus and Select count it in their 10 GBOctober 29, 2026, xfinity.com
Spectrum MobileGlobal Day Pass: $10 for 24 hours with 1 GBUnlimited Plus 10 GB a month, Plus Premium 20 GB, in 215+ countriesIncluded on those two plans; Day Pass $5 in Canada and MexicoOctober 29, 2026, spectrum.com
VisibleGlobal Pass: $10 a day on base Visible, with 2GBVisible+: 1 Global Pass day a month; Visible+ Pro: 2Included on Visible+ and Pro; base Visible $5 a dayOctober 29, 2026, visible.com
CricketPassport: $10 a day, or $25 for 5GB over 5 daysNoneIncluded on unlimited plansOctober 29, 2026, cricketwireless.com
Google FiFlexible: $10 per GB, up to $60 for data for one person (Bill Protection, checked on October 30, 2026)Unlimited Premium: 50 GB in 200+ destinations, then 256 kbpsIncluded on Standard and Premium; Flexible bills them like home, $10 per GBOctober 29, 2026, fi.google.com, Fi plans
US MobileAdd-ons from $15 for 1 GB (Light Speed, Dark Star)Unlimited Premium: 20 GB, 200 minutes, 250 textsUnlimited Premium: the same 20 GBOctober 29, 2026, usmobile.com
Total WirelessNone: “No daily passes”MAX 5G, MAX 5G BYO, ALL ACCESS: 10 GB and 300 minutes a month in 140+ countriesOn the 140+ listOctober 29, 2026, totalwireless.com
Straight Talk7-Day International Roaming perk: $20 for 5 GB and 300 minutes, 140+ destinationsCheck with Straight TalkGold and Platinum: check with Straight TalkOctober 29, 2026, straighttalk.com
Metro by T-MobileCheck with Metro by T-MobileCheck with Metro by T-MobileAdd-on: $5 a month for up to 5 GB, $10 for up to 10 GBOctober 29, 2026, metrobyt-mobile.com
Boost MobileGlobal Roaming: $10/month “introductory price”, 1GB, 90+ countriesNoneNorth America Connect: $10 a month, 5GB in Mexico and CanadaOctober 29, 2026, boostmobile.com
Consumer CellularSet up by phone before the tripCheck with Consumer CellularCheck with Consumer CellularOctober 29, 2026, consumercellular.com
TelloCharged to your prepaid balance in 200+ destinationsCharged to the balance; check Tello’s current termsOn the 200+ list, charged to the balanceOctober 29, 2026, tello.com

Our dated carrier dataset is on the press page.

Day Pass, TravelPass, International Pass: what do the names mean?

Nine product names run on different clocks (checked on October 29, 2026). AT&T and Verizon bill 24 hours from first use, T-Mobile starts on a date you pick, and three passes renew daily until stopped.

NameCarrierWhat it isWhen it starts and stops
International Day PassAT&TDaily pass on postpaid unlimited plans, using the plan’s own data24 hours from the first data use, text sent, or call made or accepted in a listed destination
TravelPassVerizonDaily pass, $6 in Mexico and Canada24 hours from a call made or answered, a text sent or data use; background data counts
International PassT-MobileFixed-term pass: 24 hours, 10 days or 30 daysFrom the start date you pick; with no date, at once
Simple GlobalT-MobileNot a pass: the name for the 215+ countries and destinations where plan data worksNo setup on qualifying plans
Minternational PassMint MobilePass for 1, 3 or 10 days of dataRuns once activated; does not work in Canada
Global PassVisibleDaily pass on base Visible; pass days on Visible+ and ProEvery day you are away, once enabled
Global Travel PassXfinity MobileDaily pass for By the Gig and Unlimited linesPer day; not for cruises or flights
Global Day PassSpectrum Mobile24-hour pass with 1 GBRenews daily while it is on
PassportCricketDaily option or a 5-day, 5GB passThe daily option renews for every 24 hours of use until you cancel it

Per-day pass vs monthly plan is the other split. Boost and Metro sell monthly add-ons, and Total Wireless prints “No daily passes”. Verizon also sells a $100 International Monthly Plan that it calls “Perfect for trips of 9 days or more” (Verizon International Monthly Plan).

Which plans already include Mexico, Canada or data abroad?

AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and most other US carriers include Mexico and Canada on their unlimited plans, each with its own limit. Plans with data abroad included run from 5GB on T-Mobile Experience More to 50 GB on Google Fi Unlimited Premium (checked on October 29, 2026).

Mexico and Canada have their own pages for AT&T in Mexico and Canada, Verizon in Mexico and Canada and T-Mobile in Mexico and Canada. So does T-Mobile in Japan.

Puerto Rico is billed as home on AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon postpaid; Verizon Prepaid charges $6 a day there. Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are international roaming on all three. Check your plan on AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile.

Cruises are their own case (phone on a cruise). Our eSIM works in port, not at sea: ship networks are separate.

When does a travel eSIM win, and when does it not?

A week of AT&T Day Passes is $84 on one line (our arithmetic, checked on October 29, 2026). Our 5 GB, 30-day Europe plan is $11.99, data only, while a plan that already covers the trip needs no eSIM at all.

The products differ too: the Day Pass keeps calls, texts and plan data on your own number. Your US number stays on your main line, and most of our plans are data only; check the plan’s calls/SMS fields.

An eSIM can win when a trip needs more data than the plan includes, or the plan has nothing abroad, like T-Mobile Essentials. It does not win when the trip fits inside what the plan already includes, such as Verizon Unlimited Ultimate’s 15 GB.

Check two things before you buy: Is my phone unlocked? and Does my phone support eSIM? Each carrier’s unlock rule is in our unlock guide.

The worked case uses our Europe eSIM. For any trip by country and days, see roaming or eSIM.

Roaming calculator: your trip in dollars

AT&T roaming, on your bill $84.00 7 × International Day Pass · 1 day · your plan’s data · postpaid only As published by AT&T (checked on October 29, 2026). AT&T’s International Day Pass costs $12 a day per line in 210+ destinations ($6 for each additional line used the same day), and AT&T’s cruise page says it charges no more than 10 days in a billing cycle: $120 at most, by our arithmetic. The 24-hour day starts the first time you use data, send a text, or make or accept a phone call there; you use your home plan’s data. Eligible AT&T plans include Mexico and Canada (Roam North America; roaming may be at 2G speeds). AT&T Premium 2.0 and Elite 2.0 include 20 Latin American countries, and Elite 2.0 includes 20GB a month of high-speed data in the 210+ destinations on its list, then up to 512Kbps. AT&T Prepaid sells an International Travel Add-On: 5GB for 7 days for $40. Without a pass, data costs $2.05 per MB.
Travel eSIM, data only $9.99 5GB · 30 days Your card is charged exactly $9.99: you are charged exactly the price shown, in US dollars.

With the eSIM you pay $74.01 less.

See eSIM plans for Japan

Carrier prices checked on October 29, 2026, before taxes and fees: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Xfinity Mobile, Spectrum Mobile, Visible, Google Fi, Cricket, Boost Mobile. If the trip is longer than a pass, we add passes of the same kind; AT&T’s cruise page says it charges its Day Pass for no more than 10 days in a bill cycle. “Included” means some of the carrier’s plans already cover the destination: check yours. Roaming keeps calls and texts on your US number; the eSIM plans compared here are data only. The eSIM is paid by card, exactly the price shown. This site is not affiliated with these carriers; we sell eSIMs.

The calculator below sets the passes of nine carriers, checked on October 29, 2026, next to our data-only plans for your destination, days and data. Its totals are our arithmetic, not your carrier’s bill.

Mint Mobile and the seven carriers below are not in it.

Smaller carriers without their own page

Seven carriers get one block each instead of a page. Each block holds only what the carrier’s pages printed on October 29, 2026; where a page would not load, we say so.

US Mobile

20 GB, 200 minutes and 250 texts abroad come with US Mobile Unlimited Premium, Mexico and Canada included. Reach depends on the network: 180+ destinations on Light Speed, 125+ on Warp, 110+ on Dark Star.

Of the carriers on this page, only US Mobile sells a standalone international data eSIM of its own (checked on October 29, 2026, US Mobile).

Total Wireless

10 GB of roaming data and 300 minutes a month come with Total Wireless MAX 5G, MAX 5G BYO and ALL ACCESS, in 140+ countries. Total prints “No daily passes”, and Mexico and Canada are on its list (checked on October 29, 2026, Total Wireless).

For unlock terms, see Straight Talk, Tracfone and Total Wireless unlocking.

Straight Talk

$20 buys Straight Talk’s 7-Day International Roaming perk, the price on its perk page. It gives 5 GB of data and 300 minutes for 7 consecutive days in 140+ destinations, on an active 30-day plan.

For Mexico and Canada on Gold and Platinum, check with Straight Talk (checked on October 29, 2026, Straight Talk perk).

Metro by T-Mobile

$5 a month buys Metro’s Mexico and Canada add-on with up to 5 GB of data. The $10 version has up to 10 GB of high-speed data. Both include talk and text there.

Metro’s $10 Global Voice covers calls from the US, not roaming. Its roaming-countries page would not load for us: ask Metro by T-Mobile about other countries (checked on October 29, 2026, Metro by T-Mobile).

Boost Mobile

$10/month at an “introductory price” buys Global Roaming in 90+ countries, with 1GB. Extra data is $10/GB, up to an additional 9GB (Boost Global Roaming).

North America Connect is $10 a month for 5GB of data in Mexico and Canada, plus talk and text (checked on October 29, 2026, Boost add-ons).

Boost unlocks prepaid phones a year after first activation, postpaid ones once paid off (Boost unlock rules, checked on October 29, 2026).

Consumer Cellular

Two weeks before the trip is when Consumer Cellular asks you to call and set up roaming. Its rates by country did not load for us, so check them with Consumer Cellular.

Consumer Cellular also points customers to travel eSIMs; they need an unlocked phone and don’t move your number (checked on October 29, 2026, Consumer Cellular).

Tello

In 200+ destinations, Mexico and Canada among them, Tello bills roaming to your prepaid balance. That balance runs $20 to $50, with at least $5 needed (checked on October 29, 2026, Tello roaming).

Frequently asked questions

How do I avoid roaming charges abroad?

Check your plan before you leave, then turn off cellular data and data roaming on any line with no pass or allowance there. On AT&T and Verizon, a call or a text can still start a paid day. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) warns that roaming charges may not reach your bill until a billing cycle after you return.

Which US carriers include Mexico and Canada?

Most do, each with its own limit. Eligible AT&T plans, Verizon Unlimited and Simplicity, T-Mobile postpaid, Visible+ and Visible+ Pro, Cricket unlimited plans and Google Fi Standard and Premium include both. Mint includes Canada, but its international roaming and Canada pages don’t mention Mexico; Boost and Metro sell monthly add-ons (checked on October 29, 2026).

Can I keep my US number and use a travel eSIM for data?

Yes, on an unlocked phone that takes a second line: keep your carrier line for calls and texts, and the eSIM for data. Our plans are prepaid eSIMs, most of them data only (check the plan’s calls/SMS fields), and your US number stays on your main line. Making or answering a call, or sending a text, on that line can still start AT&T’s or Verizon’s $12 day (keep your US number).

Is a day pass or a travel eSIM cheaper for 7 days?

It depends on your plan. A plan with data abroad included costs nothing extra for a trip inside its allowance. A plan with nothing abroad pays a pass for each day you use it, and the calculator on this page puts both sides in dollars.

Sources checked: AT&T: International Day Pass · AT&T: pay-per-use rates · Verizon: TravelPass FAQs · Verizon: international services and pricing · Verizon: International Monthly Plan · T-Mobile: international roaming · Mint Mobile: international roaming · Xfinity: traveling internationally · Spectrum Mobile: international · Visible: Global Pass · Cricket: international roaming · Google Fi: international rates · Google Fi: plans and Bill Protection · FCC: international roaming guide.

Sources are linked in the text. Carrier terms change: for the terms of your own plan, check with your carrier.

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