The 4 Best Prepaid SIM Cards for South America in 2023

South America is well known for all its beautiful landscapes and interesting places to visit around. Yet it is a very common occurrence that mobile internet outside your country can be very expensive due to high roaming charges.

Here we made a top 4 with the greatest international & local SIM Cards all over the continent so you won’t have to worry about anything expensive surprises. Go ahead and make the right SIM Card choice and we promise that your visit to South America will be a great experience.

Looking for an alternative solution? We have eSIMs for South America available!

What Are The Best SIM Cards for South America?

	About the provider	Sim Card Features
	As one of the favorite internet network providers among users in the United Kingdom, Three U.K. is now offering its internet coverage in South America. Enjoy 3G/4G internet speed connection throughout your trip abroad in South America.	Data: 10GB Calls/SMS: No Credit Validity: 30 days Only $29.90	Learn more
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	Traveling to South America? With the service Go Roam by Three UK Holdings, you can browse the internet in South America without ever worrying about any extra roaming charges anymore!	Data: 12GB Calls/SMS: No Credit Validity: 30 days Only $39.90	Learn more
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	The first SIM Card that truly covers every country in the whole world! Enjoy a great internet experience with the ISP Orange. They commit to provide the best service possible and have been awarded as the best internet operator in France many times in the row.	Data: up to 10GB Calls/SMS: No Credit Validity: 14 days Only $49.90	Learn more
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	Known for its excellent internet service through Europe, Three U.K. is extending its services to South America to help tourists and business travellers to stay connected to the internet. Enjoy 12GB of internet for up to 1 year throughtout South America.	Data: 12GB Calls/SMS: No Credit Validity: 1 Year Only $59.90	Learn more
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	Planning to stay long-term in South America and still looking for an internet solution? Three U.K. provide one of the best internet network coverages in 3G/4G speed throughout South America.	Data: 24GB Calls/SMS: No Credit Validity: 2 Year Only $79.90	Learn more
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SimOptions – Prepaid SIM Cards for South America

This company offers a great alternative to local South American SIM cards. With SimOptions you are guaranteed to not pay for any extra roaming charges and you will not have to sign any contract – absolutely no strings attached.

You can purchase your South America SIM card before at your arrival at the destination! You simply it online and it will be delivered right at your doorstep! Please note that you will not need to give any local address in South America for buying a SIM Card and you will not need to show your passport or any other I.D.

Let us take a look at the SIM Card South Americal details.

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VIVO – The Largest Provider in Brazil

VIVO is the most important telecommunication corporation in Brazil. It is part of the Spanish company Telefonica and currently has 73 million subscribers in the whole country. Although its prices are not the lowest ones, more than 50% of its subscribers use prepaid plans as they are more affordable than others. People prefer VIVO because of its wide coverage and multiple options to choose from to stay connected to the South American mobile internet.

The VIVO standard SIM card, known as Triple Cut SIM, comes in three sizes: standard, micro and nano SIM. It means you will not need to worry about which SIM to choose as it will fit any phone. Take into account that your cell phone must be unlocked to start using this SIM card. Also, you will need to give your current local address (hotel etc) and show your passport when buying your SIM at the branded stores all over the country. Additionally, your prepaid SIM card can be activated only by a VIVO authorized worker.

The Triple Cut SIM costs R$10.99 (≈$2,96) and add any of the following plans:

VIVO Turbo Combo Plans

These are weekly plans that can be very useful for travelers that are not going to stay in Brazil for a long time. People just need to activate any of these packages sending TURBO to 9003 and select one of the following plans:

• R$7.99 (≈$2,15)
  • 300MB data
  • Unlimited calls and texts to Vivo network
• R$9.99
  • 600MB data
  • Unlimited calls and texts to Vivo network
• R$14.99
  • 1.2GB data
  • Unlimited calls and texts to Vivo network
  • 25 local minutes

VIVO Internet Pré (Prepaid Internet)

With this prepaid plan, you will have several options to browse on the internet without worrying about high costs. However, these data-only SIM do not have more than 600MB per month but they do offer different add-ons that may be useful for you.

Let’s start talking about the daily package (default data plan) which is R$0.99 (≈$0,27) for 15 MB. With this package you will browse at a maximum speed of 500 Kbit/s. After using your daily 15 MB, your data traffic will be blocked. Take into account that this plan needs to be activated each day since it is valid only for 24 hours after its activation.

Apart from the previous prepaid data plan, there are different monthly data packages with 5 Mbit/s as maximum speed to browse on the internet whenever you need it. Since these packages are monthly plans, they do auto-renew only if you have enough credit.

If you are interested in this option, please check out the monthly data plans:

• R$17.99 (≈$4,84) for 250 MB
• R$23.99 (≈$6,46) for 400 MB
• R$29.99 (≈$8,08) for 600 MB

If you want to activate any of those packages, you need to send a text message to 1515 with the amount of MB you want to activate. For example, send 400 to 1515 if you want the 400MB data plan. You can cancel your current plan by sending “CANCELAR” (in English, “cancel”) to 1515.

Now, let’s talk about the data add-ons you can activate if you already used all your megabytes. Take into account that they are valid only for 7 days or when your monthly data package has run out.

First, there is the 50 MB add-on, which is R$2.99 (≈$0,81) and can be activated texting 50 to 1515. Then, there is the 100 MB for R$5.99 (≈$1,62) which is activated after sending 100 to 1515.

CLARO – The Largest Provider in Argentina

Claro is the largest telecommunication company in Argentina, followed by Movistar (owned by Telefonica) and Personal (owned by Telecom). This company offers 2G, 3G and even 4G speed connection. There is no need to worry about slow internet because of its coverage all over the country.

Claro offers prepaid SIM cards from $20 ARS (≈$0,54) which can be purchased in any authorized store. You will need to show your passport as identification to buy your Claro SIM card, so remember to take it with you when going to the Claro official store.

This company has one of the best internet connections in South America and offers a variety of internet or data packages. As a tourist, this is a very important aspect to take into account, so take a look at the following data plans by Claro:

CLARO Internet Packs

• $18 ARS (≈$0,48): 200 MB for 1 day
• $25 ARS (≈$0,67): 500 MB for 2 days
• $35 ARS (≈$0,94): 1 GB for 1 day
• $50 ARS (=$1,34): 1 GB for 2 days
• $60 ARS (≈$1,61) : 1 GB for 7 days
• $70 ARS (≈$1,87): 2 GB for 3 days
• $95 ARS (≈$2,54): 2 GB for 5 days
• $120 ARS (=$3,21): 2 GB for 7 days

MOVISTAR – The Largest Provider in Chile

Some of the most popular telecommunications companies in Chile are Entel, Virgin and VTR, but the largest one is Movistar. This company offers up to 4G/LTE high-speed connection depending on the area that you are traveling in. Movistar offers different options regarding prepaid plans and data plans. Here you will know some of the best options offered by Movistar. But first, let’s talk about the new Chip PrePlan, which is a SIM card that comes with a basic prepaid plan with the following benefits:

MOVISTAR – Chip PrePlan ($2000 CLP ≈$2,96)

• 1GB internet
• 4G/LTE speed connection
• 160 minutes calling
• Free WhatsApp and Facebook
• Valid for 7 days

This plan will auto-renew only if you have credit enough after 7 days from the prepaid plan activation. But, in case those benefits are not enough, here you have some other packages that may be useful for you:

PrePlan $3.000 CLP (≈$4,44)

• 2GB internet
• 4G/LTE speed connection
• 200 minutes calling
• Free WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
• Valid for 7 days

PrePlan $5.000 CLP (≈$7,40)

• 3GB internet
• 4G/LTE speed connection
• 300 minutes calling
• Free WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
• Valid for 15 days

PrePlan $7.000 CLP (≈$10,35)

• 4GB internet
• 4G/LTE speed connection
• 400 minutes calling
• Free WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
• Valid for 30 days

PrePlan $10.000 CLP (≈$14,79)

• 6GB internet
• 4G/LTE speed connection
• 600 minutes calling
• Free WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
• Valid for 30 days

To activate any of these plans you need to call *303# – Option 2 and then follow the instructions. Remember that your plan will be activated only if you have enough credit.

Movistar also offers long distance calls just by dialing 188 + 0 + country code + city code + mobile phone number. Now, take a look to the rated offered by Movistar!

You will definitely enjoy your trip to South America. You will be surrounded by plenty of cultures, colors and many other incredible things! This part of the continent is going to surprise you and you need to be ready for it. If you already know which specific country you will be visiting, please check some other SIM Card offers by SimOptions.

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