Best eSIM for Italy: Why I use Saily (in 2026)

I love travelling to Italy. The country has so much to offer, with so many incredible cities to explore and so much beautiful countryside to get lost in.

No matter where I am travelling to in Italy, I always make sure to get myself an eSIM so I can stay connected throughout. It means I can always access my maps when needed, as well as stay in contact with my fellow travellers and people back home.

I have tried a few eSIMs whilst visiting Italy, and Saily is the one I continue to use. In Italy and beyond. It is affordable, reliable (using Italy’s networks), with great speeds, and it comes with a few extras I actually use. Here is why it is my pick for Italy!

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How to pick the best eSIM for Italy?

There are so many eSIM providers to choose from nowadays; it can be overwhelming. And to be honest, the majority are much of a muchness. So I look for the eSIMs that go beyond and deliver on the following:

1. A reliable connection on the local networks, first and foremost.
2. Then the flexibility to top up if I misjudge how much data I need.
3. A fair price, because I am not paying roaming-level money for a week away.
4. And built-in security, since I am forever hopping onto café and hotel wifi.

Saily ticks all four of these, and more. Which is why it is my top eSIM for Italy, and beyond! Read on to find out more.

Why I recommend Saily Italy eSIM

Saily is made by Nord Security, the team behind NordVPN, so there are a handful of additional security tools built in that I find super useful when travelling. But the reason I recommend it for Italy is simpler than that – it has always been super dependable.

Here is a quick overview of the pros and cons:

Does the Saily eSIM cover all of Italy?

Short answer: yes, everywhere I have needed it. Saily utilises and connects to the best available local network automatically.

I have been able to rely on the Saily eSIM across all the places I have visited in Italy in recent years, including Verona, Lake Garda, Pisa, Florence, and out in the Tuscan countryside near San Gimignano.

In fact, for most of my recent trips to Florence, I stayed in a basement flat with little to no signal. I tried most providers, and the only that worked consistently for me was Saily.

Italy’s data comes from its major national networks, and Saily uses those rather than running its own. Which means you get the same coverage as the locals!

What are the data speeds like?

For everything I have needed the internet for in Italy, the speeds have been more than enough. Google Maps, Happy Cow, messaging, uploading photos, the odd bit of work from a café table.

Italy has 5G in the major cities, and Saily supports it where the local network does, so in somewhere like Milan or Rome you should get the faster speeds when they are available.

My experience with other major cities like Florence and Verona was the same. Using the internet was a breeze, no matter whether I was video chatting with family back home or streaming my favourite TV show.

Is Saily’s Italy eSIM affordable?

Saily’s eSIM is very affordable, particularly when considering how expensive it can be to use data roaming on your home SIM card. Here are Saily’s current Italy plans, checked on 7 August 2026:

On top of that, every plan gives you 3% back in Saily credits, which gives you a discount on your next top-up. And the 30-day activation window means you can buy before you fly, and it will not start ticking until you actually arrive in Italy.

For a long weekend, most people will be fine on 3 GB or 5 GB. If you are working remotely or living off your phone like me, size up.

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Does it include any extras?

This is where Saily sets themself apart from their major competitors. They offer a variety of really useful extras with their eSIM plan.

Hotspot sharing is unlimited, so I can tether my laptop for work or share data with whoever I am travelling with. There is a data saver that blocks ads, which stretches your allowance further (I have been able to save around 28% of data).

And because Saily is from the NordVPN team, you get security features like the ability to change your virtual location and block malicious sites.

If you do want a proper number for calls and texts, Saily now sells an optional US phone number (for just $.099 per month) you can pair with a call and text plan. Otherwise, the data plan handles everything through apps like WhatsApp and FaceTime.

If you want a number for calls and texts, Saily sells an optional US number, the +1 kind, for $0.99 a month. You then add a calls and texts plan covering wherever you’re heading, which means you can make calls and texts to other phone numbers in that destination.

This means that you can top up your US phone number with call and text plans for Italy, so you can contact anyone in the country. For example, your Airbnb host, hotel, or tour guide. Here are the plans they have on offer for Italy:

It also receives unlimited incoming texts even without a paid plan, so verification codes and 2FA still land while you’re away. Otherwise, the data plan covers everything through apps like WhatsApp and FaceTime.

Travelling beyond Italy?

If Italy is your only stop, the single-country plan is all you need. But if you are stringing a few countries together, you may want to consider a regional plan instead.

Saily has a Europe plan from US$4.99 covering 35 countries, and a Global plan from US$8.99 across 121 countries.

So, if you are heading somewhere like France or Spain after your Italy trip, you can just add a regional plan to the same eSIM in the app.

Who should buy Saily’s eSIM for Italy?

Honestly, Saily’s Italy eSIM suits most travellers. In particular though, it is very useful for the following people:

• Short-trip visitors who want affordable and reliable data for maps and messaging.
• Remote workers and full-time travellers who need something dependable to work from.
• Anyone who spends a lot of time browsing the web and so will benefit from built-in security.

How to get started with Saily

It takes a couple of minutes, and you can do it before you leave for your trip to Italy (one less thing to worry about!)

1. Download the Saily app from the App Store or Google Play
2. Choose Italy and pick your data plan
3. Install the eSIM by following the in-app steps and turn on data roaming for it
4. It activates automatically when you land and you are online

My verdict: The best eSIM for Italy

Saily has been an absolute breeze every time I’ve travelled in Italy. I simply add a new data plan to my single eSIM download, and it starts working the moment I arrive.

The coverage has been great, for both city trips and relaxed countryside getaways. Plus, the speeds have been perfect for whatever I need.

Thanks to Saily, I have been able to locate vegan-friendly restaurants in small isolated towns in the Italian countryside, as well as to discover all the best gelato spots a city has to offer.

And arguably most of this can be achieved with the other top eSIM providers, but Saily go beyond this by offering extra security features that I use on the regular. Including the ad blocker tool, saving me a lot of data in the long run, and web protection.

It is the perfect all-rounder that has been the most consistent for me.

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