Internet in Argentina for travellers: which eSIM to choose

Which plan suits you, by trip length

On the left, what's usually enough for maps, messaging, QR payments and social media. On the right, the unlimited GB plan for the same number of days.

Prices include VAT and match the Argentina plan page. Validity: the 1 GB plan, 7 days; 3 to 20 GB, 30 days.

If you're driving around the country or stringing together Buenos Aires, Mendoza and Patagonia, allow for more than you think: work it out in two minutes from what you do on your phone.

Weighing up an unlimited plan instead? Compare the prices, duration by duration, in Glowi vs Holafly in Argentina.

When unlimited pays off, and when it doesn't

A week of unlimited GB in Argentina costs €30.95. The 10 GB plan costs €24.95 and lasts 30 days.

• With normal use, a plan by the GB is usually enough. There's no daily cap: what you don't use today is there tomorrow, for the whole validity period.
• Unlimited pays off if you'll watch a lot of video, share data with another phone or work from your phone, and would rather not keep count.
• For a month, look at both numbers: 20 GB for €39.95 or unlimited GB for €114.95. The gap is big, and it's only worth it if you really will use a lot more.

What the unlimited plan in Argentina actually includes

It gives you 2 GB a day at full speed. Once that allowance runs out you stay connected at 512 Kbps until the next day, when it starts again.

512 Kbps is enough for messaging, QR payments and simple web pages; for video and smooth maps it falls short. It's written on the plan card, next to the price, and we explain it in full in the truth about "unlimited" plans.

Operators and coverage

Argentina has three mobile networks: Claro, Personal and Movistar. Our eSIM connects to Movistar and Claro, on 4G.

• Speed: in nPerf's 2026 barometer (April 2025 to March 2026), the average download speed was 67.4 Mbps on Personal and 31.6 Mbps on Claro, and Movistar had the best latency (Mercado, 16-04-2026).
• Coverage: according to the country's official tourism guide, Claro covers the most territory, Patagonia included, and Movistar works well in the cities and less well outside them (argentina.travel, 21-05-2025). It's an assessment, not a measurement.
• 5G: it exists, but mostly in the cities: at the end of Q3 2025 there were 1,460 5G antennas, 67% of them in the city and province of Buenos Aires, according to ENACOM data reported by DPL News (08-01-2026). Elsewhere, 4G is the norm.

On long routes, such as Ruta 40 or the stretches between towns in Patagonia, there are areas with no signal whatever the operator, even with a local SIM. Download offline maps before you set off.

Sources checked on 06-11-2026. Movistar is being bought by Telecom (Personal), a deal announced in February 2025; at the date of this guide we haven't found a final approval (iProfesional, 27-02-2026).

eSIM, Argentine SIM or roaming

There are three ways to get data in Argentina. Here's what each one involves.

• A local prepaid SIM. Lines have to be registered in someone's name: a non-resident foreigner is asked for their passport, under ENACOM Resolution 263/2023. At Ezeiza, Personal has a stand in the departures terminal that only takes cards; Claro has no airport stand and recommends buying in the city, according to argentina.travel. We haven't been able to check what's available at Aeroparque. With inflation, prices in pesos change fast: check them there.
• A travel eSIM like ours. You buy and install it at home, pay in euros and have data as soon as you land, without hunting for an open shop or registering the line.
• Your operator's roaming, which we cover just below.

Roaming in Argentina with a Spanish SIM

Argentina is outside the EU, so "roam like at home" doesn't apply: each operator charges its own rate. These are the rates of Spain's three big operators, according to their official websites.

Rates checked on 06-11-2026 on each operator's website. They can change and depend on your contract: confirm with yours before you travel. If you're not buying anything, turn off data roaming on your line to avoid surprises.

If you're travelling from another Latin American country, check on your operator's website whether Argentina is included in its roaming pack and with how many GB. Torn between the two? We explain it in eSIM vs roaming: how to decide.

Where your traffic exits

In Argentina, your traffic exits via Belgium.

That means some websites and apps will see you as if you were there: the language they greet you in or a search engine's local results may change, and your bank may ask for an extra confirmation. For maps, messaging, social media and video, nothing changes. We say so here and it's also on the plan page, before you buy.

The network is 4G, with whatever coverage each area has.

Patagonia with Chile, or Iguazú with Brazil

The Argentina plan covers Argentina. Many routes cross into Chile through Patagonia or into Brazil at Iguazú: the South America pack covers Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay with a single QR code, from €6.95.

With the pack, your traffic exits via the United Kingdom. If you're crossing into Brazil, we also have a guide to internet in Brazil.

Free Wi-Fi and QR payments

• Airports: Aeropuertos Argentina advertises free Wi-Fi at its airports, Ezeiza and Aeroparque included, on the "FREE-WIFI Aeropuertos Argentina" network (aeropuertosargentina.com). It's fine for messaging your accommodation when you arrive, not for calmly installing an eSIM.
• Buenos Aires: the city government's public BA WiFi network is free and has more than 1,000 hotspots in squares, parks, the subway (subte) and museums, with 30-minute sessions that renew (buenosaires.gob.ar).
• Payments: in Argentina people pay a lot by scanning QR codes with their phone, and since 2023 the Central Bank has allowed tourists to pay by QR with foreign wallets (Bloomberg Línea, 04-05-2023). For that you need data at the moment you pay, not the hotel Wi-Fi.

Sources checked on 06-11-2026.

How many GB is enough?

It mostly depends on whether you watch video on your phone and whether automatic photo backup is switched on, which is what eats through a plan without anyone noticing.

• Maps, messaging, payments and the odd search: a one-week trip uses very little.
• Normal use with social media and music: that's where 5 or 10 GB make sense.
• Video, video calls or sharing data every day: go for the big plan or unlimited.

The ranges, with figures, are in how much data a trip uses.

How to activate it: install before, activate on landing

1. Install it at home, on Wi-Fi. Installing uses no plan data and doesn't start the clock.
2. When you land, turn on data roaming for the eSIM line and keep your usual line for calls and texts.
3. The days start counting from your first connection to an Argentine network, not when you buy or install.

Steps for each phone are in the installation guide. And before you buy, check that your phone supports eSIM with the compatibility checker.

Frequently asked questions about internet in Argentina