- Types of roaming
- Mobile providers that provide roaming calls and SMS
- Best mobile plans for Thailand roaming overall
- Best cheap mobile plans for data roaming in Thailand
- Best cheap mobile plans for SMS and voice roaming in Thailand
- Best mobile plans for data roaming in Thailand
- Best mobile plans for SMS roaming in Thailand
- Best mobile plans for voice roaming in Thailand
Roaming is a great way to use your mobile plan overseas. Before you roam, you’ll need either a mobile plan that supports roaming or an international roaming plan add-on.
Before we look at roaming plans offered by popular mobile providers in Singapore, here are some popular mobile plans that include data roaming or voice and SMS roaming, or offer it via separate add-ons.
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#1
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Circles.Life
4G SuperSaver 100
$3
+ $0.30 Upfront
Min. cost $3.30
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#2
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MyRepublic
Editor's Pick
4G Essential
$6/mth
Min. cost $6
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#3
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ZYM Mobile
Flexi Duo Data Only Plan
$7
+ $3 Upfront
Min. cost $10
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#4
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Zero1
Starter Prime 4G
$7.06
Min. cost $7.06
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#5
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CMLink
200GB 4G SIM Only
$7.70
Min. cost $7.70
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#6
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VIVIFI
Roam Value 4G
$7.70
Min. cost $7.70
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Types of roaming
There are three types of global roaming: data, SMS, and call roaming.
When it comes to data roaming, you’ll sometimes find it included in Singapore mobile plans, particularly those from SIMBA and CMLink. It's a great option if you regularly cross the border for work and need a roaming data allowance each month.
IDD (International Direct Dial) minutes are a common inclusion in Singapore mobile plans. SMSes while roaming, however, are a much less common inclusion. In most cases, you may have to pay extra to make or receive calls or to send SMSes. If you’re after SMS and call roaming, your best bet would be to look for add-on packs.
Mobile providers that provide roaming calls and SMS
We track 17 mobile providers in our comparison engine. Most mobile providers in Singapore offer pay-as-you-go roaming rates for incoming and outgoing SMS and IDD. These rates change based on the mobile provider (like StarHub, Circles.Life and M1) and selected countries.
Unfortunately, not every provider offers both call and SMS roaming, especially as part of mobile plans. GOMO, for example, does not support calls while roaming. Many telcos offer a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) system, while others offer add-on roaming packs. You’ll also find some providers, like SIMBA and Singtel, that bundle IDD and local minutes. The only telcos we found that didn’t offer any voice or SMS roaming were GOMO, giga, Maxx, ZYM Mobile and Changi Mobile.
Best mobile plans for Thailand roaming overall
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SIMBA
SuperRoam 12 SIM Only
$12
Min. cost $12
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For the best Thailand roaming mobile plan, we recommend the SIMBA SuperRoam 12 SIM Only plan. It typically costs $12 every 30 days and comes with 500GB of data, bundled for use in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Thailand.
This SIMBA mobile plan includes unlimited local outgoing calls, with 600 international direct dial (IDD) minutes. It also includes 18GB of roaming to Bangladesh, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, China and South Korea, as well as 8GB of data available for use in over 60 countries.
Even though incoming SMSes while roaming are free, SIMBA doesn't support SMS roaming for outbound messages. Outside of the plan inclusions, SIMBA offers free calls over VoLTE—the only catch is that the minutes you use come out of your monthly IDD allowance. If you need more data, you're looking at a minimum of $4 per GB.
Best cheap data roaming in Thailand
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Eight
Double Eight SIM Only
$8
Min. cost $8
Link not supplied
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If you’re looking for an affordable data roaming option, start your comparisons with eight’s Double Eight SIM Only mobile plan. For $8 every 30 days, you’ll get 10GB of APAC data for use in Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, and Thailand on the StarHub 4G network. You’ll also get an extra 2GB of international roaming for use in over 50 countries. As an extra perk, you’ve also got 288 IDD minutes so you can phone home over VoLTE while you’re in Thailand.
Best cheap SMS and voice roaming in Thailand
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MyRepublic
Editor's Pick
4G Essential
$6/mth
Min. cost $6
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If you’re after a mobile provider with cheap call and SMS roaming rates, consider MyRepublic. They’ve consistently come out on top with the cheapest roaming rates for SMS and call minutes. For incoming and outgoing calls to Thailand, MyRepublic charges between $0.06 and $0.12 per minute, depending on your desired audio quality. For SMSes, you’re looking at $0.15 per SMS.
To keep things affordable, we’d recommend the MyRepublic 4G Essential Plan. If you’re a new sign-up, you'll pay $6 a month for the first 6 months, then $9.90 for every month thereafter. Similarly, if you’re porting your number, you can enjoy that sweet discount for an extra 3 months – as long as you’re not coming from StarHub or any of its MVNOs. This plan comes with 288GB of full-speed local data (and unlimited speed-capped data afterwards), 200 minutes, 100 SMS, and 3GB of roaming data for use in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Best mobile plans for data roaming in Thailand
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Eight
Editor's Pick
Fortune Eight SIM Only
$11.80
Min. cost $11.80
Link not supplied
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The Fortune Eight SIM Only plan is a great starting point for affordable data roaming in Thailand. For $11.80 every 30 days, you’ll get 488GB of APAC data bundled for Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, and Thailand.
You’ll also get an extra 18GB (as well as an additional 8GB) of APAC roaming. On top of that, you’ll get 8GB of international roaming for use in over 50 countries. Eight also offers add-on roaming packs. Depending on the country, you can snag 1GB for as low as $3.88.
Best mobile plans for SMS roaming in Thailand
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MyRepublic
Editor's Pick
4G Essential
$6/mth
Min. cost $6
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MyRepublic’s IDD roaming rates are among the lowest. Their SMS roaming rates are no exception. You’ll pay $0.15 per SMS for Zone 1 destinations (including Thailand), $0.65 for Zone 2 destinations, and $1.15 for Zone 3 destinations.
As with our previous cheap roaming pick, we recommend the MyRepublic 4G Essential Plan. It’s $6 a month for the first 6 months for new sign-ups. If you’re porting in from a provider other than StarHub or any of its MVNOs, you can enjoy the discount for an extra 3 months. For every month after that, you’ll pay $9.90. It comes with 200 minutes, 100 SMS, 288GB of full-speed local data (and unlimited speed-capped data afterwards), and 3GB of roaming data for use in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Best mobile plans for voice roaming in Thailand
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SIMBA
SuperRoam 12 SIM Only
$12
Min. cost $12
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SIMBA is a great place to start if you’re after roaming calls, as all SIMBA plans include free voice roaming over VoLTE. So as long as the destination you’re travelling to supports the VoLTE communication standard, you won’t have to pay any additional fees. The minutes you use, however, will be deducted from your monthly IDD allowance. If you need more, you can purchase a Super IDD add-on. For $5, you’ll get 500 minutes across 21 destinations.
It’s also worth noting that while you can receive texts while roaming with SIMBA, you won’t be able to send them.
We’d recommend the SIMBA SuperRoam 12 SIM Only plan. It costs $12 every 30 days and comes with 500GB of data, bundled for use in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Thailand. You’ll get 600 IDD minutes, 100 local SMSes, and unlimited calls to local mobiles. When it comes to data, you’ll get a sweet 18GB of roaming data for use in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, China and South Korea. You’ll also get a further 8GB of data to use over 60 destinations.
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