Guides

Everything around the calculator: how eSIMs work, what your US carrier charges abroad, and how to stop a trip from eating your data.

Each guide is written from the same sources as the calculator: carrier and app-maker help pages, manufacturer support pages and provider price pages, each linked where it is used and dated when it was read. The guides answer the questions that come before and after the number the calculator gives you: whether your phone can take an eSIM at all, what your US carrier would charge instead, how a hotspot changes the math, and what a gigabyte buys in hours of maps, music and video. Where a source gives a range, the guide gives the range. Where no source publishes a figure, the guide says so rather than guessing.

• Does My Phone Support eSIM? iPhone, Pixel, Galaxy List

  Does my phone support eSIM? iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy model lists from the makers' pages, how to check in Settings, the carrier-lock test, and alternatives.

• eSIM vs Physical SIM: Which Is Better for Travel?

  eSIM vs physical SIM for travel: what each is, which iPhones, Pixels and Galaxys support eSIM, setup, keeping your US number, and when plastic still wins.

• Hotspot Data Usage: How Much Your Laptop Burns Abroad

  Hotspot data usage comes straight out of your phone plan. Here is the math for laptop browsing, video calls and streaming, plus how to cut it on a trip.

• How to Avoid Roaming Charges Abroad: 7 Steps

  How to avoid roaming charges abroad: Verizon TravelPass, AT&T Day Pass and T-Mobile prices, the settings to change, Wi-Fi Calling rules, and eSIM costs.

• Verizon vs AT&T vs T-Mobile International Plans Compared

  Verizon vs AT&T vs T-Mobile international plans: day-pass prices, data caps, monthly options and cruise rates from carrier pages, and when an eSIM wins.

• What Can You Do With 1GB of Data? Hours, Songs, Episodes

  What can you do with 1GB of data? About 100 hours of navigation, 23 hours of Spotify, 4 hours of phone Netflix or 20 minutes of HD. Every figure sourced.