Taiwan SIM card, your US carrier or an eSIM? What a week in Taiwan costs each way
In short
AT&T and Verizon postpaid passes cost $12 a day in Taiwan: $84 for a week on one phone (our arithmetic, checked on October 29, 2026). Our Taiwan plan is data only, sold at a USD price: 5GB for 30 days is $9.99. Its days begin at your first connection in Taiwan.
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 Taiwan from $3.99 — 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. Data in Taiwan already comes with T-Mobile Experience Beyond and More, AT&T Elite 2.0, Google Fi Unlimited Premium and US Mobile Unlimited Premium. Xfinity Mobile Plus and Select, Spectrum Unlimited Plus and three Total Wireless plans include it too.
Stay within those allowances and the trip adds no data charge, on the number you already have; each one is in the table below. Verizon Unlimited Ultimate covers 210+ countries and destinations but prints no list, so ask Verizon about Taiwan.
Two bill traps. With no pass, AT&T and Verizon both bill data at $2.05 per MB in Taiwan (AT&T rates, Verizon rates). At that rate, 100 MB comes to $205 (our arithmetic).
On Verizon, background app refresh or email sync can open a $12 TravelPass day, and so can a call or a text (Verizon TravelPass FAQs).
We compare public packages; check your own plan.
Does your US phone work in Taiwan? Carrier by carrier
Taiwan appears on every published list below except Boost Mobile’s, and passes there cost $10 to $12 a day (checked on October 29, 2026). Mint and Verizon Prepaid show their countries only through a search box; Straight Talk prints no list at all.
| Option | Price | What you need | Weak point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roaming with your US carrier | May be included on some postpaid or prepaid plans of 5 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 $3.99 by card; from $1.35 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.
| Carrier and plan | Taiwan on its list? | What it costs or includes in Taiwan | Checked on, source |
|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T unlimited plans, postpaid | Yes | International Day Pass: $12/day; $6 for each extra line used the same day | October 29, 2026, AT&T Day Pass |
| AT&T Elite 2.0 | Yes, on its Elite 2.0 list | 20GB a month at high speed, then up to 512Kbps | October 29, 2026, AT&T plan terms; list: October 30, 2026, Elite 2.0 destinations |
| AT&T Prepaid | Yes | International Travel Add-On: $40 for 7 days with 5GB | October 29, 2026, AT&T Prepaid |
| Verizon, postpaid | Yes | TravelPass $12 a day; Monthly Plan $100; no pass: $1.79 a minute, $2.05 per MB | October 29, 2026, Verizon rates |
| Verizon Unlimited Ultimate | No list for this plan | 15 GB a month of high-speed data in 210+ countries and destinations, then 1.5 Mbps; ask Verizon about Taiwan | October 29, 2026, Verizon plan FAQs |
| Verizon Prepaid | Search box, no printed list | Prepaid TravelPass in 140+ countries and destinations: search there for Taiwan | October 29, 2026, Verizon Prepaid |
| T-Mobile, postpaid | Yes | Experience Beyond up to 15GB and More up to 5GB of high-speed data, each then up to 256Kbps; Essentials needs an International Pass | October 29, 2026, T-Mobile abroad |
| Google Fi | Yes, also a 5G destination | 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 | October 29, 2026, Google Fi rates |
| US Mobile | Yes, on Light Speed, Warp and Dark Star | Unlimited Premium: 20 GB, 200 minutes, 250 texts; Starter: 1 GB | October 29, 2026, US Mobile |
| Mint Mobile | Search box, no printed list | Minternational Pass in 180+ countries: search there for Taiwan | October 29, 2026, Mint |
| Visible | Yes | Global Pass: $10 a day, with 2GB of data, talk and text | October 29, 2026, Visible |
| Cricket | Yes | Passport: $10 a day per line; partner networks may be as slow as 2G | October 29, 2026, Cricket |
| Boost Mobile | No: not on Boost’s published list | Global Roaming lists “90+ countries” without Taiwan: ask Boost | October 29, 2026, Boost Global Roaming |
| Xfinity Mobile | Yes, as “TAIWAN” | Mobile Plus and Select: 10 GB per cycle at high speed, then up to 14 Mbps; Global Travel Pass: $10 a day per line | October 29, 2026, Xfinity |
| Spectrum Mobile | Yes, for Day Pass and Unlimited Plus | Global Day Pass: $10 for 24 hours, 1 GB; Unlimited Plus: 10 GB a month; no pass: data $0.03/MB | October 29, 2026, Day Pass, rates |
| Straight Talk | No list published | 7-Day International Roaming perk: $20 for 5 GB and 300 minutes in 140+ destinations; ask Straight Talk about Taiwan | October 29, 2026, Straight Talk |
| Total Wireless | Yes | MAX 5G, MAX 5G BYO and ALL ACCESS: 10 GB and 300 minutes a month | October 29, 2026, Total Wireless |
| Tello | Yes | Billed from your Tello balance; Tello’s Taiwan rate is not in our data: type Taiwan in “Traveling to” on Tello’s page | October 29, 2026, Tello |
A travel eSIM sits beside your US line only on an unlocked phone. Before you buy one, run Is my phone unlocked? and Does my phone support eSIM?.
Our eSIM for Taiwan 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 Taiwan: 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 or two in Taiwan: pass or eSIM
Two weeks in Taiwan on one phone cost $168 on Verizon TravelPass and $100 on its Monthly Plan (our arithmetic, checked on October 29, 2026). AT&T’s Day Pass comes to $120 to $168, and our 10GB plan for 30 days is $16.99, data only.
We set the options side by side on October 29, 2026: a carrier pass, data your plan already includes, and a travel eSIM. We judged each one on its price for 7 and 14 days, the data it gives, and whether calls stay on your number.
We checked 144 prices for 5GB over 30 days from 11 travel-eSIM sellers, from a US IP that day. Their middle half ran from $10.80 to $16.80; for 10GB, 155 prices had a middle half of $16.00 to $25.00.
Taiwan is not in that snapshot, so we hold no Taiwan price range: the baskets cover 29 other destinations. Read them as scale, not as Taiwan prices. No seller is named or ranked; our methodology explains the baskets.
| Option for one phone | What you get in Taiwan | 7 days | 14 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T International Day Pass, postpaid | your plan’s own data, talk and text | $84 | $120 to $168 |
| Verizon TravelPass, postpaid | 5 GB at high speed each 24-hour session, then 3G | $84 | $168 |
| Verizon International Monthly Plan | 20GB at high speed, then 3G; 250 minutes | $100 | $100 |
| T-Mobile Essentials with an International Pass | 10-day Pass with 15GB; 30-day Pass with 30GB | $50 | $75 |
| T-Mobile Beyond, AT&T Elite 2.0, Fi Unlimited Premium, US Mobile Unlimited Premium | the plan’s own allowance abroad | $0 extra | $0 extra |
| Our Taiwan plan, data only | 5GB, valid 30 days | $9.99 | $9.99 |
| Our Taiwan plan, data only | 10GB, valid 30 days | $16.99 | $16.99 |
The AT&T spread is a billing question. AT&T’s cruise page says you pay for at most 10 days in one billing cycle (checked on October 29, 2026, AT&T). So 14 days inside one cycle come to $120, and a trip split across two cycles can reach $168 (our arithmetic).
Verizon’s Monthly Plan is $100 per line for 20GB at high speed, then 3G, plus 250 minutes (checked on October 29, 2026, Verizon Monthly Plan). On a 14-day trip it is $68 under 14 TravelPass days (our arithmetic).
T-Mobile Essentials carries no data abroad on its own. A 7-day trip then needs the 10-day Pass and a 14-day trip the 30-day Pass (checked on October 29, 2026, T-Mobile Passes).
The included-data row is where an eSIM loses: inside that allowance, Taiwan costs $0 extra. Google Fi’s footnote adds: “Data counts towards your monthly high-speed data usage.” (Google Fi)
Size the plan by your own use at home. On a week of maps and messaging in Taipei or Kaohsiung, our 5GB plan gives about 0.71GB a day. The 10GB plan gives about 1.43GB a day, and over 14 days the 5GB plan about 0.36GB (our arithmetic).
A pass keeps calls and texts on your US number. Ours is a data-only plan, and the plan doesn’t state a hotspot rule — check the plan page. Roaming or eSIM puts your own dates through the same sums.
A Taiwan SIM card or a travel eSIM?
On a US-bought iPhone 14 or later, a Taiwan SIM card is not an option. Apple says those models “purchased in the United States can only be activated with an eSIM” (checked on October 29, 2026, Apple).
A local SIM card for visitors stays an option on phones with a tray. We have no checked prices or terms for Taiwanese SIM cards, so we print none. We sell no physical SIMs; Do iPhones have SIM cards? shows which iPhone models still take one.
With two lines on, Apple notes: “You might still incur roaming fees from your home eSIM” (Apple). Turn data roaming off on the US line (steps); keep your US number covers texts and 2FA codes. A call or a text on that line can still open a $12 AT&T or Verizon day.
How to install an eSIM walks through the install on Wi-Fi at home. The U.S. Department of State rates Taiwan Level 1: “Exercise Normal Precautions” (updated November 24, 2025, travel.state.gov).
What our Taiwan plan covers
Our Taiwan plan runs on one network, Taiwan Mobile, listed as 5G (plan data as of October 29, 2026). It is data only, your US number stays on your main line, and the days count from the first connection in Taiwan.
We hold no coverage comparison of Taiwan’s networks, so we make no claim about where Taiwan Mobile reaches. How much data do I need? sizes a plan for maps, messaging and video.
Check before you fly
What if the eSIM doesn’t work when you land in Taiwan?
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 Taiwan as roaming for it.
The third is the APN. The plan does not set it by itself here: add globaldata 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 Taiwan Mobile; 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, $3.99. For two weeks or more, with photos and social media, I’d go for 5 GB for 30 days, $9.99. If you video-call and stream every day, take the unlimited plan for 7 days, $23.99, with 3 GB a day at full speed, then reduced to 1 Mbps.
I would not recommend the eSIM in three cases. If your US plan already includes Taiwan 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
Is a Taiwan SIM card at the airport better than an eSIM?
Not on a US iPhone 14 or later, which has no SIM tray. Apple says US-bought models from the iPhone 14 on activate only with an eSIM (checked on October 29, 2026, Apple). We hold no checked counter prices; on an older phone with a tray, weigh the counter’s offer against the carrier table above.
Which network does a Taiwan eSIM use?
Taiwan Mobile, listed as 5G, on our Taiwan plan (plan data as of October 29, 2026). Plans from other sellers can use other networks, so check the network named on any plan before you pay.
Does a Taiwan eSIM work on a US iPhone?
Yes, when the iPhone is unlocked and supports eSIM. Install it on Wi-Fi at home before you fly. The clock on our plan starts when it first connects in Taiwan, not at install.
Sources checked: AT&T: Day Pass · AT&T: Elite 2.0 destinations · AT&T: pay-per-use rates · AT&T: the 10-day cap per bill · Verizon: international services and pricing · Verizon: TravelPass FAQs · Verizon: Monthly Plan · T-Mobile: plans abroad · T-Mobile: International Pass prices · Google Fi: rates abroad · Google Fi: plans and Bill Protection · Boost Mobile: Global Roaming · Spectrum: international rates · Apple: iPhones with eSIM only · Apple: two eSIMs on iPhone · State Department: Taiwan advisory.
Sources are linked in the text. Carrier terms change: for the terms of your own plan, check with your carrier.
Done comparing? Taiwan eSIM plans and prices shows every package, data only, in US dollars.
Unfamiliar term? See the eSIM glossary.
Get an eSIM for Taiwan, from $3.99 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