Mobile Data Prices by Country 2026: Cost of 1GB Worldwide
What 1GB of mobile data costs in every country — from $0.02 to $43.75 — plus roaming price benchmarks and how much an eSIM saves. Fully sourced.
A gigabyte of mobile data costs about $0.02 in Israel and $43.75 in Zimbabwe — a roughly 2,000× gap for the exact same product — while the global average sits at $2.59 per GB (cable.co.uk Worldwide Mobile Data Pricing index). That single spread is the most-cited fact in mobile pricing, and it exposes how little what you pay for data has to do with what data actually costs to deliver.
This page compiles what 1GB of mobile data costs country by country, using cable.co.uk’s index of 237 countries and 5,603 measured plans, the ITU’s affordability data, and real US-carrier roaming benchmarks. Every figure is attributed to its original source. The friction fact worth remembering before you travel: a US carrier billing out-of-plan data charges around $2.05 per MB — about $2,099 per GB — which is the exact cost a $5–15 travel eSIM removes.
Key Mobile Data Pricing Statistics at a Glance
These are the headline numbers. Each is expanded with context and a full price table below.
The global picture:
- $2.59 — global average price of 1GB, across 237 countries and territories (cable.co.uk, 2023)
- 5,603 — mobile data plans measured to build the index (cable.co.uk, 2023)
- $8.18 → $2.59 — the global average has fallen every year since 2019 (cable.co.uk, 2023)
- 1.1% — median cost of a mobile-broadband basket as a share of average income (GNI per capita) in 2024, down from 1.3% (ITU, 2024)
Cheapest data in the world:
- $0.02 per GB — Israel, the cheapest country measured (cable.co.uk, 2023)
- $0.09 per GB — Italy and Fiji, tied for the next-cheapest tier (cable.co.uk, 2023)
- $0.10 / $0.12 — San Marino, then Cambodia and Pakistan (cable.co.uk, 2023)
- $0.16 / $0.20 — India and France, both under a quarter per GB (cable.co.uk, 2023)
Most expensive data:
- $43.75 per GB — Zimbabwe, the single most expensive market (cable.co.uk, 2023)
- $40.58 / $40.13 — the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena (cable.co.uk, 2023)
- $6.44 per GB — Sub-Saharan Africa’s regional average, historically the world’s priciest region (cable.co.uk via Connecting Africa, 2021)
What travelers actually pay:
- $6.00 per GB — the United States, ranked 219th of 237 (cable.co.uk, 2023)
- $7.29 / $5.37 — Switzerland and Canada, the other high-cost wealthy markets (cable.co.uk, 2023)
- $0.62 / $0.44 / $0.38 — the UK, Australia, and China, all under a dollar (cable.co.uk, 2023)
Roaming vs a local eSIM:
$2.05 per MB ($2,099/GB) — US carrier pay-as-you-go data with no plan (Verizon; AT&T, 2026)- $12/day — AT&T and Verizon international day passes (AT&T; Verizon, 2026)
- $168 vs ~$15 — a two-week Europe trip on an AT&T day pass versus a travel eSIM (Lotsotravel, 2026)
The Cheapest and Most Expensive Countries for Mobile Data
The core of cable.co.uk’s Worldwide Mobile Data Pricing index is a single ranked ladder of 237 countries and territories, built from 5,603 plans with US-dollar conversions compiled in 2023. Below is that ladder in miniature: the cheapest tier, the most expensive tier, and the benchmarks most travelers care about, each shown at its true global rank.
| Country | Region | Avg. price per 1GB (USD) | Global rank (of 237) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Israel | Near East | $0.02 | 1 |
| Italy | Western Europe | $0.09 | 2 |
| Fiji | Oceania | $0.09 | 3 |
| San Marino | Western Europe | $0.10 | 4 |
| Cambodia | Asia | $0.12 | 5 |
| France | Western Europe | $0.20 | 9 |
| China | Asia | $0.38 | 28 |
| Australia | Oceania | $0.44 | 39 |
| United Kingdom | Western Europe | $0.62 | 58 |
| Singapore | Asia | $0.63 | 59 |
| Germany | Western Europe | $2.14 | 163 |
| Japan | Asia | $3.48 | 201 |
| United Arab Emirates | Near East | $4.61 | 211 |
| Canada | North America | $5.37 | 216 |
| United States | North America | $6.00 | 219 |
| Switzerland | Western Europe | $7.29 | 226 |
| Tokelau | Oceania | $17.24 | 233 |
| South Sudan | Sub-Saharan Africa | $23.70 | 234 |
| Saint Helena | Sub-Saharan Africa | $40.13 | 235 |
| Falkland Islands | South America | $40.58 | 236 |
| Zimbabwe | Sub-Saharan Africa | $43.75 | 237 |
Israel is the outlier at the top. At about $0.02 per GB it is nearly four times cheaper than the next country in cable.co.uk’s ranking — a product of intense competition among Israeli carriers and generous prepaid data bundles, where the cheapest plan the index found came in at a fraction of a cent per GB. Italy and Fiji tie at roughly $0.09, San Marino sits at $0.10, and Cambodia and Pakistan share $0.12, meaning much of the cheapest tier is split between hyper-competitive European markets and low-income Asian markets where operators compete hard on price.
The most expensive markets cluster where geography or state control limits competition. Zimbabwe tops the table at $43.75 per GB, followed by two remote South Atlantic territories — the Falkland Islands ($40.58) and Saint Helena ($40.13) — where tiny populations and satellite backhaul make data structurally expensive. South Sudan ($23.70) and Tokelau ($17.24) complete the priciest tier. Cable.co.uk’s data also shows Sub-Saharan Africa as historically the most expensive region overall, with an average around $6.44 per GB in 2021, reflecting thin infrastructure and low competition across much of the continent (cable.co.uk via Connecting Africa).
Why the Global Average Keeps Falling
The $2.59 global average is a moving target, and the direction is sharply down. Cable.co.uk’s year-over-year tracking shows the average price of 1GB falling from $8.18 in 2019 to $5.09 in 2020, $4.07 in 2021, and on down to $2.59 in the most recent index — a decline of roughly 68% in a handful of years (cable.co.uk).
Two forces drive the drop. First, prepaid-heavy markets in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America bundle ever-larger data allowances to compete for price-sensitive customers, dragging their per-GB cost toward zero. Second, 4G and 5G rollouts keep lowering the cost of delivering each gigabyte, and in competitive markets those savings reach consumers quickly. The result is that the median country is far cheaper than the average implies — a small number of very expensive markets like Zimbabwe and the remote island territories pull the mean upward, while the typical country sits well under a dollar per GB.
That falling average also reshapes affordability. The ITU reports that the median mobile-broadband basket cost 1.1% of average income (GNI per capita) in 2024, down from 1.3% the year before — inside the international affordability target of 2% (ITU, 2024). Cheaper data, in other words, isn’t just a consumer win; it’s a measurable step toward closing the digital divide.
Why US, Swiss, and Canadian Data Cost So Much
If cheap data is the story at the top of the table, expensive data in wealthy countries is the story travelers feel most. At $6.00 per GB the United States ranks 219th of 237 — costlier than every wealthy democracy except Switzerland, which sits at $7.29 (cable.co.uk). Canada is close behind at $5.37, giving North America some of the priciest mobile data in the developed world.
The explanation is competition, not cost. The US market is dominated by three national carriers, and cable.co.uk’s analysts have repeatedly pointed to that concentration — rather than any technical necessity — as the reason American per-GB prices run so far above peer economies. The contrast is stark against other rich countries with more players and aggressive prepaid options: the UK at $0.62, France at $0.20, Germany at $2.14, Australia at $0.44, and Singapore at $0.63 all deliver a gigabyte for a fraction of the US price (cable.co.uk). Japan is a middle case at $3.48, and the UAE sits at $4.61 — a reminder that a high GDP per capita does not guarantee cheap data.
The practical takeaway for travelers is counterintuitive: the visitor arriving in the US, Switzerland, or Canada faces some of the most expensive local data on earth, while the visitor to France, Italy, or Singapore lands in a market where a local plan is nearly free by comparison. That gap is precisely what a travel eSIM lets you arbitrage. For the two priciest North American markets specifically, see our guides to the best eSIMs for the USA and the best eSIMs for Canada, which show how to pay closer to local rates than the $6.00/GB and $5.37/GB their carriers command.
Affordability: What Data Costs Relative to Income
Absolute price tells only part of the story. The same $2.59 average lands very differently depending on where you earn your money, and the ITU’s affordability data makes the inequality explicit.
| Metric | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median mobile-broadband basket, share of income (GNI) | 1.1% in 2024 (from 1.3%) | ITU Facts & Figures 2024 |
| How much more of their income low-income users pay vs high-income | ~19× (lower-middle income ~6×) | ITU Facts & Figures 2024 |
| Mobile-cellular subscriptions worldwide | 112 per 100 people | ITU Facts & Figures 2024 |
| Active mobile-broadband subscriptions worldwide | 95 per 100 people | ITU Facts & Figures 2024 |
| People online vs offline | 5.5B online (68%) / 2.6B offline (32%) | ITU Facts & Figures 2024 |
| Mobile-internet users | 4.7B (58%); ~3.4B not yet using mobile internet | GSMA Mobile Economy 2025 |
The affordability gap is the headline: the ITU finds that people in low-income countries spend roughly 19 times more of their income on the same mobile-broadband basket than people in high-income countries, and lower-middle-income users pay about 6 times more (ITU, 2024). That is why data can be numerically cheap in a country like Pakistan ($0.12/GB) yet still represent a meaningful share of a household budget.
The connectivity picture underneath explains the stakes. There are now about 112 mobile-cellular and 95 active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 people worldwide (ITU, 2024), and 5.5 billion people are online while 2.6 billion remain offline (ITU, 2024). The GSMA counts 4.7 billion mobile-internet users — 58% of the world — with roughly 3.4 billion still not using mobile internet despite often living within coverage (GSMA, 2025). High-income countries sit at 93% online versus just 27% in low-income countries (ITU, 2024). Price, not coverage, is a large part of that remaining gap.
Roaming vs a Local eSIM: The Real Trip Math
Here is where the price data becomes a decision. When you travel, you have three ways to get data on your phone, and their costs are separated by orders of magnitude.
The worst case is pay-as-you-go roaming with no plan: US carriers bill out-of-plan data at roughly $2.05 per MB, which works out to about $2,099 per GB (Verizon; AT&T, 2026). That is not a typo — it is the same gigabyte that costs $0.02 in Israel or $2.59 on average worldwide, marked up to the price of a used car. The better carrier option is a day pass: both AT&T and Verizon charge $12/day (Verizon drops to $6/day in Mexico and Canada), with AT&T covering 210+ destinations and capping at 10 daily fees per bill period (AT&T; Verizon, 2026). The cheapest option is almost always a local or regional travel eSIM, which typically runs $5–15 for several days of data and saves 3–20× versus fixed daily roaming (Ubigi, 2026).
| Scenario (trip length) | US carrier day pass | Pay-per-use equivalent | Typical eSIM cost | Approx. saving vs day pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekend (3 days) | ~$36 ($12/day) | ~$2,099 per GB used | ~$5 | ~$31 |
| 1 week (7 days) | ~$84 ($12/day) | ~$2,099/GB (3 GB ≈ $6,300) | ~$10 | ~$74 |
| 2 weeks in Europe (14 days) | ~$168 ($12/day) | ~$2,099/GB (5 GB ≈ $10,500) | ~$15 | ~$150+ |
The two-week Europe row is the canonical example: about $168 on an AT&T day pass versus roughly $15 on a travel eSIM (Lotsotravel, 2026). (AT&T’s 10-fee-per-bill cap can trim the day pass to about $120 if the whole trip falls inside one billing cycle — still eight times the eSIM.) Average travel-eSIM spend is expected to stay below $15 as low- and mid-tier phones adopt eSIM support, so that gap is structural, not a temporary promotion (Kaleido Intelligence, 2025).
The point of the price table is leverage. Once you know that data costs $0.20 in France, $0.62 in the UK, or $0.44 in Australia, paying your home carrier $2,099 per GB — or even $12 a day — for the same bytes stops making sense. A travel eSIM lets you pay much closer to that local rate. The two easiest ways to try one on your next trip:
Airalo — the largest travel-eSIM marketplace, with local and regional plans in 200+ destinations. Buy a country plan for the market you’re visiting and pay a rate anchored to local pricing instead of your carrier’s roaming markup.
Saily — from the team behind NordVPN, with clean per-country and regional data plans and straightforward top-ups. A strong pick if you want a simple app and predictable pricing for a single trip.
For travelers who don’t want to watch a data meter at all, Holafly sells unlimited-data eSIM plans for most popular destinations — a flat daily rate that still lands far below carrier roaming for heavy users who tether, map, and stream on the road.
For a realistic sense of how much data a trip actually needs before you pick a plan, see our guide to how much data you actually need abroad.
The Bottom Line: What the Numbers Mean for You
Three conclusions hold across every source on this page.
First: the price of data has almost nothing to do with its cost. A gigabyte is a gigabyte, yet it ranges from $0.02 in Israel to $43.75 in Zimbabwe — a ~2,000× spread driven by competition, market structure, and geography, not by the cost of delivering bits (cable.co.uk). The global average of $2.59 is falling fast, but a handful of expensive markets — including wealthy ones like the US ($6.00) and Switzerland ($7.29) — keep it from telling the whole story.
Second: where you’re from decides how badly you overpay abroad. If your home carrier charges $6 per GB and roams at $2,099 per GB, the arbitrage is enormous the moment you land somewhere data is cheap. The country table is a shopping list: it tells you what data should cost in your destination so you can recognize a fair price and reject a roaming markup.
Third: for any trip over a few days, a local eSIM is the obvious math. A two-week Europe trip is roughly $168 on a carrier day pass, five figures on pay-per-use, and about $15 on an eSIM (Lotsotravel; Ubigi). The savings aren’t marginal — they’re 8–140×.
For the mechanics behind the roaming numbers, see why roaming charges are so high and how eSIM roaming pricing works. To pick a provider, start with our compare eSIM providers guide or, for Europe specifically, the best eSIMs for Europe. And to see how price lines up against performance, cross-reference our internet speeds by country data — cheap data is only a bargain if the network behind it is fast. Browse the full eSIM hub for country-by-country picks.
If you’re deciding roaming versus an eSIM for an upcoming trip, these are the two easiest places to start:
This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase through our links, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure for full details.
Sources referenced in this article: cable.co.uk Worldwide Mobile Data Pricing index (237 countries and territories, 5,603 plans; USD price data compiled 2023 and still the most-cited worldwide figures through 2026); cable.co.uk regional data via Connecting Africa (Sub-Saharan Africa 2021); ITU Facts & Figures 2024 (affordability, subscriptions, and internet-use statistics); GSMA Mobile Economy 2025 (mobile-internet users); AT&T International Day Pass official terms (2026); Verizon TravelPass and Pay-As-You-Go international rates (2026); Lotsotravel AT&T Day Pass vs eSIM cost comparison (2026); Ubigi day-pass vs eSIM savings analysis (2026); Kaleido Intelligence Travel Data Hub survey (travel-eSIM spend, 2025).
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country has the cheapest mobile data?
Israel, at roughly $0.02 per GB — the cheapest of the 237 countries and territories in cable.co.uk’s Worldwide Mobile Data Pricing index. Its nearest rivals are Italy and Fiji (about $0.09), San Marino ($0.10), and Cambodia and Pakistan ($0.12). Israel is nearly four times cheaper than the next country on the list, thanks to intense carrier competition and large prepaid data bundles (cable.co.uk).
Which country has the most expensive mobile data?
Zimbabwe, at $43.75 per GB — roughly 2,000 times Israel’s price for essentially the same product, and the single most expensive of the 237 markets cable.co.uk measured. The Falkland Islands ($40.58), Saint Helena ($40.13), and South Sudan ($23.70) round out the priciest tier, largely because tiny, remote populations and satellite backhaul make data structurally expensive. Sub-Saharan Africa is the most expensive region overall, historically averaging around $6.44 per GB (cable.co.uk).
What is the average cost of 1GB of mobile data?
The global average is $2.59 per GB, measured across 237 countries and 5,603 plans in cable.co.uk’s Worldwide Mobile Data Pricing index. That average has fallen steadily from $8.18 in 2019 as prepaid competition and 4G/5G rollouts pushed prices down (cable.co.uk). For context, the ITU reports that the median mobile-broadband basket cost 1.1% of average income (GNI per capita) in 2024, inside the 2% international affordability target (ITU).
Why is US mobile data so expensive?
At about $6.00 per GB, the United States ranks 219th of 237 countries — pricier than every wealthy democracy except Switzerland ($7.29) — which cable.co.uk attributes largely to limited price competition among a small number of national carriers. Canada is similar at $5.37 per GB, while more competitive markets like the UK ($0.62), France ($0.20), and Australia ($0.44) deliver a gigabyte for a fraction of the US price (cable.co.uk).
Is an eSIM cheaper than roaming?
Almost always for any trip longer than a few days. A two-week Europe trip runs about $168 on a US carrier day pass ($12/day) versus roughly $15 on a travel eSIM (Lotsotravel). Travel eSIMs typically cost $5–15 for several days of data and save 3–20× versus fixed daily roaming, with average traveler spend expected to stay below $15 (Ubigi; Kaleido Intelligence). You can compare options in our best eSIM providers guide, or shop plans directly with Airalo and Saily .
How much do carriers charge for data roaming?
Without an international plan, US carriers bill out-of-plan data at their pay-as-you-go rate of about $2.05 per MB — roughly $2,099 per GB (Verizon; AT&T). To avoid that, both AT&T and Verizon sell day passes at $12/day (AT&T covers 210+ destinations and caps at 10 daily fees per bill period; Verizon charges $6/day in Mexico and Canada), which is far cheaper than pay-per-use but still multiples of a local eSIM (AT&T; Verizon).
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country has the cheapest mobile data?
Israel, at roughly $0.02 per GB — the cheapest of the 237 countries and territories in cable.co.uk's Worldwide Mobile Data Pricing index. Its nearest rivals are Italy and Fiji (about $0.09), San Marino ($0.10), and Cambodia and Pakistan ($0.12). Israel is nearly four times cheaper than the next country on the list (cable.co.uk).
Which country has the most expensive mobile data?
Zimbabwe, at $43.75 per GB — roughly 2,000 times Israel's price for essentially the same product, and the single most expensive of the 237 markets cable.co.uk measured. The Falkland Islands ($40.58), Saint Helena ($40.13), and South Sudan ($23.70) round out the priciest tier, and Sub-Saharan Africa is historically the most expensive region overall (cable.co.uk).
What is the average cost of 1GB of mobile data?
The global average is $2.59 per GB, measured across 237 countries and 5,603 plans in cable.co.uk's Worldwide Mobile Data Pricing index. That average has fallen steadily from $8.18 in 2019 as prepaid competition and 4G/5G rollouts pushed prices down (cable.co.uk). For context, the ITU reports that the median mobile-broadband basket cost 1.1% of average income (GNI per capita) in 2024 (ITU).
Why is US mobile data so expensive?
At about $6.00 per GB, the United States ranks 219th of 237 countries — pricier than every wealthy democracy except Switzerland ($7.29) — which cable.co.uk attributes largely to limited price competition among a small number of carriers. Canada is similar at $5.37 per GB, while the UK ($0.62), France ($0.20), and Australia ($0.44) show what a more competitive market delivers (cable.co.uk).
Is an eSIM cheaper than roaming?
Almost always for any trip longer than a few days. A two-week Europe trip runs about $168 on a US carrier day pass ($12/day) versus roughly $15 on a travel eSIM (Lotsotravel). Travel eSIMs typically cost $5–15 for several days of data and save 3–20× versus fixed daily roaming, with average traveler spend expected to stay below $15 (Ubigi; Kaleido Intelligence).
How much do carriers charge for data roaming?
Without an international plan, US carriers bill out-of-plan data at their pay-as-you-go rate of about $2.05 per MB — roughly $2,099 per GB (Verizon; AT&T). To avoid that, both AT&T and Verizon sell day passes at $12/day (AT&T covers 210+ destinations; Verizon charges $6/day in Mexico and Canada), which is far cheaper than pay-per-use but still multiples of a local eSIM (AT&T; Verizon).