Networks
Vodacom, Airtel, Halotel and Zantel, branded Yas
Best on Zanzibar
Yas, the old Zantel, then Vodacom
eSIM price
About $5 for 1 GB, $20 to $30 for 10 GB
Local SIM
$8 to $12 for roughly 10 GB
Registration
Passport required for a local SIM, done in shop
Coverage gaps
Michamvi, parts of Pemba, inland Jozani
An eSIM for Zanzibar in four lines
- Coverage is Vodacom, Airtel or Halotel. Whatever the eSIM brand on the box, one of those three carries the signal. Vodacom is the widest on the beaches.
- Around $5 to $20 for a week. One to five gigabytes, which is more than enough for maps, messaging and a video call a day.
- Install before you fly. The QR code needs wifi to activate, and the airport wifi is unreliable at exactly the wrong moment.
- Hotel wifi is worse than you expect. Even at the top end. The eSIM is the reason your evening works rather than a luxury.
The three ways to get online, compared
There is no single right answer here, and the length of your trip decides most of it. Pick an option to see what it costs, how it is set up and where it lets you down.
A travel eSIM installed before you fly
From
$5 to $30
Data
1 to 10 GB
Setup
QR code, five minutes, done at home
In its favour
- You land connected, which matters when a driver has parked somewhere else
- No passport registration and no queue at the airport counter
- Keeps your home number live on the physical SIM for banking codes
Against it
- Rides on whichever local network the provider has a deal with, and you do not choose
- Costs two to three times a local SIM for the same data
- Needs an unlocked phone that supports eSIM, which rules out most handsets before 2018
Suits
Anyone landing at night, staying under a week, or who would rather not hand over a passport photocopy on arrival.
Reference prices seen in 2026 for a one to two week stay. The eSIM links are partner links, at no extra cost to you.
The arithmetic is simple enough. On a five day trip the extra fifteen dollars an eSIM costs buys you a working phone from the moment the wheels touch down, and that is worth it. On a three week stay it stops being worth it around the second top up.
The short version
- Any eSIM sold for Tanzania works on Zanzibar.
- Which local network it uses matters more than the price.
- Yas, the old Zantel, has the best island coverage.
- A local SIM is a third of the price and needs your passport.
- Under a week, take an eSIM. Over two, take both.
- Michamvi, inland Jozani and Pemba drop out on everything.
Which network works where
Tanzania has four operators, and on Zanzibar they are not equal. Yas, which most people still call Zantel, was founded on the island and its coverage shows it. Vodacom is close behind and better on the mainland. Airtel is the one most international eSIM providers ride on, which is an awkward fact given it is the weakest of the three out east.
| Where you are | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Stone Town and the westEvery operator works, 4G is quick enough for video calls, and the hotels have usable wifi. This is the one part of the island where the choice does not matter. | Fine on everything |
| Nungwi and KendwaThe resort strip in the north is well served. Signal thins out on the track between the two villages and along the cliffs, but nowhere you would notice on a normal day. | Good, Yas best |
| Paje and JambianiThe kitesurf and remote working coast, so the networks have invested. Yas and Vodacom both hold up. This is where people actually depend on the connection, and where a bad operator choice ruins a working week. | Good, and it matters |
| Michamvi and the far eastPast Bwejuu the coverage thins with the road. Expect to lose data at some hotels and to find one corner of the terrace where it comes back. | Patchy |
| Jozani and the interiorThe forest sits in a dip and the signal goes with it. Not a problem for a two hour visit, worth knowing if you were planning to work from a lodge inland. | In and out |
| PembaThe sister island is another matter. Coverage clusters around Chake Chake and Wete and disappears between them. Most travel eSIMs technically work here, but slowly. | Thin |
Before buying an eSIM, find the network it uses. Good providers list it on the plan page. If a provider will not say, that tells you something too.
Buying a local SIM, and the registration nobody mentions
Tanzania requires every SIM to be registered to a named person with biometric verification. In practice that means a branded shop, your passport, a fingerprint on a small scanner, and about twenty minutes. It is routine, and it is not optional.
Buy from an operator shop in Stone Town, not from a stall. A line sold without registration will be cut off within days, usually once you have moved to the far side of the island and cannot go back to complain.
If you are coming here to work
Paje has built a small remote working economy, with coworking spaces that run their own connections and back them up. It is the one part of the island where you can reasonably promise a client a video call at a fixed hour.
Everywhere else, treat mobile data as your primary connection and hotel wifi as a bonus. Plenty of east coast hotels run their wifi off the same mobile network your phone would use, so a bad signal in the room is a bad signal on both.
Power is the other half of the problem. Cuts are short and frequent outside Stone Town, and the smaller places run a generator that takes a minute to pick up. A power bank does more for your working day here than an extra five gigabytes.
Questions people ask
Does an eSIM work in Zanzibar?
Yes. Zanzibar is part of Tanzania and any eSIM sold for Tanzania covers the island. What varies is which local network the plan rides on, and that determines whether you have a signal on the east coast or not. Check the network before you buy, not the number of gigabytes.
Which network is best on Zanzibar?
Yas, the operator formerly known as Zantel, has the deepest coverage on the island itself, because it started there. Vodacom is a close second and is stronger on the mainland if you are combining Zanzibar with a safari. Airtel is widely used by international eSIM providers and is adequate rather than good on the east coast.
How much does data cost in Zanzibar?
A local SIM with roughly ten gigabytes costs between eight and twelve dollars. The same data on a travel eSIM costs twenty to thirty. You pay the difference for landing connected and for skipping the passport registration, which is a fair trade on a short trip and poor value on a long one.
Can I buy a SIM card at Zanzibar airport?
There are counters in the arrivals hall, and they are more expensive and slower than a branded shop in Stone Town. If you have an eSIM for the first day there is no reason to queue. If you do not, buy the smallest bundle at the airport and sort a proper one the next morning.
Is the wifi good in Zanzibar hotels?
In Stone Town and the big north coast resorts, yes. On the east coast it ranges from decent to decorative, and it often runs on the same mobile network your phone would use anyway. Anyone planning to work should treat hotel wifi as a bonus and mobile data as the actual plan.