What Are the Best SIM Cards in Germany? (2026)
The best SIM card for most people in Germany is fraenk at EUR 10 a month for 25 GB on the Telekom network, because it bills by calendar month rather than every 28 days. The cheapest way in is a supermarket brand such as ALDI TALK at EUR 8.99 for 25 GB, and the most data per euro is SIMon mobile flex at EUR 9.99 for 50 GB on Vodafone. None of them needs a German address or bank account, but every German SIM needs an ID check before it activates.
Which SIM Cards Are Worth Buying?
Seven tariffs, spread across all three German networks so there is an answer whichever one covers your address. Every card links to the provider's own site so you can check the price before you buy. Watch the billing cycle line: five of the seven renew every 28 days, which is 13 payments a year.
fraenk 25 GB
Best Overall. 25 GB with unlimited calls and SMS on the Telekom network for EUR 10, billed by calendar month and cancellable monthly, so there is no thirteenth payment.
Key information
- Signup
- No German address needed
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Contract
- Billed by calendar month
All packages(1)
- fraenk 25 GBTop pickEUR 10
25 GB / calendar-month subscription, monthly cancellable
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Contract
Contract
Whether you are tied in. Prepaid ends whenever you stop topping up; a 24-month contract carries an early-exit fee and usually a subsidised handset.
- Prepaid, no contract
- Coverage
Coverage
How much of Germany gets a usable signal. It follows the host network, so check the operator behind the brand before buying for a rural address.
- Telekom (D1) network
- Billing cycle
- calendar-month subscription, monthly cancellable
More details
- eSIM
- Yes
- Support
- English support available
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- EU roaming
EU roaming
Using the plan in other EU countries at no extra cost. The roaming data allowance is usually smaller than the domestic one, so check it before a long trip.
- Included
- Where to buy
- fraenk app only (iOS/Android)
- SIM card fee
- Free
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Best for Newcomers and anyone without a German address
ALDI TALK S
Best for Arrivals. 25 GB for EUR 8.99, bought at any Aldi checkout without knowing a thing about German tariffs, and topped up in the app.
Key information
- Signup
- No German address needed
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Contract
- 28-day cycle, 13 payments a year
All packages(7)
- ALDI TALK JahrespaketEUR 5.83
60 GB / 365 days, 60 GB total at entry tier (~5.83 EUR/month equivalent); larger packs to 450 GB
- ALDI TALK STop pickEUR 8.99
25 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~9.74 EUR/month)
- ALDI TALK Kombi-Paket S 25GB/28dEUR 8.99
25 GB
- ALDI TALK M/LEUR 13.99
50 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~15.16 EUR/month; L: 18.99 EUR/100 GB)
- ALDI TALK Kombi-Paket M 50GB/28dEUR 13.99
50 GB
- ALDI TALK Kombi-Paket L 100GB/28dEUR 18.99
100 GB
- Aldi Daten Home&Go SEUR 19.99
150 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year); L tier 29.99 EUR/300 GB
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Contract
Contract
Whether you are tied in. Prepaid ends whenever you stop topping up; a 24-month contract carries an early-exit fee and usually a subsidised handset.
- Prepaid, no contract
- Coverage
Coverage
How much of Germany gets a usable signal. It follows the host network, so check the operator behind the brand before buying for a rural address.
- O2 / Telefónica network
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~9.74 EUR/month)
More details
- eSIM
- Yes
- Support
- German-only support
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- EU roaming
EU roaming
Using the plan in other EU countries at no extra cost. The roaming data allowance is usually smaller than the domestic one, so check it before a long trip.
- Included
- Where to buy
- Every Aldi Nord/Sud checkout, alditalk.de, app; starter 9.99 EUR with 10 EUR credit
- SIM card fee
- EUR 9.99
Best for Newcomers and anyone without a German address
SIMon mobile flex
Most Data. 50 GB on the Vodafone network for EUR 9.99, cancellable monthly, with a price the provider commits not to raise after month 24.
Key information
- Signup
- No German address needed
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Contract
- Billed by calendar month
All packages(1)
- SIMon mobile flexTop pickEUR 9.99
50 GB / monthly subscription, monthly cancellable (1-month notice)
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Contract
Contract
Whether you are tied in. Prepaid ends whenever you stop topping up; a 24-month contract carries an early-exit fee and usually a subsidised handset.
- Prepaid, no contract
- Coverage
Coverage
How much of Germany gets a usable signal. It follows the host network, so check the operator behind the brand before buying for a rural address.
- Vodafone (D2) network
- Billing cycle
- monthly subscription, monthly cancellable (1-month notice)
More details
- eSIM
- Yes
- Support
- German-only support
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- EU roaming
EU roaming
Using the plan in other EU countries at no extra cost. The roaming data allowance is usually smaller than the domestic one, so check it before a long trip.
- Included
- Where to buy
- simonmobile.de online only
- SIM card fee
- Free
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Best for Newcomers and anyone without a German address
congstar Prepaid Allnet M
30 GB on the Telekom network for EUR 10 per 28-day cycle, with GB+ adding a further gigabyte for every year you stay.
Key information
- Signup
- No German address needed
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Contract
- 28-day cycle, 13 payments a year
All packages(6)
- congstar Prepaid Allnet S (~5GB/28d, effective from EUR 5.85)EUR 5.85
5 GB
- congstar JahrespaketEUR 8.33
365 GB / 365 days, 365 GB total to self-allocate (~8.33 EUR/month equivalent)
- congstar Prepaid Allnet MTop pickEUR 10
30 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~10.83 EUR/month)
- congstar Prepaid Allnet L (~25GB/28d)EUR 13
25 GB
- congstar HomespotEUR 20
100 GB / monthly contract, monthly cancellable
- congstar Allnet Flat MEUR 24
100 GB / monthly contract, 24-month term or monthly-cancellable Flex
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Contract
Contract
Whether you are tied in. Prepaid ends whenever you stop topping up; a 24-month contract carries an early-exit fee and usually a subsidised handset.
- Prepaid, no contract
- Coverage
Coverage
How much of Germany gets a usable signal. It follows the host network, so check the operator behind the brand before buying for a rural address.
- Telekom (D1) network
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~10.83 EUR/month)
More details
- eSIM
- Yes
- Support
- German-only support
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- EU roaming
EU roaming
Using the plan in other EU countries at no extra cost. The roaming data allowance is usually smaller than the domestic one, so check it before a long trip.
- Included
- Where to buy
- congstar.de, Telekom shops; starter 9.99 EUR usually offset by start credit
- SIM card fee
- EUR 9.99
Best for Newcomers and anyone without a German address
CallYa Allnet Flat S
25 GB on Vodafone at up to 300 Mbit/s with no speed surcharge, 200 EU call minutes included, a free SIM and English support.
Key information
- Signup
- No German address needed
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Contract
- 28-day cycle, 13 payments a year
All packages(17)
- CallYa ClassicEUR 0
Pay per use / pay-as-you-go, no cycle
- CallYa StartEUR 4.99
2 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~5.41 EUR/month)
- Vodafone CallYa Start 2GB/28dEUR 4.99
2 GB
- Vodafone OneNumber FlexEUR 5.99
Pay per use / monthly add-on sharing the main tariff's quota; GigaFamily adds discounted partner cards
- CallYa Jahrespaket MEUR 8.33
250 GB / 365 days, 250 GB total to self-allocate (~8.33 EUR/month equivalent)
- CallYa Allnet Flat STop pickEUR 9.99
25 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~10.82 EUR/month)
- Vodafone CallYa Allnet Flat S 25GB/28dEUR 9.99
25 GB
- CallYa Allnet Flat MEUR 14.99
50 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~16.24 EUR/month)
- CallYa Allnet Flat LEUR 19.99
100 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~21.66 EUR/month)
- Vodafone Mobil XSEUR 29.99
25 GB / monthly contract, 24-month minimum term; 1-month notice thereafter (TKG)
- DataGo LEUR 29.99
25 GB / monthly contract, 24-month term; promo for first 12 months
- Vodafone Mobil SEUR 39.99
35 GB / monthly contract, 24-month minimum term
- Vodafone Young MEUR 39.99
200 GB / monthly contract, 24-month term; Young takes 10 EUR off the adult ladder plus doubled data
- Vodafone Mobil MEUR 49.99
100 GB / monthly contract, 24-month minimum term
- Vodafone Mobil LEUR 59.99
120 GB / monthly contract, 24-month minimum term
- CallYa BlackEUR 79.99
Unlimited / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~86.66 EUR/month)
- Vodafone Mobil XLEUR 79.99
Unlimited / monthly contract, 24-month minimum term
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Contract
Contract
Whether you are tied in. Prepaid ends whenever you stop topping up; a 24-month contract carries an early-exit fee and usually a subsidised handset.
- Prepaid, no contract
- Coverage
Coverage
How much of Germany gets a usable signal. It follows the host network, so check the operator behind the brand before buying for a rural address.
- Vodafone (D2) network
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~10.82 EUR/month)
More details
- eSIM
- Yes
- Support
- English support available
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- EU roaming
EU roaming
Using the plan in other EU countries at no extra cost. The roaming data allowance is usually smaller than the domestic one, so check it before a long trip.
- Included
- Where to buy
- vodafone.de, Vodafone shops, kiosks, petrol stations
- SIM card fee
- Free
Best for Newcomers and anyone without a German address
MagentaMobil Prepaid M
20 GB on the best-rated German network, with unused data rolling into the next cycle and Switzerland treated like the EU.
Key information
- Signup
- No German address needed
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Contract
- 28-day cycle, 13 payments a year
All packages(21)
- MagentaEINSEUR -5
Pay per use / 5 EUR/month discount on the mobile contract plus doubled mobile data when combined with a Telekom fixed-line (DSL/fibre) product
- Prepaid Basic (9-Cent)EUR 0
Pay per use / pay-as-you-go, no cycle
- MagentaMobil Prepaid SEUR 4.95
1 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~5.36 EUR/month)
- Telekom MagentaMobil Prepaid S 1GB/28dEUR 4.95
1 GB
- MagentaMobil Prepaid MTop pickEUR 9.95
20 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~10.78 EUR/month)
- Telekom MagentaMobil Prepaid M 20GB/28dEUR 9.95
20 GB
- MagentaMobil Prepaid LEUR 14.95
40 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~16.20 EUR/month)
- Telekom MagentaMobil Prepaid L 40GB/28dEUR 14.95
40 GB
- MagentaMobil Prepaid XLEUR 19.95
80 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~21.61 EUR/month)
- MagentaMobil Data MEUR 19.95
40 GB / monthly contract, 24-month term
- MagentaMobil PlusKarteEUR 19.95
Unlimited / monthly add-on to a MagentaMobil main contract; first card 19.95 EUR, each further 14.95 EUR, Kids&Teens 9.95 EUR
- Telekom MagentaMobil Prepaid XL 80GB/28dEUR 19.95
80 GB
- MagentaMobil XSEUR 29.95
20 GB / monthly contract, 24-month minimum term (also available monthly-cancellable at a surcharge)
- MagentaMobil SEUR 39.95
30 GB / monthly contract, 24-month minimum term
- MagentaMobil M YoungEUR 39.95
100 GB / monthly contract, 24-month term; promo price for first 24 months, then 39.95 EUR
- MagentaMobil MEUR 49.95
50 GB / monthly contract, 24-month minimum term
- MagentaMobil LEUR 59.95
100 GB / monthly contract, 24-month minimum term
- MagentaMobil XLEUR 84.95
Unlimited / monthly contract, 24-month minimum term
- MagentaMobil Prepaid MaxEUR 99.95
Unlimited / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~108.28 EUR/month)
- Telekom Prepaid 5G Jahrestarif 240GB/year (20GB/month)EUR 99.95
240 GB
- Telekom MagentaMobil Prepaid Max (unlimited)/28dEUR 99.95
Unlimited
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Contract
Contract
Whether you are tied in. Prepaid ends whenever you stop topping up; a 24-month contract carries an early-exit fee and usually a subsidised handset.
- Prepaid, no contract
- Coverage
Coverage
How much of Germany gets a usable signal. It follows the host network, so check the operator behind the brand before buying for a rural address.
- Telekom (D1) network
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~10.78 EUR/month)
More details
- eSIM
- Yes
- Support
- English support available
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- EU roaming
EU roaming
Using the plan in other EU countries at no extra cost. The roaming data allowance is usually smaller than the domestic one, so check it before a long trip.
- Included
- Where to buy
- Telekom shops, telekom.de, electronics retail; SIM 9.95 EUR with 10 EUR credit
- SIM card fee
- EUR 9.95
Best for Newcomers and anyone without a German address
O2 my Prepaid S
20 GB on the network with the highest measured 5G availability, and the Weitersurf-Garantie throttles you to 1 Mbit/s instead of cutting you off.
Key information
- Signup
- No German address needed
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Contract
- 28-day cycle, 13 payments a year
All packages(14)
- O2 Prepaid FreikarteEUR 0
Pay per use / pay-as-you-go, no cycle
- O2 Plus-OptionEUR 0
Pay per use / adds one free extra (Partnerkarte SIM, O2 HomeSpot discount, O2 TV, or extra data) to Mobile L and above; Kombi-Vorteil discounts a second O2 contract
- O2 my Prepaid STop pickEUR 9.99
20 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~10.82 EUR/month)
- O2 my Prepaid S 20GB/28d (+app/Lastschrift bonuses up to +11GB; summer promo to 30 Sep 2026: M=50GB, L=100GB)EUR 9.99
20 GB
- O2 my Prepaid MEUR 14.99
40 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~16.24 EUR/month)
- O2 Mobile S YoungEUR 14.99
15 GB / monthly contract, 24-month term; young price up to the 29th birthday
- O2 my Prepaid M 40GB/28d (+app/Lastschrift bonuses up to +11GB; summer promo to 30 Sep 2026: M=50GB, L=100GB)EUR 14.99
40 GB
- O2 my Prepaid LEUR 19.99
80 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~21.66 EUR/month)
- O2 Mobile SEUR 19.99
15 GB / monthly contract; 24-month term or monthly-cancellable Flex variant
- O2 Mobile on Demand MEUR 19.99
50 GB / monthly contract, 24-month minimum term
- O2 my Prepaid L 80GB/28d (+app/Lastschrift bonuses up to +11GB; summer promo to 30 Sep 2026: M=50GB, L=100GB)EUR 19.99
80 GB
- O2 my Prepaid MaxEUR 74.99
999 GB / 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~81.24 EUR/month)
- O2 my Prepaid Max 999GB (then 50Mbit/s - de-facto unlimited)/28dEUR 74.99
Unlimited
- O2 Mobile Unlimited Ln/a
Unlimited / monthly contract, 24-month term or Flex
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Contract
Contract
Whether you are tied in. Prepaid ends whenever you stop topping up; a 24-month contract carries an early-exit fee and usually a subsidised handset.
- Prepaid, no contract
- Coverage
Coverage
How much of Germany gets a usable signal. It follows the host network, so check the operator behind the brand before buying for a rural address.
- O2 / Telefónica network
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~10.82 EUR/month)
More details
- eSIM
- Yes
- Support
- German-only support
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- EU roaming
EU roaming
Using the plan in other EU countries at no extra cost. The roaming data allowance is usually smaller than the domestic one, so check it before a long trip.
- Included
- Where to buy
- O2 shops, o2online.de, kiosks, electronics retail; starter pack 9.99 EUR with 10 EUR credit
- SIM card fee
- EUR 9.99
Best for Newcomers and anyone without a German address
Every SIM Card We Compared
We compared 239 German mobile tariffs and eSIMs across Telekom, Vodafone, O2 and 1&1, their value brands congstar, fraenk, SIMon mobile, otelo and Blau, the supermarket brands ALDI TALK, Lidl Connect, Penny Mobil, ja! mobil, Kaufland mobil, EDEKA smart, NettoKOM, Norma Connect and ROSSMANN mobil, the international specialists Lyca Mobile, Lebara, AY YILDIZ and Ortel Mobile, and the travel eSIM brands. The full catalogue lives on the price research page.
View all 239 plansThe tariff picker lists every named tier from every provider with its allowance, price and EUR per GB, filterable by situation and re-rankable.→How Should You Pick a German SIM Card?
No address yet
Every prepaid tariff here works without a German address or bank account. What none of them skips is the ID check: have your passport ready for VideoIdent, which runs 24 hours a day.
Best coverage
fraenk and congstar ride Telekom, SIMon mobile and Lidl Connect ride Vodafone, ALDI TALK rides O2. You get the host network's signal, so pick the network first and the brand second.
Most data
SIMon mobile flex gives 50 GB for EUR 9.99 on Vodafone. Telekom MagentaMobil Prepaid also rolls unused data into the next cycle, which the discounters do not.
Already have an address and a SEPA account
Contract tariffs open up: O2 Mobile S at EUR 19.99 for 15 GB is the cheapest network-brand contract, and 1&1 sells 50 GB for EUR 14.99. All of them run a SCHUFA credit check.
How Much Does a German SIM Card Cost?
The prepaid floor is EUR 8.99 for 25 GB at the supermarket brands and EUR 9.95 to EUR 10 at the value brands and the networks' own prepaid tariffs. Contract tariffs start at EUR 14.99 from 1&1 and EUR 19.99 from O2, and the Telekom and Vodafone ladders run from EUR 29.95 and EUR 29.99 up to EUR 84.95 and EUR 79.99 for unlimited.
Add the one-off costs. A prepaid starter SIM is usually EUR 9.95 to EUR 9.99 and normally comes with EUR 10 of credit, so it is close to free; fraenk, SIMon mobile and Vodafone CallYa charge nothing for the SIM. Contract tariffs from Telekom, Vodafone and O2 add a connection fee of about EUR 39.95.
Then check the cycle. A tariff billed every 28 days renews 13 times a year, so EUR 8.99 is really about EUR 9.74 a month and EUR 9.95 is about EUR 10.78. Only fraenk and SIMon mobile in this ranking bill by calendar month.
Which Network Covers Your Area?
Germany has three physical mobile networks: Telekom, known as D1, Vodafone, known as D2, and O2, run by Telefónica. 1&1 is building a fourth and falls back to Vodafone national roaming where its own grid is not yet up. Every other brand on this page is a reseller on one of those, so the network behind the SIM matters more than the name on it.
Telekom is the best-rated German network in the connect 01/2026 test and in Ookla's Q1 to Q2 2026 measurements. O2 holds the highest measured 5G availability in Germany (Ookla H1 2025), but its rural coverage still trails Telekom and Vodafone. If you live outside a city, that single sentence is the whole decision: buy a tariff on Telekom or Vodafone masts.
How We Compared These
What we scored
We ranked tariffs on ease of buying, which network carries them, price per gigabyte, billing cycle, contract flexibility and English support. The weighting favours tariffs a newcomer can actually activate in their first week, which rules out anything needing a SCHUFA check.
Where the prices come from
Every figure was read off the provider's own page or a dated German price source in August 2026, not from an aggregator. Network quality claims come from the connect 01/2026 test and Ookla's measurements, named on the product they belong to.
How we get paid
Some links earn a commission. The ranking was set before the prices were collected, and no provider pays for placement or sees the ranking before it publishes.
Sources: connect 01/2026 network test, Ookla Speedtest measurements Q1 to Q2 2026 and H1 2025, provider tariff pages, accessed August 2026. Next review: November 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best SIM card in Germany for most people?
fraenk, at EUR 10 a month for 25 GB with unlimited calls and SMS on the Telekom network. It bills by calendar month and is cancellable monthly, so there is no thirteenth payment, it supports eSIM, there is no SIM card fee, and the catalogue rates its English support as full. The trade-offs are real: it is app-only with no hotline and no shops, data is capped at 50 Mbit/s, and international calls from Germany are blocked entirely.
What is the cheapest German SIM card with a real data allowance?
EUR 8.99 for 25 GB with unlimited calls and SMS, sold by the supermarket brands: ALDI TALK and NettoKOM on the O2 network, Lidl Connect on Vodafone, and Penny Mobil, ja! mobil, Kaufland mobil and ROSSMANN mobil on Telekom. All of them bill every 28 days rather than monthly, which is 13 payments a year and works out at about EUR 9.74 a month.
Do you need ID to buy a SIM card in Germany?
Yes. Every tariff in this catalogue requires identity verification before the line activates, so there is no anonymous prepaid SIM in Germany. VideoIdent works with any passport, 24 hours a day, and activation can take anywhere from minutes to hours afterwards. SIMs bought from a vending machine still have to be verified online before they work.
Do you need a German address or a German bank account?
Not for prepaid. Every prepaid tariff here is marked as needing no German address and no German bank account. Contract tariffs are the opposite: they need a registered address, a SEPA direct debit and a SCHUFA credit check, which is why almost no one gets one in their first week.
Why is a German prepaid tariff billed every 28 days?
Because the cycle is a period, not a calendar month. A 28-day cycle renews 13 times a year, so ALDI TALK at EUR 8.99 costs about EUR 9.74 a month and MagentaMobil Prepaid M at EUR 9.95 costs about EUR 10.78. Only fraenk and SIMon mobile in this ranking bill by calendar month, and that is worth roughly one payment a year.
Is EU roaming included?
Yes, and on every tariff ranked here the roaming allowance matches the domestic one, so 25 GB at home is 25 GB across the EU. Telekom and congstar additionally treat data used in Switzerland like EU data.
Compare two providers
Already down to two? Each comparison declares a winner on every criterion that decides the purchase.