Best eSIM Cyprus: Comparison with prices of the 5 prepaid eSIM for travellers

You’ve decided to travel to Cyprus, and find that you have everything you need to enjoy everything this island has to offer, except for cellular connectivity. If you are travelling from within the European Union, you will be able to use your SIM card with no additional price. However, if you travel to Cyprus from outside of the EU, then you are usually faced with 2 options: face expensive roaming charges, or find a local physical SIM card store and enter a contract. However, there is a third option: eSIM.

What is an eSIM?

The e in eSIM stands for embedded, meaning that the SIM technology is already ingrained into your phone itself. This means that you can have cellular data without needing a physical SIM card, since the card is already in your phone. To activate a data plan, all you need to do is scan a QR code in your Settings app. 

Note: Most brands, such as Orange eSIM Holidays, only support one installation, meaning that you can only scan the QR code once, on one mobile device. If you delete your data plan, you will not be able to have it back.

Furthermore, you can buy a prepaid eSIM, meaning that you pay once to have a certain amount of data for a certain amount of time, activate it when you travel to Cyprus, and then forget about it. It’s that easy!

Mobile Devices Compatible with eSIM

Below is a list showing every mobile device that is compatible with eSIM:

Apple

• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 Mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 Mini
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone SE (2nd, 3rd)
• iPad Pro (Cellular only, 3rd generation 12.9”, 2nd generation 11”)
• iPad Air (Cellular only, 3rd generation and newer)
• iPad (Cellular only, 7th generation and newer)
• iPad Mini (Cellular only, 5th generation and newer)
• Apple Watch Series 3 (and newer)

Samsung

• Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 
• Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy S23 5G
• Samsung Galaxy S23+ 5G
• Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G
• Samsung Galaxy FE
• Samsung Galaxy S22
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
• Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy 21 FE
• Samsung Galaxy S20
• Samsung Galaxy S20+
• Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy Fold, Z Fold3 5G, Z Fold4 5G, Z Fold5 5G
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, Z FLip 5G, Z Flip3 5G, Z Flip4 5G, Z Flip5 5G
• Samsung Gear S2 3G
• Galaxy Watch y Galaxy Watch 3,4,5 y 6
• Galaxy Watch Active 2

Google

• Google Pixel 8 Pro
• Google Pixel 8
• Google Pixel 7a
• Google Pixel 3XL
• Google Pixel 3

Huawei

• Huawei P40 Pro 5G
• Huawei P40 5G
• Huawei Mate 40 pro
• Watch 2 y 3

Motorola

• Motorola RAZR 40 Ultra
• Motorola EDGE 40 Neo
• Motorla Moto G54 5G

Xiaomi

• Xiaomi 12T Pro
• Xiaomi 13
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
• Xiaomi 13 Lite
• Xiaomi 13T
• Xiaomi 13T Pro
• Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro

Other devices such as Oppo, Vivo, Honor, Montblanc and many others may also be compatible with eSIM.

Best prepaid eSIMs for Cyprus

A variety of eSIMs were investigated to find which one is the best. Below is a table with 5 of the best eSIMs you can buy in Cyprus:

Orange eSIM Holidays

Beating Local Price/GB

It’s crystal clear why Orange eSIM Holidays has the best eSIM cards for Cyprus: These eSIMs have an unmatched Price per Gigabyte (Price/GB). These eSIMs provide 25GB of 4G/LTE Data for €25, meaning that the Price/GB is €1. Not even Cypriot mobile carriers such as Primetel can match this Price/GB, even though they come close. This price/GB is so good that the shorter than average duration of 15 days is a non-issue, as topping up will get you the same amount of data for half the price as other products on this list.

Spanish Carrier Perks

The reason why Orange eSIM Holidays has such a great price/GB is because it is coming directly from a carrier, Orange Spain, as opposed to a global provider. Moreover, because this eSIM comes from Orange Spain, it comes with 100 minutes of Voice Calls with a Spanish phone number, SMS for additional credit, and Unlimited Data in Spain. 

Coverage in the EU, Norway and Liechtenstein

Why would a Spanish Carrier have such a good eSIM for Cyprus? This is because this same eSIM is applicable for all countries in the European Union, Norway and Liechtenstein. So if you’re taking a trip through Europe, Orange eSIM Holidays provides coverage everywhere, and has more than enough data. While another result of this being a Spanish eSIM is that you will have to do an Identity Check to comply with Spanish Law, it is done so quickly and intuitively that it is not a problem at all.

Primetel

Local Carrier has higher Price/GB than Spanish Carrier

Primetel is a major Cypriot mobile carrier, meaning that it is no surprise that this eSIM has a great price/GB of €1.33, with calls and SMS from a Cypriot Phone number. However, this Primetel eSIM offers less data than Orange eSIM Holidays (15GB instead of 25GB) to be used over a longer period of time, meaning that you might have to ration your data consumption throughout your stay, if you don’t want to top-up your data plan.

Only for Cyprus

Because this is a local Cypriot eSIM, Primetel only offers coverage for Cyprus, meaning that if you want to go to Greece or other countries in Europe, you would have to buy an entire other eSIM card just for that portion of your trip to Europe. 

WHIZ – Large plans, Larger Price/GB

Expensive either way

WHIZ offers 2 4G/LTE Data Plans, the prices, sizes and durations are shown above. The 10GB one has a lower price ($23.99), but a higher Price/GB ($2.3), whereas the 50GB eSIM has a higher price ($80.99) but a lower Price/GB ($1.61). 

Same price as 3 Orange eSIM Holidays eSIMs, but less data

When compared to Orange eSIM holidays, the smaller eSIM has less than half the data for the same price, while the larger one is worth more than 3 eSIM Holidays cards (which would have 75GB in total, as opposed to 50). 

Data-only

All WHIZ eSIMs are data-only, meaning that you cannot use it to make landline calls. 

Ubigi – European card by non-european carrier compromises value

Wide range of expensive eSIMs

Ubigi has 3GB and 10GB. Their price/GB is quite expensive, especially on their smaller data plans. Their eSIMs are for the whole of Europe (all the countries in the EU, UK and Switzerland), not just Cyprus. Nevertheless, because they are not a carrier from Europe, their price/GB is very expensive, if the regular price is not already expensive. 

Download the Ubigi app to Activate

Ubigi requires their customers to install the Ubigi app in order to activate their eSIMs, making the process less intuitive by adding extra unnecessary steps.

Airalo – Highest Price/GB

Costly Price/GB

Airalo provides those looking for a Cypriot eSIM 3 tiny eSIMs (1GB, 3GB and 5GB) for the highest Prices/GB on this list. To put into perspective how exorbitant these prices are, an Orange eSIM Holidays eSIM costs less than Airalo’s largest Cypriot eSIM, yet has 5 times the amount of data. 

Data-Only, Cyprus Only

This is not alleviated by coverage in other countries or calls/SMS, as these are data-only Cypriot eSIMs from a global provider, not a carrier. 

Download the Airalo app to Activate

Like Ubigi, Airalo requires their customers to install the Airalo app which adds an extra step to the activation process.

 

eSIM Activation in Cyprus

How to Activate eSIM on iPhone phone

Apple was one of the earliest adopters of eSIM technology, having introduced it in every Apple mobile device with cellular connectivity since the iPhone XS. They are the most consistent brand in terms of including eSIM connectivity in their product. Here is how to activate your eSIM on an iPhone:

1. Open the “Settings” app.
2. Connect to a stable Wi-Fi Network.
3. Tap on “Mobile Data”
4. Tap on “Add Data Plan”
5. Scan the QR Code that was sent to your email inbox.
6. Tap on “Add Data Plan”
7. Enter the PIN found in that same email when prompted
8. Enjoy your trip to Cyprus!

How to activate eSIM on Samsung

The main adopter of eSIM in the Android market is Samsung, who has introduced it to every model in their flagship Galaxy S line since the S20 (Except for the budget FE devices). Here is how to activate eSIM on Samsung Devices:

1. Open the “Settings” app.
2. Connect to a stable Wi-Fi Network.
3. Select “Connections”
4. Select “SIM Card Manager”
5. Select “Add Mobile Plan”
6. Select “Add using QR Code”
7. Scan the QR Code sent to your email address.
8. Enter the PIN found in the same email when prompted.
9. Enjoy your trip to Cyprus!

Frequently Asked Questions about Cyprus eSIM