eSIM for Georgia

Our Georgia eSIM runs on Magti. Georgia has three networks, Magti, Silknet and Cellfie, and Magti is the one locals recommend most consistently for coverage outside Tbilisi. We tell you which one you are on because it decides whether your data works in the mountains, and most eSIM listings will not say.

In Tbilisi, Batumi and along the main roads any of the three is fine. The difference shows up when you head toward Kazbegi, Svaneti or Tusheti, where the road quality and the signal decline together. Download offline maps before you leave the city and the rest sorts itself out.

Georgia is genuinely well served for a country of its size. Reliable data is normal here, not a luxury, and that is worth knowing before you overbuy.

Our cheapest plan is 1GB over 7 days at $1.49. Three gigabytes across 15 days is $3.47, and 10GB over 30 days is $10.68. For comparison, Airalo starts at $4.50 for Georgia and Saily at $4.79 at the time of writing.

Now the part most eSIM pages leave out. A local Magti SIM is cheap. Residents on r/tbilisi report unlimited data for around 35 GEL a month, roughly $13, and 20GB for about 30 GEL. One person who has lived in Tbilisi since 2022 confirmed the 35 GEL monthly unlimited is a standing price, not a one off promotion.

So if you are here for a month and want heavy data, a local SIM beats us on price and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Where we win is short trips. For a week or two, our plans cost a few dollars against roughly 45 GEL, about $17, for a tourist buying a local SIM with the card fee included.

The obvious question is why not just buy the local eSIM directly. Magti sells one through the MyMagti app, and on paper that is the cheapest route of all. In practice travellers keep hitting the same wall.

The app requires an online identity check before it will sell you a number. Multiple people on r/tbilisi describe the same failure: you switch the app to English but the identity section stays in Georgian, and passport verification returns an error that does not explain itself. One traveller called the app atrocious after struggling with it for a while. Another could not confirm identity with a passport at all.

That is the honest trade. The local eSIM is cheaper if the app cooperates. Ours costs a few dollars more and installs from a QR code in about a minute with no identity check, no Georgian language forms and no account to create. If you are here long enough for the price gap to matter, it is worth trying the app first.

People search for a Magti eSIM because Magti is the network locals recommend, and because its own prices are low. A local Magti SIM runs about 35 GEL a month for unlimited data, roughly $13, with 20 GB at around 30 GEL, and a tourist paying the card fee in a shop is usually looking at about 45 GEL. Those are shop prices with your passport on the counter, and some stores quote foreigners a higher printed list, so check the Magti website first and show the screenshot.

The Magti eSIM itself is sold through the MyMagti app, and that is where visitors get stuck. The app needs an online identity check before it will issue a number, the identity pages stay in Georgian even with the app set to English, and passport verification fails for many foreigners without saying why. If it works for you, it is the cheapest route for a long stay.

Our eSIM runs on the same Magti network, costs $1.49 for 1 GB over 7 days or $10.68 for 10 GB over 30 days, and installs from a QR code in about a minute with no identity check and no account. For a week or two it is cheaper than the tourist SIM once you count the card fee, and for a month of heavy data the local Magti SIM wins, which the section above says plainly.

You can buy a SIM at Tbilisi airport and at Magti and Silknet shops around the city. Bring your passport, because registration is required.

One thing worth knowing before you go to a shop. Travellers on r/tbilisi report that some Magti stores keep a separate printed price list for foreigners at higher rates. The advice from people who live there is to check the price on the Magti website first, screenshot the package you want, and show them the screenshot. Several described being quoted 45 GEL where the advertised price was 35.

The other airport tip from the same thread has nothing to do with data but will save you more money. Use the free airport wifi to order a Bolt, and do not accept a taxi offered to you in the arrivals hall. Make sure the car you get into is the one the app assigned. An eSIM that is already working when you land makes this simpler, which is arguably its real value at Tbilisi airport.

No. This is a data only eSIM, so there is no Georgian number and no local calls or texts. If a local number is the thing you actually need, buy a Magti or Silknet SIM in a shop, because no travel eSIM will give you one.

For most visitors it does not matter. Bolt, Wolt, Google Maps, translation, banking apps and messaging all run on data with your existing accounts. Calls over WhatsApp work normally.

Your home SIM stays in the phone alongside the eSIM, so bank codes and two factor messages sent to your usual number still arrive. That is often the deciding factor for people weighing a local SIM against an eSIM, because swapping your physical SIM out means those codes stop reaching you.

For a week of maps, messaging, Bolt rides and normal browsing, 1GB to 3GB covers most people. Cafes and guesthouses across Tbilisi and Batumi have usable wifi, which takes more pressure off your allowance than travellers expect.

For two weeks with photo uploads and daily video calls home, 5GB to 10GB is the sensible range. Our 10GB over 30 days at $10.68 suits a longer trip where you would rather not think about it.

If you are working remotely from Tbilisi for a month, do the local SIM. At around 35 GEL for unlimited it is the right answer and we would rather tell you that than sell you something more expensive.

Buy it at home, scan the QR code while you are on wifi, and leave it switched off. Installing writes the profile to your phone but does not start the plan, so there is no cost to doing it days ahead. The clock starts when the eSIM first connects to a network in Georgia.

Do not leave this until you land. Installing an eSIM needs an internet connection, and you want to be online the moment you clear passport control rather than hunting for wifi. Once you arrive, turn on data roaming for the eSIM line only and leave your home line's roaming switched off.

Crossing into Turkey by land is common here, the Sarpi border between Batumi and the Trabzon coast sees a steady stream of travellers. Georgian plans stop at that border, and Turkey has its own rules on phones and SIM cards, so if Turkey is your next stop, set up a Turkey eSIM before the crossing and skip the whole subject.