giffgaff does eSIM, and since November 2025 every member can have one: new members choose it at sign-up and existing members switch in the app in a few minutes. That answers the question most people arrive with. The question underneath it is usually a trip, because an eSIM makes giffgaff easier to carry abroad but does nothing to its roaming prices, which are generous inside the EU and steep almost everywhere else. This guide covers how to get the giffgaff eSIM, what giffgaff roaming actually costs by destination, and the two-line setup UK travellers use to keep their giffgaff number while paying a few dollars a gigabyte for data.

Quick answer: Get the giffgaff eSIM from the giffgaff app (Account, SIM, Replace my SIM, Switch to a new eSIM) or choose eSIM when you join. In the EU it roams on your plan with a 5GB fair-use cap. Outside the EU, giffgaff charges pay-as-you-go roaming rates or sells Travel Data add-ons from £6 for 1GB. Keep the giffgaff line for your number and add Umi's Universal eSIM for data: one install, 200+ destinations, pay as you go from $2.55/GB (about £1.90) on a balance that never expires.

Does giffgaff do eSIM?

Yes. giffgaff first offered eSIM to some existing members in October 2023, opened it to new members in early 2024, and in November 2025 expanded it to all mobile customers on both iPhone and Android. The eSIM is the same giffgaff service, same number, same goodybag or pay-as-you-go balance, on the O2 network; the only thing that changes is that there is no plastic to post or lose.

To check your phone can take one, dial *#06#. If an EID number appears alongside the IMEI, the phone supports eSIM. Most iPhones from the XS onwards and most recent Samsung, Google and Motorola phones qualify; our list of eSIM-ready phones has the detail.

How do I get a giffgaff eSIM?

Both routes end in the giffgaff app, and both take a few minutes on WiFi.

If you are already a member:

1. Open the giffgaff app and go to Account, then SIM.

2. Choose Replace my SIM, then Switch to a new eSIM.

3. Confirm, and follow the prompts to install the profile on the phone you are using; your number and plan carry across and the old physical SIM stops working.

If you are joining giffgaff:

1. Pick a plan on the giffgaff website or in the app and choose eSIM instead of a posted SIM.

2. Download the app and sign in; the eSIM is activated from the app dashboard.

3. Install when prompted, then restart the phone if the giffgaff line does not appear in Settings.

Two cautions. Existing members have reported that the switch has to be done in the app rather than on the website. And treat the eSIM as something to move carefully rather than delete: if you are changing phones, use the app's option to move the eSIM to the new device, and do not remove the profile from the old phone first, because members have reported losing the eSIM, and in some cases the account, that way. If something goes wrong, giffgaff support goes through the community and the app rather than a phone line.

Does the giffgaff eSIM work abroad?

In the EU, yes, on the same terms as a physical giffgaff SIM. giffgaff's roaming covers the EU and a short list of selected destinations, and your goodybag allowance works there with a fair-use cap of 5GB of data; past 5GB, data is charged per megabyte, and giffgaff has quoted 10p per MB for that. For a week or two in Spain, Italy, France or Portugal, that is usually enough, and there is nothing to set up.

Outside the EU the picture changes. The USA, Turkey, Switzerland, Thailand, the UAE, Australia, Japan and everywhere else are charged at giffgaff's rest-of-world rates, which have been reported at around 20p per MB for data, around £1 a minute for calls and around 30p a text. At 20p per MB, one gigabyte is £200. giffgaff knows this, which is why in July 2025 it launched Travel Data add-ons: 30-day data bundles for the EU and selected destinations, the USA, Türkiye, Switzerland and China. Check the live figures on giffgaff's roaming page before you fly, because add-on prices and the rest-of-world rate change without much notice. The figures below are as reported in 2025 and 2026.

The add-ons are fair value for the USA and Turkey if you buy one before you land. The trap is the rest of the world, where there is no add-on and a phone left on giffgaff roaming can spend £20 on a single app update.

giffgaff roaming vs a travel eSIM: what UK travellers do

Keep both. giffgaff stays as the line for your number, your bank's text codes and incoming calls, and a travel eSIM carries the data. Almost every eSIM phone runs two lines at once, so this is a settings change, not a compromise.

Dollar prices are from Umi's live destination pages on 16 October 2026; sterling equivalents use that day's rate of about $1.33 to the pound. Inside the EU, giffgaff's 5GB allowance is often all you need, and Umi is there for the trip that runs past it. Outside the EU, a 10GB Umi Plan for the USA costs less than giffgaff's 10GB add-on and does not expire, and for the countries with no add-on at all it is the difference between a few pounds and a shock. Our guides to the best eSIM for Turkey and best eSIM for Thailand run the numbers by trip length.

How do I run giffgaff and a travel eSIM on the same phone?

1. Before you fly, install Umi's Universal eSIM from the Umi app on WiFi. Leave your giffgaff line exactly as it is.

2. When you land, go to Settings, Mobile Service (iPhone) or SIMs (Android), set Umi as the line for mobile data, and keep giffgaff as the line for calls and texts.

3. Turn data roaming on for the Umi line and off for the giffgaff line. That one switch is what stops giffgaff's rest-of-world rate from being charged.

4. Top up a pay-as-you-go balance or add a country Plan in the Umi app as you go.

Your giffgaff number still rings, bank codes still arrive by text, and none of your data touches giffgaff's roaming tariff. For the mechanics of dual SIM, see eSIM vs physical SIM; if you are weighing travel eSIM brands against each other, Airalo vs Holafly compares the two biggest, and the best travel eSIM guide covers the field.

Is the giffgaff eSIM any good?

For its job, yes. It is giffgaff's goodybags on O2's network without the plastic, and the rollout teething problems reported on the community forum in 2024 have largely gone now that every member can switch in the app. The limits are the ones that come with any home network's eSIM rather than with giffgaff: it only exists through giffgaff's app, so a lost profile means waiting on giffgaff; it is tied to one network, so it cannot pick a stronger signal abroad; and it roams on a home-network tariff that is excellent inside the EU and expensive beyond it. If you want the same questions answered for other UK networks, see our Lebara eSIM and Smarty eSIM guides.

Travelling beyond the EU with your giffgaff number? Install your Universal eSIM and top up a pay-as-you-go balance before you fly.