Off to Taiwan soon? Make sure you get the right Taiwan SIM card or eSIM for your travels – they are surprisingly affordable but prices can vary greatly (particularly eSIMs).
This post may contain affiliate links to tours and hotels. These help us earn a small commission at no additional charge to you.
From cheap combos to airport SIM cards, we’ll showcase a range of Taiwan SIMs which you can easily buy at the airport or in advance before you fly. Plus you can always consider a pocket Wi-Fi router / egg should several of you want to share.
Featuring well known local brands like Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile, to eSIM only brands like Airalo and the much cheaper MobiMatter, here is our guide to buying the right SIM for Taiwan.
You might like – Our first timers guide to Taiwan & Taipei >
Taiwan checklist
We love using agoda.com and booking.com for researching and booking all our hotels, and Hostelworld for booking hostels.
For booking tours, transfers and SIM cards/eSIMs we recommend Get Your Guide, Viator, KK Day or Klook. You can also purchase eSIMs from Airalo.
For booking rental cars visit Discover Cars.
Physical SIM cards vs eSIMs in Taiwan
One of the most common questions in our Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Facebook group is which SIM to buy and should they use a traditional SIM card or an electronic SIM (eSIM)?
A SIM card is a traditional physical card that you insert into your phone. An eSIM is a digital SIM card that once activated is embedded into your phone.
The advantages of using a physical SIM card over an eSIM
- If you aren’t a big technology fan and are apprehensive about buying and activating an eSIM, then you can buy a physical SIM card at the airport. You can buy it in advance via Klook or KKDay and once you pick it up at the airport, the helpful staff will offer to install it for you – so everything is done for you!
- The SIM card gives you an actual Taiwan phone number, as not all eSIMs come with a phone number. Phone numbers are always handy if you are trying to buy Taiwan tickets online, need to make an emergency call or want to use local taxi apps.
- Physical SIM cards tend to have generous unlimited data allowances compared to eSIMs. With an eSIM you can get unlimited deals sometimes, but the eSIM companies mostly sell packages with a set amount of data by the gigabyte (i.e 3gb, 5gb, 10gb etc).
- Some older phones are incompatible for eSIM use (please check before purchasing), so a physical SIM might be your only option.
You might like – How to spend 3 days in Taipei or our 7 day Taiwan itinerary
The advantages of an eSIM over a SIM card
- You can pre purchase it and activate it online a few days before you arrive in Taiwan. eSIMs can be switched on in your phone settings as soon as you touch down on the tarmac on your arrival flight. This is handy if you arrive late at night when the airport SIM card counters are closed (Taoyuan Airport SIM card desks are usually closed after midnight until 6am).
- eSIMs are also a little more secure as they cannot be cloned quite as easily.
- You can use both an eSIM and a physical SIM together in Taiwan – meaning you can keep your existing SIM card in your phone without having to remove it (and potentially losing or damaging it). We’ve also personally had an issue in the past getting our Samsung phone back onto our original network after using a SIM card and had to do a hard reset.
- You can store multiple eSIMs on one device and switch between them on your phone settings.
You might like – 65 best things to do in Taipei >
Join our Facebook Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Group!
Need help with your Taiwan itinerary or have any questions? Head on over to the most fun and fastest growing Taiwan Facebook group with 80k+ members and ask the experts!
Click here to join our group >
Taiwan physical SIM cards
If you wish to use a traditional physical SIM card on your phone in Taiwan, then you can purchase one in advance on KKDay or from Klook and then pick it up from the airport when you arrive.
You can also buy them on the spot at the airport SIM card counter in the arrivals hall at Taoyuan Airport and others, BUT the advantage of booking in advance is you can pay for them using your international debit card.
The biggest SIM card providers and telecoms networks in Taiwan are:
- Chunghwa Mobile
- Taiwan Mobile
- FarEasTone
Most of our Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Facebook group members who live in Taiwan recommend Chunghwa Mobile. It is the biggest Taiwan Telecoms company plus their coverage and data speed is excellent.
Based on our own travel experiences in Taiwan, we found data so much QUICKER than compared to say Europe and our home country, the UK.
Taiwan 5G SIM cards usually range from 1 day up to 30 days in duration. At Taipei Taoyuan Airport, you can buy 4G SIMs that range from 3 days to 180 days in length.
If you’d rather get a Taiwan SIM card delivered to your home address, this service is also available from Klook.
Taoyuan Airport SIM cards and eSIMs
We last visited Taiwan in January 2025 and bought our SIM cards at the Taoyuan Airport SIM card desk just before immigration. It was useful as we could complete the Taiwan online arrival card using our phones – although the Taoyuan International Airport Wi-Fi (free) is good too.
We bought an unlimited data 30 day Chunghwa Telecom 4G SIM card at Taoyuan Airport for NT$1,000 in January 2025 – this is around £23 / $31 USD or €27.
The SIM cards were installed for us by the SIM card counter staff and the whole process only took 5 minutes – you need to show one passport for the registration process. We paid using an international debit card but cash is also accepted.
We noticed that the price of Chunghwa Telecom vs Taiwan Mobile network SIM cards at the airport were EXACTLY the same – although some of our Facebook group members say Chunghwa has better coverage.
The 2025 SIM prices at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport are as follows:
| 5G SIM | 3 days | NT$500 |
| 5G SIM | 5 days | NT$600 |
| 5G SIM | 7 days | NT$800 |
| 4G SIM | 3 days | NT$300 |
| 4G SIM | 5 days | NT$300 |
| 4G SIM | 7 days | NT$500 |
| 4G SIM | 10 days | NT$500 |
| 4G SIM | 15 days | NT$700 |
| 4G SIM | 30 days | NT$1,000 |
| 4G SIM | 90 days | NT$2,199 |
| 4G SIM | 180 days | NT$3,999 |
Check out Klook’s SIM Card packages:
Chunghwa Telecom 4G SIM card 3-30 days (Taiwan airport / Senao Telecom pick up) – over 400k bought >
Far Eastone 4G/5G SIM card 3-30 days (Taipei Airport pick up) >
Chunghwa Telecom Taiwan 4G/5G SIM card 3-30 days (pick up at Taipei Airport) >
Check out KKDay’s SIM card packages:
Taiwan eSIMs
There are lots of eSIM brands and suppliers that have packages compatible in Taiwan – the ones mentioned most frequently in our Taiwan Facebook group are Airalo, Holafly, Chunghwa, Saily and MobiMatter.
Cheapest eSIM for Taiwan – MobiMatter
You may want to go for the biggest and best known brand however, by far and away the cheapest eSIM provider and the one we use regularly is MobiMatter – it is usually much much cheaper than the famous Airalo and Holafly brands.
Click here to check out the range of Taiwan eSIMs with MobiMatter >
You can use our Taiwanderers MobiMatter discount code CAROL86604 to receive 50% cashback (up to $5) on your first purchase.
However, many travellers prefer to use more familiar brands such as Airalo or Holafly as their chosen eSIM for Taiwan.
Alternatively, the local providers like Chunghwa offer unlimited plans and you can buy that here >
Airalo
Airalo is one of the leading eSIM companies and offers unlimited Taiwan data packages.
Click here to check out Airalo’s range of Taiwan eSIM packages >
You can also buy a Airalo regional Asia eSIM (includes Taiwan) on Klook >
Klook eSIMs
5G Taiwan unlimited data eSIM (Chunghwa Telecom) >
Taiwan 4G/5G unlimited data eSIM card – Chunghwa Telecom (Airport, Chunghwa or Senao pick up) >
Regional Asia 3gb or 50gb data eSIM by Airalo (includes Taiwan) >
KKDAY eSIMs
Taiwan unlimited data eSIM (Chunghwa Telecom) >
Taiwan eSIM with daily unlimited data (Chunghwa Telecom) >
Taiwan unlimited traffic 4G eSIM (Chunghwa Telecom) >
Yesim
Yesim is a Swiss based eSIM provider with coverage in almost 200 countries including Taiwan.
Yesim’s eSIM packages start from 3GB over 7 days to 20 GB over 30 days – they also offer a wide range of unlimited data plans.
Click here to check out Yesim’s range of Taiwan eSIMs >
Drimsim
One of the newer eSIM companies that operates in over 190 countries including Taiwan.
This is a good / cheaper option if you don’t use much data – however, the other eSIM providers may be best for larger usage.
Click here to check out Drimsim’s range of Taiwan eSIMs >
You might like – 30+ best travel apps to use in Taiwan >
Taiwan portable Wi-Fi router rental
Although many now favour eSIMs, pocket Wi-Fi rental at Taiwan airports like Taoyuan is a great option for families and those that want to share the cost, as you share the Wi-Fi / data with 2 or 3 others.
You just need to connect to the Wi-Fi router as you would with your Wi-Fi at home.
If you are a solo traveller, a Taiwan eSIM or SIM usually works out cheaper than renting pocket Wifi.
Taiwan Wi-Fi rental usually starts from around £1.50 / $2 USD / 1.80 Euros / NT$65 a day and WiFi rental is available at most major Taiwan airports.
The major downsides to using a Wi-Fi router is you obviously have to carry it around and charge it separately every night, plus you physically have to carry it with you every day (although they are quite small).
They also usually take a deposit which gets returned once you drop off the pocket Wi-Fi back at the airport.
One note of warning – please PLEASE don’t forget to return your Taiwan Wi-Fi router rental / egg before you go through airport security / departures at the end of the trip or you’ll face losing your deposit.
And before you scoff, this has genuinely happened to several people in our Facebook groups when they’ve forgotten to return it, had a panic and asked the group what to do.
KKDay Wi-Fi Rental in Taiwan
Taiwan Portable Wi-Fi rental service with unlimited 4G internet (pickup at Taiwan Airports) >
Klook Wi-Fi Rental in Taiwan
4G WiFi for Taiwan (Taiwan airport pick up) >
Found this SIM cards and eSIMs in Taiwan article helpful?
Did you enjoy our SIM cards and eSIMs in Taiwan article? Let us know in the comments or by sharing it on social media.
You can follow Taiwanderers on:
Instagram
Facebook
TikTok
YouTube
Pinterest
