Google Fi eSIM: plans, international data and the data-only SIM

What do Google Fi plans cost on 10 November 2026?

Google Fi Wireless is Google's US phone service. It has three unlimited plans and a pay-per-gigabyte plan, with prices that fall per line as you add people. These were the Google Fi plans on its plans page when we read it:

After the high-speed allowance, data slows to 256kbps for the rest of the cycle unless you pay $10/GB to restore full speed. On the unlimited plans, Fi streams video at up to 480p. Prices exclude taxes and government fees, which Fi says normally add 10 to 20 percent. There is no annual contract, and Fi charges no activation or cancellation fees.

The offer prices are 50 percent off for 12 months on Unlimited Standard and Unlimited Essentials, for new lines and each person bringing a phone. The plan cards say the offer ends 1 December 2026. The banner across the site says it ends 30 November. Treat 30 November as the safe date.

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

How do you get a Google Fi eSIM?

Google Fi signs you up through its app. Its plans and coverage pages say you join from home and activate quickly with eSIM, and that number transfers usually take about 20 minutes. The pages we read did not give the price or ordering steps for a physical Google Fi SIM card kit for phones, so we could not confirm those.

The free trial runs on eSIM too. Fi offers seven days of free service on one line, alongside your current carrier, with a new number to test. It needs a Google account, a credit card and an unlocked, eSIM-compatible phone. Data is unlimited in the US with 10GB at high speed, and hotspot works for up to 10 devices. If you don't cancel, the line moves to Unlimited Standard at $50 a month for one line. Anyone who has been a Fi customer or used the trial in the past 18 months is not eligible.

One rule for travellers: you must activate Fi in the US. Fi says you can't activate for the first time while abroad, and you must have used the service in the US for at least a day before it works overseas.

How much international data does Google Fi include?

This is where the plans differ most.

• Unlimited Premium includes 50GB of high-speed data in 200+ destinations, then 256kbps. Texts abroad are free and calls over the mobile network cost 20¢ a minute.
• Flexible charges the same $10/GB abroad as at home, in the same 200+ destinations, with free texts and 20¢ calls.
• Unlimited Standard works in Canada and Mexico only, with data, calls and texts included there.
• Unlimited Essentials has no service outside the US.

Fi says 5G works abroad in more than 110 destinations on compatible phones. Its destination list covers most travel favourites, including the UK, France, Italy, Japan, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE and Vietnam.

There is a fair-use rule. Fi's terms require you to use the service mainly in the US. Fi says that if most of your usage is outside the US over 90 consecutive days, it will suspend your international data. Google Fi international data suits trips, not moving abroad.

What does Google Fi international calling cost from the US?

Unlimited Premium includes free calls from the US to 50+ destinations. Unlimited Standard and Flexible include free calls to Canada and Mexico and charge per-minute rates elsewhere. On Unlimited Essentials, calls to other countries are charged at per-minute rates. Every plan except Essentials includes unlimited texts from the US to other countries.

How does the Google Fi data-only eSIM work?

A data-only SIM puts a tablet, laptop or other cellular device on your Fi plan without a separate data plan. Fi's help centre says:

• It works on Unlimited Premium and Flexible only, not on Standard or Essentials.
• There is no extra cost. Usage counts towards your plan's high-speed allowance: up to 100GB a person on Premium and 15GB on Flexible.
• You can add up to four data-only SIMs per line. Most devices take a data-only eSIM by QR code from your Fi account; if a device needs a physical card, Fi sends one free.
• Tethering doesn't work from a data-only SIM.
• Coverage is the same 200+ countries and regions.

For a traveller with a cellular iPad or laptop, that makes a Google Fi data-only eSIM a cheap way to keep a second device online abroad.

When is a travel eSIM cheaper than Google Fi abroad?

On Unlimited Premium, rarely: 50GB abroad is already in the plan. On the other plans, often.

On Flexible, 10GB abroad is $100 at $10/GB before Fi's Bill Protection cap. Fi's page gave two different figures for the single-line cap ($60 in the text and $80 in the table), so check in the app. Either way it is far above our verified travel eSIM prices, read on each seller's own site in August 2026. For Japan, Nomad's 10GB over 30 days was $16, Saily's 10GB over 30 days $17.99 and Airalo's 10GB over 7 days $17.

On Standard or Essentials, a trip outside Canada and Mexico gets no data at all. You can switch to Premium, and Fi says that switch takes effect immediately, though going back down only applies from your next cycle. For one line that's $65 against $50 at full price, or against $25 on the half-price offer. A $16 Japan eSIM costs about the same as the full-price gap and keeps your discounted plan intact. Our cheapest eSIM table and Japan guide have more options.

Google Fi is not built for visitors to the US: it needs US activation and mainly US use. A visitor should look at our cheap US SIM card guide or the USA SIM card hub. To compare Fi with the big carriers' own plans, see the T-Mobile and Verizon guides.