How to Buy a SIM Card in Rome in 2026

If you are flying into Rome and want mobile data, you have two routes: a tourist SIM from TIM, Vodafone or WindTre at Fiumicino, at about €25 with your passport, or an eSIM installed before you leave home. This guide sets out what each operator's tourist offer costs, where to buy in Rome, the tax-code question that trips up many visitors, and which of our Europe eSIMs suits a Rome trip. All our plans for the country are on the Italy eSIM page.

Tourist SIMs at Fiumicino

TIM, Vodafone and WindTre all have shops at Fiumicino, so you can buy a SIM before you take the train or a taxi into the city. Their tourist offers come out at a similar price once the SIM itself is added:

• TIM Tourist: €14.99 for the plan plus €10 for the SIM, €24.99 in all.
• Vodafone tourist SIM: €24.99 for a month with 30 GB, of which 15 GB can be used elsewhere in the EU.
• WindTre Tourist Pass XL: €25, with a separate €10 charge for the SIM in its terms.

Those are the operators' own prices. The total you pay at the airport counter is not reliably published, and airport shops can add their own charges, so check the final figure before you hand over your card.

Iliad, the cheap option in town

Iliad is the low-cost network. One source puts its offer at around €8 to 10 for 150 GB with unlimited calls, far more data for the money than the tourist plans, though we found only one source for that figure. Iliad had no shop at Fiumicino when the airport's listings were checked in August 2026. Its official store at Roma Termini is the easy place to buy one once you are in the city.

Passport and codice fiscale

Every Italian SIM is registered, so you need your passport at the counter. The harder question is the codice fiscale, the Italian tax code. Sources disagree on whether a visitor needs one, from "mandatory" to "you may be asked". What they agree on is that the operators handle it differently: TIM's and Vodafone's tourist plans are set up for customers with a foreign tax code, while WindTre's tourist offer is aimed at new foreign customers who have no Italian code. If a shop insists on a codice fiscale you do not have, try another operator, or skip the counter with an eSIM.

Do you need an Italian SIM at all?

If your phone plan is from another EU country, it already works in Rome at home prices under EU roaming rules, and a local SIM adds little. For everyone else, including visitors from the UK, the US and further afield, the choice is between a tourist SIM and an eSIM, and an eSIM saves the queue, the passport check and the tax-code question.

Our eSIMs for Rome and Italy

Our Europe plans are data-only eSIMs that cover Italy among 32 countries and start on first use, so you can install one at home days before you fly:

• Europe 5GB: $8 for 5GB, valid 7 days, enough for a long weekend.
• Europe 10GB: $12 for 10GB, valid 14 days.
• Europe 25GB: $19 for 25GB, valid 30 days.

If you want to call as well, the EE Europe Travel eSIM is $21.33 for 30GB across Europe over 30 days, with 50 minutes, 100 texts and a UK +44 number. The Vodafone Travel eSIM is $26.60 for 25GB in 76 countries, valid 30 days from purchase, with unlimited local calls and calls to the UK, which suits a longer trip with stops outside Europe.

Side by side

Our recommendation

For a week in Rome, install the Europe 5GB or the Europe 10GB eSIM before you fly: it costs less than half of any tourist SIM at Fiumicino, works the moment you land, and needs no passport or tax code. If Rome is the start of a longer trip through Italy, take the Europe 25GB. Buy a local SIM only if you are staying for months and want an Italian number, and then the Iliad store at Termini is the place to start. Set-up steps are in our eSIM installation guide, and every plan for the country is on the Italy eSIM page.