How to Buy a SIM Card in Boston in 2026
At Boston Logan you can get online for free before you buy anything: the BOSWifi network covers all four terminals, including the international arrivals in Terminal E. That gives you time to choose. Prepaid SIMs from AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are sold in Logan's convenience stores, but guides describe them as pricey with limited data. This guide explains what the airport offers, where to buy in the city, and our USA eSIMs, which you install before you fly and switch on at the gate. Every plan is on the USA eSIM page.
Free Wi-Fi at Logan
Logan's free network is called BOSWifi. According to several guides, it covers terminals A, B, C and E, the gate areas, baggage claim, food courts and the rental car center. One older page gives a different network name, BOS Free WiFi, so pick whichever appears on your phone. Massport's FlyLogan app also offers a premium Wi-Fi connection, along with flight information and terminal maps.
Once you leave the terminal, the Wi-Fi stops. If you are taking a taxi, a ride-hailing car or the rental car shuttle, you will want mobile data working by then.
Buying a SIM at the airport
One guide says Logan's convenience stores sell prepaid SIMs from AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, and that they tend to be pricey and limited in data. We found no source naming a carrier's own store in Terminal E. If you want a carrier SIM, the city is the better place to buy it.
Buying in the city
According to one guide, the carriers have stores on Newbury Street and at the Prudential Center, with better prices than the airport. The main networks in Boston are Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, and one guide also lists US Cellular. Sources disagree about ID: one tells you to bring your passport for registration, while most US guides say prepaid SIMs need no ID. Take your passport anyway; it costs nothing.
A carrier SIM also means swapping out your home SIM, and your phone must be unlocked. An eSIM avoids both.
SIM card or eSIM for Boston?
If you are searching for a Boston SIM, the main choice is this. A physical SIM from a carrier store gives you an American phone number and a monthly plan, which makes sense for a long stay, a semester at a university in Boston or Cambridge, or if you need people in the US to call you. For a holiday or a business trip of a few weeks, an eSIM is simpler: you buy it online before you fly, it is working when you land at Logan, and your home SIM stays in the phone for calls and texts.
Check that your phone supports eSIM before you buy. Most recent models do. Install it at home over Wi-Fi, leave it switched off, and turn it on after landing; BOSWifi will cover you if you need help with the set-up in the terminal.
Our USA eSIMs
Our three USA plans use the Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile networks, start on first use and include hotspot:
They work across the whole country, so a day trip to Cambridge, a weekend on Cape Cod or a drive around New England uses the same plan.
If Boston is one end of a trip that also takes in Europe, the Global64 10GB eSIM at $10 for 7 days, or Global64 20GB at $15 for 14 days, covers the United States and many European countries among its 64 on one plan, so you do not need a second eSIM for the other side of the Atlantic.
For a short visit with little data, such as a conference where the hotel and venue have Wi-Fi, the Global PAYG Data eSIM costs $20 and includes €17.50 of credit, used only when you use data. In the United States it works on AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.
If your bank sends codes to your home number and you keep that SIM switched off, the O2 SMS Only eSIM gives you a private UK +44 number that still receives texts, at $8 a month.
Boston options compared
| Option | Price | Data and validity | Best for |
|---|
| Carrier SIM from a Logan store | Pricey, according to guides | Limited data | An emergency on arrival |
| Carrier SIM from a city store | Depends on the plan | Monthly carrier plans | Long stays with a US number |
| USA 5GB | $8 | 5 GB, 7 days | A week in Boston |
| USA 10GB | $15 | 10 GB, 14 days | Boston plus New England |
| USA 20GB | $27 | 20 GB, 30 days | A month or heavy use |
| Global64 20GB | $15 | 20 GB, 14 days, 64 countries | A trip that includes Europe |
Our recommendation
For a week in Boston, install USA 5GB before you fly and switch it on when you land; BOSWifi covers you until then. Take USA 10GB if you are touring New England for two weeks, or Global64 20GB if Europe is part of the same trip. Skip the airport convenience-store SIMs unless your phone cannot take an eSIM. Our eSIM installation guide explains the set-up, and every plan is on the USA eSIM page.
