eSIM statistics 2026: market size, adoption and roaming data

eSIM statistics 2026The key numbers on eSIM, roaming and travel connectivity, fully sourced. Free to cite with a link to this page.The travel eSIM market: size and growth

Global revenue from travel eSIM packages reaches $1.8 billion by the end of 2025, growing 85% from $989 million in 2024. (Source: Juniper Research, Travel eSIM Market 2025-2030, 2025)

Travel eSIM revenue is forecast to grow from $1.8 billion in 2025 to $8.7 billion in 2030, roughly 380% growth over five years. (Source: Juniper Research, Travel eSIM Market 2025-2030, 2025-2030)

The number of travel eSIM users worldwide is forecast to grow 440%, from 40 million in 2024 to over 215 million in 2028. (Source: Juniper Research, Global Travel SIMs & eSIMs Market 2024-2028, 2024)

Retail spending on travel eSIM services reached about $3.3 billion in 2025, a near 165% increase compared with 2023. (Source: Kaleido Intelligence, travel eSIM spending forecast, 2025)

Retail spending on travel eSIM services is projected to rise from $3.8 billion in 2025 to nearly $12 billion by 2030, while combined wholesale and retail roaming revenues (consumer, travel eSIM and IoT) exceed $70 billion in 2030. (Source: Kaleido Intelligence, roaming and travel eSIM revenue forecast, 2025-2030)

The global travel eSIM market will be worth close to $10 billion in 2028, accounting for over 80% of total travel SIM spend. (Source: Kaleido Intelligence, Travel eSIM & Roaming research, 2028 (prognose))

Devices and eSIM adoption

GSMA Intelligence expects about 1 billion eSIM smartphone connections globally by the end of 2025, roughly doubling into 2026 and reaching 4.9 billion by 2030, equal to 55% of all smartphone connections. (Source: GSMA Intelligence, consumer eSIM adoption forecast to 2030, 2025-2030)

eSIM shipments reported by Trusted Connectivity Alliance members reached 503 million units in 2024, up 35% year on year. (Source: Trusted Connectivity Alliance, SIM & eSIM Industry Insights 2024, 2024)

Consumer eSIM profile downloads grew 56% in 2024, with downloads more than doubling in Asia. (Source: Trusted Connectivity Alliance, SIM & eSIM Industry Insights 2024, 2024)

More than 9 billion eSIM/iSIM-capable devices will be shipped cumulatively between 2024 and 2030, growing at a 22% CAGR. (Source: Counterpoint Research, eSIM Devices Market Outlook, 2024-2030)

By 2030, nearly 70% of all cellular devices shipped will be eSIM/iSIM-capable, including 82% of smartphones, 92% of connected cars and 100% of smartwatches. (Source: Counterpoint Research, eSIM Devices Market Outlook, 2030 (prognose))

Since the iPhone 14 launch in September 2022, all iPhones sold in the United States ship without a physical SIM tray and work with eSIM only. (Source: Apple iPhone 14-lancering (via MacRumors), 2022)

Roaming and costs

Travel eSIM data cost an average of $5.50 per GB in 2024, versus $8.57 per GB for traditional roaming, a saving of roughly 35%. (Source: Juniper Research, Global Travel SIMs & eSIMs Market 2024-2028, 2024)

In the EU, mobile data use while roaming was up to 17 times higher in summer 2019 than in the summer before roaming surcharges were abolished in June 2017. (Source: Europese Commissie, roaming-marktrapport, 2019)

One year after the EU abolished roaming charges, the share of travellers who used mobile data abroad as often as at home rose from 26% in 2017 to 34% in 2018, yet 34% of travellers still switched off data roaming abroad. (Source: Europese Commissie, Flash Eurobarometer 468, 2018)

In a 2023 Eurobarometer survey, more than 81% of EU residents who travelled within the EU said they benefit from the roam-like-at-home rules. (Source: Europese Commissie, Flash Eurobarometer roaming, 2023)

Travel and traveller behaviour

Around 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals were recorded worldwide in 2024, up 11% on 2023 and reaching 99% of pre-pandemic (2019) levels. (Source: UN Tourism, World Tourism Barometer, 2024)

An estimated 1.52 billion international tourists travelled in 2025, up 4% on 2024 and almost 60 million more than the previous year. (Source: UN Tourism, World Tourism Barometer, 2025)

Across 11 major countries surveyed, 12% of consumers who took an international trip in the past 12 months used an eSIM while travelling abroad. (Source: GSMA Intelligence, Consumers in Focus, 2024)

Of travellers who used eSIM abroad, more than 70% used their own mobile operator’s eSIM service, while the rest bought travel eSIMs from non-telco providers. (Source: GSMA Intelligence, Consumers in Focus, 2024)

Only 8% of consumers who are aware of eSIM discovered the technology via their mobile operator, pointing to a slow eSIM push by operators. (Source: GSMA Intelligence, Global Consumer Survey 2024, 2024)