Mobiles in Spain

This page about mobiles in Spain is aimed at people who either want to regularly make international calls, or who aren’t resident in Spain, but need a fair priced mobile connection during their stays. The best mobile deals are usually found by combining your mobile contract with your internet, so check out the Internet and TV in Barcelona page for those details.

There are no roaming charges within the EU, but if you’re from a country outside of the EU you can be hit with high roaming costs. That applies to the UK post Brexit. Either buy a second phone with a Spanish network, buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card and put it in your existing phone, or a better option is to have a dual SIM mobile so you can switch between SIMs and providers depending where you are.

Some Spanish mobile providers still include the UK within their free roaming area – for example Movistar does not charge roaming in the UK. If you have a Spanish mobile phone service, you should check before you travel to the UK or outside of the EU to see how much your Spanish mobile provider will charge you when travelling.

Buying mobiles in Spain

If you’d rather not buy a mobile phone online, go direct to the network provider such as Movistar or Vodafone – they have shops spread around Barcelona. El Corte Inglés has a good mobile department and FNAC also has plenty of choice.

Dual SIM mobiles

Buying a dual SIM mobile is a great way to have access to two networks in different countries without having to carry two phones everywhere. Dual SIM phones are not as bulky as they used to be, and are not necessarily more expensive. This is the solution I have and it works well if your main travel is between two countries – especially if one is within the EU. You can control data roaming on each SIM and switch that on or off as you travel. The second SIM slot gives you the flexibility to add a travel SIM card (such as from Holafly – see below) without losing your main mobile phone number network (which you can still use when travelling when you have Wi-Fi).

Recommended mobile networks for expats and travellers in Spain

Lobster

Lobster is a Spanish mobile network built for English-speaking expats who want to call their home country on a regular basis. Lobster’s website, customer support and billing are 100% in English. They have a Spain only service and an international service.

It’s a pay-as-you-go service with a Spanish SIM giving calls, SMS and data. The network has 5G coverage and roaming in the EU and the UK. There are no contracts – you can join and leave at any time without penalties. Lobster’s plans run for 28 days. You can stop and start your service at any time if you don’t need it for a while, making it the perfect mobile network for expats and English speakers who travel regularly to and from Spain.

Lobster’s international plan gives unlimited calls and texts from Spain to over 10 countries: UK, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Gibraltar, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and the US. You can port your existing Spanish SIM to Lobster and they will make the change overnight for the least disruption.

The service requires that you use their SIM card, which you can order from their website and delivery is free. Sign up online or call 1661. Their customer service is available from 9am to 9pm.

Lobster now also provides fibre internet, which you can combine with a mobile phone service and obtain a discount on the mobile plan.

www.lobster.es

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Holafly

Holafly sells travel eSIMs for international travel, allowing users to avoid roaming charges with unlimited data plans. An eSIM is a digital or virtual SIM card that can be installed directly onto a compatible smartphone without needing a physical SIM card.

The first thing to do is to check that your current mobile is compatible with an eSIM. There are instructions on Holafly’s website on how to do this, together with a list of compatible phones so you can check before you buy.

To get started select the country that you will be travelling to, then the amount of days that you need the Holafly service for, and finally buy your eSIM. You’ll receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to install the eSIM. Once that’s confirmed you have access to unlimited data and free roaming. You can keep using WhatsApp on the same number as you did before because essentially you have a dual SIM in your mobile phone.

Plans are available for individual countries (such as USA, Europe, Japan, Canada, India, China, UK, and many more) and you can also purchase regional plans that cover areas like Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and even cruise ship routes.

Note: Holafly eSIMs are for data only, so they do not give calls or messages. However, with unlimited data you can simply use apps like Signal, WhatsApp and iMessage for phone calls and messages. Holafly’s eSIMs also provide 1GB of monthly backup data.

Prices vary depending on which countries you travel to. You can pay in advance from 1 day to months. If you’re going to be abroad for more than 30 days, it’s probably worth subscribing to one of their monthly or yearly plans. Holafly offers their network in over 197 countries and they have 24 hour customer support 7 days a week.

www.holafly.com

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Buying unlocked mobiles in Spain

If you can, buy an unlocked phone, as you then have much more choice for the best network deal. I bought an unlocked phone from the UK because I found much cheaper mobile deals in the UK compared to Barcelona. Apple, Samsung, Google and others all sell unlocked versions of their mobile phones.

The main benefits of buying unlocked are flexibility to switch providers and that no bloatware/apps are installed that you don’t want and can’t uninstall. The trade-off is that you have to pay the full price upfront rather than being able to spread the cost over a year or two.

You can then either swap between a Spanish SIM and another SIM in the same phone, have two phones or a dual SIM phone.

If you already have a locked phone, it’s possible to unlock it enabling you to switch network providers.

Buying a new SIM card or eSIM

Any mobile phone shop will sell you a SIM card. It’s a good idea to put your new SIM card into your mobile whilst still in the shop. That way if you have any problems, you can ask for help then and there.

If you have a reasonably modern smartphone, it’s probably compatible with an eSIM. An eSIM is a virtual SIM card that in all other aspects works in exactly the same way as a physical SIM. They can be purchased online and you’ll get instructions on how to install it into your mobile.

How to top up pay-as-you-go mobiles in Spain

Here are the main ways to top up pay-as-you-go (prepago) mobiles in Spain:

Online: through the network provider’s website or app. Most Spanish operators such as Movistar and Vodafone let you top up directly with a debit or credit card.
Some allow top-up via online banking.

By phone: call your network provider’s customer service number and top up using a card over the phone. Many operators have automated lines especially for top-ups.

In person:

• Estancos (tobacconists) sell recharge vouchers (tarjetas de recarga) for most networks.
• Supermarkets. The main supermarkets like Mercadona, Carrefour and Lidl sell top-up cards or can process recharges at the checkout.
• Phone shops and locutorios. Mobile phone shops and calling centres will be able to top up most networks.
• ATMs (cajeros). Most Spanish bank ATMs or cashpoints have a top-up option, and you don’t need to have an account with the bank, just a card to pay with.
• Mobile network shops. The main network providers such as Movistar have shops where you can recharge.
• Recharge card. You can buy a physical recharge card or voucher in many shops. They come with a code on the back which you scratch off and then either enter the code on the network provider’s app or website; follow instructions to dial a short code on your phone; or call customer service to apply the code and credit.

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Mobile network providers / carriers in Spain

For mobile phones in Spain, the big operators tend to provide better coverage with higher prices, while the smaller companies use the big operators’ networks but offer cheaper prices. If you’re in a city with good coverage then a cheaper deal will probably serve you well. These are the main mobile network providers in Spain.

• Movistar (Telefónica): the largest and oldest company, with the widest coverage, especially in rural areas
• Vodafone: a large company with strong coverage nationwide
• Orange: another large company with good national coverage
• MásMóvil: has grown significantly in recent years, especially after they merged with Orange Spain

Also worth considering:

• DIGI: Romanian-owned and rapidly growing in Spain with very low-cost plans
• Yoigo: owned by MásMóvil

The following network providers use the major networks to provide service, but they offer their own plans which are often cheaper:

• Lowi
• Amena
• Simyo
• Pepephone
• Lebara (good for international calls)
• Lycamobile

There are even supermarket brands:

• Carrefour Móvil
• Lidl Connect

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