Vietnam SIM Card 2026: Prices, Best Networks & Rules

By Nilesh Kumar. Last updated: October 2026.

Want the quick answer? Get Viettel if you can’t decide. It reaches the most places, and it’s what people use up in the mountains. If you’re just doing cities, though, any of the big three is fine. Whatever you pick, take your actual passport with you, since no passport means no SIM, and they’ll snap a photo of your face as well.

One thing about prices. A lot of the prices you see online, ours included, are for the data package only. The SIM card itself is extra. So when you’re at the counter, ask for the total price, SIM and package together.

Now, why this matters. You land in Hanoi or Saigon, you switch off airplane mode, and it’s just… nothing. Your home SIM is still on roaming, and that’s going to cost you. The airport wifi wants a login and then it drops out on you anyway. And out there somewhere, a Grab driver is trying to call you to ask which door you are at. That’s when most of us buy a Vietnam SIM card, in a hurry, from the first booth we see. Five minutes reading this first will help you pick the right one.

Do You Actually Need a Vietnamese SIM?

Most people do, yes. Or an eSIM. In Vietnam you’ll be on your phone all the time. Grab for a ride, Grab for food. Google Maps when you’re lost in the Old Quarter, and you will get lost. Google Translate at the street stalls. Then Zalo or WhatsApp to talk to the hotel or the tour guy or the homestay owner.

The one time you may not need one is if your plan at home already has a good roaming deal for Vietnam. Some do. Have a look at what yours costs per day before you go, and if it’s cheap enough and the data is enough, you can skip all of this.

There’s wifi in pretty much every cafe and hotel, and it’s fine. It’s the bits in between that get you. You’re on the side of the road and you need a ride. You’re on a bike tour and you have no idea where you are. You’re at a bus station and you can’t tell which bus is yours. That’s when you’ll be glad you paid for data.

There are three ways to do it:

• A SIM card you buy at the airport or in a shop in town. It’s usually the cheapest way to get a lot of data, and you get a Vietnam number with it.
• An eSIM you buy online before you go. You’re online as soon as you land. Most of the app ones are just data, with no Vietnam number.
• Roaming on the plan you have at home. It’s easy, but for most people it’s the one that costs the most.

Quick Comparison: What You Get and What You Pay

Option	Package price	Data	Days	Calls	What else to know
Viettel 5G150T	150,000 VND (~$6), SIM card extra	5GB a day	30	No	Data only. Passport and face check needed.
Viettel 5G180H	180,000 VND (~$7), SIM card extra	5GB a day	30	30 min to Viettel, 15 min to other networks	Good if you need to call drivers or hotels.
MobiFone free tourist eSIM	Free	10GB in total	1 (24 hours)	No	One per passport. Paid add-ons after that.
MobiFone FR10 add-on	150,000 VND (~$6)	50GB in total	10	70 min in Vietnam	Goes on the MobiFone tourist eSIM.
MobiFone FR30 add-on	250,000 VND (~$10)	150GB in total	30	200 min in Vietnam	Goes on the MobiFone tourist eSIM.
VinaPhone Tourist SIM	Was 199,000 VND (~$8)	Daily data	15	Yes	The official page for this is from 2019. Ask at the counter if it’s still sold.
eSIM apps (Airalo and others)	From about $2 to $5 for small plans	Varies	Varies	Usually no	Usually no Vietnam number. Check when the days start.

Prices from the carriers’ own pages, checked October 2026. Dollar prices are rounded.

One thing in this table trips people up, and it’s “a day” versus “in total”. Viettel gives you 5GB every day, and then tomorrow you get a fresh 5GB. The MobiFone add-ons don’t work like that. You get one big pile of data and it has to last the whole time. So if you watch a lot of YouTube on a long bus ride, that pile goes down fast.

So Which One Should You Get?

First trip, mostly cities and beaches, under two weeks? Then honestly, any tourist SIM from Viettel, Vinaphone or Mobifone at the airport is fine, or an eSIM before you fly. Don’t overthink it.

Heading up north to Ha Giang, Sapa or Cao Bang? Go with Viettel. That’s what most people take up into the mountains.

In Vietnam for a month or longer? Get a Viettel 30-day pack in a shop in town, and before you walk out, ask them how you renew it.

Only there a day or two? The free MobiFone tourist eSIM might be all you need. An eSIM app works too.

And if your phone can’t do eSIM at all, no big deal. Get a normal SIM card.

The Networks: Viettel, Vinaphone and Mobifone

There are three big phone networks in Vietnam, and one small one. In Hanoi, Saigon, Da Nang and Hoi An, they all work fine. You’ll mostly see a gap between them once you get out of the cities.

Viettel

Viettel is the biggest one, and it’s the one most people tell you to get. People say its signal holds up further into the north than the others, and they’ve put a lot into 5G too. Is your trip going to take in the Ha Giang loop, Sapa, Cao Bang or the Central Highlands? Then Viettel is the safe bet. Still, up there the signal can be great in one valley and gone in the next, whatever network you’re on.

Viettel’s own page says you can buy at the kiosks in the international arrivals halls in Hanoi, Saigon, Da Nang, Cam Ranh and Phu Quoc, or at Viettel Stores in town. You scan a QR code, take a photo of your passport and a live selfie, and sign on the screen. They take cash, cards and QR wallets.

Renewing can be a bit of a pain. Some travellers say they had to go to a Viettel shop to renew their package. So when you buy, ask how you renew it, or just get a plan that’s long enough for your whole trip.

Vinaphone

Vinaphone is run by VNPT, which is owned by the state. In the big cities and the beach towns, the signal is about as good as Viettel. Up in the mountains, and in the far parts of the Mekong Delta, it’s said to get weak faster.

VinaPhone has sold a 15-day Tourist SIM with data and calls for 199,000 VND. But here’s the thing. The official page for that deal is from 2019. It may still be on sale, or it may not, so ask at the counter what tourist packs they have today, and what the total is.

Mobifone

Mobifone is fine in the cities, but out in the country it comes and goes. Right now they give a free tourist eSIM to people coming into Vietnam. It’s 10GB that lasts 24 hours, it’s data only, and it’s one per passport. You can sign up on MobiFone’s travel page before you fly with your passport and e-visa number, or scan a QR code at the airport when you land. Then you call 900 after you land to turn it on.

When the free day runs out, you can keep the same eSIM going with a paid add-on. FR10 is 150,000 VND for 50GB and 70 minutes of calls over 10 days. FR30 is 250,000 VND for 150GB and 200 minutes over 30 days. Offers like this can change, so look at their page before your trip.

Vietnamobile

This is the small one. The tourist plans can be really cheap, but it has the weakest signal of the four. It’s only worth it if you’re going to be in one city the whole time and all you care about is the price.

Good to know: Don’t pick a SIM just because the pack says a big number of GB on it. If there’s no signal where you sleep, 20GB does you no good at all. Look at the signal first. Then look at the data and the price.

Airport Booth or a Shop in Town?

Noi Bai in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat in Saigon both have SIM booths in the arrivals hall. Most of the time Viettel, Vinaphone and Mobifone are right next to each other. The staff set it all up for you, and when you walk out, your data is on.

Is it more at the airport? Often, yes, but don’t go by the sign alone. Compare the total, SIM card and package together, for the same amount of data and days. Sometimes the gap is small, sometimes it isn’t.

If it’s your first time in Vietnam, buying at the airport is worth it, in our view. You need data to get from the airport to your hotel (if you’re still picking one in Saigon, see our guide on where to stay in Ho Chi Minh City), and a few extra dollars is not much to not have to think about it.

If you want to save, you can buy from a real carrier shop in town, or from a big phone shop chain like The Gioi Di Dong or CellphoneS. Take your passport, and give it 10 to 15 minutes for them to sign you up.

Before You Leave the Counter

Run through these with the staff before you walk away. It takes two minutes and saves a lot of trouble later.

• The total: what did you pay for the SIM card plus the package?
• Data: is it so many GB a day, or one total amount for the whole time?
• When it runs out: does the data slow down, or stop?
• Calls: are calls in the pack, or is it data only?
• Hotspot: can you share the data with your laptop or a friend’s phone?
• Renewing: how do you add more days or data, and can you do it in an app?
• Your number: write it down before you go.
• It works: open a web page or Google Maps right there at the counter.

Do You Need a Passport to Buy a SIM in Vietnam?

OK, so this next part is new, and you won’t find it in a lot of the old posts about SIM cards.

You have to bring your passport with you to get a SIM. I mean the actual book, not a photo of it. They need to see it and scan it, because the SIM goes in your name. A driving licence won’t do it.

They also take a photo of your face now. That started in April this year. The guy at the booth scans your passport and then he holds up the phone or a small camera and snaps you. That’s it. It’s quick. Everyone who gets a new SIM has to do it, so it’s not just you.

Here is the one that trips people up, though. Once your SIM is in your phone, keep it in that phone if you can. If you take it out and put it in a second phone, the network sees that. In a couple of hours they can turn off the calls and texts you send, and you have to do the face photo all over again to get them back. You can do it in their app or at a shop. Your internet stays on, and texts coming in still come in, so your bank codes will still get to you. But you can’t ring the Grab guy. So it is just easier to leave it where it is. (Government notice, in Vietnamese)

And watch out for what people call ghost SIMs. You still see people on the street selling SIMs, and they don’t want your passport at all. Sounds easy, right? But those SIMs are already in somebody else’s name. They can stop working any day, with no warning, and that could be right in the middle of your trip. A really cheap price is often how you can tell. If no one asks to see your passport, don’t buy it.

Should You Get an eSIM Instead?

An eSIM is a SIM that is not a card. You just scan a QR code and it goes on your phone. There is no card and you don’t have to wait in a line. If your phone can take one, it’s the easiest way to arrive, since your data can be on as soon as the plane lands.

First you need to check your phone. Dial *#06#. If you see a number called EID, then your phone can take an eSIM. Your phone also has to be unlocked. If you got your phone on a contract, it may be locked to your network at home, so ask them about it before you go.

After that, there are two kinds of eSIM you can get.

eSIM apps like Airalo, Yesim, Roamify and others are easy to buy from home with your card. They use the Viettel, Vinaphone or Mobifone network, but the app picks which one you go on, not you, and some plans cut off hotspot or 5G. The bad part is that most of the time you only get data, with no Vietnam number. Small plans start at about $2 to $5.

eSIMs from the Vietnam networks, so from Viettel, Vinaphone or Mobifone, most of the time cost less for each GB, and many come with a Vietnam number too. But you still have to do the ID check. That could be a photo of your passport and a selfie, or going to a booth.

For most people, this is what works best. Put the eSIM on your phone before you fly. Leave your home SIM in as well, for texts from home. Then set your mobile data to the eSIM once you land. Just read the plan first. With most of them the days start when you land and connect, but with some they start the moment you install it, so check before you put it on a week early.

Having a Vietnam number helps more than you would think. Grab drivers, food riders and small hotels will often call or text a Vietnam number. If your eSIM does not have one, keep WhatsApp or Zalo open, and send them your location in the app.

How to Set Up Your SIM (and What to Do If It Won’t Work)

Most of the time you put the SIM in, you turn on the phone, and it just works. At the airport booths, the staff will do it all for you anyway. But if you got it in town and the data will not come on, try these one by one:

1. Turn your phone off and on again. You would be surprised how often that is all it needs.
2. Check that mobile data is on. If your phone has two SIMs, check that data is set to the Vietnam one.
3. Check the APN. With Vinaphone and Mobifone, you may have to type it in yourself. For Vinaphone it is m3-world, and for Mobifone it is m-wap. You will find it in your mobile network settings.
4. Still not working? It may be a problem with the sign up. Try their app, or call them, Viettel is 1800 8098 and VinaPhone is 1800 1091. If that does not fix it, go back to the shop and take your passport with you.

If you are on a prepaid VinaPhone SIM, dial *110# to see what your phone number is. On Viettel, you can text KTTK to 191 to see how much data you have left. Write your number down or save it, because hotels and tour people will ask you for it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I buy a SIM card in Vietnam without a passport?

Not by the rules, no. Every SIM has to be in your name, and that means your passport. If someone sells you a SIM and doesn’t look at your passport, it’s in someone else’s name, and it can be cut off at any time.

Is Viettel better than Vinaphone?

Out in the countryside and up in the hills, most people would say yes. In the big cities you probably won’t feel any difference.

How much does a SIM card cost in Vietnam?

Viettel’s 30-day tourist package is 150,000 VND, or 180,000 VND with some calls, and the SIM card is on top of that. Prices at airport booths are often higher. Always ask for the total.

Can I change phones with a Vietnam SIM?

Yes. But after the switch, your outgoing calls and texts can be stopped until you redo the face check in the carrier’s app or at a shop. Incoming texts and data keep working.

Do I get a Vietnam phone number with an eSIM?

With the eSIM apps, most of the time you don’t. With an eSIM from Viettel, Vinaphone or Mobifone, you often do. The free MobiFone tourist eSIM is data only.

Can I get more than one free MobiFone eSIM?

No. MobiFone’s page says it’s one per passport. After the free day, you can add a paid pack like FR10 or FR30.

Is the internet fast in Vietnam?

In the cities it’s good. You’ll have 4G nearly everywhere, and 5G in more and more spots, mostly with Viettel. Get out into the far bits and it slows right down. So pick your network first, and only then worry about how many GB.