Tesco Mobile roaming: Home From Home countries, charges elsewhere, and calling abroad

Where does Tesco Mobile roaming work at no extra cost?

Tesco calls its free roaming Home From Home. Your UK minutes, texts and data work in 48 destinations, on pay monthly and pay as you go. When we read Tesco's page on 10 November 2026 the list was:

Austria, Azores, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Martinique, Mayotte, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Réunion, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, St Barts, St Martin, Sweden, Switzerland and Vatican City.

Turkey, Northern Cyprus, Albania, Serbia and the other Balkan states outside the EU are not on it, and nor is anywhere outside Europe.

Tesco says Home From Home was set to stop in 2026, but that it is "letting it roll on", with no plans to bring in EU roaming fees soon and at least 30 days' notice of any change. Pay as you go customers need an active Essentials bundle for their allowance to work abroad; otherwise usage comes out of credit.

This is desk research from Tesco Mobile's own pages. We have not bought or tested a Tesco Mobile plan.

What is the Home From Home fair use policy?

Tesco says the policy applies if you spend more time in Home From Home destinations than in the UK and the rest of the world, or use more of your allowances there than in the UK and elsewhere. You'd still use your allowance first, then pay standard rates plus a surcharge, and Tesco says it will text you first. Tesco's page did not state a separate gigabyte cap for Europe, unlike some UK networks. For holidays this won't touch you.

How much is Tesco Mobile roaming in the USA and outside Europe?

Tesco's 2025 price list sorts the world into regions. Region 1 is Home From Home. The data rate for Region 3 has since been cut to 1p per MB on Tesco's roaming page; the call and text rates below come from the 2025 list, the most recent we found.

So for Tesco Mobile roaming in the USA, data is cheap by UK network standards: 1GB works out at about £10.24. Calls are not cheap. Ten minutes home from New York would be about £8.90.

Tesco's roaming page did not mention a daily roaming add-on or travel bundle, and we found none on its site.

Is there a cap on Tesco Mobile data roaming charges?

Tesco's data abroad help page says pay monthly customers on older tariffs without a safety buffer are capped at £40 a month of data charges abroad. If you have a safety buffer, your cap is whatever buffer you chose, and you can remove it to spend more. Capped contracts with a bill cap of £40 or less are held at £40. When you hit the limit, data is barred until you pay or raise the cap.

The safety buffer applies in the UK, Home From Home and international destinations. Tesco recommends setting a zero bill cap or safety buffer in the app or My Account before you go. On pay as you go, your credit is the limit.

How much are international calls from Tesco Mobile in the UK?

Calling abroad from the UK is separate from roaming. Tesco's 2025 price list gives these pay monthly rates by calling zone:

• Zone 0 (the Home From Home countries): 19p a minute, texts 6p.
• Zone 1 (including the USA, Australia, India, Japan and Thailand): £1 a minute.
• Zone 2 (including Canada, China and Brazil): £1.49 a minute.
• Zone 3 (remote destinations such as the Falklands and Cuba): £2 a minute.

Other international texts are 20p. Tesco's roaming page says call charges depend on the destination's calling zone and points to its UK call charges page, which may hold newer figures.

Does Tesco Mobile work with a travel eSIM?

Tesco's eSIM help page lists compatible phones from the iPhone XR, Galaxy S20 and Pixel 3 onwards. If your phone takes an eSIM, you can keep your Tesco number active for calls and texts and add a travel eSIM for data. Tesco's own roaming page points customers to a travel eSIM sold separately by Tesco International; we have not reviewed it.

When is a travel eSIM cheaper than Tesco roaming?

In Home From Home, never: your UK allowance is free there. In the USA, Canada and Australia, Tesco's 1p per MB is competitive for light use but loses on volume. 10GB on Tesco is about £102. Our verified prices, read on each seller's own site in August 2026, were $21.50 for Airalo's 10GB over 7 days in the USA and $22.99 for Saily's 10GB over 30 days.

In Region 2 and Region 4, an eSIM is far cheaper. At up to £5 per MB, 100MB of maps and messages could cost up to £500, which is why the caps above matter. In Turkey, Airalo's 10GB over 7 days was $14.50 and Nomad's 10GB over 30 days $13; in Japan Airalo's 10GB over 7 days was $17; in Thailand Nomad's 10GB over 30 days was $10, all verified in August 2026.

Before you fly, switch Tesco's data roaming off on your phone so it can't connect by accident. Our data roaming guide shows how, the cheapest eSIM table ranks plans by cost per gigabyte, and our Turkey SIM card guide and USA SIM card guide cover those destinations in detail. For Tesco's plans themselves, see Tesco SIM only deals and Tesco Mobile pay as you go.