The summer holidays are just around the corner, and with them will come a wave of travel to foreign countries. To give holidaymakers a head start, telecom expert Ralf Beyeler from moneyland.ch carried out an analysis of current mobile roaming offers from Swiss telecom service providers.
Today, mobile phones have become a constant companion for most people, including on holidays. That is why it is so important to get informed before you even turn on your phone at your foreign travel destination. The recommendation from moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler: “Buy a suitable bundle or option before you leave Switzerland.” If you do not prepare in advance, you could end up getting nasty and expensive surprises. In the worst-case scenario, you could rake up a phone bill of hundreds of francs within minutes.
Swisscom has the cheapest roaming
As in previous years, moneyland.ch carefully examined the different Swiss mobile service providers. These telecom providers were then analyzed in three different comparisons. In this analysis, moneyland.ch only takes into account the costs for roaming packages and roaming options. *
In the first comparison, moneyland.ch compared the roaming costs for holidaymakers who travel to an EU country four times per year: For a two-week summer holiday, for a one-week autumn holiday, and another two four-day visits. For this profile, moneyland.ch assumes a total combined consumption of 6 gigabytes of roaming data and 120 minutes of roaming phone calls across all trips.
The results show that Swisscom has the lowest roaming fees, with roaming costs for this profile totaling 86.60 francs (see Table 1). It is followed closely by Swype (87 francs) and Aldi Suisse (89.60 francs with a mobile plan). M-Budget and Wingo also fall below the 100-franc mark. Sunrise is more expensive, at 109.70 francs. Budget providers Yallo and Lebara are also expensive, with roaming costs totaling 160 francs (prepaid) or 170 francs (mobile plan).
With some service providers, the costs vary depending on which EU country you travel to. Mucho Mobile is one example, as it has relatively low roaming costs (82.80 francs) for some EU countries, but some of the highest costs (229.80 francs) for other EU countries. Salt’s prices also vary between EU countries, but are relatively high in every case, ranging between 133.50 and 367.90 francs. For Salt prepaid users, the costs are much higher than that. Post Mobile – a joint venture between Salt and the Swiss post office – has some of the highest roaming charges, ranging between 276.70 and 336.70 francs, depending on the country.
** The exact costs depend on the travel period. The costs may be lower depending on the travel period.
Sunrise has gotten cheaper again after a spate of price hikes
A comparison with previous years shows that Sunrise had the most radical price decreases. With the new call roaming bundles introduced in May 2024 and the changes to its data roaming bundles, Sunrise is now 71.1 francs or 39 percent cheaper than it was in the summer of 2023. With total roaming costs of 109.70 francs for this profile, Sunrise now sits in the midfield, but it is still 27 percent more expensive than Swisscom. Over recent years, Sunrise consistently raised its prices, and now it has turned around and lowered them again.
Compared to summer 2024, roaming has also gotten cheaper for customers of M-Budget and Wingo (both 27 francs cheaper) and Galaxus Mobile (20 francs cheaper). Roaming with Salt’s mobile plans has also gotten cheaper, albeit only by a marginal 40 centimes.
As in previous years, the cost of roaming has remained relatively stable. Only four of the 23 telecom providers included in the analysis – namely Sunrise, M-Budget, Wingo, and Galaxus Mobile – have become substantially cheaper.
How much does pure data roaming in EU countries cost?
Conventional phone calls are increasingly losing significance compared to using the Internet.
That is why moneyland.ch also compared the costs of using just data bundles for EU countries (see Table 2). The results show that Galaxus Mobile, Digital Republic, and Teleboy have the cheapest offers for one gigabyte of roaming data. With each of these providers, a data roaming bundle for all EU countries costs around 10 francs (see Table 3). If you need three gigabytes or 10 gigabytes, then Digital Republic is the cheapest, costing 20 francs or 50 francs respectively, which is much less than what other providers charge. The next most affordable providers for those amounts of data charge 45 percent and 20 percent more respectively.
The costs of data roaming bundles also vary broadly between telecom service providers. Travelers using Lidl, Post Mobile, or Salt pay 24.95 francs or 39.95 francs for one gigabyte of roaming data. It is important to note though, that customers receive 1.5 gigabytes of data for that price, but the profile used for the moneyland.ch comparison is only based on one gigabyte of data. Coop Mobile charges 60 francs for three gigabytes of data, and Salt’s budget brand Gomo charges 75 francs. For 10 gigabytes of roaming data, Coop Mobile (200 francs) and Gomo (250 francs) are the most expensive, with Gomo charging 400 more than the cheapest provider, Digital Republic. Note: Gomo offers an option for 9.95 francs per month (also charged for months when you do not use roaming) which lowers the cost of data roaming by 5 francs per gigabyte. Accounting for that offer in the comparison of annual costs is not possible because the actual costs depend on how usage is spread throughout the year.
Only a few service providers have changed the prices of their roaming bundles for EU countries since 2023. Sunrise customers now pay five francs more for one gigabyte of roaming data, but 10 francs less for three gigabytes. Because M-Budget Mobile and Wingo introduced large roaming data bundles in late summer, 2023, the cost of 10 gigabytes is now massively lower. In June, 2023, those providers charged 144.60 francs for 10 gigabytes of roaming data. Today, the cost is 64.90 francs, which is 80 francs or 55 percent lower.
Which telecom provider has the cheapest roaming for non-EU countries?
Differences in roaming costs are exceptionally high when you travel to foreign countries other than those in the EU. But even for trips to some EU countries, exercising caution is recommended. For example, Salt does not include Croatia in its cheaper Europe zone. To determine the costs of using roaming in further-flung destinations, moneyland.ch compared the cost of one gigabyte of roaming data for a selection of 14 different countries (see Table 3). Which Swiss telecom provider is cheapest varies depending on the destination country. Galaxus, iWay, and Swisscom charge the least for one gigabyte of roaming data for the 14 countries. Galaxus Mobile and Swisscom are the cheapest in seven countries each, with their prices being identical in two countries. iWay is the cheapest in two countries.
Interesting note: For 13 of the 14 countries used in the comparison, data roaming bundles costing less than 20 francs are offered by at least one Swiss telecom provider. Only Cuba is more expensive, with the cheapest bundle costing just under 50 francs. But that is still much cheaper than what Swiss telecom companies used to charge for roaming in Cuba.
The differences between the cheapest and most expensive offers are also interesting. For roaming in Turkey, the United States, and Canada, the cheapest telecom provider charges around 10 francs per one gigabyte of roaming data. The most expensive provider charges 50 francs – around five times as much. The differences are even more extreme in other countries. For example, one gigabyte of roaming data for Vietnam costs less than 10 francs with the cheapest provider, while the most expensive provider charges 780 francs – 79 times more.
The analysis of price ranges for different data roaming bundles offered by the same telecom provider is also fascinating. This analysis looks at the cost of one gigabyte of roaming data for the 14 countries shown in Table 3. Coop Mobile charges between 20 and 69 francs for one gigabyte of roaming data, depending on the country. That means roaming in the most expensive country costs around 3.5 times more than roaming in the cheapest country. M-Budget Mobile and Wingo also have relatively small price ranges, with one gigabyte of roaming data costing between 15.90 francs and 54.90 francs. Swisscom charges between 9.90 francs and 49.90 francs for one gigabyte, meaning it charges five times more for the most expensive country than for the cheapest one.
The price ranges are wider at Sunrise and Salt. Sunrise charges between 19.80 francs and 139.80 francs for one gigabyte of data, depending on the country. Salt charges between 39.95 francs and 399.95 francs. So Salt charges up to ten times more for roaming in some countries compared to others.
Only five telecom providers have lowered their prices
The number of price changes since the summer of 2023 is negligible for this profile. Only Coop Mobile, M-Budget Mobile, Sunrise, Swisscom, and Wingo have lowered their roaming costs for the 14 holiday destinations used in the comparison. Sunrise is the only telecom provider that raised its charges for certain destinations.
From July 1, 2024, Swisscom will charge 9.90 francs for one gigabyte of data roaming for Tunisia and Vietnam, down from the current 49.90 francs. That is an 80-percent cost reduction – the biggest decrease across our analysis if the 14 non-European destinations. Since May 2024, Sunrise is charging 139.90 francs for one gigabyte of roaming data – 72 percent less than it did last summer. Swisscom’s price for one gigabyte of roaming in Kosovo, Thailand, and Turkey is being lowered to 9.90 francs – half of the former price. In June, 2023, Coop Mobile lowered its prices for one gigabyte of data for Cuba, Tunisia, and Vietnam by 23 percent to 69 francs. The cost of one gigabyte of roaming data from M-Budget Mobile and Wingo has gone down by 15 percent since last year, to 54.90 francs.
Sunrise raised some of its prices: One gigabyte of roaming data for Canada, Croatia, Turkey, and the United States now costs 19.80 francs – up from the previous 14.90 francs. But that change is the result of changes to the sizes of bundles. Depending on how much data you use, the new rates can work out cheaper than the old ones. However, the moneyland.ch comparison accounts for just one gigabyte of data per year. For that model, Sunrise has become more expensive.
Watch out for roaming pitfalls
Many telecom service providers have adapted their offers so that it is almost impossible for customers to be hit with the excessive roaming charges that were once common. But for phone calls in particular, there are cases in which exorbitant costs are still possible. A one-hour phone call made while roaming in an EU country can still cost up to 120 francs. The same phone call costs just 18 francs – 85 percent less – if you use the right roaming option.
Mobile plans with included roaming allowances are rarely a good choice
Many phone users have mobile plans that include roaming allowances. For residents of Switzerland who only rarely travel outside the country, those plans are usually an expensive solution. If you only leave Switzerland on occasional holidays, getting a mobile plan without roaming allowances and then buying a cheap roaming bundle to cover your travel needs is generally cheaper.
If you prefer not to buy a suitable bundle every time you travel, then a mobile plan with included roaming allowances can be practical – particularly for roaming in Europe. But with standard monthly fees of around 70 francs per month, you pay a lot for the convenience. However, plans with roaming allowances are sometimes offered for lower prices as part of special promotions, sometimes with fees below 30 francs per month.
Roaming tips for experts
As a moneyland.ch study revealed, travel eSIM offers are often remarkably cheaper than roaming offers from Swiss mobile service providers. For that reason, it is worth taking a look at offers from travel eSIM providers. In order to use those offers, your device has to support eSIMs. Most iPhones have this function, but many Android-powered phones do not.
If you travel many times each year, then you should look at roaming bundles with a validity period of one year. Most Swiss telecom providers offer these.
You can find many more tips in the moneyland.ch guides to data roaming and call roaming. The data roaming wizard makes it easy to find the cheapest roaming solution for your destination country.
You can find more information in the separate tables.
* In this analysis, moneyland.ch only takes into account the costs for roaming packages and roaming options. Other costs incurred for mobile communication such as subscription fees, one-off activation costs, costs for surfing and telephoning within Switzerland, costs for telephoning abroad from Switzerland, administrative costs such as for bills and payments at the post office counter or penalties for early contract cancellation are not included in this analysis.
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