Roaming or eSIM? The maths every Singaporean should do
By Marcus Tan·
The roaming-versus-eSIM debate gets framed as a loyalty contest. It is not — it is arithmetic. Here is the way I think about it, and the small number of cases where the convenient option genuinely wins.
Start with the roaming number
Singtel, StarHub and M1 all sell daily or regional roaming passes. Take the daily rate and multiply by your trip length. A representative regional pass sits around S$12 a day, so a one-week trip is roughly S$80–90. That is your benchmark — the number to beat.
Now the eSIM number
A travel eSIM for the same week is usually a single-digit-to-low-teens figure in SGD, depending on how much data you want. Even a generous plan rarely approaches the roaming total. For most trips the eSIM is less than half the cost, sometimes far less.
When roaming still wins
Convenience has a real value, and roaming keeps your Singapore number live for calls and SMS without any setup. For a quick one or two-night trip, where the price gap is small and you do not want to think about it, roaming is a perfectly reasonable choice. The longer the trip, the harder that is to justify.
The honest answer
For anything beyond a couple of days, an eSIM almost always wins on price, and the only real cost is ten minutes of setup before you fly. If you would rather not run the numbers each time, our eSIM finder does the same calculation for you in three questions.