SIM card in Georgia for tourists and residents: eSIM, plans, and internet

The easiest place for a tourist to buy a SIM card in Georgia is the airport, where the counters sell tourist packages and a week of unlimited data costs 10-15 lari. If your phone supports eSIM, you can set up a Georgian number at home before you fly. People who live in Georgia do better with a monthly unlimited plan, which costs 39-55 lari.

SIM cards at Tbilisi, Kutaisi, and Batumi airports

All three operators, Magti, Silknet, and Cellfie, have counters in the arrivals area of Tbilisi airport. SIM cards are also sold at Kutaisi airport. Batumi airport has sellers too, but the choice of operators there is smaller.

By law, every SIM card in Georgia is registered to its owner, so bring your original passport. A photo or a copy of the document will not be accepted at the counter or in a store. At Magti the card itself is free at the airport if you take the 30 lari tourist package.

Airport counters mostly sell tourist packages, while the operators' city stores offer a wider choice. If you can manage a couple of hours without data, you can buy your SIM card in a city store instead.

Tourist packages and prices in 2026

A tourist package usually runs for 3 to 30 days and includes a number, mobile data, and call minutes. Operators change their promotions and package contents often, so confirm the price at the counter or in the operator's app before you pay. Packages and prices as of November 2026:

The cheapest weekly package with unlimited data and unlimited calls within Georgia is Cellfie All Unlimited, which costs 10 lari and includes SMS as well. For 14 days the same package costs 19 lari, but it has no international minutes.

You activate All Unlimited on a regular Cellfie SIM card in the MyCellfie app, or dial *316*52# for the 7-day version. At the airport, ask at the counter whether they sell it.

The Silknet Tourist package at 15 lari also gives you a week of unlimited data, and Tourist 3 at 10 lari is enough for a weekend. If you plan to call home often without messaging apps, pick a package with international minutes. The Cellfie tourist package at 19 lari, for example, includes 50 minutes of such calls.

Silknet packages renew automatically if there is money left on the balance. If you only need the number for the trip, switch auto-renewal off. The Cellfie tourist package has no auto-renewal and simply expires at the end of its term.

Once the package ends, you can add unlimited data for a week or a month with the same operator. At Magti a week of unlimited data costs 10 lari on promotion, and a month costs 35 lari. At Cellfie it costs 8 lari for a week, 14 lari for two weeks, and 26 lari for 30 days.

eSIM for Georgia before you fly

An eSIM is a digital SIM card that you download to your phone, so you get a Georgian number without any plastic and without visiting a counter. It works only on phones that support eSIM, so check your phone settings before you buy one.

Silknet issues eSIMs online on its website for 5 lari, and the number itself is free. Cellfie also sells eSIMs on its website for 1 to 5 lari. International services such as Airalo sell Georgia eSIMs too, but those usually come with data only and no Georgian number.

Magti offers eSIM as well, but its website does not spell out the terms for tourists, so ask in a store. If you set up an eSIM before departure, your data works the moment you land, and you can skip the search for a store. You will need a connection at the airport to call a taxi, and during your first week in Georgia you will use your phone for directions and for paying in banking apps.

Using your home phone plan in Georgia

Roaming with your home carrier in Georgia usually costs much more than a local tourist package. Some plans do include Georgia in their roaming coverage, so check with your carrier before the trip. Your phone must also be unlocked to accept a Georgian SIM card, so confirm that with your carrier at the same time.

If you need your home number for bank verification codes, keep it active in a second slot or as an eSIM and use the Georgian SIM card for data. An eSIM is convenient here, because the Georgian number goes on the eSIM and your home SIM card stays in the phone for the codes.

Visa and Mastercard cards from Western banks work in Georgia, so paying for an eSIM online is easy. If you would rather pay at the counter in cash, booths for currency exchange in Georgia are located right at the airport, so you can get lari before you reach the SIM counter.

Which operator to choose

According to the regulator ComCom, at the start of 2026 Magti had the most subscribers of the three mobile operators in Georgia, followed by Silknet (formerly Geocell) and Cellfie (formerly Beeline).

In Tbilisi, Batumi, and Kutaisi you will hardly notice a difference between them, so choose by package price. In the mountains and on remote roads, coverage varies from place to place. Before a trip to Svaneti or Tusheti, ask your guesthouse host or your driver which operator has signal there.

Magti launched 5G on October 23, 2024, and its 5G network now covers most populated areas of the country. Silknet 5G so far works in central Tbilisi, from Freedom Square to Bagebi, and Cellfie 5G covers the major cities and the seaside resorts.

Mobile internet speeds in Georgia grew by 53% between 2021 and 2024, and in cities the connection is usually good enough for video calls. The signal weakens in metro tunnels, in basements and thick-walled buildings, in mountain gorges, and on empty country roads.

Plans for people living in Georgia

For anyone living in Georgia long term, the best value comes from 30-day packages with unlimited data and calls within the country:

• Cellfie All Unlimited: 39 lari for unlimited data, calls, and SMS within Georgia
• Magti Everything Unlimited: 45 lari, with the first 50 GB at full speed and a slowdown to 5 Mbps after that
• Silknet Totally Infinite: also 45 lari, with the same 50 GB full-speed limit
• Silknet Totally Unlimited: 55 lari for unlimited data, calls, and SMS

The Magti terms are valid through December 31, 2026. The same package costs 12 lari for a week and 5 lari for 3 days.

Home internet

Home internet in Georgian cities is almost always fiber, and two large providers share the market: Magti and Silknet. Magti prices in Tbilisi for fall 2026 look like this:

• 70 Mbps: 40 lari a month (33 lari on promotion in the regions)
• 80 Mbps: 50 lari
• 100 Mbps: 80 lari

If the building already has fiber, connection takes from one to several days after you apply. In many rentals the internet is registered to the landlord, and the tenant simply keeps paying under the landlord's customer number. Settle this with the landlord when you move in, along with the other tasks of your first month in Georgia.

The average home internet speed in the country is low. A study based on Ookla measurements put the 2024 median at only 20 Mbps, mostly because of old, cheap plans.

The easiest time to check the speed is while you view the apartment: connect to the Wi-Fi and run Speedtest on your phone. If the result is poor, the plan can be switched to 70 Mbps or higher. If the building has no fiber, laying a line takes longer, and unlimited mobile data will be your main connection for the first weeks.

Internet for remote work

For working from home, the most reliable setup is fiber plus unlimited mobile data as a backup. When the power goes out or the line fails, a phone hotspot will save your call.

If the connection at home lets you down, Tbilisi and Batumi have plenty of coworking spaces with a stable line. And if you work for foreign clients on a permanent basis, find out ahead of time how remote work from Georgia is treated for tax and status purposes.

How to top up and pay

Mobile service is topped up in the MyMagti, MySilknet, and MyCellfie apps, in banking apps, or in cash at payment terminals. A monthly package can be set to auto-renew, and the fee is then taken from your balance automatically.

The home internet bill is paid the same way as utility bills in Georgia, by customer number in the Bank of Georgia or TBC app, at a terminal, or by autopay from your account.

How much to budget

A week of mobile service costs a tourist about 10-15 lari. A two-week package costs 15-30 lari, depending on how much data and how many minutes it includes.

For people living in Georgia, unlimited mobile service runs 39-55 lari a month, and home fiber internet costs 40-80 lari depending on the speed. Together that comes to about 80-135 lari a month, a small share of the overall cost of living in Georgia.