Guides · Updated September 2026

SIM card at NAIA vs an eSIM: which should you get?

What the Smart and Globe booths at Manila airport sell, what it costs in time and pesos, and when a local SIM beats an eSIM for a visitor.

Every terminal at Ninoy Aquino International Airport has Smart and Globe counters in the arrivals area selling tourist SIMs. They work, they are cheap, and depending on the flight you landed with, there may be forty people ahead of you. Here is how the two options compare for someone arriving from abroad.

The local SIM

• Price: a tourist SIM with a data promo is a few hundred pesos, roughly $5 to $15 depending on the bundle. Good value for the data.
• Registration: mandatory. You show your passport, the staff photograph it and register the SIM, or you do it in the carrier's app. It takes five to fifteen minutes when the booth is quiet.
• Queue: unpredictable. Late-night arrivals from the US often land alongside two or three other wide-bodies.
• Physical swap: you take your home SIM out or use the second slot. iPhone 14 and newer sold in the US have no SIM slot at all, so a physical SIM does not work on them.
• Number: you get a Philippine number, which is useful if you want GCash or a local bank app that verifies by SMS.
• Validity: tourist SIM registrations are typically limited to 30 days.

The eSIM

• Price: from $2.99 for 1 GB, $9.99 for 5 GB, $16.99 for 10 GB. Slightly more than a local promo per gigabyte.
• Registration: none. It is a foreign roaming plan, outside the SIM Registration Act.
• Queue: none. You install it at home and it connects on the tarmac.
• Your SIM stays in. Both lines run at once; your number keeps receiving texts.
• Number: none. Data only.
• Validity: up to 30 days per plan, and you can top up.

Pick the local SIM if

• You need a Philippine phone number, most often for GCash verification or a local bank.
• You are staying more than a month and want the cheapest possible data over time.
• Your phone is carrier-locked and cannot take a third-party eSIM. A local SIM will not work on a locked phone either, but it is worth knowing before you queue.

Pick the eSIM if

• You want to walk out of arrivals and book a Grab without stopping.
• You are on an eSIM-only iPhone.
• You would rather not hand your passport across a counter at 1am.
• Your trip is under a month.

Doing both

Plenty of people land on the eSIM, then pick up a local SIM in town a day or two later at their own pace if they decide they need the number. There is no rule against having both lines on the phone.

Common questions

Are the airport SIM booths open at night?

The main ones at Terminal 1 and 3 are generally staffed around the clock, but a single staff member with a queue is common late at night.

Can I buy a SIM at a 7-Eleven instead?

Yes, SIMs are sold in convenience stores, but you still have to register it with your passport in the app before it works.

Is the eSIM slower than a local SIM?

It runs on the same Smart and Globe towers at the same speeds. Traffic exits via Singapore, which adds a little latency you will not notice in normal use.