eSIM data plans for Portugal

Portugal plans come in two shapes: pick a data size that lasts the length of your trip, or pick a number of days with data that runs unlimited within a fair use policy.

By the gigabyte

The fixed data plans run from 1GB over 7 days up to 50GB over 30 days, on NOS or Vodafone, both on 4G and 5G. A short city break suits the smaller sizes, since a few days of maps, messages and browsing use comparatively little data. Longer stays, or trips where you plan to post photos and stream music as you go, sit better on the 10GB or 20GB plans. The 50GB plan covers a full month for someone working remotely or relying on the eSIM as a main connection. Hotspot and tethering are included on every fixed data plan, so a laptop or a second phone can share the same data.

By the day, unlimited

The unlimited plans are sold by the day instead of by the gigabyte, from a single day up to 30, all on NOS at 3G and 4G. Each day comes with a fair use policy: once a daily amount is used, speed is reduced for the rest of that day. This suits a traveller who would rather not think about a data total at all, someone attending a conference or event, or a trip where the days themselves are the natural unit, arriving Friday and leaving Sunday, for instance. Tethering is available here too, so the same eSIM can share its connection with another device.

Buying before you fly

The validity clock only starts once the eSIM makes its first connection to a network in Portugal, not when it is bought or installed. That makes it easy to install a plan days or even weeks ahead of departure, set the eSIM up at home, and land with everything ready to go the moment the plane touches down.

If a fixed data plan runs low

Should a fixed data plan's data run out before the trip does, a top-up restores data to the same eSIM without starting over, so a size chosen for a shorter stay can still stretch to cover a longer one.