For a week of normal phone use, a travel eSIM usually costs less per gigabyte than an MTN or Airtel roaming bundle, and far less than roaming with no bundle, which at the time of writing, November 2026, runs at around ₦30 to ₦40 per MB in the UK, UAE and USA. Roaming still makes sense for a one day trip with almost no data, for people who must take calls on their Nigerian number, and for phones that cannot take an eSIM.
All operator prices below were taken from MTN's and Airtel's published pages, and from guides quoting them, in November 2026. Roaming prices change without much notice, so check before you travel.
What do MTN and Airtel roaming bundles cost?
MTN TravelPass works on selected roaming networks in more than 50 countries. MTN's page names the United Kingdom, United States and Canada, and guides list the UAE as well. You buy it by dialling 3126#, in the myMTN app or on Zigi.
| MTN TravelPass plan | Price | Validity | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice and data | ₦5,000 | 1 day | 250MB, plus up to 10 minutes or 20 SMS |
| Data | ₦10,000 | 7 days | 1GB |
| Voice | ₦10,000 | 7 days | Up to 50 minutes or 100 SMS |
| Voice and data | ₦20,000 | 14 days | 1GB, plus up to 75 minutes or 150 SMS |
| Voice and data | ₦40,000 | 30 days | 3GB, plus up to 100 minutes or 200 SMS |
| Data | ₦40,000 | 30 days | 5GB |
| Data | ₦80,000 | 30 days | 10GB |
MTN notes that incoming call minutes are capped at 20% of the allowance in some TravelPass destinations, and that calls in places like the USA need VoLTE switched on.
Airtel Roam The World works on selected networks in more than 70 countries, and Airtel's list includes the UK, UAE and USA. You buy it on *789# or in the MyAirtel app.
| Airtel Roam The World | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 1 day | ₦4,500 | 250MB, 10 minutes, 10 SMS |
| 10 days | ₦10,000 | 1GB, 15 minutes, 15 SMS |
| 30 days | ₦25,000 | 3GB, 25 minutes, 30 SMS |
Airtel lets you buy a bundle more than once and says activation starts when you arrive. Unused benefits do not roll over.
What does roaming cost with no bundle at all?
This is where people get hurt. Here are the pay as you go rates for the three destinations.
| Network and country | Calls home or local, per minute | SMS sent | Data per MB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airtel, UK | ₦250 | ₦250 | ₦30 |
| Airtel, UAE | ₦400 | ₦250 | ₦40 |
| Airtel, USA | ₦300 | ₦250 | ₦30 |
| MTN, UK | ₦300 | ₦100 | ₦35.84 |
| MTN, UAE | ₦500 | ₦100 | ₦35.84 |
| MTN, USA | ₦300 | ₦50 | ₦35.84 |
The Airtel figures come from Airtel's published rate table. The MTN figures come from MTN's rates tool as quoted in a November 2026 guide, which we could not check directly, so confirm them with MTN. MTN's own help pages also say some local MTN data bundles can be used on listed partner networks abroad, but they drain at ₦30.72 or ₦61.44 per MB depending on the destination.
At ₦30 to ₦40 per MB, one gigabyte comes to roughly ₦30,700 to ₦41,000.
A week in the UK, UAE or USA, side by side
Say you need somewhere around 3GB to 5GB for the week: maps, WhatsApp, a few video calls, social media and ride hailing. If you are not sure what you will use, how much data you need for a week abroad breaks it down.
| Option | Price | What you get | Good for a week? |
|---|---|---|---|
| MTN TravelPass, 7 day data | ₦10,000 | 1GB | Only for light use |
| MTN TravelPass, 30 day data | ₦40,000 | 5GB | Yes, but you pay for 30 days to use 7 |
| Airtel Roam The World, 10 days | ₦10,000 | 1GB, 15 minutes, 15 SMS | Only for light use |
| Airtel Roam The World, 30 days | ₦25,000 | 3GB, 25 minutes, 30 SMS | Moderate use |
| No bundle, pay as you go | ₦30 to ₦40 per MB | About ₦30,700 to ₦41,000 per GB | No |
| Travel eSIM, UK | from ₦5,900 | Data, and some plans include calls | Yes, pick the data you need |
| Travel eSIM, UAE | from ₦5,900 | Data only | Yes, pick the data you need |
| Travel eSIM, USA | from ₦5,900 | Data, and some plans include calls | Yes, pick the data you need |
The roaming bundles cost the same in all three countries, because MTN and Airtel price them by bundle rather than by destination. Getting to 5GB costs ₦40,000 on MTN, or ₦45,000 on Airtel by stacking one 30 day bundle and two 10 day bundles. The best roaming price per gigabyte is about ₦8,000.
For a sense of the wider market, the large dollar priced eSIM apps list 5GB for 7 days at around $11 to $12.50 for the UK, UAE and USA at the time of writing. At the official rate in early November 2026 that is roughly ₦15,000 to ₦17,000 before card fees, or around ₦3,000 to ₦3,400 per gigabyte. That gap is the whole argument for a travel eSIM. The "from" prices in the table are the lowest priced naira plan for each place, so open the plan page and compare the same data and the same number of days.
Why can pay as you go roaming produce a shock bill?
Because your phone uses data when you are not looking.
- Background use adds up. Photo backup, app updates, WhatsApp downloading every video in a group chat. A single 300MB app update at ₦30 per MB is ₦9,000.
- Bundles only apply on partner networks. MTN and Airtel both price their bundles for selected networks. If your phone attaches to a different network, you can end up on airtime rates instead.
- When a bundle runs out, the meter keeps running. Guides report that once a TravelPass is used up, MTN bills your airtime or postpaid account at pay as you go rates. On a postpaid line there is no airtime balance to stop the bill.
- Home bundles drain faster abroad. If a local MTN bundle works on a partner network, it drains at the roaming rate, so a bundle that lasts a month in Lagos can be gone in an afternoon.
The fix is one setting. Turn off data roaming on your Nigerian SIM before you land, and leave the line itself on so texts and calls still come in. If you use a travel eSIM, set it as your data line. Bank OTPs keep arriving on the Nigerian SIM, as explained in will bank OTPs still come when I use a travel eSIM.
When is roaming the better choice?
There are real cases where roaming is the right answer, and you should know them.
- A very short trip with tiny data needs. A day trip or a single overnight stay where you only need WhatsApp messages and a map. MTN's one day pass at ₦5,000 or Airtel's at ₦4,500 is simple, and there is nothing to install.
- You must keep receiving calls on your Nigerian number. Roaming voice bundles cover incoming calls, although MTN caps incoming minutes in some destinations. Most travel eSIM plans are data only, and calls go over WhatsApp and similar apps. If people must reach you on your 080 number, a roaming voice bundle does that. Our post on calls on a travel eSIM covers the options.
- Your phone does not support eSIM or is locked to a network. Then roaming or a local SIM are your choices. Check first with does my phone support eSIM.
- Someone else is paying. If your employer covers a postpaid roaming bill, convenience may matter more than price.
Plenty of travellers do both: a travel eSIM for data, plus a small roaming voice bundle such as MTN's ₦10,000 seven day voice plan for calls on their own number. At eSIM prices like the market figures above, that pair still comes in under a single 5GB roaming bundle.
So which should you pick for a week?
If your phone takes an eSIM and you will use more than about 1GB, a travel eSIM is usually the cheaper and more predictable choice. If you need less than 1GB, must take calls on your Nigerian number, or your phone cannot take an eSIM, roaming is fine, as long as you buy a bundle and never roam on pay as you go. If you are new to all this, what an eSIM is is the place to start.
Where to see naira prices
If you want naira eSIM prices to put beside the roaming numbers above, Nitro's travel eSIMs are priced in naira and paid from a wallet you fund by bank transfer, card, USSD, Opay, PalmPay, Kuda or Moniepoint. You can see every plan and its price at nitro.ng/esim.