Data connectivity in Spain

Background Infos

  • UK and EU Mobile network providers have monthly pre-paid plans with different monthly fees for data amounts in each native country
  • Regardless of country, they all seem to have some roaming data allowance up to a limit. Once the limit is reached, they usually allow you to buy data, but this can be very expensive
  • Consider only pay-as-you-go (PAYG) SIM-only deals. Other deals are too restrictive
  • It is possible (and easy enough) to change network provider within a country and keep the same number, e.g. you could move from Giffgaff to O2 and keep the UK number.

Example Roaming Deals

PAYG = Pay as you go monthly deal

NetworkDetailsPrice after roaming data used up
Giffgaff – UKAll PAYG deals have data roaming in the EU costing no more than UK data up to 5GB/month.

£100/GB

See Giffgaff’s fair use rules.
O2 – UKAll PAYG deals have data roaming in the EU costing no more than UK data, up to 25GB/month.

£3.50/GB

O2 has a fair use maximum limit for roaming of 63 days, after that, data is charged at £4.50 / GB.
PepePhone – ES

Needs NIE for online signup		All PAYG deals have data roaming in the EU which has different data amounts depending on the monthly deal purchased. See this table.

e.g. you could get a monthly PAYG deal with 49 GB of data in Spain, which also gives 18.94 GB roaming data for €14.90/month.

You would get a Spain number, a new SIM card and could put that in your phone’s second SIM slot.

You would then select whichever SIM and therefore phone number you wanted.		Data is cut.
Vodafone – ES

Online sign up with passport		Similar to PepePhone, see the rates and roaming rates table here.

Example rate, 60Gig for €10 / Month, includes 7GB roaming data		€1.57 Euro / GB

My suggestions

  • For a multi-month stay in another EU country, get a PAYG SIM card in that country. This will give you some roaming data for other countries.
  • If you travel a lot within Europe or another part of the world without staying too long in one place, best options seem to be:
    • Choose the best value PAYG deal with the most roaming data, from whichever country is easiest for you to buy from.
      • You could consider changing from GiffGaff to O2. O2 has more UK data, and roaming data than GiffGaff, but doesn’t have cheap monthly basic deals. Giffgaff’s cheapest is £10/Month, O2’s is £18.99/Month.
      • Or, get a phone that support eSIMs and get an eSIM deal. Although, a new phone is expensive and eSIM deals aren’t cheap, especially short term. e.g. Holafly.

If it were me, I’d get a Spainish PAYG monthly SIM (probably Vodafone) for the time in Spain and then keep it going for the rest of Europe travel using roaming, but keep under the limit.

How to get a SIM in Spain

Try to buy a PepePhone SIM and you’ll see this in the sign-up flow:

You’re being to be asked for a NIE, or DNI, Spanish ID numbers. Read about those here.

Vodafone allows sign up with your passport.

So… it is possible to buy a SIM in Spain as an EU citizen. It definitely works with Vodafone online.

What does ChatGPT say?

I asked Microsoft copilot (you have a Microsoft account)

is it possible to get a prepaid SIM in Spain as a UK citizen, i.e. do I need a NIE or DNI, or can I sign up with a passport?

and it answered:

Yes, as a UK citizen, you can get a prepaid SIM card in Spain without needing a NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero) or DNI (Documento Nacional de Identidad). You can sign up for a prepaid SIM card using your passport [1]

Most mobile phone providers in Spain, such as Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, and Yoigo, offer prepaid SIM cards that you can easily purchase at airports, phone stores, or even online. Just make sure to bring your passport for identification when you go to buy the SIM card. [2]

[1] https://www.thinkspain.com/information/living-in-spain/how-to-get-a-mobile-phone-and-sim-card-in-spain
[2] https://www.traveltomtom.net/destinations/europe/spain/best-spain-sim-card-for-tourists

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