How to Buy a SIM Card in Hungary in 2026
Whether you need a Hungarian SIM card depends on the SIM already in your phone. Hungary is in the EU, so a plan from Germany, France, Austria or any other EU or EEA country works there at home prices, within its fair-use limit. UK visitors lost that right with Brexit, and everyone else pays roaming. For them Hungary has one local product made for visitors: the Telekom Travel SIM, sold at a counter at Budapest Airport. This guide explains it, the ID rule that catches people out, and when one of our eSIMs is simpler. Our plans for the country are on the Hungary eSIM page.
Three networks, two new names
Hungary has three mobile networks, and older guides use names that have gone. Magyar Telekom, usually just Telekom, is the largest, with about 46% of subscribers. Yettel was called Telenor until 2022 and is regularly the fastest: it has won Ookla's Speedtest Award for Hungary in recent periods, and the regulator NMHH measures its outdoor 4G coverage at over 99% of the population. The third is One, which is what Vodafone Hungary became when it was combined with DIGI under the 4iG group in early 2025. If you searched for a Vodafone Hungary SIM card price, the shop you want now says One. Telekom has the widest reach in the countryside, which matters on day trips to the Danube Bend, Eger or Lake Balaton.
The two visitor products
Telekom sells a Travel SIM only to people holding an identity document not issued in Hungary, and only to over-18s:
- 20 GB for 10 days for 10,000 HUF, and the whole allowance can be used in Hungary and elsewhere in the EU.
- 100 GB for 30 days for 15,000 HUF, of which up to 65 GB can be used in the EU.
Validity runs from the date of purchase, not first use. The SIM cannot be recharged: when the data runs out, the card is finished and you buy another.
The ID rule, and where to buy
Every Hungarian prepaid line has to be registered to an identity document, and a foreign visitor has to do it in person in an operator's shop. This is the trap: a starter pack from a Magyar Posta counter, a petrol station or a hypermarket is only plastic until someone checks your passport, which in practice means walking into a store afterwards anyway. Bring the passport, not a driving licence.
At Budapest Airport, Telekom's counter is on the landside of the arrivals level in Terminal 2B. In the city, all three networks have shops in the centre, including branches at Astoria, WestEnd and Corvin Mall. One travel blogger who checked the airport in January 2025 found only a Yettel shop selling expensive passes; more recent sources describe the Telekom counter, so expect either.
Our eSIMs for Hungary
An eSIM from us needs no passport check and no shop, and it is on your phone before you board. For data across a Central European trip, the Europe 10GB eSIM is $12 for 14 days and the Europe 25GB eSIM $19 for 30 days; both start on first use and cover 32 countries, Hungary and Austria included. A short Budapest break fits the Global64 10GB eSIM at $10 for seven days. If you want calls too, the EE Europe Travel eSIM is $21.33 for 30GB over 30 days with 50 minutes and 100 texts on a UK number. To keep bank codes arriving while your own SIM is out, the O2 SMS Only eSIM gives you a private UK number for $8 a month.
Side by side
| Option | Price | Data | Valid | How you get it |
|---|
| Telekom Travel SIM | 10,000 HUF | 20 GB, all usable in the EU | 10 days from purchase | Counter in Terminal 2B, passport |
| Telekom Travel SIM | 15,000 HUF | 100 GB, 65 GB in the EU | 30 days from purchase | Counter in Terminal 2B, passport |
| Europe 10GB eSIM | $12 | 10GB in 32 countries | 14 days from first use | Online, no ID check |
| EE Europe Travel eSIM | $21.33 | 30GB, 50 minutes and 100 texts | 30 days from first use | Online, UK number |
Budapest and beyond
Budapest Airport's free Wi-Fi, bud:free, covers Terminals 2A and 2B and the SkyCourt in four-hour sessions, which is enough to install an eSIM you forgot to set up at home. In the city there is no city-wide network and no Wi-Fi on the metro, so do not plan to rely on hotspots. Outside the capital, Debrecen, Szeged, Eger and PĂ©cs are well covered, and the Lake Balaton resorts hold up in summer.
Our recommendation
With an EU SIM, use your own plan and check its fair-use allowance before a long stay. Coming from the UK or further afield, install the Europe 10GB eSIM for a week or two, or the Europe 25GB eSIM for a month, before you fly. A Telekom Travel SIM from Terminal 2B is the right buy only if your phone cannot take an eSIM and you have your passport to hand. Set-up steps are in our eSIM installation guide, and the plans for the country are on the Hungary eSIM page.
