The best eSIM for Saudi Arabia is one that matches how long you stay and where else you go. Visiting only Saudi Arabia, for business, a visit or Umrah? A Saudi Arabia eSIM gives you the most data for your money. Adding Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE or Jordan? A Middle East eSIM covers Saudi Arabia and 11 more countries on one plan. Both are data only. You install them at home, and they connect when you land in Riyadh, Jeddah, Medina or Dammam. Plan details in this guide come from our Saudi Arabia eSIM page and Middle East eSIM page.
Short on time? Here are three picks: one week in Saudi Arabia, two weeks in Saudi Arabia, or a month across the Gulf.
Saudi Arabia 10GB (7 days) · Saudi Arabia 20GB (15 days) · Middle East 10GB (30 days, 12 countries incl. Saudi Arabia) · all data only · See all Saudi Arabia eSIMs or browse every destination
Before you book anything, check the latest travel advice. As of November 2026, the UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to Saudi Arabia, and against all travel within 10 km of the border with Yemen (FCDO: Saudi Arabia warnings and insurance). More on this below.
What makes an eSIM the best one for Saudi Arabia?
There is no single best eSIM for everyone. The right one fits your trip. Check these points before you buy:
- Data and days: enough data for your whole stay, so you don't run out halfway through your Umrah or your business week.
- Countries covered: Saudi Arabia only, or Saudi Arabia plus Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE or Jordan if you cross borders or stop over.
- Top-ups: so you can add data instead of buying a new eSIM.
- When the days start: ideally when you arrive, not when you buy or install it.
- ID checks: every local Saudi line has to be verified with your ID. A travel eSIM doesn't ask you to upload one at checkout.
- Phone number: most travel eSIMs are data only. Decide if you really need a Saudi number.
- Your phone: it must support eSIM and be unlocked.
Our eSIMs for Saudi Arabia: the details
SimOptions sells seven Saudi Arabia plans. Saudi Arabia is also on our Middle East plans. Here is what the plan details on our pages say:
- Saudi Arabia plans: 1 GB or 3 GB for 3 days, 5 GB or 10 GB for 7 days, 20 GB for 15 days, 50 GB for 30 days and 60 GB for 90 days, at 4G/LTE speed.
- Middle East plans: 1 GB for 7 days, or 3 GB, 5 GB, 10 GB or 20 GB for 30 days, in 12 countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.
- Phone number: no. All these plans are data only, with no calls or SMS.
- Activation: once installed, the eSIM activates automatically when you arrive in a covered country. Your days start then.
- Top-ups: available.
- Expiry: if you don't use the eSIM within a year of buying it, it becomes invalid.
Every plan is prepaid with no contract, and your QR code comes by email.
Which eSIM is best for your Saudi Arabia trip?
Start with how long you stay. Then check if you visit other countries.
A short visit or business trip: Saudi Arabia 5GB or 10GB
A few days of meetings in Riyadh, or a short visit to family in Jeddah? The 5 GB and 10 GB plans last 7 days. That covers maps, ride apps, email, messages and a few video calls. For a stopover of a day or two, 1 GB or 3 GB for 3 days is enough. When we checked our pages, the Saudi Arabia plans cost less than the Middle East plans of the same size, so for a Saudi-only trip they are the better buy.
Two weeks: Saudi Arabia 20GB
Staying two weeks? Saudi Arabia 20GB lasts 15 days. That's enough for daily maps, social media, photos and regular video calls home.
Umrah or a longer stay: Saudi Arabia 50GB or 60GB
Many visitors come for Umrah in Makkah and a few days in Medina. Video calls with family at home use the most data, so a bigger plan gives you room. Saudi Arabia 50GB lasts 30 days, and 60GB lasts 90 days. You can also top up instead of buying a new eSIM.
Staying a few weeks for Umrah or work? This plan lasts 30 days.
Saudi Arabia plus Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE or Jordan
A Saudi Arabia plan only works in Saudi Arabia. If you also drive over the causeway to Bahrain, stop over in Doha or Dubai, or go on to Jordan, one Middle East plan covers all 12 countries, so you don't swap eSIMs at the border. Its plans also last 30 days from 3 GB up. Near a border, your phone can also connect to a network from the country next door. The Middle East plan covers all of Saudi Arabia's neighbours except Yemen. Going on to Jordan? See our guide to the best eSIM for Jordan.
You need a Saudi phone number
Our Saudi Arabia and Middle East plans are data only. You can still call and text over data with apps like WhatsApp or FaceTime, see how to make calls with a data-only eSIM. Your home SIM stays on your phone too, so you keep getting texts and bank codes on your usual number. If you need a Saudi number, you need a line from a local provider, verified with your ID. Our guide to eSIM providers in Saudi Arabia covers stc, Mobily, Zain and the others.
Do you need to register a SIM or eSIM in Saudi Arabia?
For a local line, yes. Since 2016, every Saudi mobile line, prepaid, postpaid or data, has to be verified with your fingerprint or through the Absher system. The regulator, now called the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST), suspends lines that aren't verified (CST: service suspension for unverified SIM cards).
Visitors have an easier route than before. In May 2025, CST and the Ministry of Interior let international pilgrims request an eSIM in a local provider's app and verify it with biometric checks in the Absher app, without a branch visit (CST: eSIM activation for pilgrims). Steps vary by provider, so check with the provider before you travel.
A travel eSIM like ours works differently. You buy it online without uploading an ID at checkout, and it connects on a local partner network when you arrive. If you only need data, that's the quickest option.
Before you travel: safety advice and Hajj season
The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) currently advises against all travel to within 10 km of the border with Yemen and against all but essential travel to the rest of Saudi Arabia. It warns of missile and drone attacks, including on airports, and of likely flight disruption and cancellations. Your travel insurance may not cover you if you travel against this advice (FCDO: Saudi Arabia warnings and insurance). Check your own government's advice before you book, and again before you fly.
If you do travel, mobile data helps you keep up with the situation. The FCDO asks travellers to check their flight status before going to the airport, follow local authorities and media, and sign up for its email alerts. It also says not to film or share images of attacks or interceptions, and that photographing government buildings, military sites and palaces is illegal (FCDO: Saudi Arabia safety and security).
Umrah and Hajj
According to the FCDO, you can apply for an e-visa or an electronic visa waiver to perform Umrah outside the Hajj season, while Hajj needs a separate Hajj visa and a place booked through the official Nusuk Hajj platform (FCDO: Saudi Arabia pilgrimage). During Hajj, visitors who aren't performing Hajj may be stopped from flying to Jeddah, Medina and Taif (FCDO: Saudi Arabia entry requirements). Install your eSIM at home, so you're online as soon as you land and can reach your group and family.
Staying connected around Saudi Arabia
You will use your data most in the cities: ride apps, maps, translation and booking apps all need it. Away from the cities, on long desert drives, signal can drop, so download offline maps before you leave. Here is what to expect in the places most visitors go.
Riyadh
The capital is big and spread out, so a ride app and live maps make getting around much easier. Masmak Fort and the National Museum are good places to learn the country's history, and the old mud-brick district of At-Turaif in Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is on the city's edge. The cooler months, from about November to March, are the most comfortable time to walk around.
Jeddah
Saudi Arabia's second-largest city sits on the Red Sea and is where many pilgrims arrive. Historic Jeddah, the old town of Al-Balad, is a UNESCO World Heritage site with coral-stone houses and wooden balconies. The Corniche along the sea is lively in the evening, and the Al-Rahma Mosque, often called the Floating Mosque, stands on the water there. Offline maps help in the narrow lanes of Al-Balad.
Makkah and Medina
Makkah is the holiest city in Islam and the destination of Umrah and Hajj. Only Muslims may enter it: Saudi law prohibits entry for non-Muslims, as the Makkah police restated in 2022 (Arab News: report of the police statement). Medina is home to Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque. The crowds around the holy mosques are huge, so agree on a meeting point with your group and share your live location with them on WhatsApp. Keep a power bank with you, as maps and calls drain your battery fast.
Dammam and the Eastern Province
Dammam, Al Khobar and Al Jubail sit on the Gulf coast, with seafront corniches and beaches. From here, the King Fahd Causeway leads to Bahrain. If you cross it, a Middle East plan keeps you online on both sides. Check your visa first: the FCDO says your visa may only allow you to enter Saudi Arabia by air.
AlUla and the desert
AlUla, in the northwest, is known for Hegra, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage site, with tombs carved into sandstone. Distances are long and the landscape is empty between sites, so save your tickets and maps offline and keep data for the drive back.
Other ways to get connected in Saudi Arabia
A SimOptions eSIM isn't your only option. Here is a fair look at the others.
A local line from stc, Mobily or Zain
Saudi providers sell prepaid lines and eSIMs to visitors, with a Saudi number and local rates. You verify your ID, with your fingerprint in a shop or with Absher where the provider offers it. That takes time after a long flight, and your phone only has data once the line is set up. A travel eSIM is already installed when you land. Details by provider: eSIM providers in Saudi Arabia.
Other eSIM apps
Many eSIM sellers have Saudi Arabia plans too, and most are data only. Some sell unlimited plans that slow down after a daily amount. Compare them on the same points as above: data, days, countries covered, top-ups and when the days start.
Your home carrier's roaming
Check your own plan before you buy anything. Look up what your carrier charges per day or per MB in Saudi Arabia. If roaming is expensive, a Saudi Arabia eSIM next to your home line gives you local data at a fixed prepaid price. Turn off data roaming on your home line so it can't use data abroad. More tips in our guide on how to avoid roaming charges.
How much data do you need in Saudi Arabia?
It depends on how you use your phone. Hotel Wi-Fi helps, but don't count on it for video calls. As a rough guide:
- 1 to 3 days: 1 GB to 3 GB, for maps, messages and ride apps.
- Up to a week: 5 GB to 10 GB, enough for social media, photos and some video calls.
- Two weeks: 20 GB.
- Umrah, Hajj or a month of work: 50 GB for 30 days, or 60 GB for 90 days.
Running low? Top up the same eSIM. Tips to stretch your data: how to reduce data usage abroad.
How to set up your Saudi Arabia eSIM
- Check eSIM support. Dial *#06#. If your phone shows an EID number, it supports eSIM. On iPhone, eSIM works on the iPhone XS, XS Max, XR and later (Apple: Using Dual SIM with an eSIM). More ways to check eSIM compatibility.
- Check that your phone is unlocked. A phone locked to a carrier only accepts that carrier's eSIMs.
- Install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi before you fly. On iPhone, scan the QR code with the Camera app, or on iOS 17.4 and later press and hold the code in the email and choose Add eSIM (Apple: Set up eSIM on iPhone). Step by step for iPhone and Android: how to install an eSIM.
- When you land, choose the travel eSIM for mobile data and turn on data roaming for it. On iPhone, go to Settings > Cellular (or Mobile Data) > Cellular Data and pick the travel eSIM.
- Turn off data roaming on your home line, so it can't use data abroad.
Using two lines at once is easy once you know where the settings are: see how to set up and manage a dual eSIM. No signal after you land? Our guide on what to do when your eSIM is not activating walks you through the usual causes.
FAQs
What is the best eSIM for Saudi Arabia?
The one that fits your trip. For Saudi Arabia only, a Saudi Arabia eSIM gives you the most data for your money: 5 GB or 10 GB for a week, 20 GB for two weeks, 50 GB for a month. For Saudi Arabia plus Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE or Jordan, a Middle East eSIM covers 12 countries on one plan.
Can tourists and visitors use an eSIM in Saudi Arabia?
Yes. A travel eSIM works in Saudi Arabia on a local network, with no shop visit and no ID upload at checkout. Your phone needs to support eSIM and be unlocked. Local providers also sell eSIMs to visitors, verified with your ID.
Which eSIM is best for Umrah?
One with enough data and days for your whole stay. For a two-week Umrah, Saudi Arabia 20GB lasts 15 days. For a longer stay, 50 GB lasts 30 days. Install it before you fly, so you can reach your group and family as soon as you land.
Do I need to register an eSIM in Saudi Arabia?
For a local Saudi line, yes: every line is verified with your fingerprint or through Absher. A SimOptions travel eSIM doesn't need a shop visit or an ID upload at checkout.
Can I get a Saudi phone number with an eSIM?
Not with our plans, which are data only. For a Saudi number, get a line from a local provider such as stc, Mobily or Zain and verify it with your ID. You can call over data with WhatsApp or FaceTime instead.
Does a Saudi Arabia eSIM work in Bahrain or the UAE?
No, a Saudi Arabia plan only works in Saudi Arabia. A Middle East plan covers Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar and 8 more countries.
When does my Saudi Arabia eSIM start counting days?
The plan activates automatically when you arrive in Saudi Arabia, so your days start on arrival, not when you buy or install it.
