How to get Internet in Indonesia in 2026: all the solutions

To have Internet in Indonesia, you have five solutions: a travel eSIM, a local prepaid SIM card, your home carrier's plan (roaming), a pocket WiFi, and public WiFi. The first two cover the needs of the vast majority of travelers, and the question often boils down to a simple choice: SIM card or eSIM.

Here is a quick comparison to help you find your way:

Indonesian mobile internet relies on four brands: Telkomsel, Indosat Ooredoo, XL, and Smartfren. 4G is the standard in all tourist areas, and 5G is progressing in major cities. However, as soon as you leave the main routes, the gaps between networks become very noticeable. We will revisit this below, island by island.

The short video version:

An eSIM is a digital SIM card already integrated into your smartphone. It is currently the most widespread solution for travelers worldwide. You don't insert anything: you download a profile by scanning a QR code, and your phone connects to the local network once you arrive. Your regular SIM card stays in its slot and your number remains reachable.

In Indonesia, a travel eSIM offers three concrete advantages over other solutions.

• Connected upon landing. You order your Grab from the Ngurah Rai arrival hall, without having to go through airport stands and their inflated prices.
• No local formalities. A travel eSIM is treated as roaming: no passport to present, no IMEI registration, so there is no risk of disconnection due to a botched entry in a shop.
• Price fixed in advance. The price is set before departure, in euros, with no negotiation or recharges to manage in an Indonesian language app.

The only condition: your phone must be eSIM compatible. This is the case for all iPhones since the XR, Samsung Galaxy S20 and later, and Google Pixel since the 3. Check yours in a few seconds below, or read how to know if your phone is eSIM compatible.

We explain in this video why you should avoid the SIM card sold at the airport, on the voilà eSIM YouTube channel.

Limit to know: a travel eSIM works for data only. You won't have an Indonesian number; your calls will go through WhatsApp, the application everyone uses locally, from drivers to hotels.

Several providers sell an eSIM for traveling in Indonesia, and each presents itself as the best eSIM on the market. To distinguish between them, we have used a simple and verifiable criterion: the price per GB, calculated based on the most common plan, 10 GB valid for 30 days. Prices recorded on September 21, 2026, on official websites.

1. voilà eSIM: the best value for money

At $0.87 per GB, voilà eSIM is almost twice as cheap as the second-ranked provider: $8.70 for 10 GB over 30 days, compared to $16 at Ubigi. Six plans are available, ranging from 1 GB for 7 days to 50 GB for 30 days. It is a contract-free plan: no subscription, no automatic renewal, no hidden fees. The price shown is the final price.

The voilà Indonesia eSIM plans rely on four partner networks, Telkomsel, XL, Indosat, and Smartfren: your phone automatically connects to the best available signal, which is essential when you are hopping between multiple islands. The eSIM is simple to install, the app is easy to use to track your consumption or add more GB, and live customer support is available 24/7: in case of a problem, you can contact them at any time and get help within minutes. voilà eSIM does not offer unlimited data: you pay for the volume you need.

2. Ubigi: a clear pricing structure, at $1.60 per GB

Ubigi offers data volumes from 1 to 25 GB and three unlimited durations, with the possibility of topping up via the app. The 10 GB for 30 days costs 16 $, and the 25 GB for 30 days costs 28 $. It is the best-positioned competitor, but it remains almost twice as expensive as voilà eSIM per GB. The details can be found in our review of Ubigi.

3. Airalo: the widest catalog, at $1.90 per GB

Airalo has the most extensive range: data plans from 1 to 50 GB ($19.00 for 10 GB, $31.50 for 20 GB over 30 days) and an unlimited offer, from $24.50 for 7 days to $62.00 for 30 days. A reliable choice, though rarely the cheapest for the same volume, as detailed in our review of Airalo.

4. Saily: a pleasant app, at $1.95 per GB

Saily charges $19.49 for 10 GB and $31.99 for 20 GB for 30 days, which is more than double the price of a voilà eSIM for the same volume. The application is simple and loyalty credits are added with every purchase, but the price per GB is the highest among the plans compared here. To learn more, read our review of Saily.

5. Holafly: unlimited data only, at a premium price

Holafly eSIM is only sold with unlimited data, on a daily basis: $25.50 for 7 days, $46.90 for 15 days, $68.90 for one month. It is impossible to calculate a price per GB, and that is what places it at the bottom of the rankings: for typical vacation usage, around 10 GB, you pay nearly eight times the voilà eSIM rate. The offer holds its own if you stream continuously or work all day via hotspot: we break it all down in our review of Holafly.

The principle works in four steps, and everything is set up from home, before your trip.

1. You choose your eSIM plan based on the length of your stay and pay online.
2. You receive a QR code by email, or you install the eSIM in one click from the voilà app.
3. You scan the code: the profile downloads and installs in less than two minutes.
4. Upon landing, you activate mobile data and roaming on your eSIM line. The local network takes over automatically.

If you want to see every screen in detail, we'll explain how to install an eSIM step by step, on both iPhone and Android.

Here is the voilà eSIM pricing guide for Indonesia, updated on September 21, 2026:

What is included, regardless of the plan:

• Hotspotting, for your laptop or your loved ones' phones. The whole family can enjoy it thanks to a single plan.
• No blocked apps: TikTok, WhatsApp, Google Maps, and your banking apps work normally.
• Real-time tracking of your usage, and the ability to add GBs in seconds if you run out.
• Your usual line stays active in parallel to receive your banking SMS.

A prepaid local SIM card remains a real option, especially if you stay for more than a month or if you need an Indonesian number. You can buy a SIM card at the airport or in a shop in town. SIM cards look similar from one stand to another, and the place of purchase affects the price of a SIM card much more than the operator.

A useful benchmark: the best SIM card for a tourist, the official Telkomsel offer, costs 150,000 IDR, which is about $9, for 25 GB and 25 minutes of calls over 30 days. In the Denpasar arrival hall, the same card can go for 350,000 IDR. You pay for the convenience, not the data.

Two formalities often surprise travelers.

• Passport required. Indonesian law requires you to present your passport to activate a physical SIM card. Registration takes a few minutes in-store. Bring the original; a photo is not always sufficient.
• The IMEI law. Indonesia blocks undeclared foreign phones via their IMEI number, your device's unique identifier (dial *#06# to display it). For a stay of less than 90 days, you don't need to do anything. Beyond that, your phone must be registered at customs upon arrival, free of charge if the device is worth less than $500.

The real risk comes from small shops: when registration is done incorrectly, your line can be cut off after a few days, right in the middle of your trip. For details on points of sale and airport pitfalls, we have put everything in our article about the SIM card in Indonesia.

The drawbacks to know before choosing this solution:

• A mandatory trip to a store, sometimes involving waiting after a long flight.
• The language barrier: exchanges are generally conducted in approximate English or in Indonesian.
• Your main SIM card has to be removed, with the risk of losing it, unless your phone has two slots.
• Top-ups to manage yourself via a local app.

Four brands share the market, but only three truly distinct networks remain: XL Axiata and Smartfren have merged to form XLSmart, which began operations on April 16, 2025. Both brands are still sold separately in stores.

Telkomsel is the best operator if your itinerary goes beyond Bali. It is the most extensive network, covering over 97% of the population with 4G, and the fastest: it won the Ookla Speedtest award for the fastest 5G network in the country in the first half of 2025, with a median speed of 88.03 Mbps. Its Hyper 5G network is open in 56 cities and districts, including Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, and Denpasar.

The map above aggregates real measurements from nPerf users on the Telkomsel network in Bali and western Lombok, recorded on September 1, 2026: orange for 4G, red for 4G+, and purple for 5G. 4G+ follows every route, including in the north and east of the island.

If you stay in southern Bali or in Jakarta, any of the four will do. Between XL and Smartfren, sold side-by-side since the merger, go with XL: the coverage gap is clear, and the price difference is only a few tens of thousands of rupiah.

The best operator is therefore Telkomsel. The best eSIM to enjoy it is voilà eSIM: it relies on all four networks at once, including Telkomsel. You don't have to choose between operators; your phone switches to the one with the best signal.

Before buying anything, check what your current mobile plan includes abroad. Some offers cover Indonesia, and in that case, you don't have to do anything.

The most well-known example for French travelers is the Free Mobile plan. The Free 5G+ plan includes 35 GB of 4G or 5G internet per month in over 115 destinations, and Indonesia is included in the list published on the offer's page. If you are already a subscriber, it's the simplest solution: you activate data roaming in your settings upon arrival, and you monitor your usage from your subscriber area. Beyond this allowance, check your plan's terms and conditions before continuing to browse.

For other operators, such as Orange, SFR, and Bouygues Telecom in France or their equivalents elsewhere in Europe, Indonesia is generally outside the included zone. Three things to do before leaving:

• Check your plan's price list, under the "Asia" or "rest of the world" line.
• Check if an international pass exists and how much it costs for the duration of your stay.
• Without a pass or inclusion, data is cut off abroad on your main line: with no fixed plan, data is charged per megabyte and the bill climbs very quickly.

In this last case, a travel eSIM for a few euros is much cheaper than a day of roaming charges, and you keep your line active for calls and SMS.

We also show you in this video the trick to avoid your carrier's roaming charges when you travel.

Free WiFi is very widespread in tourist areas: hotels, villas, cafes, restaurants, shopping malls, and airports. In both Canggu and Ubud, the WiFi in coworking spaces and cafes is often excellent, and many travelers use it for large photo backups.

Two limitations, however. You can only connect when you are stationary: WiFi doesn't follow you: no Google Maps on a scooter, no Grab when leaving a restaurant, no translation at the market. And a public network offers no guarantee of security: avoid checking your bank or entering sensitive passwords, especially on an open network without an access code.

A pocket WiFi is a small portable router that creates a hotspot from the mobile network. It can be rented by the day and can be helpful for a group staying together from morning to night. In practice, you have to book it, pick it up, recharge it every night, and return it at the end of your stay. eSIM data sharing provides the same service, without a device to carry around.

An Indonesian plan is national: a SIM card or an eSIM activated in Bali works in Java, Lombok, and everywhere else, without needing to repeat any steps. What changes from one island to another is the quality of the network.

• Bali. 5G is available in Denpasar, Kuta, Seminyak, at the airport, and in parts of Canggu. Ubud, Uluwatu, Nusa Dua, and the entire north of the island are on 4G, which is more than sufficient for browsing and video calls. The signal weakens in the Tegallalang rice terraces, below the Uluwatu cliffs, and around Mount Batur. For a detailed zone-by-zone breakdown, check our article on the SIM card in Bali.
• Java. Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung and Yogyakarta are covered in 5G by Telkomsel. On the highways and in the cities, the four networks get the job done. In the east of the island, Telkomsel maintains the advantage.
• Lombok. Good coverage on the west coast and around Kuta Lombok, more irregular on the foothills of Rinjani.
• The Gilis. Gili Trawangan, Gili Air, and Gili Meno are covered, with a significantly more stable signal on Telkomsel than on competing networks.
• Nusa Penida. The island remains on 4G. Coverage is decent around Toya Pakeh and the main sites, but more unpredictable on the western tracks leading to Kelingking.
• Flores and Komodo. Telkomsel is the only network to rely on. The further you go, up to Raja Ampat in Papua, the more you should plan for outages: download your offline maps before leaving.

Are you looking for an eSIM for Bali, where you'll spend most of your stay? The Bali eSIM page covers the plans and answers to questions specific to this destination.

The right amount of data depends more on your usage than on the duration.

A tip: download your offline Google Maps plans before leaving, you'll easily save 1 GB. Grab and Gojek, the two apps used for everything on-site (scooter, car, meals), consume very little. Create your account before you leave: registration requires a code sent via SMS, which is easier to receive from home. Once your account is created, a simple data connection is enough, and cash payment remains possible everywhere.

Are you visiting multiple countries on the same trip? The Southeast Asia regional plan covers Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia with a single eSIM, without needing to reinstall every time you cross a border.

For a typical trip of one to four weeks, purchasing an eSIM before departure is the most rational choice: you are connected upon landing, you avoid airport price hikes, and you don't have to present a passport or monitor IMEI registration. With voilà eSIM, expect to pay $8.70 for 10 GB or $15.10 for 20 GB over 30 days, across the country's four networks.

Local SIM cards remain useful for long stays and when you need an Indonesian number: in that case, aim for Telkomsel in an official store, never an airport stand. And if your original plan already includes the destination, like with Free Mobile, take advantage of it while keeping an eye on your data usage.