giffgaff roaming: what you get in Europe, and what the USA and elsewhere cost

Does giffgaff work in Europe?

Yes. giffgaff's help page on roaming in the EU, updated 30 September 2026, says you can roam like at home in the EU and selected destinations. The rules:

• Data cap. Up to 5GB from your plan. giffgaff is precise about it: the cap is 5GB per plan, not per month or per visit. If your plan has less than 5GB of UK data, that smaller amount is your limit.
• After the cap. Data costs 10p per MB, taken from your credit.
• Calls and texts. Unlimited in the EU and selected destinations, under giffgaff's fair usage policy.
• The 63-day rule. UK residents can roam for up to 63 days, provided they used giffgaff in the UK in the 63 days before arriving abroad.

The countries covered are the 27 EU states plus French Guiana, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Martinique, Mayotte, Norway, Réunion and San Marino. giffgaff points out that not every European country is included. Switzerland and Turkey are the two that catch travellers out.

This is desk research from giffgaff's help centre, read on 10 November 2026. We have not roamed on giffgaff. giffgaff's main roaming charges page, which lists rates country by country, sat behind a security check that blocked our browser that day, so some figures below are flagged as unconfirmed.

What does giffgaff charge outside Europe?

Outside the EU and selected destinations your plan stops working. giffgaff's plan guide says calls, texts and data there are not included and are taken from your credit. Some countries need you to have credit before roaming works at all.

giffgaff's article on Switzerland, the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey says those places are charged at its Rest of the World rates, and lists them:

Rates on ships, ferries and planes are much higher: giffgaff lists £1 a minute to make and receive calls, 30p a text and £5 per MB of data on non-terrestrial networks. Put the phone in flight mode on a cruise.

What does giffgaff roaming in the USA cost?

giffgaff's Rest of the World page lists the USA (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) as a Rest of the World destination, so your plan does not cover it and you pay from credit. We could not open the roaming charges page to read the US line ourselves. In search results, that page's data listed the USA at 20p per MB, in line with the Rest of the World rates above, but we could not confirm it was current.

At 20p per MB, a gigabyte costs about £200. That is the figure to keep in mind for giffgaff data roaming in the USA.

What are giffgaff travel data add-ons?

They are bundles of roaming data you buy for a single destination. giffgaff's add-on guide says:

• They are sold only in the giffgaff app: tap View travel data on the home screen.
• Each lasts 30 days from purchase and cannot be started later, so giffgaff suggests buying it when you arrive.
• Payment is by Visa, Mastercard or American Express. PayPal is not accepted.
• They work only in the destination you bought them for. In the EU zone, your plan's 5GB is used first, then the add-on.
• While an add-on is active, the 63-day EU limit is lifted.
• Cancel within 14 days for a full refund if unused, or a partial one if used.

Outside the EU, add-ons cover Albania, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Japan, Kosovo, Malaysia, Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, Türkiye, Ukraine and the USA.

The add-on guide does not print prices. The only ones we could read are in the Switzerland article: £8 for 1GB, £16 for 5GB and £24 for 10GB. giffgaff's roaming page, in search results, said add-ons start from £4. We could not confirm the US add-on price.

How much are giffgaff international call rates?

Calling abroad from the UK is a separate thing from roaming. giffgaff's help centre says calls and texts to international numbers are not included in any plan and need credit, and it lists the rate for each country on its international calling page at giffgaff.com/international. That page was behind the same security check, so we cannot quote the rates. Check it in the app before a long call.

Is a travel eSIM cheaper than giffgaff roaming?

In the EU zone, usually not. If your plan has 5GB or more, a week in Spain costs nothing extra up to 5GB. Our verified Spain prices from August 2026 were $13 for Airalo's 10GB over 7 days and $14 for Nomad's 10GB over 30 days, worth paying only if you need more than 5GB, or if you are over the 63-day limit.

Outside the zone, a travel eSIM usually wins on data. These are our verified prices, read on each seller's own site in August 2026:

In Switzerland the giffgaff add-on is close to the eSIMs, and it keeps your number for data-based calls. In the USA, paying from credit is the expensive route by a wide margin.

How do you avoid a giffgaff roaming bill?

giffgaff's own advice for the rest of the world: turn off data roaming on the phone, turn off roaming in your giffgaff account, use Wi-Fi, and switch off automatic app updates. You can also set a credit spend cap. giffgaff texts you on arrival in a new country with the charges.

If you use a travel eSIM, keep the giffgaff line on for calls and texts with data roaming off. Our data roaming guide shows the setting. For the plans themselves see our giffgaff SIM only guide and giffgaff eSIM guide, and compare the parent network on our O2 roaming page. For Europe-wide eSIMs, see the best eSIM for Europe.