Sim Local Review 2026: Europe Unlimited eSIM Test in Denmark & Portugal

In this review, I’ll walk you through everything I found testing Sim Local’s Europe Unlimited eSIM in Denmark and Portugal: how setup and activation went, real speed test results from both countries, hotspot performance, what customer support is actually like, and how the pricing compares. By the end, you’ll know exactly what to expect if you’re considering Sim Local for your next trip.

What is Sim Local?

Sim Local might be a newer name if you’re used to hearing about eSIMs specifically, but the company itself isn’t new to travel connectivity. It’s been selling SIM cards to travellers since 2011, and that experience shows, even though eSIMs are a more recent addition to what they offer.

If you want to try it yourself, Nomadwise readers get 10% off any Sim Local plan with the code NOMADWISE.

Who Sim Local is best for

Based on my testing, Sim Local is a solid option throughout Europe, and especially good if you’re heading to Northern Europe, where the Denmark results were seriously impressive. That said, your actual speeds will depend on which local network you land on in each country, so performance can vary a bit from destination to destination.

It’s a good fit if you:

• Want an eSIM that’s genuinely simple to set up, with no manual configuration
• Plan to use your phone as a hotspot for a laptop and want a generous daily allowance, especially on Unlimited Pro
• Don’t mind mid-range pricing in exchange for that flexibility

It’s less ideal if you:

• Want to closely track your daily data usage, since the app doesn’t show this for Unlimited plans
• Are looking for the cheapest possible unlimited eSIM

Setup and activation: from download to connected in 3 minutes

I downloaded the Sim Local app straight from the App Store, no issues finding it.

There are two ways to find a plan. The first time I opened the app, it asked a few quick questions, whether I needed a phone number and how much data I thought I’d use, then recommended plans based on that. I liked this, it’s a nice shortcut if you’re not sure what you need. Equally, you can just search for your destination directly to see all the available plans for that country or region.

I went with Europe rather than the Denmark and Portugal plans individually, since I’d be testing in more than one country in a relatively short time span. There are a lot of plans on offer, with unlimited options being pushed to the front, which can feel a bit overwhelming at first. Filters will help you narrow things down though, so you can find exactly the plan you like.

I went for a data-only plan this time, but it’s great to have the option of a local phone number if you know you’ll be needing to receive or make calls.

Unlimited vs Unlimited Pro: what’s the difference?

Sim Local has two unlimited tiers, and the difference wasn’t obvious to me at first:

• Unlimited: 5GB of full-speed data per day, then reduced to 1 Mbps until the next day’s reset
• Unlimited Pro: 10GB of full-speed data per day, same throttle after that

Neither plan has an overall data cap, it’s purely about how much you get at full speed each day. If you’re planning to hotspot a laptop off this, Unlimited Pro is worth the extra cost since hotspot usage eats into that same daily allowance fast.

Buying the Sim Local eSIM

Before checkout, the app confirms your device actually supports eSIMs, which is a nice safety net if you’re not sure. You can review the countries covered and which networks you’ll connect to before paying.

I entered my discount code (NOMADWISE, 10% off) at checkout. Payment options on iPhone were Apple Pay or card, no Google Pay, though that’s likely an iPhone limitation rather than Sim Local not supporting it. You’ll need to create an account with a password as part of the process.

Installing the eSIM

After paying, I got a receipt by email and a “Download Plan” button in the app. Tapping it handed off to the iPhone’s built-in eSIM installer, no manual entry needed. It took about 20 seconds to find a network after installation.

In Portugal, I connected to NOS on 5G. In Denmark, I connected to TDC.

Total time from picking a plan to having a working connection: about 3 minutes.

Speed test: from solid to genuinely impressive

Sim Local’s speeds turned out to depend a lot on which country I was in, and Denmark was the standout.

Denmark, connected to TDC, gave me download speeds between 769 and 919 Mbps, with uploads between 15 and 17 Mbps. In one separate test I hit 30 Mbps upload. That 919 Mbps figure is the fastest I’ve recorded testing any eSIM, and it’s well beyond anything you’d realistically need for travel or remote work. If you’re heading to Denmark, this is an easy recommendation.

Portugal results were slightly different. Connected to NOS on 5G, I got 25 Mbps on the first test and 64 Mbps a few days later from the same spot, likely because the first result wasn’t representative of normal conditions. Still solid, more than enough for maps, streaming and video calls, just nowhere near what Denmark delivered.

The takeaway: Sim Local’s network partners vary a lot by country, so your actual speeds will depend heavily on where you’re travelling. It’s worth checking their coverage page for your specific destination rather than assuming Denmark-level performance everywhere.

Everyday use in both countries was smooth. I used it for Spotify while driving, Google Maps, social media and general browsing, with no interruptions or loading issues in either location.

Sim Local Unlimited for hotspot and remote work

Hotspot worked reliably in both countries, connecting quickly with no setup hassle.

In Denmark, the hotspot hit 421.90 Mbps download, comfortably enough for demanding remote work.

In Portugal, hotspot speeds were 49.49 Mbps download and 1.79 Mbps upload, fine for emails, browsing and cloud tools, though the upload speed could be limiting for large files or bandwidth-heavy work.

Since hotspot usage draws from the same daily 5GB (or 10GB on Unlimited Pro) allowance, heavy hotspot use will burn through your daily limit faster than phone use alone.

App usability: simple, but with a data-visibility gap

Overall, the Sim Local app is easy to use. It doesn’t try to do too much, and the main functions, buying, installing and managing your eSIM, are all straightforward to find.

The one real weakness is daily data visibility. On the Unlimited plan, there’s no way to see how much of your 5GB daily allowance you’ve already used. That’s a genuine inconvenience when your speed depends on staying under that threshold, since you’ve got no way of knowing how close you are to being throttled. I had to ask customer support to check this for me, and they confirmed how much I had used that day, information the app itself should really be showing.

I also ran into a small bug. My eSIM showed as active, but opening it in the app still displayed an option to install the plan again. Selecting it triggered an error saying the plan couldn’t be added because it had already been used. It didn’t affect the connection at all, everything kept working normally, but it made it a bit harder to check on my active plan and added to the general lack of clarity around usage.

Sim Local customer support: solid answers, but not the fastest

Sim Local’s support runs through a Zendesk chat window. It starts with automation, and you’ll need to provide your order number, name and the email used for the purchase before you’re passed along.

It took about 3 minutes to reach a human agent. Once connected, replies came every 2-3 minutes, so the conversation itself moved a bit slower than I’d expect from some other eSIM providers.

That said, the quality of the answers was genuinely good. Responses were detailed, helpful and friendly, and the agent was able to manually check my daily data usage when I asked, which is more than the app itself can tell you. This is also how I found out about the difference between the Unlimited and Unlimited Pro plans in the first place.

So, reasonably quick to get a human, but be prepared for the conversation itself to take a bit of patience.

Price comparison: mid-range, but with a generous daily allowance

Sim Local isn’t the cheapest unlimited eSIM out there, but it’s not overpriced either, it sits comfortably within the standard range once you account for what you actually get each day.

Here’s how the 7-day unlimited plans compared during my research (as of August 2026):

The catch is that these plans don’t all work the same way. Sim Local and eSIM4Travel both reset your full-speed allowance every day, so once you’ve used your daily amount, you’re throttled to around 1-2 Mbps until the next day. Ubigi works differently: its 25GB has to last across the whole 7-day trip rather than refreshing daily, so it’s not really a fair like-for-like comparison on price alone.

Looked at that way, eSIM4Travel is the cheapest option here, but with only 3GB of full-speed data a day. Ubigi undercuts Sim Local too, but you’re managing one shared pot of data for the week instead of a fresh daily allowance. Sim Local’s Unlimited and Unlimited Pro plans cost more, but if you’re a heavier daily user, especially if you’re hotspotting a laptop, that daily reset is genuinely useful, and Unlimited Pro’s 10GB a day is hard to match at this price point.

If you’re only checking email and maps occasionally, you probably don’t need an Unlimited plan and can go for one of their other plans. If you’re working from your laptop most days, the Unlimited Pro is definitely worth the extra cost.

Sim Local also sells smaller data packs if you don’t need unlimited at all, starting from $4.75 for 1GB over 3 days, up to 90-day unlimited plans for around $201 if you’re travelling long-term.

Sim Local discount code: save 10% with NOMADWISE

If you want to try Sim Local for yourself, use code NOMADWISE at checkout for 10% off any plan, including the Unlimited and Unlimited Pro plans I tested. It works whether you buy through the app or the Sim Local website.

‍

Would I recommend Sim Local for digital nomads?

Yes, I’d recommend Sim Local, especially if Denmark or Northern Europe is on your itinerary. The speeds I saw there were some of the best I’ve tested from any eSIM, and Unlimited Pro’s 10GB full-speed daily allowance is more generous than what you’ll typically find elsewhere, which matters if you’re working remotely and relying on your connection every day.

It held up well in Portugal too, just without quite the same standout performance, so it’s still a solid, reliable pick if you’re covering Southern Europe as well as Scandinavia on the same trip.

There’s room for improvement, mainly a daily usage tracker for the Unlimited plan and a bit more speed once you’re chatting with customer support, but neither of these got in the way of a genuinely good experience. For digital nomads working from Denmark or other Scandinavian countries in particular, this is an easy one to recommend.

Ready to try it? Nomadwise readers get 10% off any Sim Local plan with the code NOMADWISE.

‍