# What Are the Best SIM Cards for New Arrivals in Portugal? (2026) > Which SIM plan is best when you have just arrived in Portugal. Re-scored on a newcomer weighting: ease of buying at 45%, English support at 20%. By Jules de Bruin · URL: https://www.how-to-portugal.com/telecom/sim/best-for-new-arrivals Updated August 2026. Buy **UZO 100GB at EUR 8 per month** for **100 GB** on the **MEO** network. On day one you have no **NIF**, no registered address and no Portuguese **IBAN**, so the question is not what is cheapest but what you can actually buy. Prepaid removes all three requirements. If you want connectivity the moment the plane doors open, install an **Airalo** travel eSIM before you fly: it is data only, so treat it as a bridge rather than a plan. Get a Portuguese number in your first week regardless, because that is what **MB WAY**, **SNS 24** and most bank sign-ups send their codes to. ## Which SIM plan is the best for new arrivals? ★ Newcomer pick ### UZO 100GB 5.0Newcomer fit 5 of 5. Activate the eSIM before you land, and get a Portuguese number with no address ContractPrepaid, no lock-inCallsUnlimited minutesCoverageRuns on the MEO network[Get UZO 100GB](https://www.uzo.pt)Plans(4) - UZO pay-as-you-goEUR 0Pay per use / per month - UZO eSIM (native, MEO network)EUR 5100 GB / per month · Unlimited minutes · EUR 0.05 per GB - UZO 100GBOur pick hereEUR 8100 GB / per month · Unlimited minutes · EUR 0.08 per GB - UZO IlimitadoEUR 10Unlimited / per month · Unlimited minutes Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site. Price per GB EUR 0.08More detailsPhysical networkMEOeSIMYesNIF requiredNo, prepaidMinimum termNoneBest for new arrivals who want the most data per euro. Also great ### WOO 100GB 5.0Newcomer fit 5 of 5. Digital sign-up with no address, and a Portuguese number on day one ContractPrepaid, no lock-inCalls2,500 minutesCoverageRuns on the NOS network[Get WOO 100GB](https://www.woo.pt)Plans(3) - WOO 100GBOur pick hereEUR 5100 GB / per month · 2,500 minutes · EUR 0.05 per GB - WOO eSIM (native, NOS network)EUR 5100 GB / per month · EUR 0.05 per GB - WOO IlimitadoEUR 7Unlimited / per month · 5,000 minutes Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site. More detailsPrice per GBEUR 0.05Physical networkNOSeSIMYesNIF requiredNo, prepaidMinimum termNoneBest for new arrivals who need a different physical network. Best value ### Ready 55GB 5.0Newcomer fit 5 of 5. Buy at the airport with no documents; English support available. ContractPrepaid, no lock-inCalls1,000 minutes, 1,000 SMSSupportPortuguese-only support[Get Ready 55GB](https://www.vodafone.pt/loja/cartoes-sim.html)Plans(4) - EasyGoEUR 0Pay per use / per month - Vodafone YouEUR 9.905 GB / per month · 500 minutes · EUR 1.98 per GB - Ready 55GBOur pick hereEUR 1055 GB / per month · 1,000 minutes, 1,000 SMS · EUR 0.18 per GB - Vodafone Travel eSIM Portugal 10 GB / 7 daysEUR 1010 GB / per month · EUR 1.00 per GB Prices as of 17 August 2026, verify on the provider site. More detailsPrice per GBEUR 0.18Physical networkVodafone PortugaleSIMYesNIF requiredNo, prepaidMinimum termNoneBest for new arrivals who need a different physical network. **This ranking differs from the general one.** The general page picks **WOO 100GB**. The reason is the weighting, not new information: **Ease of buying** moves from **30%** to **45%** and **Price per GB** moves from **25%** to **15%**. English support is the weak point across the whole market. The low-cost brands are effectively Portuguese-only, and the parent brands are only somewhat better. If that matters more than price to you, the trade-off is roughly **EUR 5** extra a month. ## Compare two providers Already down to two? Each comparison declares a winner on every criterion that decides the purchase. [MEO vs NOS](/telecom/sim/meo-vs-nos)[UZO vs WOO](/telecom/sim/uzo-vs-woo)[DIGI vs WOOWOO wins for most people: NOS coverage and the sector's best satisfaction record outweigh DIGI's €1 saving.](/telecom/sim/digi-vs-woo)[Amigo vs UZOUZO edges it through eSIM, unlimited calls and data rollover on the widest rural network.](/telecom/sim/amigo-vs-uzo)[WTF vs YornWTF wins on price, data and a wider age gate (35 vs 25).](/telecom/sim/wtf-vs-yorn)[MOCHE vs WTFNear-identical prices and allowances: choose by network.](/telecom/sim/moche-vs-wtf)[Lycamobile vs DIGILycamobile wins for newcomers who call abroad and roam home to the UK or Ukraine, with kiosk availability and English support.](/telecom/sim/lycamobile-vs-digi)How we ranked this for new arrivals5 criteria, weights publishedA reader we describe as new arrivals is not the average reader, so this page does not use the average weights. **Ease of buying** carries **45%** here against **30%** on the general ranking, and **Price per GB** carries **15%** 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 collectedEase of buying*Whether you need a NIF, an address or a Portuguese IBAN*****30%45%Price per GB*What a gigabyte actually costs once the promo ends*****25%15%Coverage*Which physical network carries you outside the cities*****25%15%English support*Whether the app and the helpline speak your language*****10%20%Contract freedom*How fast you can leave without paying to exit*****10%5%** General ranking** This pageWeights total 100% on both. A blocker caps any score at 1.0. ## What 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. Blocked for this reader WTF Ilimitadoage limit 35Moche 200GBage gate: max 35Yorn 201GBage gate: sub-35 or student proofMOCHE Ilimitadoage limit 35 ## What you actually need to buy a SIM on arrival Nothing, as of **August 2026**. Portugal did not require identification to buy or activate a prepaid SIM, so a new arrival can hold a Portuguese number within minutes of landing without a document of any kind. A proposal to make registration mandatory was approved in the **Council of Ministers in May 2026** and had not entered into force at that date. When it does, expect passports and residence permits to be accepted. What you do need a **NIF** for is everything postpaid: a contract tariff runs a credit check and needs a Portuguese billing address. Get the NIF at a **Finanças** desk first, then decide whether a contract is worth leaving prepaid for. Most new arrivals find it is not. If your phone takes an **eSIM**, activate before the flight. **WOO**, **UZO**, **DIGI** and **Lycamobile** all sell native eSIMs with a Portuguese number, activated online in minutes. ## The same tariffs, ranked for other readers [View all 54 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.→](/telecom/sim/complete-market-and-price-overview)[for students](/telecom/sim-cards-for-students)for new arrivals[for residents](/telecom/sim-cards-for-residents)[for stays under 3 months](/telecom/sim-cards-for-short-stays)[for tourists](/telecom/sim-cards-for-tourists)[for families](/telecom/sim-cards-for-families)Every persona page ranks the same catalogue. Only the weights differ, and each page states its own. If you are already down to two providers, the [comparison pages](/telecom/sim/meo-vs-nos) put them side by side and declare a winner on every row. ## 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 54 plans in the catalogue, 24 score 4 or 5 for this reader, across 8 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 ANACOM, accessed 17 August 2026. Some links earn a commission at the same rate for every provider, so no weighting favours a payer. --- Source: https://www.how-to-portugal.com/telecom/sim/best-for-new-arrivals Last updated: n/a Format: LLM-readable Markdown twin (.md) of the canonical HTML page.