Costa Rica SIM card, your US carrier or an eSIM? Some AT&T plans already include it
In short
“There’s no charge for roaming in 20 Latin American countries with AT&T Elite 2.0, AT&T Premium 2.0, Unlimited Premium PL, and Unlimited Elite plans,” AT&T says, and Costa Rica is on that list (AT&T). Other AT&T unlimited plans and Verizon’s TravelPass pay $12 a day there (checked on October 29, 2026).
Information verified on October 29, 2026 at the official sources listed below. Carriers change prices and terms; your own plan decides what you pay.
On this page
eSIM for Costa Rica from $6.99 — see plans
This site is not affiliated with any carrier named on this page; we sell eSIMs. How we compare
You may not need an eSIM. On AT&T Elite 2.0 or Premium 2.0, a Costa Rica trip runs on your own line at no extra cost. T-Mobile Experience Beyond and More and Google Fi Unlimited Premium include data there too, each up to its own allowance.
Watch two bill traps. With no pass, AT&T and Verizon both bill data in Costa Rica at $2.05 per MB (AT&T rates, Verizon rates).
On either carrier, a call you make or answer, or a text you send, can start a paid day even with data roaming off. On Verizon, background data such as email sync can also start a $12 TravelPass day (Verizon TravelPass FAQs).
We compare public packages; check your own plan.
Does your US phone work in Costa Rica? Carrier by carrier
Costa Rica is on the lists of AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Google Fi and seven smaller carriers; Spectrum’s list leaves it out (checked on October 29, 2026). Paid days there cost $10 on Visible, Cricket and Xfinity and $12 on AT&T and Verizon.
| Option | Price | What you need | Weak point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roaming with your US carrier | May be included on some postpaid or prepaid plans of 4 of 9 US carriers otherwise $10.00 to $100.00 a day or pass from about $2.50 per GB | Data roaming on; with some carriers a pass added before you fly | Paid passes cost more per GB than the eSIM |
| Pocket Wi-Fi router | Not verified | Collect it, keep it charged and return it | One connection for the group, only while you stay together |
| Local SIM bought on arrival | Not verified | A free SIM slot and a shop after landing | An iPhone 14 or later bought in the US works with eSIM only |
| Travel eSIM from this site | from $6.99 by card; from $2.00 per GB | An eSIM phone that is not locked to your carrier | Data only: no calls or texts on your US number |
Roaming prices as published by US carriers, before taxes and fees, checked on October 29, 2026; price per GB is our derivation (price ÷ GB). eSIM prices are in US dollars: your card is charged exactly that amount. This site is not affiliated with these carriers; we sell eSIMs.
A list shows where a plan applies, not carrier coverage in Costa Rica along your route.
| Carrier and plan | Costa Rica | Price or allowance there |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T Elite 2.0 and Premium 2.0 | Included | No roaming charge; “International usage should not exceed domestic” (checked on October 29, 2026, AT&T); AT&T in Costa Rica |
| AT&T, other unlimited plans, postpaid | Day Pass | $12 a day per line, $6 for each added line used the same day (checked on October 29, 2026, AT&T) |
| AT&T Prepaid | Travel Add-On | $40 for 7 days with 5GB (checked on October 29, 2026, AT&T Prepaid) |
| Verizon, postpaid | TravelPass | $12 a day, 5 GB at high speed each session, then 3G; Monthly Plan $100 (checked on October 29, 2026, rates, TravelPass); Verizon in Costa Rica |
| Verizon Unlimited Ultimate | No list for this plan | 15 GB a month in 210+ countries and destinations, then 1.5 Mbps: ask Verizon about Costa Rica (checked on October 29, 2026, Verizon) |
| Verizon Prepaid | Search box only | $12/line per day; the 140+ list is a search box (checked on October 29, 2026, Verizon Prepaid) |
| T-Mobile, postpaid | Included | Beyond up to 15GB, More up to 5GB, then up to 256Kbps; Essentials: International Pass (checked on October 29, 2026, T-Mobile); T-Mobile in Costa Rica |
| Google Fi | Two plans | Unlimited Premium 50 GB at high speed, then 256 kbps; Flexible $10 per GB, up to $60 for data (Bill Protection, one person) and high speed up to 15 GB, then 256 kbps (checked on October 30, 2026, Fi plans); Standard: not available (checked on October 29, 2026, Google Fi); Google Fi |
| US Mobile | All three networks | Unlimited Premium 20 GB, 200 minutes, 250 texts; Starter 1 GB (checked on October 29, 2026, US Mobile) |
| Mint Mobile | Search box only | Minternational Pass, 180+ countries in a search box (checked on October 29, 2026, Mint); Mint Mobile |
| Visible | Global Pass | Base Visible $10 a day with 2GB (checked on October 29, 2026, Visible); Visible |
| Cricket | Passport | $10 a day per line; partner networks may be as slow as 2G (checked on October 29, 2026, Cricket); Cricket |
| Metro by T-Mobile | Not confirmed | The country list would not load: check with Metro (checked on October 29, 2026, Metro) |
| Boost Mobile | Global Roaming | $10 a month (introductory price) for 1 GB, then $10 per GB (checked on October 29, 2026, Boost Mobile) |
| Xfinity Mobile | Included or pass | Plus and Select: 10 GB per billing cycle, then up to 14 Mbps; Global Travel Pass $10 a day per line, 5 GB, then 3G (checked on October 29, 2026, Xfinity); Xfinity Mobile |
| Spectrum Mobile | Not on the list | No Costa Rica row on Spectrum’s list, so no Day Pass or Unlimited Plus flag: ask Spectrum (checked on October 29, 2026, Spectrum); Spectrum Mobile |
| Straight Talk | No list published | 7-day perk, $20 for 5 GB and 300 minutes in 140+ destinations: ask Straight Talk (checked on October 29, 2026, Straight Talk) |
| Total Wireless | Included | MAX 5G, MAX 5G BYO and ALL ACCESS: 10 GB and 300 minutes a month (checked on October 29, 2026, Total Wireless) |
| Tello | On the list | Paid from your Tello balance; we have no Costa Rica rate: type Costa Rica in “Traveling to” on Tello’s roaming page (checked on October 29, 2026) |
Consumer Cellular sets up roaming by phone; we have no Costa Rica rate from it (checked on October 29, 2026, Consumer Cellular). Carriers without a page of their own here are covered on international roaming plans.
A Costa Rica eSIM runs beside your US line only if the phone is unlocked. Before you buy one, open Is my phone unlocked? and Does my phone support eSIM?.
Our eSIM for Costa Rica at a glance
- Purchase QR code by email · after payment
- Installation profile on your phone · up to 365 days
- Activation first network on the trip · the clock starts
eSIM for Costa Rica: selected plans
The entry plan, our pick and a bigger one. “Our pick” is a mid-size plan chosen by us, not a sales ranking.
You are charged exactly the price shown, in US dollars. The seller is a company registered in the United States, so this is a payment to a US business — how card payment works. It appears on your statement as JET SHARING. You pay on the secure Stripe checkout page, by card, or Apple Pay or Google Pay if Stripe shows them on your device.
What it costs per day
The plan price is what you pay for the trip; a day is that price over the plan’s own days, so a longer plan costs less a day only if you use those days. Pick by your trip length first.
A week in Costa Rica: pass, plan or eSIM
Seven $12 days come to $84 on AT&T’s Day Pass or Verizon’s TravelPass (our arithmetic, prices checked on October 29, 2026). At $10 a day on Visible, Cricket or Xfinity, the week is $70 (our arithmetic); on AT&T Elite 2.0 and Premium 2.0, it adds $0.
| One phone in Costa Rica, our arithmetic | 7 days | 14 days | Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T Day Pass, postpaid | $84 | $120 to $168 | Plan’s data |
| Verizon TravelPass, postpaid | $84 | $168 | 5 GB a day at high speed, then 3G |
| Verizon Monthly Plan | $100 | $100 | 20GB at high speed, then 3G |
| T-Mobile Essentials plus an International Pass | $50 | $75 | 15GB, up to 10 days; 30GB, 30 days |
| Visible or Xfinity pass, $10 a day | $70 | $140 | 2GB or 5 GB a day |
| Cricket Passport, $10 a day | $70 | $100 to $140 | Free days after 10 paid |
| Boost Mobile add-on, 3GB | $30 | $30 | 1 GB for $10, then $10 per GB |
| AT&T Elite 2.0 or Premium 2.0 | $0 | $0 | Included |
| Our plan, 1GB, 7 days, data only | $6.99 | — | 1GB |
| Our plan, 3GB, 30 days, data only | $14.99 | $14.99 | 3GB |
| Our plan, 5GB, 30 days, data only | $25.99 | $25.99 | 5GB |
The AT&T range is AT&T’s own cap. Its cruise page says land-only Day Pass use costs “$12 per day for 10 days within a single billing cycle” (checked on October 29, 2026, AT&T). One bill then stops at $120; a trip split across two bills can be charged all 14 days (our arithmetic).
Over two weeks, Verizon’s $100 Monthly Plan costs less than $168 in TravelPass days (our arithmetic). Verizon’s own words for that plan: “Perfect for trips of 9 days or more” (Verizon Monthly Plan).
Cricket’s daily Passport adds up to 20 free days after 10 paid days in a row within 30. A 14-day trip then lands between $100 and $140 (our arithmetic).
A family of four on AT&T’s Day Pass pays $12 for the first line and $6 for each other line used that day. That is $30 a day and $210 for the week (our arithmetic). Our plans are one per phone, so four phones need four plans.
Where an eSIM does not win: AT&T Elite 2.0 and Premium 2.0. The same goes for the data included on T-Mobile Beyond and More and on Fi Unlimited Premium. Inside those allowances the trip adds $0, and Fi counts data used abroad toward your monthly high-speed data (Google Fi).
Calls and texts stay on your own number with a carrier plan or pass; our Costa Rica plan is data only. To pick its size, see How much data do I need?.
We compared three options for Costa Rica on October 29, 2026: a carrier plan or pass, a local SIM card and our eSIM. Each was weighed on price for the trip length, data, network and what your phone needs.
For scale, we checked 11 travel-eSIM sellers from a US IP that day. Their middle price for Costa Rica was $13 for 3GB and $25 for 10GB over 30 days. For Spain, the same sellers’ middle prices were $6 and $14, so Costa Rica data costs about twice as much (our arithmetic).
Ours are $14.99 for 3GB and $33.99 for 10GB, both 30 days, data only. We sell one of the options, so we rank none; our methodology sets the rules. Roaming or eSIM runs your own dates against your carrier.
A Costa Rica SIM card or a travel eSIM?
On a US iPhone 14 or later, a Costa Rica SIM card has nowhere to go. Apple says iPhone 14 models or later “purchased in the United States can only be activated with an eSIM” (checked on October 29, 2026, Apple).
The local option is a SIM card from a Costa Rican carrier such as Kolbi, Claro or Liberty. Their visitor terms are not in our checked facts, so we give no price, store or ID rule for them.
An older iPhone, or an Android phone with a tray, can take a local SIM card once it is unlocked. We don’t sell physical SIM cards. Do iPhones have SIM cards? names the models with a tray.
Our eSIM brings no Costa Rican number. Apple says FaceTime, iMessage and other apps can still make VoIP calls and send messages on your home line (Apple).
With both lines on, Apple says the travel eSIM is used for data, and “You might still incur roaming fees from your home eSIM.” Data roaming on and off shows the US line’s switch; Keep your US number covers texts and 2FA codes.
About 1.5 million US residents flew to Costa Rica in 2025, with the peak in winter (NTTO, Survey of International Air Travelers, 2025). The U.S. Department of State rates Costa Rica Level 2: “Exercise Increased Caution” (updated April 1, 2026, travel.state.gov).
What our Costa Rica plan covers
Claro 4G is the only network on our Costa Rica plan, which is data only (plan details as of October 29, 2026). The days count from your phone’s first connection in Costa Rica, and where Claro has no signal there is no other network to switch to.
The plan doesn’t state a hotspot rule — check the plan page. Install it on home Wi-Fi before a spring break flight to San José or Guanacaste; how to install an eSIM has the steps.
Check before you fly
What if the eSIM doesn’t work when you land in Costa Rica?
Check four settings, in this order, before you write to us.
The first is the line for cellular data. In the phone’s SIM settings, pick the travel line for cellular data; your US line stays on for calls and texts, with its cellular data off.
The second is data roaming, for the eSIM line only. The eSIM is a foreign profile, so the phone treats Costa Rica as roaming for it.
The third is the APN. The plan does not set it by itself here: add wbdata on Android under the eSIM line’s cellular network settings.
The fourth is a restart. Restart the phone or switch Airplane Mode on and off, and let it find Claro; this can take a few minutes after you leave the plane.
Still no data? Write to us on WhatsApp or at support@esimworld.us with your order number, or go through the no-signal checklist. Do not delete the eSIM to “try again”: a deleted profile usually cannot be installed twice from the same code. If the eSIM doesn't work and it isn't your phone's fault, we refund the payment whether or not it was installed.
What I’d choose (and when NOT to buy the eSIM)
For a week of maps, rides and messaging I’d take 1 GB for 7 days, $6.99. For two weeks or more, with photos and social media, I’d go for 5 GB for 30 days, $25.99.
I would not recommend the eSIM in three cases. If your US plan already includes Costa Rica and its limit is enough for you, roaming costs you nothing extra and keeps your number (compare the carriers). If your phone has no eSIM or is locked to your carrier, it cannot take the plan: check if your phone is unlocked. And if your group travels together all day and shares one connection, a pocket Wi-Fi can cover everyone.
Frequently asked questions
Does AT&T work in Costa Rica?
Yes. AT&T Elite 2.0 and Premium 2.0 include roaming in Costa Rica, and AT&T asks that use abroad not exceed use at home. Other AT&T unlimited plans pay $12 a day for the International Day Pass; AT&T Prepaid’s add-on is $40 for 7 days with 5GB.
Can I put a Kolbi SIM card in my US iPhone?
Not in a US iPhone 14 or later: Apple says those models can only be activated with an eSIM. An older iPhone or Android phone with a tray takes a Costa Rica SIM card from Kolbi, Claro or Liberty once unlocked. We have not checked those carriers’ visitor terms, so we judge them on what your phone needs, not on price.
How much data do I need for a week in Costa Rica?
About what you use in a week at home, which the cellular data screen in your phone’s settings shows. Under 1GB fits our 1GB plan for 7 days; up to 3GB fits our 3GB plan, which runs 30 days. Video calls and streaming use data fastest, so size up if you do either.
Sources checked: AT&T: Latin America · AT&T: Day Pass · Verizon: international services and pricing · T-Mobile: plans abroad · Apple: eSIM-only iPhones · NTTO: air travel survey · State Department: Costa Rica.
Sources are linked in the text. Carrier terms change: for the terms of your own plan, check with your carrier.
Still need a data line for Costa Rica? Every size, from 1GB to 20GB, is on our Costa Rica eSIM page.
Unfamiliar term? See the eSIM glossary.
Get an eSIM for Costa Rica, from $6.99 Pay by card. The seller is a company registered in the United States, so this is a payment to a US business. Install the profile at home on Wi-Fi before you fly. The QR code arrives by email after payment. See plans