How & Where to Buy a Prepaid SIM Card in Romania in 2026

If you’re traveling to Romania and want to stay connected, buying a prepaid SIM card is still a popular option. I’ve personally bought tourist SIM cards in Romania multiple times, including in Bucharest, and in this guide I explain exactly how and where to do it in 2026.

As a full-time travel blogger who reviews SIM cards worldwide, I also share an easier alternative: eSIMs. But this article is written for travelers who still prefer walking into a phone shop and buying a physical prepaid SIM card.

Table of Contents

Traveltomtom also wrote a specific guide for the best eSIMs for Romania in 2026 as well as a sim card guide for Bucharest Airport.

Some links in this article about the best prepaid sim cards for Romania are affiliate links. If you buy any product after clicking on an affiliate link I will earn a small commission. Don’t worry this is at absolutely no extra cost to you!

My recommendation

If your phone supports eSIM, I strongly recommend buying a Romania eSIM online before you fly. It saves time, avoids language barriers, and is usually cheaper than airport SIM cards.

As soon as the plane lands you are online. eSIMs for Romania already start from $4 USD. Recommends eSIM providers are SimOptions and Airalo.

However, if you specifically want a physical prepaid SIM card, the best option is to visit an official Orange or Vodafone store in Romania. I’ve done this myself and found city stores to be far better than the airport kiosk

When visiting more countries on your trip to Europe you might want to opt for a sim card for traveling in Europe.

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Best eSIM for Romania (Alternative Option)

Even though this is a prepaid SIM guide, it would be incomplete without mentioning the best eSIM options for Romania.

After testing multiple providers, Airalo remains my top recommendation for Romania. Setup takes just a couple of minutes and you’re online as soon as you land. I always have an Airalo eSIM installed on my phone, regardless where I travel.

A great alternative is SimOptions and I personally use them whenever Romania is part of a longer European trip.

There are several other eSIM providers that have great Romania eSIM deals. Check them out in my guide for the best eSIM for Romania.

If you don’t want to swap physical SIM cards or deal with registration paperwork, an eSIM is simply the easiest solution.

Romanian Mobile Operators Explained

There are three main mobile networks in Romania:

• Orange Romania – best overall coverage and speeds
• Vodafone Romania – very solid nationwide network
• Telekom Romania – smaller network, often cheaper

During my travels across Romania, Orange and Vodafone consistently delivered the best performance, especially outside major cities.

Prepaid SIM Card Prices in Romania (2026)

Romania is one of the cheapest countries in Europe for mobile data. Typical tourist prepaid SIM prices in 2026:

• 5–10 GB data: €5–€8
• 20–30 GB data: €8–€12
• Unlimited data packages: €10–€15 (usually with fair-use policy)

Most prepaid SIM cards are valid for 28 or 30 days. Prices vary slightly depending on promotions and location and are constantly changing slightly.

Here are the official websites of Vodafone Romania, Orange Romania and Telekom Romania.

Where to Buy a Prepaid SIM Card in Romania

Bucharest Airport (OTP)

You can buy tourist SIM cards at Bucharest Henri Coandă Airport, but I don’t recommend it.

When I arrived at OTP Airport, I found limited plan choices, higher prices, and long queues. Staff often speak limited English and tourist packages are more expensive than in the city. Here is the full blog post about buying a sim card at Bucharest Airport.

I also filmed this entire process for my YouTube channel, and it reminded me why I now prefer eSIMs or city stores.

Official Mobile Stores (Best Option)

The best place to buy a prepaid SIM card in Romania is at an official Orange or Vodafone shop in the city.

You’ll find stores in all major cities like:

• Bucharest
• Cluj-Napoca
• Brasov
• Sibiu
• Timisoara

But there are also Orange stores in smaller towns.

Staff are usually more helpful, prices are lower, and you’ll have access to the full range of prepaid plans.

Online

Forget about buying a prepaid sim card on arrival in Romania. Be online as soon as the plane lands! 

Arrive prepared with an eSIM or an international prepaid sim card for Romania. Convenient. Fast and easy.

Order a Romania eSIM via SimOptions or Airalo or check my detailed comparison of the best eSIMs for Romania.

If your phone is not eSIM compatible you can order a physical prepaid sim card for Romania via SimOptions.

What You Need to Buy a SIM Card in Romania

You must present your passport or ID when buying a prepaid SIM card. Registration is mandatory.

The staff will activate the SIM for you, and in most cases you’ll leave the store with working mobile data.

Coverage & Mobile Internet Speeds

Romania has excellent mobile infrastructure.

In my experience, 4G/5G speeds are fast in cities and surprisingly good in rural areas. 5G is available in major cities like Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, but not that much in rural areas.

Orange generally offers the best coverage, followed closely by Vodafone. Telekom has the smallest 4G/LTE network.

For detailed 4G/5G network coverage maps check Nperf.

Why I Now Usually Choose eSIM Instead

After years of buying physical SIM cards around the world, I increasingly rely on eSIMs.

With an eSIM:

• No store visits
• No passport registration
• No SIM swapping
• Instant activation

For Romania, Airalo and Saily offer reliable eSIM plans that activate before you even leave the plane. Or choose SimOptions for eSIMs valid in all of Europe.

Conclusion: Is a Prepaid SIM Card in Romania Still Worth It?

Yes! Buying a prepaid SIM card in Romania is easy and affordable, especially if you visit an official Orange or Vodafone store. Local prepaid sim cards are better value for money than eSIMs.

However, in 2026, eSIMs have become the more convenient choice. They save time, remove paperwork, and often cost less than tourist SIM cards.

As someone who travels full-time and reviews SIM cards professionally, my honest recommendation is to use an eSIM if your phone supports it, just for convenience. If you use a lot of data, let's say more than 2 GB per day than a buying a prepaid sim card is the best option for you. Head to a phone store in the city store or choose the airport kiosk.

For more SIM card guides, destination tips, and honest travel advice, check out the rest of my articles on Traveltomtom. You can already find more than 200 prepaid and eSIM guides on Traveltomtom from all over the world: Europe, Asia, USA, Morocco, Switzerland, Brazil, Thailand, Peru, Italy, Turkey, Israel, Zanzibar, Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Japan, South Korea, China, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Aruba and many more.

Expected data speed in Romania

This might be surprising to many people but Romania actually has some of the fastest mobile data speeds in the world. Romania invested heavily in the past in their mobile data network and data speed and that pays off.

Romania always scores very high in ranking of the fastest mobile data speed in the world.

From the above speed test you can see that the data speed on my eSIM for Romania was pretty good in the city center in Bucharest.

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Traveltomtom is on the road to 197, meaning I would like to travel to every country in the world. As of February 2026 I have visited more than 165 countries, still about 30 to go, but no rush.

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions and I am more than happy to help you out.

Enjoy your trip to Romania!

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