Best eSIM for Costa Rica: Real Prices Compared for San José, Arenal and the Pacific Coast
By Sophie Hartley · Aug 15, 2026 · 5 min read
Key prices on this page are pulled live and update automatically
Costa Rica is a country where you genuinely need a working map — winding mountain roads to Monteverde, jungle trails around Arenal Volcano, and beach towns along the Pacific coast that aren't always well signposted. An eSIM means you can land at San José or Liberia, scan a QR code before you've even collected your bags, and have navigation working from the moment you step outside.
We checked live pricing across 120 providers we track for Costa Rica — as with every destination we cover, the price for identical data varies enormously depending on who you buy from.
Quick-answer picks
- Shortest trip, light use: eSIMGlobe — 500MB for 1 day at currently unavailable.
- One week, moderate data: Ubigi — 10GB for 7 days at $17.00.
- A standard month of data: nadanada — 10GB for 30 days at $11.99.
- Best for going unlimited: Maya Mobile — unlimited data for 30 days at $49.99, cheaper than Ubigi ($69.00) and Esimatic ($77.49) specifically for Costa Rica.
- Best price per gigabyte: nadanada — 100GB for 30 days at $72.99, the best bulk rate we found.
Costa Rica price comparison
Full comparison →
Comparison by eSIMKart
Live Costa Rica deals right now
Public promo codes from providers selling Costa Rica eSIMs — pulled live from our deals list, so this section updates itself and disappears when nothing is running.
Stay connected in 200+ countries the moment you land — skip the roaming bills and SIM swaps on your very first trip.
New customers only, first order; the discount is capped at $3 per Airalo's terms.
Get 50% off your first purchase, capped at $15. Applied automatically at checkout, no code needed.
Provider-by-provider breakdown
eSIMGlobe — the cheapest way in, with real granularity
eSIMGlobe has one of the most detailed Costa Rica catalogs we track, with genuine tiers at 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 15, and 30 days. Its 500MB/1-day plan at currently unavailable is the cheapest entry point we found, and its ladder stays competitive right through 20GB for 30 days at $53.60. If your trip length doesn't line up neatly with the usual 7/15/30-day options, this is the provider most likely to have an exact match. Real discount code active:
nadanada — the best all-round value
nadanada runs a clean single-country ladder from 1GB/7-day at $2.99 up to 100GB/30-day at $72.99 — the best bulk rate of any Costa Rica provider we track. Its mid-range tiers are just as strong: 10GB for 30 days at $11.99, cheaper than nearly every competitor at the same size.
Esimatic — the unlimited specialist
Esimatic offers unlimited data at almost every duration, from $4.49 for a single day up to $77.49 for a full 30 days, plus metered tiers alongside if you'd rather cap your spend. It's not the cheapest 30-day unlimited option in Costa Rica — Maya Mobile beats it there — but its short-duration unlimited tiers, like $11.99 for 3 days, are genuinely useful for a quick trip where you don't want to think about data caps at all. Real discount code active:
25% off Esimatic eSIM plans with code ESIMKART. Valid until October 31, 2026.
Maya Mobile — the best 30-day unlimited, specifically here
Maya Mobile charges its usual flat rate everywhere it operates — $9.99 for 3 days, $19.99 for a week, $27.99 for two weeks, $49.99 for 30 days, unlimited throughout — and in Costa Rica that 30-day price is genuinely the best unlimited option we found, ahead of both Ubigi and Esimatic. That's a reversal from some other destinations we've priced, where a country-specialist provider usually wins on unlimited. Real discount code active:
Orbit Mobile — a simple monthly starter
Orbit Mobile keeps things minimal with five 30-day tiers, from 1GB at $4.00 up to 20GB at $41.00. Straightforward if your data needs are light and you don't want to compare durations.
Ubigi — flexible short and mid-length tiers
Ubigi doesn't have the long-stay annual tiers here that it offers in some other countries, but its short-to-medium options are genuinely useful: 10GB for 7 days at $17.00, and an unlimited/15-day tier at $45.00 that undercuts Esimatic's equivalent-length options. Worth checking if your trip falls in that one-to-two-week range. Real discount code active:
Why prices vary so much for the same country
The spread between eSIMGlobe's entry price and the pricier unlimited options comes down to how the eSIM resale market works — most providers buy wholesale roaming capacity from Costa Rican or regional Central American carriers and resell it with a markup, and that wholesale rate depends on the carrier relationship and volume commitment behind each provider. Always compare the actual numbers for your specific destination rather than assuming "the cheap provider" carries over from a different country.
Pick by trip type
- Short stop in San José: eSIMGlobe's 500MB/1-day or 1GB/7-day plan covers navigation and messaging without overpaying.
- A week combining the Pacific coast with Arenal or Monteverde: Ubigi's 10GB/7-day at $17.00 gives enough headroom for offline-map downloads on mountain roads.
- A full month touring the country: nadanada's 10GB/30-day at $11.99 covers most travelers' actual usage; Maya Mobile's unlimited 30-day at $49.99 removes any risk if you're a heavier data user.
- Heavy data use or content creation: Esimatic's short-duration unlimited tiers or Maya Mobile's flat-rate unlimited both remove the need to track usage.
Practical caveats
Most plans above are data-only, without voice minutes or SMS bundled in — fine for most travelers, since calls and texts typically run over WhatsApp or a similar app. If you need a real phone number with voice/SMS included, check the "include voice & SMS plans" toggle on the Costa Rica plan list, since those plans are hidden from the default view.
Hotspot support isn't universal across every plan, so check individual plan details if you're sharing your connection with a laptop or second device. And if you've never set up an eSIM before, our guide on checking eSIM compatibility walks through the settings-based way to confirm your phone supports one.
If this is your first time using an eSIM, our beginner's guide to how eSIMs work covers installation and activation from the very start. For the full, current list of Costa Rica eSIM plans — filterable by data amount, trip length, and provider — visit the Costa Rica plan page.
Cheapest Costa Rica eSIM plans right now
Live prices-
abesteSIMUnlimited · 1 dayGet eSIM$0.54 -
SuperalinkUnlimited · 1 dayGet eSIM$1.00 -
ASimGoUnlimited · 1 dayGet eSIM$1.17 -
ConnectMeGuru500MB · 1 dayGet eSIM$1.60
Sophie has been living out of a suitcase since 2014, filing travel-tech dispatches from over 60 countries. She buys and tests eSIMs the way other people collect passport stamps — obsessively, and usually the day before a flight.
Frequently asked questions about Costa Rica eSIMs
What is the cheapest eSIM for Costa Rica?
Right now the cheapest Costa Rica eSIM on eSIMKart is abesteSIM's Unlimited plan for 1 day at $0.54. Prices from 120 providers are re-checked automatically every day, so this answer updates itself.
Is there an unlimited data eSIM for Costa Rica?
Yes — 1578 unlimited-data plans cover Costa Rica. The cheapest is abesteSIM's 1 day unlimited plan at $0.54. Most unlimited plans apply a fair-use speed cap after heavy daily use, so check the provider's terms.
How many providers sell eSIMs for Costa Rica?
120 providers currently list 5786 plans for Costa Rica, from $0.54 to $964.80. Every plan links straight to the provider's own checkout — eSIMKart compares, it doesn't resell.
How long does a Costa Rica eSIM last?
Validity ranges from 1 to 730 days. Pick a plan that covers your whole stay — validity usually starts on first connection, and most plans can't be paused.
Which Costa Rica eSIM providers offer 5G?
AirPlans, Esimatic, Flysimio, JamboSim, Lempart Flex, Roamless, Sim Local, Textr eSIM, Tripuck (9) report 5G access in Costa Rica where the local network supports it. Other providers may also offer 5G but haven't published network details.
Can I use a multi-country eSIM in Costa Rica?
Yes — 2528 regional or global plans listed here also work in Costa Rica. They cost a little more per GB but save you from buying a separate eSIM for each country on a multi-stop trip.
Will my phone work with a Costa Rica eSIM?
You need an unlocked, eSIM-compatible phone — most iPhones from XS onward and most recent Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel models qualify. Use our free eSIM compatibility checker to confirm your exact model before buying.
Trouble accessing sites abroad?
Sponsored · NordVPNSome travel and eSIM sites can be slow or blocked on local networks. A VPN also encrypts your connection on public WiFi.
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