The BEST International Phone Plan for Full-Time Travelers

best international phone plans
 

Before we left on our adventure, one of our biggest concerns was figuring out the best international phone plan for digital nomads. We knew that we wanted something that would work just about anywhere without roaming fees.

At first, we were worried that we might be stuck paying insane prices or, worse, needing to deal with getting a sim card and changing our number in every country (which, for us, means every month). That wasn’t good enough for us, and we kept digging...

The Solution

We finally found a phone plan that, almost three years later, I STILL think is too good to be true!

Google Fi (previously Project Fi; using that link will give us each a $20 credit!) has provided every single thing we’re looking for.

Google Fi Pros and Cons

Google Fi pros:

  • Works in every country we’ve been to so far (and dozens of others)

  • No need to get a new number! We’ve kept our same American numbers that we had before we left.

  • No roaming fees.

  • No hidden fees.

  • Flat rate for data of $10/GB, and you only pay for what you use. (If you overestimate how much you’ll use in a month, Google Fi actually gives you a credit for the difference.)

Google Fi cons:

  • Phone calls aren’t included in the flat rate when you’re traveling internationally. (When you’re in the US, unlimited minutes are included!)

  • Not every phone works with Google Fi, although the list has expanded a lot since we first signed up with them. You can check compatibility before you sign up to make sure your current phone will work!

best international phone plans

That’s it. For us, it hasn’t mattered at all that you can’t make calls for free while you’re traveling internationally, because we almost never do anyway. When we need to make a call, we just use WhatsApp or Skype.

In fact, our biggest difficulty with Google Fi has been trying to convince people that yes, really, our phones will still work next month when we’re in another country, and yes, really, we’re keeping our same numbers everywhere.

If you want to learn more about Google Fi, head to this link! You and I will each get a $20 bonus if you sign up using that link. Even if you don’t use the referral link, I really encourage you to go check it out. This is the phone service we’ve been using for several years and almost two dozen countries, and I’m seriously smitten with Google Fi.

 
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