There are companies (won’t endorse any in particular) that will let you buy data eSIMs for virtually any country. They can be downloaded before you leave or using airport WiFi, and usually activate automatically when you arrive.
It’s very expensive though, compared to a local SIM. It’s not really a replacement for local SIMs, it’s more like a good international roaming plan from your home country, more convenience at a higher cost.
I’ve always assumed this, too. I am currently in Andorra and the biggest prepaid plan from Andorra Telecom (the only mobile operator) is 19€ for 3gb of data (and 60 minutes of talk, which I don’t need). It was simple to get using their website and an eSIM.
Just checked Airalo and they have 3gb for $10.50 usd! That’s like 9.50€ or something and Airalo always seems to have a 15% off coupon (maybe first order only?). They also have larger plans. I am going to switch over as soon as I run out of data on my Andorra Telecom plan.
The $5 plan only gets you 1GB of data. I usually get through much more than that while travelling.
Last time I was in the UK ended up walking into a Vodafone shop and got a physical SIM and 30 day 20GB pay as you go plan for £10. That would cost $74 on Airalo.
I'm looking forward to eSIM being more widely supported as its definitely more convenient. In the last year most US carriers have started offering it on their PAYG plans.
If you are a tourist for a few days then I understand completely not wanting to waste time looking for a local SIM.
On the other hand, if you are a regular visitor to a country, or you are meeting a local who can hook you up, or you are staying for a while, then it may be worth getting a local SIM. Some countries make it easy, others make it difficult. In UK for example it’s very easy to get a SIM and the local prices are about half of Airalo (which doesn’t seem to offer an unlimited data plan).
Its all relative — I paid $10 for a month in Germany as a resident (comes with full EU roaming). Prices in other EU countries are even cheaper. It took 1 minute to plug it in.
Also, travelers from Western countries might not really be ecstatic about paying for paying $$ for something that comes with zero upside to physical SIM.
People pay more for digital media than physical media in other contexts for the convenience. I'm not going to buy a DVD on amazon to save a few dollars.
It's subjective, I'm sure there's still people buying DVDs, but you can't say that there's "zero upside"
