2026 · 9 brands checked · 3 networks
Best eSIM for Costa Rica
Picked by your route, not by hype. Starting with the question most guides skip: which of Costa Rica's three networks your eSIM actually lands on.
Do you need an eSIM in Costa Rica?
six honest cases
AT&T and Verizon day passes run about $12 a day. A ten-day trip costs more in roaming than a month of any plan on this page. Airalo 10GB at $34 ends that math.
Some T-Mobile plans include Costa Rica data at low speed, which is enough for WhatsApp and not enough for maps loading in a moving car. Test it on arrival, keep a 1GB backup plan for about $5 in the phone.
The road between Jacó, Uvita and the Osa is where Liberty thins out first. Know which network your plan names, then download offline maps before you leave the Central Valley.
Hotspot to a laptop from Santa Teresa or Nosara eats 2 to 3GB a day and lodge wifi collapses at sunset. Take unlimited with a published cap: GigSky Unlimited is the cheapest at 3.5GB a day ($26.49 a week); Saily and Airalo print 3GB a day, then 1 Mbps.
An all-inclusive with strong wifi, one guided tour a day and no rental car needs almost nothing. A $5.16 Yesim 1GB or GigSky's free 100MB trial covers the airport-to-hotel gap and the ride home.
Dial *#06# and look for an EID. No EID, or a carrier-locked handset, and an eSIM cannot help you. A Claro or Liberty eSIM will not reach a Kölbi-only valley either. Both problems have the same answer: a local prepaid chip.
Your trip
three taps, one answer
Answer three questions and we name the plan, with the reason written out. Already know what you want? Jump to the picks.
How long are you going for?
How will you use it? Pick everything that applies.
Costa Rica only?
The picks
in short
Airalo
Best for most trips: a named network and a printed cap $34.00 10GB / 30 days- Its Costa Rica page names Liberty as the primary network, so you can read a coverage map before paying
- Unlimited option with a printed 3GB/day cap, then 1 Mbps, not a vague fair-use paragraph
- The Hot Telecom+ version adds local calls and texts for $2.50 more on 10GB
Watch out: Middle of the pack on price. Yesim is $8.80 cheaper for the same 10GB.
Trustpilot 4.2/5 · 48,959 reviews
See Airalo's Costa Rica plansYesim
Cheapest at every size $25.20 10GB / 30 days- Undercuts every brand we link at 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20GB
- 5GB for $15.60 is the cheapest useful plan in this comparison
- Its page names Claro and Telefónica, the old Movistar network that Liberty now runs
Watch out: It lists Claro at 3G only and prints no Costa Rica fair-use figure for its unlimited day passes.
Trustpilot 4.3/5 · 2,996 reviews
See Yesim's Costa Rica plansGigSky
Best for a short first trip and for testing before you commit $21.99 5GB / 30 days- Free 100MB for 7 days, no card, so you can test coverage at your hotel before paying
- 5GB for $21.99 from a brand with a 4.3 Trustpilot record
- Cheapest unlimited we link: $26.49 for 7 days, $69.49 for 30, 3.5GB a day
Watch out: 10GB jumps to $39.99, the worst big-bundle price here. Buy small or buy elsewhere.
Trustpilot 4.3/5 · 8,403 reviews
See GigSky's Costa Rica plansSaily is the fourth option and the one with the best support record of the five we link (Trustpilot 4.7 from 32,870 reviews, checked 2026). It is also the only one of the five that does not say which Costa Rican network it uses, and it charges $36.99 for the 10GB that Airalo sells at $34.00. The full Saily review explains when that trade is still worth it.
Compare every Costa Rica plan
side by side
| Provider | Best for | Price anchor | Costa Rican network (as the brand names it) | Unlimited cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airalo | Most trips; named network, printed cap | $34.00 / 10GB | Liberty (named as primary); Claro on Hot Telecom+ | 3GB/day, then 1 Mbps |
| Yesim | Lowest price at every size | $25.20 / 10GB | Claro (3G) + Telefónica, now Liberty (LTE) | no Costa Rica cap published |
| GigSky | Short trips, free trial first | $21.99 / 5GB | Claro + Liberty | 3.5GB/day; cheapest unlimited |
| Saily | Best support record | $36.99 / 10GB | not disclosed (local partner networks) | 3GB/day, then 1 Mbps |
| Holafly | Uncapped phone data | $37.90 / 7 days | Claro + Liberty | no daily cap; hotspot 1GB/day |
| Sim Local | The one travel eSIM that names Kölbi | $31.25 / 10GB | Kölbi ICE | 5GB or 10GB/day, then 1 Mbps |
| HelloRoam | Cheap 3GB on Claro | $9.90 / 3GB | Claro 4G | unlimited sold by the day; cap not stated |
| Ubigi | Cheapest 7-day unlimited | $26 / 7 days unlimited | Liberty | fair use "may apply", no figure |
| Kölbi SIM Turista (local SIM) | Kölbi coverage with a +506 number | ₡12,095 (≈$24) / 30 days | Kölbi (ICE) | n/a, prepaid plan |
Prices in USD, checked 2026, before any promo code. Network column quotes each brand's own Costa Rica page. Holafly, Sim Local, HelloRoam, Ubigi and Kölbi are listed unlinked because we earn nothing from them; they are here because leaving them out would make the table a lie. We have not tested Sim Local, HelloRoam or Ubigi on the ground.
What is the cheapest eSIM for Costa Rica?
one row per size
| You need | Cheapest | Price | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1GB | Yesim | $5.16 / 30 days | Sim Local $6.25 / 3 days (unlinked) |
| 3GB | Yesim | $9.36 / 30 days | HelloRoam $9.90 / 30 days (unlinked) |
| 5GB | Yesim | $15.60 / 30 days | GigSky $21.99 / 30 days |
| 10GB | Yesim | $25.20 / 30 days | Sim Local $31.25 (unlinked), Airalo $34.00 |
| 20GB | Yesim | $37.80 / 30 days | Sim Local $39.25 (unlinked), Airalo $40.50 |
Yesim wins every row on price. We still default to Airalo because it prints its unlimited cap and names the network you land on; Yesim lists Claro at 3G only. If the price gap is what decides your trip, take it and read the full review first. Checked 2026.
Two ways to act on that table. Take the cheapest row, or pay $8.80 more on 10GB for the brand that names one network and prints its cap.
See Yesim plans See Airalo plans Work out your size firstWho each provider is actually for
plain answers
You want a named network and a printed unlimited cap, and you would rather pay $9 more than guess. Hot Telecom+ adds local calls and texts without a shop visit.
Full review →The budget is the constraint. Cheapest at every single size, Trustpilot 4.3, and it names Claro and Telefónica.
Full review →First trip, short trip, or you want to test the signal at the lodge on a free 100MB before spending anything.
Full review →Support quality matters more to you than the network question or the price. The 4.7 Trustpilot score is earned.
Full review →You genuinely will not count gigabytes and you accept a 1GB/day hotspot ceiling. We earn nothing from this one.
Full review →Which plan fits your trip?
days × GB a day, cheapest first
| Cheapest plans that cover it | Price | $/day | $/GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pick a trip length and daily use. | |||
Same prices as the tables on this page. "Unlimited" plans are counted only where their published daily high-speed cap covers your daily use.
Which network does my eSIM use in Costa Rica?
three networks, nine brands
Costa Rica has three national operators, and the network matters more here than almost anywhere else. Most brands now print it. We copied each one from the brand's own Costa Rica page: Claro and Liberty dominate, and only one travel eSIM we found names Kölbi.
| Brand | Network, in the brand's words | We link it? |
|---|---|---|
| Airalo | "Liberty" as primary network; Hot Telecom+ "operates on the Claro network" | Yes |
| Yesim | Claro (3G), Telefonica (3G, LTE) | Yes |
| Holafly | "Networks: Claro / Liberty" | No |
| HelloRoam | "Claro 4G" | No |
| Ubigi | "Network(s): Liberty" | No |
| Sim Local | "Kölbi ICE" | No |
| GigSky | Claro + Liberty in its plan details earlier in 2026; not re-read this month | Yes |
| Saily | "local partner networks", not disclosed; its terms reserve the right to select operators | Yes |
| Nomad | no network shown on the Costa Rica page we could load | No |
Kölbi (ICE)
Widest coverage · one travel eSIM names itState-owned, built out over decades of rural electrification, and the leader in Opensignal's April 2026 Coverage Experience ranking for Costa Rica. If a valley has one tower, it is usually this one. Sim Local is the only travel eSIM we found that names it; none of the five we link does.
Claro
Fastest averages · good main-road coverageLed average 4G download speeds in SUTEL's 2025 road-based measurements and has 5G in the larger towns. Holafly, Yesim and HelloRoam name it, and so do Airalo's Hot Telecom+ plans. Strong along the Interamericana and in the Central Valley, thinner once you turn off the pavement.
Liberty (ex-Movistar)
Strong in cities and resorts · patchy in the deep ruralSolid in San José, Alajuela, Tamarindo, Jacó and the Guanacaste resort strip. Airalo and Ubigi name it as their network, Holafly lists it, and Yesim lists it under its old owner, Telefónica. It is the one travelers most often report failing on the Pacific south and the Caribbean coast.
So the practical rule for Costa Rica: a Claro or Liberty eSIM is the right buy for the Central Valley, Guanacaste, Arenal, Manuel Antonio and the main highways. For the Osa Peninsula, Sarapiquí, Tortuguero and the far Caribbean south, carry a Kölbi prepaid chip as well, or look at Sim Local, the one travel eSIM that names Kölbi. We earn nothing from either and have not tested Sim Local on those roads.
Sources & freshness: Network lines copied from each brand's Costa Rica page on 2026-10-29: airalo.com/costa-rica-esim, yesim.app/country/costa-rica, esim.holafly.com/esim-costa-rica, helloroam.com/esim-costa-rica, cellulardata.ubigi.com (Costa Rica unlimited 7 days), simlocal.com (Costa Rica 10GB plan). Saily names no operator on its Costa Rica page, FAQ or terms (checked 2026); GigSky's and Nomad's pages load plans in the browser, so GigSky's line is from earlier in 2026. Opensignal Costa Rica Mobile Network Experience, April 2026. SUTEL 2025 road-based mobile network evaluation.
Is unlimited really unlimited in Costa Rica?
the caps in one table
| "Unlimited" plan | Real daily high-speed cap | After the cap |
|---|---|---|
| Airalo Unlimited (7 days, $36.50) | 3GB/day | "Lower speed rate of 1 Mbps after 3 GB usage per day." Published on the product page. |
| Sim Local Unlimited (7 days, $35.25 / $44.00) | 5GB or 10GB/day | Then 1 Mbps until the daily reset. Names Kölbi ICE as its network. Unlinked, we earn nothing on it. |
| Holafly Unlimited (7 days, $37.90) | none published | No daily figure anywhere. Hotspot is separately capped at 1GB/day, and the fair-use text allows the local operator to throttle for up to a day. |
| Yesim Unlimited (day passes, $6.00/day) | none published | Yesim says speed "may be limited in accordance with the network operator's Fair Usage Policy" and prints no Costa Rica figure. Assume there is one. |
| GigSky Unlimited (7 days, $26.49) | 3.5GB/day | Cheapest of the linked options at every length ($69.49 for 30 days). After the cap data slows (speed not published) but never stops; full speed resumes 24 hours from activation. |
| Saily Unlimited (7 days, $34.99) | 3GB/day | Then up to 1 Mbps until midnight local time. Note 3GB here, not Saily's usual 5GB. Hotspot allowed. |
Every figure above comes from the brand's own published terms, checked 2026, not from a test. If a plan is missing from this table it is because nobody would tell us the number. The full unlimited breakdown works out the price per real gigabyte.
GigSky Unlimited is the cheapest week of unlimited we link, at 3.5GB a day. Want both numbers printed? Saily and Airalo give 3GB a day, then 1 Mbps; Holafly and Yesim print nothing.
See GigSky Unlimited See Airalo Unlimited Compare the capsHow much data a Costa Rica trip actually uses
real numbers
| Trip style | 5 days | 10 days | 14 days | 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maps, WhatsApp, the odd booking | 1.5GB | 3GB | 4GB | 8GB |
| Plus photos, stories, some video | 4GB | 8GB | 11GB | 22GB |
| Plus laptop hotspot and calls | 9GB | 18GB | 25GB | 55GB |
Assumes wifi at your accommodation most nights, offline maps downloaded before you drive, and no video streaming over cellular. Costa Rica pushes the middle row higher than most destinations for one reason: you will re-load the map a lot on roads where the signal keeps dropping. The full calculator breaks it down per app.
Where a travel eSIM works and where it does not
place by place
Nobody can promise you a bar of signal at a specific lodge. What we can do is tell you which network each place leans on, so you know when a Claro or Liberty eSIM is enough and when you want Kölbi too.
| Where you are going | Network to prefer | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Central Valley and the classics | ||
| San José and Alajuela | Claro or Liberty | Everything works, 5G in parts of both. Any plan on this page is fine here. |
| La Fortuna / Arenal | Claro | Town is well covered. The signal thins on the road around the lake and inside the hanging-bridge parks. |
| Monteverde and Santa Elena | Claro, Kölbi outside town | The town has service. The cloud forest reserve and the road up from the Interamericana do not, on any network. |
| Pacific | ||
| Tamarindo and the Guanacaste resorts | Liberty | The one region where Liberty is genuinely the strongest option, which suits Airalo and Ubigi well. |
| Nosara and Santa Teresa | Claro, Kölbi on the back roads | Fine in the village centres, unreliable on the dirt roads between them. Remote workers report needing both. |
| Manuel Antonio and Quepos | Claro or Liberty | Dense enough to be well served. A travel eSIM is all you need here. |
| Uvita, Ojochal and the Osa | Kölbi | This is where Claro and Liberty eSIMs start failing. South of Uvita, budget for a Kölbi chip if you are self-driving. |
| Caribbean and the north | ||
| Puerto Viejo and Cahuita | Claro | Town centres are covered. The stretch toward Manzanillo drops out on everything but Kölbi. |
| Tortuguero | Kölbi | Boat access, thin coverage, and lodge wifi that is often satellite. Do not plan on working from here. |
| Sarapiquí and the northern lowlands | Kölbi | Kölbi built out here first and still holds it alone in places. A Claro or Liberty eSIM will show one bar or none. |
Compiled from the operators' published coverage maps (Kölbi's is at mapas.ice.go.cr), the Opensignal April 2026 report and traveler reports. We have not driven every road on this list and we are not going to pretend otherwise. How we test.
Can I buy a SIM at the airport?
SJO and LIR in 2026
If you want a local chip anyway, the closest reliable options are City Mall in Alajuela, about five minutes from SJO, where Kölbi, Claro and Liberty all have storefronts, and downtown Liberia, ten to fifteen minutes from LIR, where all three also have shops. Bring your passport and ask for the kölbi SIM Turista, ₡12,095 with 30 days of data, 100 national minutes and 30 SMS.
The alternative is the one this whole site is about: install a travel eSIM at home, land connected, and decide about a local chip later once you know whether your route needs it. The local SIM guide covers the shop route in detail.
Setting it up takes about four minutes
before you fly
- Check the phone. Dial *#06#. If an EID appears, the phone takes an eSIM. If it is carrier-locked, sort that out first, because no eSIM works on a locked handset.
- Buy and install on home wifi. Install the profile before you fly. Do not scan the QR code at the gate; the plan does not start counting until it connects in Costa Rica, so there is nothing to save by waiting.
- Land, then switch. Turn the eSIM line on for data, leave your home line on for calls with data roaming off. That one toggle is what stops the $12-a-day charge.
- If it will not connect, set network selection to manual and pick the network your brand names: Liberty for Airalo and Ubigi, Claro for HelloRoam, Claro or Liberty for the rest. On the Pacific south it may be neither, and that is the Kölbi gap, not a broken eSIM. Full setup and fixes.
Costa Rica eSIM questions
answered straight
What is the best eSIM for Costa Rica?
For most Costa Rica trips the best eSIM is Airalo: 10GB for $34.00 over 30 days on Liberty, the network its product page names, with a printed 3GB/day cap on unlimited. Cheapest is Yesim, 10GB for $25.20. Going rural? Of the travel eSIMs we checked, only Sim Local names Kölbi. Checked 2026.
Which network does my eSIM use in Costa Rica?
The one the brand names on its Costa Rica page. Checked 2026: Airalo and Ubigi name Liberty, HelloRoam names Claro, Holafly names Claro and Liberty, Yesim names Claro and Telefónica (now Liberty), and Sim Local names Kölbi ICE. GigSky listed Claro and Liberty earlier in 2026; Saily and Nomad showed no network.
Which eSIM uses the Kölbi network?
Sim Local is the only travel eSIM we found whose Costa Rica page names "Kölbi ICE", checked 2026. None of the five brands we link names Kölbi. We earn nothing from Sim Local and have not tested it. The other Kölbi route is the kölbi SIM Turista, ₡12,095 in a Kölbi shop.
Is unlimited really unlimited in Costa Rica?
Rarely. Saily and Airalo slow to 1 Mbps after 3GB a day, GigSky Unlimited caps full speed at 3.5GB a day, and Sim Local after 5GB or 10GB a day; Holafly prints no daily cap but limits hotspot to 1GB a day, and Yesim prints no Costa Rica figure at all. Checked 2026.
Local SIM or travel eSIM in Costa Rica?
A travel eSIM for most trips: you land connected, and 10GB costs $25.20 to $34.00. A kölbi SIM Turista (₡12,095, about $24, 30 days) is worth the shop visit if your route runs through the Osa, Sarapiquí or Tortuguero, where Kölbi is often the only signal.
What is the cheapest eSIM for Costa Rica?
Yesim, at every size: $5.16 for 1GB, $9.36 for 3GB, $15.60 for 5GB, $25.20 for 10GB and $37.80 for 20GB, all with 30-day validity, checked 2026. GigSky also gives away 100MB for seven days with no card, which is the cheapest way to test coverage before you commit.
Can I buy a SIM card at San José airport?
Not reliably. The Kölbi desks at SJO and LIR closed. A Claro counter in SJO baggage claim opens irregularly. The nearest dependable shops are City Mall Alajuela, five minutes from SJO, and downtown Liberia for LIR arrivals.
Do I need a Costa Rican phone number?
Usually not: WhatsApp is how Costa Rica communicates, including with tour operators and lodges, and most eSIMs are data-only. If you want local calls and texts, Airalo's Hot Telecom+ adds them ($36.50 for 10GB against $34.00 data-only), and the kölbi SIM Turista comes with a +506 number. The phone number page compares the options.
Will one eSIM cover Costa Rica and Panama?
A Costa Rica plan stops at the border. The fix is a Latin America regional plan, and here is the part that surprises people: Airalo's Latamlink is cheaper than its own Costa Rica plan below 10GB, at $22.00 for 5GB over 30 days against $26.50. Above 10GB the local plan wins again. We work through the crossover point here.
Does a Costa Rica eSIM support 5G and hotspot?
Mostly 4G: Airalo, Sim Local and HelloRoam list 4G, and Yesim lists 3G and LTE. On hotspot, Sim Local and HelloRoam say it is included, Holafly caps it at 1GB a day, and Yesim says it depends on the operator. Checked 2026.
Buy the one that names its network
Airalo names Liberty as its Costa Rica network, prints a 3GB/day cap on its unlimited plan, and sells 10GB for $34.00 over 30 days. It also pays us the least of the five. Both of those things are true.
See Airalo Costa Rica plansSources & freshness: Plan prices and network lines from each brand's own Costa Rica page, checked 2026, in USD, before promo codes. Coverage claims from Opensignal's Costa Rica Mobile Network Experience report (April 2026) and SUTEL's 2025 road-based measurements. Trustpilot scores from trustpilot.com, checked 2026. kölbi SIM Turista price and contents from kolbi.cr. Airport and shop details from operator store locators and traveler reports, 2026. Prices move; we re-check monthly and date-stamp every table.