Are you traveling to Georgia and looking for the best way to stay connected? Don't let high roaming charges or slow overseas data roaming plans ruin your trip. This is the ultimate guide for finding the best way to stay connected when traveling to Georgia. Find out all about buying a prepaid sim card in Georgia, the best e-sim cards for Georgia, up to date prices as per June 2023, the best 4G/5G network in Georgia, where to buy a sim card, my recommendation and experiences and even information about international and e-sim cards for Georgia.
My travels around the world took me to Georgia quite some time already, a lovely country to visit. As I am aiming to visit every country in the world I constantly get to new places and therefore you can already read almost 200 prepaid sim card guides from all over the world on Traveltomtom: Dubai, Istanbul, Europe, London, Frankfurt, Paris, New York, USA, UK, Malaysia, Asia, Bangkok, etc.
Therefore when planning your next adventure abroad come check out Traveltomtom for the latest prepaid sim card and e-sim card advice for your destination. Bookmark me!
Arriving in Georgia by plane and looking to buy a sim card at the airport? Check out my guide for buying a sim card at Tbilisi Airport. Of course prepaid sim cards at the airport are more expensive, so if you want the best Georgia sim card deal you have to wait until you reach Tbilisi city center.
My recommendation
Traveltomtom recommends a Magti sim card for Georgia. They offer very affordable sim card deals with lots of data for little money and they have the best 4G/5G network in Georgia.
Another great alternative is buying an international sim card for Georgia. Check out my comparison of the best international sim cards for travelers in 2023 and pick the one that suits your trip the best.
Best e-sim cards for Georgia
The easiest way to stay connected when traveling to Georgia in 2023 is an e-sim card. Keep your own phone number and use an e-sim card for Georgia at the same time. Within a couple minutes you can arrange everything online and there is no need to swap a physical sim card or visit a sim card store.
You order an e-sim card online, receive a QR code, scan it, follow the instructions, apply the settings and you are instantly connected. Check out the following Georgia e-sim card plans from Airalo:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $5.5 USD
- 2 GB data for 15 days = $10 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $13.5 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $20 USD
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $35 USD
Click here to directly order an Airalo e-sim cards for Georgia.
SimOptions is another third party operator for Georgia e-sim cards and they offer the following e-sim card plans:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $7.90 USD
- 3 GB data for 15 days = $14.90 USD
- 5 GB data for 15 days = $19.90 USD
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $39.90 USD
- 20 GB data for 30 days = $69.90 USD
Click here to order a SimOptions e-sim card directly online.
All the above data-only e-sim cards are only valid in Georgia. Both the Simoptions and the Kargi Mobile e-sim cards operate on the Cellfie (former Beeline) 4G/LTE mobile network in Georgia.
You can also still order a physical prepaid sim card for Georgia that gets shipped to your home address before your trip. For example an international sim card from AIS - SIM2FLY with 6 GB data for $19.95 USD valid in 130 countries. Click here to order this Georgia prepaid sim card deal directly online or find more info and offers in the link.
Mobile internet operators in Georgia
There are 3 main mobile internet providers in Georgia: Geocell/Silknet, Magti and Cellfie. All 3 the mobile internet provider offer prepaid sim cards for tourists. Cellfie is the former Beeline. Beeline announced in April 2023 to continue to operate under the name of Cellfie.
Where to buy a sim card for Georgia
Tbilisi, Kutaisi or Batumi international airport
Buying a sim card for Georgia straight on arrival would be the most convenient place to get connected and luckily both international airports have multiple sim card shops. It is very easy to buy a sim card at the airport on arrival in Georgia. In Batumi you will find a kiosk of Magti, Cellfie and Geocell/Silknet in the arrival hall and the same counts for Tbilisi Airport.
For more info about buying a sim card at Tbilisi Airport check out my complete guide.
Official retail store internet providers
If you missed the opportunity to buy a Georgia sim card on arrival at the airport then the best place to get your sim card for Georgia is in the city center. In every tourist destination in Georgia the mobile internet operators have multiple phone stores and are happy to sell prepaid sim cards for tourists traveling in Georgia. English is spoken very well in most places.
In Tbilisi city center your best bid is on Rustaveli Avenue where all three mobile internet operators have their big flagship stores. In Batumi you can find them a little more spread out but also pretty much around the city center.
Also some bigger convenience stores as well as gas stations sell prepaid sim cards for tourists, but here it is getting a little more complicated. You will have to activated these Georgia prepaid sim cards yourself and English is not spoken very well outside the cities.
Online
As mentioned before you can also arrive prepared for your trip to Georgia by ordering a sim card for Georgia on the internet. There are plenty of e-sim card plans for Georgia, but the international prepaid sim cards for Georgia are very limited.
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Best 4G/5G mobile network in Georgia in 2023
Unfortunately I can only provide you with the data I can find on the internet and let me tell you from my own experience that the below Georgia mobile internet coverage maps are very inaccurate. The mobile data network is much more advanced than the pictures below will make you believe.
Is there 5G in Georgia?
Yes, there is 5G in Georgia, but 5G is limited to Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi. When traveling in Georgia don't expect to find a phone signal everywhere. There are many places to go completely off the grid and not find a phone signal for days. When connected do not expect the fastest data speed either. That said, the mobile data speed in cities in Georgia is pretty fast.
Geocell/Silknet 4G/5G network coverage map
Cellfie 4G/5G network coverage map
Magti 4G/5G network coverage map
From my own experiences I know for a fact that in the train from Batumi to Tbilisi there is constantly a 4G signal. Also when traveling from Tbilisi on the train to Azerbaijan or in the bus towards Yerevan, Armenia or when traveling North from Tbilisi to Kazbegi. Yes I have traveled a lot in Georgia and with a Magti sim card I was connected in the most off the beaten path places.
From my own experiences and from advice from locals it is very clear that Magti has the best 4G/5G network in Georgia. Again, the above 4G/5G coverage maps for Georgia are a very bad representation of the reality, but it is all the data I could find online.
Looking for places to visit in Georgia? What about a trip to Kazbegi. Click here to see how utterly stunning my trip into the mountains was or check out my complete travel travel guide for Tbilisi with tips about the best restaurants, cosy bars, wine tours and phone numbers of great tour guides and private drivers.
Prices Georgia prepaid sim cards in 2023
Prices and info below are updated as per June 2023. Prices are in Georgian Lari: $1 USD = 2.58 GEL and 1 GEL = $0.39 USD.
Geocell/Silknet sim card
As said before I would not recommend a Geocell/Silknet sim card for tourists in Georgia. They have the smallest 4G network and therefore are not the best sim card in Georgia. But if you just travel to Batumi or travel to Tbilisi you can opt for Geocell/Silknet as well.
There are no extra activation costs if buying a Geocell/Silknet sim card for Georgia. they offers a Tourist Pack prepaid sim card.
- 4 GB data + 30 minutes + unlimited sms + 15 minutes international for 15 days = 15 GEL - $5.8 USD
- Unlimited data + 30 minutes + unlimited sms for 7 days = 15 GEL - $5.8 USD
- Unlimited data + unlimited calls/sms + 30 minutes international for 15 days = 30 GEL - $11.6 USD
For more info check the Geocell/Silknet website.
Cellfie Georgia
Cellfie Georgia charges around $1 USD for the activation of the prepaid sim card and they have 4 prepaid sim card plans:
- 500 MB data + 50 minutes + unlimited sms for 30 days = 3 GEL - $1.2 USD
- 3 GB data + 300 minutes + unlimited sms for 30 days = 8 GEL - $3.1 USD
- 10 GB data + unlimited minutes + sms for 30 days = 12 GEL - $4.6 USD
- 20 GB data + unlimited minutes + sms for 30 days = 25 GEL - $9.7 USD
All in all Cellfie seems like a good prepaid sim card for Georgia. For more info check the Cellfie website.
Magti sim card Georgia
Magti has a special tourist sim card and you can choose from 2 different plans:
- 3 GB data + unlimited calls/text + 30 minutes international calls for 15 days = 30 GEL - $10.6 USD
- 5 GB data + free texting for 15 days = 15 GEL - $5.8 USD
For more information check the Magti website.
Best sim card for Georgia in 2023
Based upon the above comparison of the prepaid sim cards in Georgia Traveltomtom comes to the conclusion that Magti is the best sim card for Georgia in 2023. They have the most reliable and strongest 4G/5G network in Georgia, fastest data speed and on top of that great prepaid sim card deals for tourists.
However, e-sim cards for Georgia are the easiest way to stay connected when traveling to Georgia and plans already start from $5.5 USD. Since they are so easy to arrange online, many travelers opt for e-sim cards. If you need a lot of data there is also an e-sim card plan with 20 GB data.
Order a sim card for Georgia online
As I already mentioned in the beginning of this article there are unfortunately not many international prepaid sim cards available for traveling in Georgia. There is only one I would consider or recommend and that is a the SIM 2 FLY sim card with 6 GB data valid in more than 130 countries. This travel sim card is pre-activated and will be delivered to your home address before your trip to Georgia.
Click here to order this international prepaid sim card for traveling in Georgia directly online.
Also a last reminder that you can arrange everything online within just a couple minutes by ordering an e-sim card for Georgia. You order on the internet, get a QR code and set it all up within just a couple clicks. Recommended e-sim cards for Georgia are Airalo and SimOptions.
My experience buying a sim card in Georgia
I traveled to Georgia several times and tried Magti as well as Cellfie. On time when I arrived at Tbilisi Airport I bought a Cellfie sim card and I was very satisfied with the network coverage as well as the data speed. Exactly a year later I was recommended a Magti sim card by my friends from Georgia because of its more extensive 4G/5G network since we were going to travel around Georgia by car a lot on our trip.
On my recent trip traveling in Georgia I used more than 20 GB data. Great thing is that data plans in Georgia are pretty cheap and you can easily buy large data bundles.
I have been in Georgia at different times of the year, but traveling in Georgia around October was great fun. It was not that touristy as it is off season, but the weather was still very good. Not only did I take a trip to Armenia from Tbilisi, I also went into the mountains and took a trip to Kazbegi. As I visited Batumi in 2017 I can now say I saw both ends of the country.
I sincerely like traveling to Georgia!
Thanks for reading my blog and I hope I was bale to help you with buying a Georgia sim card for your trip. Don't forget to have a look at my Kazbegi travel tips. I am sure that after reading about my trip up North and seeing the pictures you are willing to go there.
I hope the above tips for buying a prepaid Georgia sim card were helpful for your upcoming holiday. In case you have any questions please don't hesitate to leave me a comment. I am happy to help you out, also with Georgia travel tips.
Curious what it looks like trying to visit every country in the world? Go check out my Instagram account @traveltomtom and follow along. As of June 2023 I have visited more than 155 countries, so still a long way to go.
Enjoy your trip to Georgia!
Some links in this article about the best Georgia sim cards are affiliate links. If you buy any of the products after using an affiliate link I earn a small commission. Don’t worry this is at absolutely no extra cost to you!
