UK eSIM for Canadians: Best eSIM for London Travel (2026)
UK eSIM for Canadians: avoid $16 to $18 a day in roaming. Best eSIM for London and beyond, EE vs Three coverage, Tube signal, data needs and setup.
ArriGo team 10 min read Updated
The best UK eSIM for Canadians is a prepaid, data-only plan that runs on EE, the UK’s top-rated network, with a second network such as Three as a backup. It costs far less than the $16 to $18 a day that Bell, Rogers and Telus charge for roaming in the UK, and you can install it at home before you fly to London.
A London trip often grows into something bigger: a few days in Edinburgh, a drive through the Cotswolds or a train to the continent. This guide covers what roaming in the UK actually costs, how the British networks compare, what to expect on the Tube, how much data a London trip needs, and how to set up an eSIM for London in about five minutes.
Key takeaways
- Canadian carriers bill the UK as an international destination: $16 a day with Bell and $18 with Rogers or Telus, per phone.
- EE won most categories in Opensignal’s January 2026 UK report. Our UK plans list EE (5G) and Three (4G).
- About 70% of below-ground Tube stations now have mobile signal, according to Transport for London.
- Install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi. Your plan’s days only start when it first connects in the UK.
How much does roaming in the UK cost for Canadians?
The UK falls under the international day pass for every big Canadian carrier, which costs more than the US rate. The charge kicks in on any day your Canadian line uses data abroad, including background app updates you never see.
| Carrier and plan | Daily rate in the UK | 5 days | 7 days | 10 days | 14 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bell Roam Better | $16 | $80 | $112 | $160 | $224 |
| Rogers Roam Like Home | $18 | $90 | $126 | $180 | $252 |
| Telus Easy Roam | $18 | $90 | $126 | $180 | $252 |
Canadian dollars before tax, October 2026 rates, per phone. Rogers also sells an International Travel Pass ($45 for 3 days, $75 for 7, $100 for 14, $120 for 30) that beats its daily rate on longer trips; see Rogers’ roaming page. Check your carrier’s current terms before you leave.
A couple spending ten days in London and Edinburgh pays around $320 to $360 in roaming before tax. The Government of Canada’s guide to using data plans outside Canada points out that phones use data in the background, which is how many travellers end up paying for days they barely used. Our Bell, Rogers and Telus roaming vs eSIM guide has a calculator for your own dates.
What is the best eSIM for the UK?
A good UK eSIM runs on a strong national network, lets you install at home without starting the clock and gives you enough data to use maps and transit apps freely. When you compare plans, look for:
- Network: EE access matters most, since it leads independent tests for reliability and consistent quality.
- A second network: a plan that can also use Three gives your phone another option where EE is weaker.
- Validity that starts on arrival: install before you fly and land with data already working.
- Hotspot: useful if you bring a laptop or want to share data with a travelling companion for an afternoon.
- Plan size: choose by trip length and how much time you will spend away from hotel Wi-Fi.
Our UK plans list EE with 5G and Three with 4G, and your phone switches to whichever has the stronger signal. The validity days start when the eSIM first connects in the UK. Plans are data-only, so your Canadian number stays on your phone for calls and texts.
The plan page lists every network and shows whether hotspot is included under “Coverage & networks”. Not sure your phone supports eSIM? Run it through our compatibility checker first.
EE vs Three vs O2 vs Vodafone: which UK network is best?
The UK has four mobile network operators: EE (owned by BT), O2 (Virgin Media O2), Vodafone and Three. Vodafone and Three merged in 2025 to form VodafoneThree, but the two brands still run separately for now, and network testers still report them one by one.
Opensignal’s January 2026 UK report, based on real users’ phones from October to December 2025 and summarized by TelecomTV, gives a clear picture:
| Operator | Where it led in Opensignal’s January 2026 report | On our UK plans |
|---|---|---|
| EE | 11 of 15 awards, including Reliability Experience and Consistent Quality, plus the fastest overall download speed (53.2 Mbps) | Yes, 5G |
| Three | Fastest 5G speeds (187 Mbps download) | Yes, 4G |
| O2 | Best overall Coverage Experience, narrowly ahead of EE | No |
| Vodafone | No outright awards | No |
For a traveller, EE is the network to want, and that is the main reason our UK plans use it. Three adds a second option in places where EE’s signal is weaker. A multi-network eSIM lets your phone pick the stronger of the two automatically, so you don’t have to think about it.
You can see every operator our plans use on our mobile networks page. Our guide to 5G vs 4G when travelling explains why 4G is more than enough for maps, messages and social media.
Does a UK eSIM work on the London Underground?
More and more of it, yes. Transport for London’s station Wi-Fi and mobile coverage page says 4G and 5G coverage is being rolled out to ticket halls, platforms and tunnels across the network. About 70% of below-ground Tube stations now have mobile signal, and the whole Elizabeth line is covered.
TfL lists sections of the Circle, District, Central, Jubilee, Piccadilly, Bakerloo, Victoria and Northern lines as already connected, with work still under way on others. Phones connect automatically, and TfL says the service is provided through EE, Three, Vodafone and O2, so a UK eSIM on EE or Three can use it like a local phone.
Expect some gaps between stations on older parts of the network. Before you head underground, look up your route and save it in your maps app so you know where to change lines even if the signal drops.
Paying for the Tube and buses with your phone
You don’t need an Oyster card. TfL’s guide to contactless and mobile pay as you go says many contactless cards issued outside the UK work at the gates, and that fares are capped daily and weekly. Two points to know:
- Overseas fees: a card or mobile wallet linked to a non-UK card may add foreign transaction fees, or in some cases not work at all. Check with your bank before you go.
- Card clash: use the same card or phone to tap in and tap out, and keep other contactless cards away from the reader, or you may be charged the wrong fare.
Tip: Mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay are accepted at TfL gates, but your phone needs battery to tap out. Carry a charging cable or a small power bank on long sightseeing days.
How much data do you need in the UK?
Hotels and many cafés offer Wi-Fi, so mobile data mainly covers the hours you are out: maps, Tube and bus times, messages, restaurant bookings and the odd photo upload. As a rough guide for one phone:
| Type of trip | Typical use | Suggested data |
|---|---|---|
| Long weekend or 5 days in London | Maps, transit apps, messages | 2 to 3 GB |
| One week, London plus day trips | Daily navigation, social media, rail tickets | 3 to 5 GB |
| Two weeks, London, Edinburgh and the countryside | Heavy maps use, video calls home, photo uploads | 5 to 10 GB |
| Working remotely or sharing a hotspot with a laptop | Video calls, cloud files, large uploads | 15 GB or more |
To stretch your data, save London and any other areas you will visit as offline maps in Google Maps while you are on Wi-Fi. Set photo backups to Wi-Fi only, and turn off background refresh for apps you won’t use on holiday.
Travelling beyond London: Scotland, Wales and the countryside
A UK plan covers the whole country, from Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands and across to Northern Ireland. Coverage is strong in towns, cities and along the main rail lines, but it thins out in remote areas.
The Scottish Government’s 2025 islands data overview, using Ofcom figures, reports that 99% of urban areas in Scotland are covered by all mobile operators, compared with only 65% of rural areas. In rural areas, 89% get coverage from at least one operator. That gap is exactly why a plan that can use more than one network is worth having when you drive through the Highlands or hike in the national parks.
Before a road trip or a long walk, download the area in your maps app, tell someone your route, and don’t rely on mobile signal alone for navigation in the hills.
Combining the UK with a trip to Europe?
Many Canadians fly into London and continue to Paris, Amsterdam or Dublin. Keep in mind that the UK left the EU, and the European Commission’s roaming page confirms that the EU’s roam-like-at-home rules no longer apply in the United Kingdom. Those rules only protect people with an EU phone plan in any case, so they never covered a Canadian line.
What matters for you is the list of countries on your plan. A UK plan covers the UK only. If your trip crosses into Europe, pick a plan that lists every country on your route, such as our Europe plans, and check that the UK appears in the country list on the plan page. Our guide to which network your eSIM uses in Europe explains how multi-country plans pick a network in each country.
Before you fly: ETA, safety and setup
Apply for your UK ETA
Most Canadians now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation before travelling to the UK. GOV.UK’s guide to applying for an ETA says it costs £20, that each traveller needs their own, including children, and that you should only apply through the official service. The Government of Canada’s travel advice for the United Kingdom notes that the ETA is linked to the passport you applied with, so travel on that same passport.
Keep your phone safe in London
The same travel advice warns that phone theft is common in busy tourist areas of London, naming Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square. It also advises against using public Wi-Fi, which criminals can use to steal card or personal details. Having your own mobile data means you can skip café and station hotspots entirely. The emergency number in the UK is 999.
Install your UK eSIM
The setup takes about five minutes at home on Wi-Fi:
- Check your phone. It must support eSIM and be unlocked. Our compatibility checker lists supported models.
- Buy your UK plan. The QR code arrives by email, usually within about a minute.
- Install it on Wi-Fi. On iPhone, follow Apple’s eSIM setup guide. On Android, open Settings, find the SIM or network section and add an eSIM by scanning the code.
- Label your lines “UK” and “Canada” so you can tell them apart.
- When you land, turn on the UK line, switch on data roaming for that line and choose it as your mobile data line.
- Turn data roaming off on your Canadian line so your carrier can’t start a day pass.
Apple’s Dual SIM guidance explains that both lines can stay active while only one carries data, so you still receive texts and verification codes on your Canadian number. Our guide to installing an eSIM before you fly covers every phone model step by step.
Travelling to the UK with family?
Each phone needs its own eSIM, because an eSIM installs on one device only. You can buy up to 10 eSIMs in one order and send every QR code to yourself or each one to its own email address. Our guide to sharing mobile data with your family abroad compares separate plans with sharing a hotspot.
Your next step
Check that your phone supports eSIM with our compatibility checker, then compare every UK eSIM plan by data and validity. Install it at home on Wi-Fi, switch it on when you land at Heathrow or Gatwick, and keep your Canadian line’s data roaming off for the whole trip. If anything goes wrong, our help centre has quick fixes.
Frequently asked questions
Which network does a UK eSIM use?
Our UK plans list EE, with 5G, and Three, with 4G. Your phone connects to whichever of the two has the better signal where you are.
Does my phone work on the London Underground?
Increasingly, yes. Transport for London says about 70% of below-ground Tube stations now have mobile signal and the whole Elizabeth line is covered, with more sections being added, though you may still lose signal in some tunnels.
Do I need a UK phone number in London?
Usually not. A data-only eSIM keeps your Canadian number on your phone for calls and texts, while apps such as WhatsApp, iMessage, FaceTime and maps run over the UK data.
Does EU free roaming cover the UK?
No. Since Brexit the EU's roam-like-at-home rules no longer apply in the United Kingdom. Canadian travellers are not covered by those rules anyway, so a UK or multi-country plan that lists the UK is the way to go.
Will a UK eSIM work in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
A UK plan covers the whole United Kingdom, including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Coverage is strong in towns and cities but can be patchy in remote rural areas such as the Scottish Highlands.
Can I install my UK eSIM before I leave Canada?
Yes. Install it at home on Wi-Fi; the plan's days only start counting when the eSIM first connects to a network in the UK, so you land with data ready to go.
