Price per GB
$1.79
Median mid-tier catalogue price.
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Prices, network indicators, operators and trip-planning tools for Sri Lanka. Use the full calculator with the destination already selected.
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Dialog widest; hill country and east coast can drop.
Sri Lanka is well connected for its size. 4G LTE reaches close to 100% of the population, and commercial 5G launched in December 2025 with Dialog and SLT-Mobitel, though 5G is still concentrated around Colombo. Dialog has the widest overall coverage and over half the market; SLT-Mobitel was rated the fastest network in 2024 and is strong in rural areas. For travellers, 4G is what you will use almost everywhere and it comfortably handles streaming, maps and remote work. Coverage is reliable across Colombo, Kandy, the hill country, the south-coast beaches and the cultural triangle, with only the most remote interior thinning out.
Typical local SIM: $Cheap: tourist data packs run a few dollars to around 10 USD for generous allowances.. Usually sold at Bandaranaike International Airport (Colombo) arrival counters, where Dialog, Mobitel and Hutch all have desks and staff set everything up in 5 to 10 minutes. Passport and your first hotel address are required.. Airport SIM setup is fast and tourist-friendly, usually under 10 minutes, so a local SIM is genuinely easy here. A travel eSIM still saves the counter visit and works on landing. For island-wide travel including the hills and the south coast, Dialog or Mobitel are the safe networks.
A travel eSIM is the no-friction pick to land connected. But Sri Lanka's airport SIM setup is unusually quick and cheap, so if you want the lowest price a local Dialog or Mobitel SIM is an easy win too.
The market leader with over 50% share and the widest coverage on the island, winning Opensignal's coverage awards in early 2026. Launched commercial 5G in December 2025, currently around Colombo. The default choice for most travellers and the best for data-heavy use.
The state-linked second operator, rated the fastest network in 2024 and strong in rural coverage. Also launched commercial 5G in December 2025. Tourist packs bundle unlimited local calls, handy if you need to phone hotels or drivers.
The budget option with decent 4G in urban areas but weaker rural reach and no 5G. Fine if you stay around the cities and want the cheapest data.
you want to land at Colombo connected and skip even the quick airport counter, which is handy for late arrivals or tight connections.
you want the lowest price and do not mind the 5-to-10-minute airport setup, which is genuinely painless in Sri Lanka. A Dialog or Mobitel pack is cheap and covers the island well.
No first-hand measurement has been published for Sri Lanka 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 Sri Lanka. It also links to a destination calculator and plan page.
It is the median price per GB of mid-tier plans in the live Sri Lanka 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 Sri Lanka 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.