Jio, Airtel & Vi roaming in the Philippines vs a travel eSIM

Get an eSIM for the Philippines — from ≈ ₹285arrow_forward

Short answer: which Indian packs cover the Philippines

Which Indian SIM works in the Philippines? Jio, Airtel and Vi SIMs all do once international roaming is on. For a week, Airtel’s ₹1,298 prepaid pack (6 GB, 10 days) comes to about ₹216 per GB; for two weeks, Jio’s ₹1,551 pack (8 GB, 14 days) to about ₹194. Prices as listed on 13 Oct 2026.

A pack keeps calls on your Indian number. A Philippines eSIM from India carries data only, with no Philippine number; for a local number you need a local SIM. Install the eSIM in India; it connects when you land abroad. India’s Ministry of Tourism counts 82,172 departures to the Philippines in 2025.

We sell travel eSIMs, so we have an interest here. The table still shows when your operator pack is the better choice.

Jio international roaming plans for the Philippines, and the data-only pack it lacks

Jio international roaming plans for Philippines come from three families, all with minutes: the 100-country packs, the World Pack family and the 75-country packs. The data-only packs leave the Philippines out, and there is no Jio Philippines pack as such. The Global Pack lists it, but that balance is spent at standard roaming rates, with no GB allowance. Prepaid and postpaid customers get the same packs.

eSIM Go is not affiliated with Jio, Airtel, Vi or BSNL. Pack details are taken from their own pages on the date shown.

Source: Jio.

On pack validity, Jio states: “Your plan validity begins only with your first usage—call, text, or data.”

Airtel and Vi packs for the Philippines (table)

The Airtel IR pack Philippines travellers buy is Airtel’s one set for every covered country, priced in its T&C dated 24 Sep 2026. Vi roaming Philippines rows come from the non-UL zone, where Ultra data is capped, and Budget Set 1. The 7 d and 14 d columns mark which rows last that trip.

Source: Airtel · Vi.

Vi prints data as FREE only in its UL zone, which leaves the Philippines out, so Ultra gives 2 to 5 GB here. Vi postpaid lists it in Set 2: ₹3,999 for 10 days gives 14 GB, ₹4,999 for 14 days 21 GB; we could not confirm that this country table is current. Vi’s IR packs are “not applicable for customers in J&K, Assam and North East”, in Vi’s words.

Airtel’s FAQ page still shows older prices; the T&C list ₹998 and ₹1,298. The ₹2,999 postpaid pack is not sold in the Maharashtra circle; ₹3,999 is sold in both. BSNL lists the Philippines only as a postpaid partner network, at pay-as-you-go rates, and a partner network is not a pack.

Island hopping: Manila, Cebu, Palawan and Boracay on one plan

Our Philippines plans run on Smart 5G. Their coverage note names the main islands, Cebu, Bohol, Palawan and Boracay among them; for a smaller island, ask us first. Six plans carry fixed data and six are unlimited, slowing to 1 Mbps after 3 GB a day.

One eSIM covers the island chain from Manila to El Nido, so size by days. At 0.8 GB a day, 7 days take about 5.6 GB (our calculation): past a 5 GB row, so take 10 GB or the 7-day unlimited plan (1 Mbps after 3 GB a day). Fourteen days take about 11.2 GB, inside the 20 GB row.

Our Asia plan lists the Philippines too, with fixed-data rows only. On 12 Oct 2026 its 5, 10 and 20 GB rows for 30 days cost less than the Philippines plan’s (10 GB: ≈ ₹1,333 (13 Oct rate) against ≈ ₹1,524 (13 Oct rate)), and its 1 GB row more. Keep an Asia line switched off until you land abroad; on Android, enter its APN by hand.

Cost per GB for a 7-day and a 14-day Philippines trip

The test: each operator’s shortest pack that lasts the whole trip, ranked by price per GB (our division of price by data), with Vi’s FREE-data rows left out; Vi prepaid has none here.

A week: Airtel’s ₹1,298 pack leads at about ₹216 per GB (₹185 a day), then Jio’s ₹951 at about ₹238. Vi’s shortest fit, the 7-day Ultra, is about ₹1,748; its 10-day Budget ₹995 works out at about ₹796.

Two weeks: Jio’s ₹1,551 pack leads at about ₹194 per GB (₹111 a day). Airtel has no 14-day prepaid pack, so its fit is ₹2,998 for 30 days, about ₹300. Vi’s is Ultra ₹5,195 at about ₹1,039; Budget ₹1,495 for 15 days comes to about ₹748.

Our side, from the catalogue on 12 Oct 2026: 1 GB over 7 days costs ≈ ₹285 (13 Oct rate). Nearest to Airtel’s 6 GB is 5 GB over 30 days at ≈ ₹952 (13 Oct rate), about ₹191 (US$2.00) per GB, charged US$9.99 by card. Nearest to Jio’s 8 GB is 10 GB at about ₹152 (US$1.60) per GB. The 20 GB plan costs ≈ ₹2,286 (13 Oct rate), the 7-day unlimited plan (1 Mbps after 3 GB a day) ≈ ₹2,190 (13 Oct rate). Packs include minutes on your Indian number; our plans do not. 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.

Plan days start at the first connection to a Philippine network. See the Philippines eSIM page, the Philippines SIM card guide for a local SIM after landing, the Asia eSIM and Indonesia roaming.

Bank OTPs reach your Indian number as SMS, which a data-only eSIM cannot take: keep the Indian SIM in as the second line, data off. No page can promise that every OTP arrives; the guide to keep Indian number for OTP shows the settings.

Full refund within 30 days of purchase, as long as the eSIM has not connected to any network. If the eSIM doesn’t work and it isn’t your phone’s fault, we refund the payment whether or not it was installed.

How we checked these prices

Each row carries its checked on date, the day we read the operator’s own document: for Jio international roaming plans for Philippines, the plan list and four country lists; Airtel’s T&C PDF dated 24 Sep 2026; Vi’s prepaid and postpaid T&C PDFs. For international roaming Philippines coverage, Vi’s prepaid zone lists are an image we copied by hand, so confirm the islands in the Vi app. Operators side by side: Jio vs Airtel vs Vi.

Updated on 14 Oct 2026: first version. Written and reviewed by Nadezhda Semenova; see the editorial policy. Operator pages: Jio, Vi; all countries: international roaming.

FAQ

Get an eSIM for the Philippines, from ≈ ₹285 Pay by card in US$. Your bank converts the US$ charge at its own rate and may add a foreign-transaction fee. Install the profile at home on Wi-Fi before you fly. The QR code arrives by e-mail after payment. See plans