What Are the Best SIM Cards for Residents in Germany? (2026)
The verdict for residents
Buy O2 Mobile on Demand M at EUR 19.99 per month for 50 GB on the O2 network. Telekom (D1) is the best-rated German network in the connect 01/2026 test and in Ookla's Q1-Q2 2026 measurements. If you leave the cities regularly, buy the network rather than the headline price.
What being settled changes
A settled reader has the registered address, the German bank account and a SCHUFA record, so contract tariffs open up and the question becomes network against cost over years rather than what you can buy this week. O2 / Telefónica has the highest measured 5G availability in Germany (Ookla H1 2025), while its rural coverage still trails Telekom and Vodafone.
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Which SIM plan is the best for residents?
Sorted by effective monthly price, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
Sorted by price per gb, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
Sorted by coverage, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
Sorted by english support, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
Sorted by contract freedom, not our recommendation. The default view is our ranking, weights published below.
★ Resident pick
O2 Mobile on Demand M
Best MNO-contract value in the market as of Aug 2026
Key information
- Contract
- 24-month contract
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Coverage
- O2 network, its own
Plans(4)
- O2 my Prepaid S20 GB / per 28 days · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.50 per GBEUR 9.99
- O2 my Prepaid M40 GB / per 28 days · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.37 per GBEUR 14.99
- O2 Mobile S Young15 GB / per month · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 1.00 per GBEUR 14.99
- O2 Mobile on Demand MOur pick here50 GB / per month · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.40 per GBEUR 19.99
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Price per GBBest
- EUR 0.40
More details
- Physical network
- O2
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- monthly contract, 24-month minimum term
Best for residents who want the most data per euro.
Also great
1&1 All-Net-Flat 50 GB
Cheapest 50 GB contract from a network operator
Key information
- Contract
- 24-month contract
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Coverage
- 1&1 network, its own
Plans(4)
- 1&1 All-Net-Flat 50 GBOur pick here50 GB / per month · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.30 per GBEUR 14.99
- 1&1 All-Net-Flat 10 GB10 GB / per month · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 1.50 per GBEUR 14.99
- 1&1 All-Net-Flat 150 GB150 GB / per month · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.13 per GBEUR 19.99
- 1&1 UnlimitedUnlimited / per month · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMSEUR 39.99
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.30
More details
- Physical network
- 1&1
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- monthly contract; 24-month term or monthly-cancellable variant
Best for residents who need a different physical network.
Best value
congstar Prepaid Allnet M
The default value pick on D1
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Support
- German-only support
Plans(4)
- congstar Prepaid Allnet S (~5GB/28d, effective from EUR 5.85)5 GB / per 28 days · EUR 1.17 per GBEUR 5.85
- congstar Jahrespaket365 GB / per year · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.04 per GBEUR 8.33
- congstar Prepaid Allnet MOur pick here30 GB / per 28 days · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.33 per GBEUR 10
- congstar Allnet Flat M100 GB / per month · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.24 per GBEUR 24
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.33
More details
- Physical network
- Telekom
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~10.83 EUR/month)
Best for residents who need a different physical network.
fraenk 25 GB
Reference value tariff on D1
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Signup
- Passport or ID check to activate
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.40
More details
- Physical network
- Telekom
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- calendar-month subscription, monthly cancellable
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Best for residents who need a different physical network.
SIMon mobile flex
Benchmark value tariff on D2
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Support
- German-only support
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.20
More details
- Physical network
- Vodafone
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- monthly subscription, monthly cancellable (1-month notice)
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Best for residents who need a different physical network.
ALDI TALK S
Best-known value baseline on O2
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Coverage
- Runs on the O2 network
Plans(4)
- ALDI TALK Jahrespaket60 GB / per year · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.10 per GBEUR 5.83
- ALDI TALK SOur pick here25 GB / per 28 days · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.36 per GBEUR 8.99
- ALDI TALK M/L50 GB / per 28 days · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.28 per GBEUR 13.99
- ALDI TALK Kombi-Paket L 100GB/28d100 GB / per 28 days · EUR 0.19 per GBEUR 18.99
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.36
More details
- Physical network
- O2
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~9.74 EUR/month)
Best for residents who need a different physical network.
Lidl Connect Smart S
Best discounter pick where Vodafone beats O2
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Support
- German-only support
Plans(2)
- Lidl Connect Jahrestarif250 GB / per year · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.04 per GBEUR 7.50
- Lidl Connect Smart SOur pick here25 GB / per 28 days · Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS · EUR 0.36 per GBEUR 8.99
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.36
More details
- Physical network
- Vodafone
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~9.74 EUR/month)
Best for residents who need a different physical network.
Penny Mobil Smart
Cheapest retail access to the D1 network
Key information
- Contract
- Prepaid, no lock-in
- Calls
- Unlimited minutes, Unlimited SMS
- Support
- German-only support
- Price per GB
- EUR 0.36
More details
- Physical network
- Telekom
- eSIM
- Yes
- ID to activate
- Passport or ID card
- Billing cycle
- 28 days (13 renewals/year; effective ~9.74 EUR/month)
Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Best for residents who need a different physical network.
Also a strong fit
Same eligibility, a different shop or network. Every plan is in the full market overview.
The contract premium is worth naming out loud. Telekom MagentaMobil M is EUR 49.95 for 50 GB on a 24-month term, while congstar Prepaid Allnet M is EUR 10 for 30 GB on the same Telekom radio network with no term. What the contract adds is a hotline, shops and uncapped speed, not a better network.
How we ranked this for residents5 criteria, weights published
A reader we describe as residents is not the average reader, so this page does not use the average weights. Ease of buying carries 5% here against 30% on the general ranking, and Coverage carries 35% here against 25% on the general ranking. The weights were fixed on 17 August 2026, before the prices were collected.
Criteria weighting
Fixed 17 August 2026, before pricing was collectedWhat is ruled out, and why
A blocker is not a drawback. It is something that makes the product unbuyable for this reader, and it caps the score at 1.0 however good the tariff is otherwise.
What actually decides a resident's choice
The physical network, first. Germany has three: Telekom (D1), Vodafone (D2) and O2 / Telefónica, plus 1&1, which is building its own 5G and falls back to Vodafone national roaming everywhere else. Every value brand rides one of them, so the logo on the SIM tells you nothing and the network behind it tells you everything: fraenk and congstar are on Telekom, SIMon mobile and Lidl Connect are on Vodafone, ALDI TALK is on O2.
Telekom is the best-rated German network in the connect 01/2026 test and in Ookla's Q1-Q2 2026 measurements. O2 has the highest measured 5G availability in Germany (Ookla H1 2025), and its rural coverage still trails Telekom and Vodafone. 1&1 claims about 95% coverage on its own 5G with about 100% by the end of 2026, but the Bundesnetzagentur measured its own-network 5G area coverage at roughly 2% in December 2025, so in practice a 1&1 line spends most of its time roaming on Vodafone.
The second thing is what a contract costs to enter and to leave. Telekom MagentaMobil runs 24 months with an EUR 39.95 connection fee; O2 Mobile on Demand M is EUR 19.99 a month with an EUR 39.99 connection fee and a 24-month minimum term. Against that, congstar Prepaid Allnet M is EUR 10 for 30 GB on the same Telekom network with no term at all, billed every 28 days across 13 renewals, and capped at 25 Mbit/s.
The same tariffs, ranked for other readers
View all 98 plansThe plan picker is the full market overview: every named tier from every provider with its allowance, price and EUR per GB, filterable by situation and re-rankable.Every persona page ranks the same catalogue. Only the weights differ, and each page states its own. If you are already down to two tariffs, the full market overview puts every named tier side by side on price, data and EUR per GB.
How we compared these
Five criteria, weighted for this reader and published above, fixed on 17 August 2026 before the prices were collected. Every price comes from the provider's own page, dated in the catalogue. A blocker caps a product at 1.0. Unlimited allowances are capped at 200 GB when calculating EUR per GB, or every unlimited plan would win that column automatically.
One limit worth stating: the catalogue carries one fit score per persona, not a score per criterion, so the ordering reflects that score and the editorial reasoning behind it rather than an arithmetic weighted total. Per-criterion scoring is the next data pass; until it lands, the weights explain the ranking rather than compute it.
Of the 98 plans in the catalogue, 77 score 4 or 5 for this reader, across 22 providers. Where fewer than three providers clear that line, the third card is still the next best option available and is labelled for what it wins on, not presented as a strong fit.
Sources: provider tariff pages and dated German price sources, accessed August 2026. Some links earn a commission at the same rate for every provider, so no weighting favours a payer.
Frequently asked questions
Which mobile network has the best coverage in Germany?
Telekom (D1). It is recorded as the best-rated German network in the connect 01/2026 test and in Ookla's Q1-Q2 2026 measurements. O2 / Telefónica has the highest measured 5G availability in Germany from Ookla H1 2025, but its rural coverage still trails Telekom and Vodafone, so the answer flips depending on whether you live in a city.
Is a value brand the same network as the operator behind it?
Yes, the same radio network. fraenk and congstar run on Telekom (D1), SIMon mobile and Lidl Connect run on Vodafone (D2), and ALDI TALK runs on O2 / Telefónica. What differs is the speed cap, the support channel and the billing cycle, not the coverage.
What does a German contract tariff require that prepaid does not?
A registered German address, a SEPA direct debit and a SCHUFA credit check. Prepaid needs identity verification and nothing else, so no address and no German bank account. Telekom's MagentaMobil contracts also run 24 months and add an EUR 39.95 connection fee, and O2 Mobile on Demand M adds EUR 39.99.