Indian roaming packs vs a travel eSIM: Jio, Airtel, Vi and BSNL
Buy your operator’s international roaming pack (IR pack) if you must make or take calls on your Indian number. Buy a travel eSIM if you mostly need data. Airtel’s 5- and 10-day prepaid packs cost about ₹250 and ₹216 in roaming charges per GB, with minutes included (our division of price by data, checked 12 Oct 2026).
Most of our plans carry data only, with no calls and no SMS, and none of them carries your Indian number. We sell travel eSIMs, so we have an interest here. The table still shows when your operator pack is the better choice. eSIM Go is not affiliated with Jio, Airtel, Vi or BSNL. Pack details are taken from their own pages on the date shown.
What an international roaming pack includes
An international roaming pack is a bundle for your Indian number abroad: a data allowance, usually outgoing minutes and SMS, and a pack validity of 1 to 365 days. Jio’s data packs carry no calls. Without a pack, Airtel prepaid bars mobile data and Vi’s RoamSafe keeps it off. Glossary: IR pack.
Prepaid vs postpaid IR: Jio sells the same packs to both, while Airtel and Vi price postpaid packs separately. Some postpaid and annual plans now bundle a few days of roaming — check your plan in the Airtel or Vi app before you travel.
Jio, Airtel and Vi at a glance
There is no single best international roaming plan in India: Jio vs Airtel vs Vi roaming differs in how countries are grouped. Airtel sells one set of packs for every country it covers. Jio and Vi price by zone. The same pack can give a different allowance in your destination, or none. Check your country first (12 Oct 2026).
| Operator | How countries are grouped | Pack prices |
|---|---|---|
| Jio | Three zone packs (100, 132 and 75 countries), country packs, data packs without calls | ₹589 to ₹5,999 (voice and data) |
| Airtel | One set of packs for every covered country; Airtel advertises 189 countries | ₹698 to ₹4,999 (prepaid, minutes and data) |
| Vi | Prepaid: a 40-country zone where Ultra packs list data as “FREE”, and a 101-country zone with fixed allowances | ₹495 to ₹6,995 (prepaid, minutes or data) |
Source: the operator document in each row, checked 12 Oct 2026; prices in ₹ as listed. Sources: Jio plan list · Airtel T&C, 24 Sep 2026 · Vi prepaid T&C.
Jio has gaps that Airtel and Vi prepaid do not share. Maldives and Bhutan are on none of Jio’s lists for packs with data. Only its pay-as-you-go Global Pack balance covers them. Georgia is not on the Global Pack list either. Airtel’s list and Vi’s 101-country prepaid zone include all three. All our destinations: countries page.
By destination: Thailand, Nepal, UAE
Airtel’s prepaid packs are the same for Thailand, Nepal and the UAE: ₹998 for 4 GB over 5 days (about ₹250 per GB) or ₹1,298 for 6 GB over 10 days (about ₹216 per GB), per its T&C dated 24 Sep 2026. Jio’s options change by country. Per-GB figures are our division of price by data.
In Thailand all three operators sell packs that cover the country. Our Thailand data eSIM has no minutes, so a pack wins when you need calls.
In Nepal Jio sells two pack families with data: its World Pack, from ₹1,499 for 2 GB over 14 days, and data packs without calls, from ₹599 for 1 GB over 7 days. Our 1 GB, 7-day Nepal eSIM costs ≈ ₹483 (9 Oct rate), charged US$4.99 by card. Your card is charged in US dollars. Your bank converts the amount at its own rate and may add a foreign-transaction (forex markup) fee. How card payments work.
For the UAE, Jio also sells a Gulf pack from ₹898 for 1 GB over 7 days. Jio’s description of this pack says UAE only, while another note on the same page lists six Gulf countries — confirm in the MyJio app before you rely on it outside the UAE.
The same comparison, pack by pack, covers Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Europe and the USA.
BSNL: what is published
BSNL’s roaming site lists no data packs. With a BSNL IR plan, BSNL roaming charges run at standard rates. BSNL international roaming activation on prepaid needs the STV 1967 recharge (“Activation of prepaid International roaming for 365 days”) and a special BSNL international roaming SIM from a Customer Care Centre. Partner networks: 101 countries prepaid, 174 postpaid.
Special tariffs appear for seven countries, but only the Sri Lanka page shows prices: ₹659 for 20 minutes over 1 day, or ₹3,495 for 100 minutes over 7 days, with no data allowance listed. For data in Sri Lanka, a Sri Lanka eSIM is the alternative.
BSNL’s notices say its prepaid service on a single IMSI in the USA (AT&T) launched on 19 Feb 2026. Its services in Australia and Sweden “are impacted by the 2G/3G sunset”. Source: ir.bsnl.co.in.
In-flight packs: what Jio and Airtel sell, and why an eSIM waits for landing
For in-flight roaming, Jio sells 1-day packs at ₹195, ₹295 and ₹595 for 250 MB, 500 MB and 1 GB. Airtel sells the same sizes for 24 hours at ₹196 prepaid (₹195 postpaid), ₹295 and ₹595, on partner airlines only. A travel eSIM does not work in the air: switch it on after landing.
Each Jio in-flight pack has 100 outgoing minutes and 100 SMS. Incoming calls are not allowed, and Jio says availability “will differ from airline to airline”. Several Jio voice-and-data packs include a free 1-day in-flight pass. Details: Jio and Airtel.
With the eSIM you pay about ₹372 less, before any forex fee your bank adds.
See eSIM plans for ThailandOperator prices checked on Jio, 12 Oct 2026: jio.com: International Roaming plans, Jio: 100-country list (PDF), Jio: 132-country list (PDF), Jio: 75-country list (PDF), Jio: data-pack country list (PDF); Airtel, 12 Oct 2026: Airtel IR T&C (PDF), airtel.in/ir-packs; Vi, 12 Oct 2026: Vi prepaid IR T&C (PDF), Vi postpaid IR T&C (PDF), myvi.in: international roaming packs; BSNL, 12 Oct 2026: ir.bsnl.co.in, BSNL prepaid partner networks. If the trip is longer than the pack, we add identical packs. Operator packs usually include calls and SMS on your Indian number; the eSIM is data only. The eSIM is paid by card in US dollars.
FAQ
Is a travel eSIM cheaper than an Airtel, Jio or Vi IR pack?
It depends on the trip, so compare dated prices. For Nepal, Jio’s 1 GB data pack costs ₹599 for 7 days (as listed on 12 Oct 2026), and our 1 GB, 7-day Nepal eSIM costs ≈ ₹483 (9 Oct rate). Neither includes calls; for calls on your Indian number, you need a pack with minutes.
Can I still get OTPs on my Indian number with an eSIM for data?
Keep the Indian SIM in the phone as a second line. Turn its mobile data and data roaming off, and use the eSIM for data. Whether SMS reaches a roaming line depends on your operator and plan. No page can promise that every OTP abroad will arrive.
Should data roaming be on or off with a travel eSIM?
Turn data roaming on for the eSIM line and off for your Indian SIM. Then the Indian line uses no roaming data. Install the eSIM in India; it connects when you land abroad.
Updated on 12 Oct 2026 — what changed: first edition.
Sources checked: Jio IR plan list: jio.com · Jio country lists (PDF): 100, 132, 75, data packs, Global Pack · Airtel IR T&C dated 24 Sep 2026: T&C PDF; countries: IR page · Vi prepaid IR T&C: T&C PDF; RoamSafe: myvi.in · BSNL: ir.bsnl.co.in, prepaid partners, postpaid partners, Sri Lanka tariffs. Last checked 12 Oct 2026.
Not sure how much data to take? Work it out from your trip length and how you use your phone.