Do you need a local phone number abroad? What each option costs

Do you actually need a local number?

For a holiday, usually not. Hotels, airlines and tour operators take your home number and email; restaurants and drivers increasingly message through apps. Paying for a local number "just in case" is one of the most common small wastes on a travel phone bill. But there are trips where a local number is worth real money, and on those it pays to know the options.

What are the ways to get a number, and what do they cost?

There are four practical routes. The costs below are the lines to look for, not prices.

1. A local prepaid SIM. Lines: the SIM or starter pack, the monthly plan, the counter visit and ID registration. Needs an unlocked phone; replaces the home SIM in a single-SIM phone.
2. A second, cheap local phone. Lines: the handset plus the prepaid SIM. Keeps your main phone untouched; one more thing to charge and carry.
3. A number service used over data. An app gives you a number in a chosen country, used over Wi-Fi or any data plan. Lines: a monthly or yearly price, a calling allowance, and renewal terms. TripoSIM, for example, sells a US Number; its page listed $100 a year or $12.99 a month on 7 November 2026, with 300 minutes of calls to the US and Canada a month included.
4. Your home number only. Lines: incoming and outgoing roaming call rates on your home plan, or zero if you only message.

How do they compare for a three-month stay?

One person, three months, about 60 minutes of local calls a month. The numbers are examples for the arithmetic (except where marked as quoted).

On these numbers the local prepaid SIM is cheapest if your phone accepts it and the country's rules are easy. The home number is the expensive way to receive many local calls. A number service sits in between and can be the right fit when the number needs to be in a different country from where you are, such as a US number while you live elsewhere.

Where does the data come from in each case?

A number is not data. Whichever number route you choose, you still need mobile data on the move. A local SIM normally includes both. A number service needs data from somewhere: Wi-Fi, a travel eSIM or a local plan. If you pair a data-only eSIM with your home number, you get data plus your own number, but no local one. Price the data line separately.

What should you check before paying for a number?

What about keeping the home number at the same time?

Most people need both: the home number for bank texts and family, a local number for the new country. On a dual-SIM phone, both lines can be active. Keep the home line's data roaming off and choose the local SIM or travel eSIM for data. The cost of the home line is covered in keeping your home number abroad; for long stays, see the three-month budget and the trip cost calculator.

How do you decide in five minutes?

Most travellers can settle this question with four yes-or-no answers:

• Will local people or businesses need to call or text you? A landlord, an employer, a school or a delivery driver. If no, you probably do not need a local number at all.
• Will you stay more than a month? For longer stays, a local SIM's monthly price usually beats roaming, and it comes with a number.
• Do you need your home number reachable at the same time? If yes, you need a phone that holds two lines, or the home number moved to an app.
• Is a data-only plan enough for everything else? A travel eSIM is data-only and has no phone number of its own. Calls and messages then go over data in apps.

If the first answer is no, a data-only travel eSIM with your home number kept for codes is often the cheapest set-up. If it is yes, price a local SIM against the alternatives in the ledger above, with your own prices. The trip cost calculator handles the data side; for the home number, see keeping your home number abroad.