Price per GB
$1.48
Median mid-tier catalogue price.
Compare regionally.
Prices, network indicators, operators and trip-planning tools for Philippines. Use the full calculator with the destination already selected.
Calculate the GB required for Philippines with the full Drift calculator.
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7,000 islands mean wildly variable coverage; ferries often dead zones.
The Philippines is an archipelago, so coverage and resilience matter more than raw speed. Globe and Smart are the two reliable nationwide networks; Smart has the widest 5G and often the better signal on remote islands, while Globe is excellent across main tourist routes. DITO is fastest and cheapest where it reaches but has real coverage gaps outside cities. Important seasonal note: during typhoon season (June to November) expect temporary outages, and remote islands can lose connectivity for 24-48 hours in severe weather.
Typical local SIM: $Cheap: roughly 8-35 USD for tourist SIM packages (4-36GB, 7-30 days). Travel eSIMs from ~3 USD for 1GB up to unlimited.. Usually sold at Airport stores (NAIA Manila, Mactan-Cebu, Davao), operator shops, malls. The SIM Registration Act requires passport, proof of address and a return ticket to register a physical SIM; eSIMs avoid this.. Reliable data is essential here for Grab, GCash payments and ferry schedules, where public Wi-Fi is rare. The SIM Registration Act makes physical SIMs a paperwork hassle, so an eSIM that auto-switches between Globe and Smart is the cleanest option.
Get an eSIM that runs on Globe and Smart, install before you fly, and you skip the SIM registration paperwork while keeping the most reliable signal for island hopping. Watch the typhoon season; remote islands can drop for a day or two in bad weather, on any network.
Widest coverage across major tourist destinations including Manila, Cebu, Boracay and Palawan. The safe choice for island hopping. Smooth app-based eSIM setup.
Coverage as robust as Globe with the widest 5G reach, and often stronger or more consistent than Globe in remote spots like Siargao and Palawan. Strong nationwide.
Newest network, fastest speeds where it reaches (least congested) and cheapest, but coverage is limited outside major cities and main tourist routes. Patchy on remote islands. Use only as a city option with a backup.
Almost always for tourists. The SIM Registration Act makes physical SIMs a paperwork hassle (passport, address, return ticket), and an eSIM that auto-switches between Globe and Smart gives you the most resilient coverage for island hopping. Land connected, skip the queue.
Long stays, or budget trips staying mainly in cities where a cheap DITO or local Globe/Smart pack works well. A local number can help for GCash and Grab.
No first-hand measurement has been published for Philippines yet. This page will update automatically when a validated field test is added to the shared dataset.
Use this page to compare the current price per GB, network indicator, transparency signal and local-operator reference for Philippines. It also links to a destination calculator and plan page.
It is the median price per GB of mid-tier plans in the live Philippines catalogue. Small 1 GB teasers and 50 GB or larger bulk plans are excluded so the figure reflects a typical traveller choice.
The page shows the current mobile speed indicator, a transparency score and the main local operator. These are destination-level signals, not a guarantee for every street or device.
The decision section compares the practical trade-offs. A travel eSIM is usually simpler for a short visit; a local SIM can make sense when you need a local number, longer service or local pricing. Check the current conditions before deciding.
Price per GB is the median of mid-tier plans from the live Philippines catalogue. Network and transparency indicators come from the shared Drift dataset and are refreshed monthly.
Field measurements are published only after validation. Open dataset: data-asia.json.
Figures updated September 2026. Dataset license: CC BY 4.0.