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Short answer: for stays up to about a month, a 30-day regional eSIM is the simplest option. Past that, a local SIM usually wins on price — but keep a travel eSIM installed anyway, because the one thing that ends a remote working day is having only one way to get online.
The nomad's real requirement: two connections
Home internet failing is an inconvenience. Café Wi-Fi failing ten minutes before a client call is a problem. The working traveller's setup is therefore not "the cheapest data" — it is two independent connections, so one can fail.
A practical arrangement:
- Primary: the apartment or coworking Wi-Fi.
- Backup: a travel eSIM with enough data to run video calls for a day, tethered to the laptop.
That backup rarely gets used, and on the day it does it pays for a year of itself.
Choosing plans for long stays
- Up to 30 days in one country — a 30-day national plan. Simple, and usually the best price per gigabyte.
- Moving around a region — a regional plan covering 30+ countries means nothing to change when you move on. Compare Europe, Asia and South America options against buying national plans one at a time.
- Multiple continents in one stretch — a global plan costs more per gigabyte but removes the admin. Worth it if you are moving every week or two. See global plans
- Settling somewhere for months — get a local SIM once you have an address, and keep the eSIM as the backup line.
Data budgeting for working travellers
Video calls dominate everything else:
- Video calls — 500 MB to 1.5 GB per hour.
- Screen sharing — similar, often more.
- Cloud file sync — whatever your project weighs, repeatedly. Pause it on mobile data.
- Everything else — maps, messaging, email, browsing — is noise by comparison.
A working week on eSIM data alone is realistically 20 GB and up. A working week on Wi-Fi with the eSIM as backup can be 5 GB.
Set cloud sync and backups to Wi-Fi only before you leave. One repository sync over mobile data can eat a plan in an afternoon.
Check the tethering rules
Your laptop connects through the phone's hotspot, so tethering matters more to you than to a holidaymaker. Most plans allow it; some unlimited plans restrict it or exclude it. Confirm before you rely on it, and carry a power bank — hotspotting is hard on a phone battery.
Keeping your home number alive
A long stay abroad still needs your home number for banking, tax, government and work two-factor codes. Keep the home line in the phone with its data and roaming off, and run everything over the eSIM. The dual SIM setup in detail
If your home carrier deactivates numbers after long periods without use, check their rules before a year abroad. Losing the number attached to your bank account is a far worse problem than a data bill.
When a local SIM is finally the answer
- You are staying more than a couple of months in one country.
- You need a local number for deliveries, banking, ride-hailing verification or a rental contract.
- You use very large amounts of data and local prepaid rates are cheap, as in India, Indonesia or much of Latin America.
Even then, keep the travel eSIM profile installed. It is the backup that covers the day the local network has an outage or your local plan expires while you are travelling within the country.
Frequently asked questions
Can I work full time on an eSIM?
Yes, where mobile coverage is good. Video calls over 4G are usually more stable than a contended café Wi-Fi. Budget 20 GB or more per working week, or use an unlimited plan.
What is the best eSIM plan for a month abroad?
A 30-day plan for the country you are in, or a regional plan if you will cross borders. Both are typically cheaper per gigabyte than chaining weekly plans together.
Can I tether my laptop to a travel eSIM?
Usually yes. Check the plan's tethering terms, particularly on unlimited plans, and keep a power bank handy.
How do I keep my home number while living abroad?
Keep the home line in the phone, enabled for calls and SMS, with its mobile data and roaming switched off. Check your carrier's rules on long periods of inactivity.
Is a global eSIM plan worth it?
If you change country every week or two, yes — the admin saved outweighs the higher per-gigabyte price. If you stay put for a month at a time, national or regional plans are better value.