Best eSIM for Monaco, ranked.

Three Monaco data plans worth your money.

How the seven Monaco eSIMs compare.

Monaco has a single mobile network, Monaco Telecom, so every eSIM here connects to the same 4G and 5G towers across the whole 2 km2. That makes price, plan length, and how much data you need the things that actually separate them. The table sorts by entry price and the range each provider offers.

Prices are from each provider’s public Monaco plans, shown in USD. eSIMply prices are the current live prices from esimply.co.

Skip the Monaco SIM hunt.

Buying a physical SIM in Monaco means finding a Monaco Telecom store in a country barely 2 km2 across, showing your passport, and paying tourist rates for a local prepaid line. For a short visit, that is a lot of effort for a SIM you will use for a few days. An eSIM skips all of it: you buy online, scan a QR code, and land connected.

The bigger reason to sort data before you arrive is roaming. Monaco is not in the EU roam-like-at-home zone, so an EU or UK phone plan can rack up international charges the moment your phone latches onto the local network. A Monaco eSIM runs on its own data plan instead, so there is no surprise bill.

Entry prices are low, from $1.00 for 1GB on Jetpac or $2.95 for a 1GB week on eSIMply, so an eSIM usually costs less than a single day of accidental roaming.

Every Monaco eSIM, ranked.

Before you go to Monaco.

Monaco is small and easy to walk, but a few things trip up first-time visitors, and most have nothing to do with your data plan. The country sits inside France yet plays by its own rules on roaming and money. Sort these before you arrive.

One network covers the whole country.

Monaco has a single mobile operator, Monaco Telecom, covering all 2 km2 on 4G and 5G. It was the world’s first country with 100% 5G coverage, back in 2019. Because there is only one network, every eSIM here connects to the same towers, so choose on price and plan length, not carrier.

A French SIM works, most other European ones do not.

Under a long-standing France and Monaco agreement, French carriers such as Orange, SFR, Bouygues and Free usually treat Monaco as a domestic zone, so a French SIM often works at home rates. For everyone else, EU roam-like-at-home does not extend to Monaco, so a German, Spanish or UK SIM is billed as international.

If you are not on a French plan, a Monaco eSIM is the predictable option, and it costs less than a single accidental roaming session.

Watch out for vague Europe-wide eSIMs.

Many wide-area Europe eSIMs piggyback on French networks, and French coverage stops at the border, so those plans can be ambiguous about whether Monaco is genuinely included. The safer choice is a plan that names Monaco outright.

Every provider in this guide sells a dedicated Monaco plan rather than folding it into a regional bundle, so you know the principality is covered.

Small country, surprisingly steep.

Monaco covers roughly 2 km2, but it climbs sharply from the port up to the hillside districts, so walking between neighbourhoods is more tiring than the map suggests. A network of free public lifts and escalators connects the levels, and the CAM bus network fills the gaps.

You will lean on maps and the Monapass app more than distance alone would imply, so keep an offline map handy.

You need less data than you think, except on event weekends.

Because the territory is tiny and coverage is uniform, a 1GB to 3GB plan is usually plenty for a multi-day visit. The exception is the big event weekends, when the Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Yacht Show pack tens of thousands of people into the same few streets and the network works hardest.

If your trip lands on one of those, size up a tier or pick an unlimited window.

Getting around and paying for things.

Getting around Monaco runs on the CAM bus network and the Monapass app, not ride-hailing. CAM operates six regular lines plus express and night services covering everywhere from Fontvieille to Larvotto, with buses roughly every 10 to 15 minutes at peak, per Monaco Pratique.

A single ticket is 1.50 EUR by contactless card or the Monapass app, or 2 EUR bought on board, and it covers transfers within 30 minutes. Monapass is the one app that ties it together: bus tickets, MonaBike electric-bike hire, parking and even museum and AS Monaco tickets all sit inside it. The official Monaco Bus app shows real-time arrivals, which matters when a line reroutes during a major event.

For trips beyond the border, the Monaco-Monte-Carlo SNCF station reaches Nice in about 20 minutes and continues to Menton and Ventimiglia in Italy. The scenic Lignes d’Azur route 100 also runs the coast between Nice and Menton via Monaco. There is no airport in Monaco itself; a helicopter links the heliport to Nice airport in around seven minutes, or the train and coast road do it more cheaply.

Monaco uses the euro, and cards do most of the work. Visa and Mastercard are accepted in virtually every shop, restaurant and hotel, and American Express is well handled in upscale venues, so contactless payments and Apple or Google Pay cover the vast majority of a trip.

ATMs sit near the banks, the train station, the casino and the main shopping streets, and they take foreign cards with a PIN. Keep a little cash for small shops, markets and tips. Monaco has no tourist-facing currency exchange bureaux, so if you are coming from outside the eurozone it is easier to withdraw euros from an ATM than to hunt for a counter.

Watch for dynamic currency conversion at the point of sale: if a card machine offers to bill you in your home currency instead of euros, decline it and pay in euros to avoid a poor built-in exchange rate. Service is often already included on restaurant bills, so tipping is a modest round-up rather than a percentage.

Apps to install before you leave.

These are the apps travellers and official Monaco guides consistently point to for getting around, paying and staying connected in the principality.

Where you’ll actually use your eSIM in Monaco.

Six spots where your Monaco eSIM earns its keep across the principality’s districts:

Matching the right Monaco plan to your trip.

Choosing a Monaco eSIM is simpler than most countries, because there is only one network and coverage is uniform across the whole 2 km2. That leaves three questions: how long you are staying, how much data you will use, and whether you want a capped plan or an unlimited window. You can read a fuller guide to choosing an eSIM plan if you want the general version.

For most visitors, a small plan is plenty. Monaco is walkable, Wi-Fi is common in hotels and cafes, and you are mostly using maps and messaging.

How much data will you actually use?

A day or two of maps, messaging and the odd photo upload rarely tops 1GB. For a long weekend, 2GB to 3GB is comfortable, which is eSIMply’s 2GB / 15 days at $4.95 or 3GB / 30 days at $5.95. Heavy streaming or hotspotting a laptop is where the 10GB, 20GB or an unlimited window earns its place.

Do you care which network you are on?

In most countries this matters. In Monaco it does not, because Monaco Telecom is the only operator, so every plan here runs on the same 4G and 5G towers. Pick on price and plan length instead of carrier.

How long is your stay?

For a single day, Jetpac’s $1.00 1GB / 4-day plan or eSIMply’s 3-day unlimited at $9.95 fit. For a week, eSIMply’s 1GB / 7 days at $2.95 or a mid-size capped plan works. For two weeks or a month, the 30-day capped plans or an unlimited window suit better, and Roamless’s 30-day-only range is built for exactly that.

Is a Monaco plan better than a Europe-wide one?

If Monaco is your only stop, a Monaco plan is the safe choice, because some Europe-wide eSIMs are vague about whether the principality is covered or piggyback French networks that stop at the border. If you are touring the wider Riviera through Nice, Menton and into Italy, a France or Europe regional plan that explicitly lists Monaco can be better value. Check the coverage list before you buy.

Monaco eSIM questions, answered.

A few questions come up again and again before a Monaco trip, mostly about roaming, coverage and how much data to buy. Here are the ones travellers ask most.

The short version: buy before you fly, and you skip the roaming trap entirely.