How to Buy a SIM Card in Spain as a Tourist: Prepaid Prices, ID Rules and eSIM Options

No SIM tray on your iPhone, or no time for a phone shop? A HelloRoam eSIM card for Spain installs at home and counts its plan days from its first connection in Spain, so you can open maps or book a ride from the arrivals hall.

Orange, Vodafone, Movistar and Digi all sell prepaid plans in Spain

Every plan here is prepaid, with no contract, and comes with a Spanish phone number. We checked each price in this guide on the seller's own page on November 11, 2026, such as Orange's Holiday Mini page.

Get your Spain eSIM before you flyInstall it at home, then turn on data roaming for it when you land. From $2.80.See Spain plans

Orange's Holiday plans are the only ones in the table with unlimited data in Spain. Holiday Mini runs at full 5G speed for the first 60 GB, and Holiday Maxi for the first 100 GB. After that, Orange slows the data to 2 Mbps. The three €10 plans cost less than Holiday Mini even on a short trip, and each still gives you 60 GB or more for 28 days.

Digi has the lowest monthly prices here, at €3 for 5 GB and €5 for 25 GB. The catch is that Digi's prepaid page says a new customer must first get a Digi SIM at a point of sale.

Spanish law requires ID for every prepaid SIM

Spain's data retention law, Ley 25/2007, makes every carrier that sells prepaid cards keep a register of buyers. It records your name, surnames and nationality, plus the number and type of the ID document you show.

For a US visitor, that document is your passport. Vodafone's DataOnly terms ask for a DNI or passport when you register. Movistar's prepaid FAQ mentions only the DNI or NIE, so check in the shop that it will take your passport.

Ordering online has its own catch. Orange's checkout asks for a delivery address and lists only Spanish provinces, so you need an address in Spain. Vodafone ships its free SIM in 24 to 48 hours, or 48 to 72 hours to the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla.

Coming back next year? An Orange prepaid card lapses 3 months after your last top-up or use. Movistar's balance expires 6 months after your last top-up, and a line that still gets no top-up after that is cancelled and loses its number.

Vodafone's DataOnly eSIM is a local plan you buy online

If you only need data, Vodafone's DataOnly eSIM is built for trips to Spain. You buy it online before or during the trip and get the QR code by email. The plan starts when your phone first connects to Vodafone in Spain, not on the day you buy it.

Each Spain-only trip length comes in two sizes:

Plans that also work elsewhere in the EU cost €30 for 50 GB over 10 days or €39 for 90 GB over 15 days. Vodafone's terms say a plan can't connect to networks outside the countries it lists.

The eSIM has no phone number, so calls and messages go through apps such as WhatsApp or FaceTime. You can share its data through your phone's hotspot. When the data runs out, service stops until you buy a new plan. Vodafone refunds an eSIM only if its QR code was never scanned, and an eSIM not activated within 30 days of purchase expires.

Vodafone also notes that bank codes keep reaching your usual number if your home SIM stays active for calls and texts. If your Verizon line has TravelPass, though, each day you make or receive a call, send a text or use data in Spain costs $12, plus taxes and fees.

Day trips to Andorra or Morocco fall outside a Spanish SIM's roaming

A Spanish prepaid plan keeps working in the rest of the EU, but with less data than at home, and each carrier draws its own map. Here is what the plans above include outside Spain:

Orange's Holiday roaming leaves out the UK too. Orange's Everywhere add-on fills the gaps at €5 a day for 1 GB in the UK, and €10 a day for 1 GB in a zone that includes Andorra, Morocco and Switzerland.

So a Spanish SIM suits a trip that stays in Spain or crosses into Portugal or France. For a day in Andorra or Morocco, check your carrier's add-on prices or plan around Wi-Fi.

The right choice depends on how you'll use your phone in Spain

Your phone may decide for you. Apple's US tech specs say iPhone 14, 15 and 16 models and the iPhone 17 activate with an eSIM and don't support a physical SIM, so a plastic Spanish SIM won't work in them.

Any SIM or eSIM from another provider also needs an unlocked phone. On an iPhone, Apple's unlock check is Settings > General > About: "No SIM restrictions" next to Carrier Lock means it's unlocked. Only your carrier can unlock it.

For the wider trade-offs, including the downsides of an eSIM, see our eSIM vs SIM card comparison. In Spain, the choice comes down to how you'll use your phone:

• You want a Spanish number for local calls: an Orange Holiday plan includes 100 minutes, so bring your passport to an Orange shop.
• You only need data for a week or two in Spain: Vodafone's DataOnly eSIM or a travel eSIM, set up online with no shop visit. You can buy an eSIM online for Spain or your next stop before you leave home.
• Your trip goes on to the UK or Switzerland: our unlimited data eSIM for Europe covers both, plus Portugal, France, Italy and Gibraltar, on one plan priced by the day. Fair-use terms apply.
• You're in Spain for a day or two and want your own US number: AT&T's International Day Pass and Verizon's TravelPass both cost $12 a day in Spain, with no new SIM (Verizon adds taxes and fees).

A pass gets expensive on a longer stay. Seven days of use on one AT&T line cost $84. The pass fees stop at $120, though: AT&T charges one line for no more than 10 days in each monthly bill cycle. Vodafone's smaller 7-day DataOnly plan costs €7 for 7 GB of data, with no calls or texts.

HelloRoam connects you to Orange and Movistar in Spain

Our Spain eSIM is data-only: no Spanish number, no calls and no texts, so you call and message over apps such as WhatsApp or FaceTime. As of November 11, 2026, all eight of our Spain plans connect to Orange and Movistar on 5G, you can share its data through your phone's hotspot, and its plan days start at its first connection in Spain. It needs a carrier-unlocked phone that supports eSIM.

You install it at home, with no shop visit and no Spanish delivery address. If you want a Spanish number for local calls, though, an Orange Holiday plan is the better buy.

We sell travel eSIMs, so this guide names the cases where a Spanish carrier plan fits better. Read our policy on conflicts of interest to see how we keep that fair. HelloRoam support answers 24/7 at help@helloroam.com, before you fly and during the trip.