One eSIM for Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo: which Balkan plans really cover all three

Part of our Albania eSIM guide: all articles and key facts →

One eSIM for Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo is harder to find than it sounds: most "Balkans" plans cover Albania and Montenegro but quietly leave Kosovo out. We checked nine plans on 16 October 2026, read the country list of each one, and compared prices, networks and the local alternative. Here is what really covers a trip through the three countries, and North Macedonia too.

Is there one eSIM for Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo?

Yes, but only a few plans include Kosovo: Gjirafa's Balkans plan, SimBalkan's Balkan Komplett, Ubigi's Europe Extended, and a Vodafone Albania tourist pack. The best-known Balkan plans, from Airalo, Nomad, Holafly and Yesim, cover Albania and Montenegro but not Kosovo, on the coverage lists we read on 16 October 2026.

Kosovo is the country that splits the market. Nomad's Balkans page carries the warning "Please Note Kosovo is not covered. Please purchase a Kosovo single country plan.", and its plan data calls Kosovo "temporarily unavailable on this plan". SimBalkan says the same of its regional bundle: "Kosovo is not part of the regional bundle", and it sells a separate 12-country plan that adds it. Holafly asks travellers to "check that every destination on your itinerary is included in the plan."

So the first step is not the price but the country list. If your route stays in Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia, almost any Balkan plan works. If it crosses into Kosovo, for Prizren, Pristina or the Peja valley, you need one of the plans below or a second eSIM.

Nine plans compared, with or without Kosovo

This table lists each plan's coverage of the four countries most often combined with Albania, and two typical prices, checked on 16 October 2026 in the currency each seller displayed.

Yesim's Balkans page returned an error on 16 October 2026, so its coverage comes from esimdb, the comparison site that lists each plan's countries, and its prices are left out. Ubigi sells in euros with the same number as its dollar price: €55 is not a conversion.

Why do most Balkan eSIMs leave Kosovo out?

The providers do not explain it, but the pattern is clear in their coverage lists: Kosovo is treated as a separate destination with its own networks, and most regional bundles are built without it. On esimdb's Albania pages, the regional plans of Airalo, Nomad, Yesim, SimBalkan, Breeze and eSIMCard all list Montenegro and North Macedonia but not Kosovo.

The plans that do include Kosovo name its own networks. Ubigi's Europe Extended lists IPKO for Kosovo, and the BALKAN plan of the smaller seller thirr.com lists both IPKO and Vala. Airalo sells a Kosovo-only eSIM that, in Airalo's words, "operates on the Vala and IPKO networks".

In practice, a regional plan without Kosovo will not work there, even a few kilometres across the border from Albania. Check the country list on the provider's own page before you pay, as Holafly itself advises, and look for Kosovo by name rather than for the word "Balkans".

Which plans cover Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo together?

Four options cover all three on 16 October 2026: Gjirafa Balkans, SimBalkan Balkan Komplett, Ubigi Europe Extended, and the Vodafone Albania tourist pack.

Gjirafa Balkans

Gjirafa sells a Balkans eSIM for 12 countries, and Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia are in its list. It was the cheapest plan we found that includes Kosovo: 7 days of unlimited data for €9.99, 15 days for €24.99 and 30 days for €49.99, all promotional prices against €19.99, €39.99 and €69.99 before. Its fixed plans run from 1 GB for 7 days (€2.99) to 10 GB for 60 days (€15.49).

The catch is the fine print: the unlimited plans carry a "Fair Use Policy", and the page publishes no daily figure; esimdb lists them at 3 GB a day. After the allowance, a "Life Saver Mode" keeps you online at a reduced speed "sufficient for basic apps like WhatsApp, iMessage, and Email".

SimBalkan Balkan Komplett

SimBalkan's 12-country plan adds Kosovo to its regional bundle and costs more for it. On 16 October 2026: 1 GB for 7 days at €6.90, 5 GB for 30 days at €17.90, 10 GB at €29.90 and 20 GB at €54.90. The same 10 GB without Kosovo, in its 11-country regional bundle, costs €18.

Ubigi Europe Extended

Ubigi's 56-country plan is the widest. Its page lists One Albania for Albania, IPKO for Kosovo and One Montenegro for Montenegro, and 25 GB valid 30 days costs €55. It is the most expensive way to cover the three countries, but it also works across the rest of Europe if your trip continues.

The Vodafone Albania tourist pack

A local Albanian line is the other route. Since 1 July 2021, the Regional Roaming Agreement has let customers of Western Balkan operators use their plan in the region at home prices: the Regional Cooperation Council says they "do not pay any more additional charges while roaming in the region". Vodafone Albania confirms on its Balkans roaming page that its customers can use their plans in "Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia".

Its tourist eSIM sells 1 TB and 1,000 national minutes for 15 days at 2,700 lek, or 1.1 TB for 21 days at 2,900 lek, with a fair-use limit of 6 GB in the Western Balkans. The purchase requires an online identity check and an electronic contract signature, so it suits a traveller who starts the trip in Albania. Our comparison of Albania eSIMs covers it in detail.

Which plan is cheapest if you skip Kosovo?

For Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia without Kosovo, Airalo's Europe plan is the cheapest unlimited week of the well-known brands, at €25 for 7 days, and it costs less than Airalo's own Albania plan. SimBalkan's regional "unlimited" week costs less, €19.90, but its fair-use page gives only the first 500 MB at full speed, then up to 5 Mbps, within 30 GB.

The comparison is striking. On 16 October 2026, Airalo charged €33 for 7 days of unlimited data in Albania alone and €31 for Montenegro alone. Its 41-country Eurolink plan cost €25 for the same 7 days, with 5 GB a day at full speed and then 1 Mbps, against 3 GB a day on the Albania plan. On Albania's side, Eurolink uses One Albania, like the Albania plan.

For fixed data, Gjirafa's Balkans plan, which also includes Kosovo, was the cheapest we read at its promotional prices: 5 GB for 30 days at €9.99 and 10 GB for 60 days at €15.49. SimBalkan's regional bundle follows with 5 GB at €10.50 and 10 GB at €18 for 30 days, against €22.31 and €34.80 at Nomad. Holafly's Balkans plan covers only five countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) and cost €34.90 for 7 days, the most expensive weekly price in our table.

Greece is in most of these regional plans, which matters for the Albanian Riviera: Airalo's Eurolink, Nomad's, Yesim's and both SimBalkan plans include it, Holafly's does not. Albania's regulator AKEP warns on its roaming page that phones near a border "may unintentionally use roaming", so a plan that also covers the neighbouring country removes that risk.

Is it cheaper to buy one eSIM per country?

Sometimes, for light users on short stays; rarely for unlimited data. Apple's travel eSIM page says supported iPhones can have two eSIMs active at the same time, so two single-country plans are a real option.

Two examples on 16 October 2026, both at Airalo:

• A week in Albania with two days in Kosovo, light use: 5 GB for 7 days in Albania (€11.50) plus 3 GB for 7 days in Kosovo (€13) comes to €24.50. Gjirafa's Balkans plan covers both with unlimited data for €9.99 at its promotional price.
• A week in Albania and Montenegro, unlimited: €33 plus €31 is €64 for two separate plans, against €25 for one Eurolink plan.

Two eSIMs also mean switching the data line by hand when you cross the border. On an iPhone, that is Settings, Mobile Data (Cellular in the US), then the line; on Android, the SIM manager. If a new eSIM refuses to connect after the switch, our guide to an eSIM stuck on activating lists the usual fixes.

When does a regional plan start counting its days?

Most regional plans start on the first connection in a covered country, so you can install them before you leave home. The exact rule differs from one provider to the next:

• Ubigi Europe Extended: "Your data plan will automatically activate upon arrival in a destination covered by the plan", and an unused plan expires 6 months after purchase.
• Holafly Balkans: the plan "activates immediately upon connecting your eSIM to any supported network", and each day counts 24 hours from that moment.
• Nomad Balkans: the plan can be "activated within 60 days of purchase"; after that, it starts by itself.
• SimBalkan: "Validity starts when the eSIM connects to a network in your destination."
• Gjirafa: its Balkans page says "Activate anytime", without a published deadline.

On a route that starts outside the region, for example a flight through Italy or Austria, a wide plan such as Airalo's Eurolink or Ubigi's Europe Extended may start counting at the stopover, because those countries are covered too. A plan limited to the Balkans, such as Holafly's or Nomad's, waits until you land in the region; SimBalkan's Balkan Komplett page, however, says it is "also usable in 102 more countries", Italy and Austria among them.

Which networks do the regional plans use?

In Albania, the regional plans connect to One Albania or Vodafone Albania, the country's only two networks, exactly like the single-country plans. Ubigi's page names One, and esimdb lists One for Airalo's Eurolink and Vodafone for Nomad's and Yesim's Balkans plans; Holafly and SimBalkan name both.

In Montenegro, Holafly lists MTEL, One and Crnogorski Telekom, and Ubigi lists M-Tel and One Montenegro; according to esimdb, Airalo's and Nomad's plans use MTEL (m:tel). In North Macedonia, Holafly lists A1 Makedonija and Makedonski Telekom, and Airalo's and Nomad's plans use A1. In Kosovo, the plans that include it name IPKO or Vala.

For Albania itself, Opensignal's September 2026 report measured faster downloads on Vodafone (80.2 Mbps) than on One (48.8 Mbps), and more time with a signal on One (98.7% against 94.9%). Holafly warns that coverage may be weak in "the Dinaric Alps, the Accursed Mountains, Durmitor National Park", the mountain areas of the route between the three countries.

Which plan fits which Balkan route?

Match the plan to the countries on your route, then to your data use. On the prices of 16 October 2026:

• Albania and Montenegro, a week, heavy use: Airalo Europe (Eurolink), €25 for 7 days with 5 GB a day.
• Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia, two weeks or more, moderate use: Gjirafa's 10 GB for 60 days at €15.49 while the promotion lasts, or SimBalkan's regional bundle, 10 GB for 30 days at €18.
• Any route through Kosovo, on a budget: Gjirafa Balkans, from €9.99 for 7 days of unlimited data while the promotion lasts.
• Kosovo included, more data, a wider Europe trip: Ubigi Europe Extended, 25 GB for 30 days at €55.
• A long stay starting in Albania, with a local number: the Vodafone Albania tourist pack, used in the region within its 6 GB limit.

If your trip is mostly Albania with only a day trip across a border, an Albania-only plan plus a small plan for the neighbour can be enough; our Albania eSIM comparison lists the single-country prices.

What about your home SIM in the Balkans?

Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo and North Macedonia are outside the European Union, so the EU's roam-like-at-home rule does not cover them. Since 1 October 2023, a voluntary declaration between EU and Western Balkan operators has capped data roaming within special offers at €18 per gigabyte, according to the Regional Cooperation Council, with the aim of bringing prices "closer to the domestic prices by 2028". The Council's information sheet sets the cap for at least one offer per signatory at €14 per gigabyte from 2026 and €9 from 2028. That is still far above any regional eSIM in this guide. Our roaming guide for Albania lists what UK and US carriers charge.

Before you buy, check that your phone is on our list of eSIM-compatible phones and that it is unlocked; our guide on unlocked phones and travel eSIMs explains why it matters. Some providers ask for the phone's EID: here is how to find your EID number. For the iPhone range and Google Pixel, our device pages list which models take an eSIM.

How we checked

We read each plan's own page on 16 October 2026: Airalo (Europe, Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo), Holafly Balkans, Nomad Balkans, SimBalkan (regional and Balkan Komplett), Gjirafa Balkans, Ubigi Europe Extended and Vodafone Albania. For the country lists, we also read the coverage data esimdb publishes for each plan sold in Albania. Yesim's Balkans page returned an error, so Yesim appears with esimdb's coverage only.

Prices are quoted in the currency each seller displayed, without conversion, and promotional prices are marked. The roaming rules come from the Regional Cooperation Council and the European Commission, and the network speeds from Opensignal. Coverage lists change: check yours on the provider's page before you pay. For the rest of Europe, our Europe eSIM guide covers the rules that change at each border.