Mobile phone subscription
When coming to Portugal from outside the European Union, it is important to purchase a mobile phone subscription to have access to cellular service to make phone calls, send and receive texts, and load directions when getting around the city. If you are from the EU, you can still use your home country’s service provider as you would in your own country, and the same rates and fees that apply there will apply to you in Portugal. Within the EU, “roam like at home” means you can use your mobile phone in other EU countries as if you were at home, without incurring any additional roaming fees.
If you are coming from outside of the European Union, you will need to purchase either a SIM card or an eSIM, depending on what phone you have. Luckily, Portugal has many options for both SIM cards and eSIM cards. Phones that can use an eSIM for cellular service in Portugal include: any iPhone after the iPhone XR, any Samsung after the Samsung Galaxy S20, and any Google Pixel after the Google Pixel 2. Other specifics for phones that are compatible with eSIMs can be found here.
Some Portuguese service providers that offer packages for a virtual eSIM include:
MEO: eSIM – o teu cartão SIM digital | MEO
A physical SIM card can be used with your phone if your device has a location for a physical card to be switched in and out, which can generally be found on older phone models. With a physical SIM card, you can only have one SIM activated at a time meaning that you will not be able to receive text messages or calls on your home number while using the Portuguese SIM card.
Some Portuguese service providers that offer packages for physical SIM cards include:
Vodafone: www.vodafone.pt/campanhas/red.html
Lycamobile: Order Your Prepaid SIM Card Today | Lyca Mobile
With both a physical SIM card and virtual eSIMs, most service providers will offer packages of a certain number of days or months that you will be able to use Portuguese service for. The length of time that you need your cellular service for and the amount of gigabytes that you need will each change the price that you are charged for your cellular service. Generally, the longer you use cellular service from the service provider, the lower the daily rate will be.
