Italy SIM card 2026: TIM, Vodafone, Iliad, WindTre

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

An Italian SIM gives you a local number and, for a stay of a few weeks, more data for less money than a travel eSIM. The choice is between four main brands: TIM, Vodafone, WindTre and Iliad. We read their offer pages on 26 October 2026, together with Opensignal's and nPerf's measurements of the networks. Here is what each operator sells a visitor, what you need at the counter, and when a travel eSIM is still the better choice.

This guide is for visitors whose SIM comes from outside the EU. If yours is from an EU or EEA country, the roam-like-at-home rules already let you use your home allowance in Italy, within your operator's fair-use limit.

TIM, Vodafone, WindTre, Iliad: who is who?

Italy has five mobile network operators: TIM, Vodafone, WindTre, Iliad and Fastweb. Vodafone Italia was bought by Swisscom, which completed the deal on 31 December 2024 and merged it with Fastweb; Opensignal still measures the two networks separately. Iliad had the cheapest monthly plans we found.

For a visitor, the question is which of them sells something you can actually buy. On 26 October 2026, TIM and Vodafone published dedicated tourist offers, Iliad sold its regular monthly plans, and WindTre's website refused automated reading, so we could not verify its tourist prices.

One thing first: if your SIM comes from an EU or EEA country, you do not need any of this. Under the EU's roam-like-at-home rules, explained on the Your Europe portal, your home allowance works in Italy within your operator's fair-use limit. This guide is for visitors with a SIM from outside the EU.

Which network is fastest in Italy?

Vodafone, according to both independent measurements we read. In Opensignal’s December 2025 Italy report, based on data collected from 1 September to 29 November 2025, Vodafone users averaged 63.8 Mbps download and 11.2 Mbps upload.

The nPerf barometer for 2025, based on tests from 1 January to 31 December 2025, puts Vodafone first overall with 90,088 nPoints, ahead of WindTre (84,814), Fastweb (82,620), TIM (80,690) and Iliad (68,424). Vodafone also had the lowest latency (37.77 ms), with TIM second (44.70 ms).

Speed is not everything. Opensignal gave TIM its awards for consistent quality (79.2% of the time with a connection good enough for common apps), video and games, and WindTre its awards for 5G availability (85.6%) and time on 5G (28%). Vodafone also won reliability, three points ahead of Iliad. For a visitor, the practical reading is simple: all four main networks are good in the cities, Vodafone is the fastest on average, and Iliad trails on speed.

What does TIM offer a visitor?

On 26 October 2026, TIM Tourist cost €14.99 for 30 days, plus €10 for the SIM card. The package includes 200 GB of data with TIM's 5G Ultra profile, unlimited minutes to Italian numbers and 100 minutes of international calls to a list of countries. Activation is free, according to the offer page and TIM's tariff transparency sheet.

• Data in the EU: 23 GB of the 200 GB can also be used in other EU countries; beyond that, roaming data costs 0.13 cents per MB.
• Add-on: 100 GB more for €5, valid 30 days, sold only at TIM stores when you activate TIM Tourist.
• After 30 days: the offer is "non-renewable" and deactivates on its own; TIM says you can reactivate it if you have credit on the card.
• When the data runs out: browsing in Italy is blocked until you add another data option.

The pages we read are for new customers and point you to TIM stores ("Find a store"); they do not mention an eSIM version. For €24.99 in total, it is the simplest offer for a stay of a few weeks: no renewal to cancel, and more data than most visitors use.

What does Vodafone offer a visitor?

Vodafone sells three Dolce Vita plans, and its tourist page says they "can only be activated by customers with a foreign tax code". On 26 October 2026, the prices were:

The 200 minutes cover Italian numbers and around forty foreign countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Brazil, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates. All three plans include 5G and hotspot use. In other EU countries, Vodafone's text for Dolce Vita Start allows 16.3 GB of the allowance, then €0.18 per MB.

Calls beyond the bundle follow the Vodafone 25 New base plan: 25 cents a minute plus 20 cents to connect, and 29 cents per SMS. Vodafone was the fastest network in both Opensignal's and nPerf's latest Italian measurements, which makes Dolce Vita Pro attractive for heavy users.

Two points we could not confirm on the page: the price of the SIM card for these plans, and whether they renew automatically each month. Ask both questions at the counter, and ask how to stop the plan before you leave Italy.

What does Iliad offer a visitor?

Iliad has no tourist plan, but its regular offers are the cheapest per gigabyte we found. On 26 October 2026, its mobile offers page listed:

• GIGA 150: €7.99 a month, 150 GB in 4G, unlimited minutes and SMS to Italian and EU numbers, plus 12 GB for use elsewhere in the EU.
• TOP 230: €9.99 a month, 230 GB in 4G and 5G, plus 18 GB in the EU; the page marked it as a time-limited offer.
• GIGA 250: €11.99 a month, 250 GB in 4G and 5G, plus 18 GB in the EU, hotspot included.

Every offer adds a SIM activation fee of €9.99, and Iliad's terms say its offers renew each month on the same day. GIGA 150 with the SIM costs €17.98 for the first month.

We could not verify on Iliad's own pages which documents a foreign visitor must show, or whether a tourist can buy an Iliad eSIM, because its support pages did not render for our reader. Iliad also had the lowest speeds in both Opensignal's and nPerf's measurements. It suits a long stay with heavy data use more than a short holiday.

What about WindTre?

WindTre sells offers for foreign visitors, but its website blocked every automated reader we used on 26 October 2026, so we give no WindTre price here. Italian tech sites describe a range of tourist passes, but we have not been able to check those figures on WindTre's own pages.

WindTre's network is a good one to have. It was second in nPerf's 2025 barometer with 103.34 Mb/s average download, and Opensignal found its users had access to a 5G signal 85.6% of the time, the best in Italy. Two of the travel eSIMs we compared, Ubigi and Airalo, run on WindTre, so you can use its network without buying a local line.

If you want a WindTre SIM, check the current tourist offers in a WindTre store and ask for the total price including the SIM.

What do you need to buy a SIM in Italy?

Bring your passport: Italian lines are registered to an identity document. Vodafone's online checkout, for example, asks for an identity card, passport or driving licence, a document showing your tax code (codice fiscale), and an identity check by SPID, the Italian electronic identity card (CIE) or a recorded video.

The tax code is the point that surprises visitors. Vodafone's Dolce Vita plans are reserved for customers with a foreign tax code. TIM's tourist pages say only that TIM Tourist is for new customers and is sold through its stores.

In practice, the safest route is a store. Before you hand over your passport, ask four things:

• the total price, including the SIM card (€10 at TIM, €9.99 activation at Iliad);
• whether you get a physical SIM or an eSIM;
• whether the plan renews automatically, and how to stop it;
• how to buy more data, by app, SMS or top-up.

Keep the receipt with your new number on it, and note any customer area login before you leave the shop.

Can you use an Italian SIM elsewhere in Europe?

Yes, within a set allowance: an Italian line roams in the rest of the EU at Italian prices, but each offer caps the data you can use there. This matters if Italy is the first stop of a longer trip. On 26 October 2026 the pages we read set these limits:

• TIM Tourist: 23 GB of the 200 GB can be used in other EU countries; beyond that, data costs 0.13 cents per MB. The €5 add-on brings 8 GB more for the EU.
• Vodafone Dolce Vita Start: 16.3 GB in the EU, then €0.18 per MB.
• Iliad: 12 GB in the EU with GIGA 150 and 18 GB with TOP 230 or GIGA 250; above the EU allowance, TOP 230's terms add a surcharge of 0.001342 euros per MB.

Outside the EU, the Italian line becomes an expensive roaming SIM. Vodafone's page names Switzerland, Turkey, Albania and Monaco among the places where its standard rates abroad apply, and its Smart Passport 2.0 option costs €3.99 or €6.99 a day when used in the non-EU countries it covers. If your trip continues to Switzerland, keep a travel eSIM or your home plan for that leg.

One last practical point: your home number. Keep your home SIM in the phone if you can, with data roaming switched off, so that you still receive bank codes by SMS. Many eSIM phones can hold a physical SIM and an eSIM at the same time.

Buying at Fiumicino or Malpensa, or in town?

None of the operator pages we read lists airport shops or airport prices, so we cannot confirm what you will find on arrival. TIM sells its 100 GB add-on "at TIM Stores", and every operator has a store locator on its website. Check it for your arrival airport and for the city centre before you fly.

If you land late, need a taxi or a hotel address straight away, or simply do not want to queue, a travel eSIM installed at home connects as soon as the plane lands. You can still buy a local line the next day in town if you stay long enough for it to pay off. Our guide to the best eSIMs for Italy compares seven of them.

Local SIM or travel eSIM: which costs less?

For a month, the local SIM wins on price; for a week, the travel eSIM is cheaper and simpler. The comparison below uses prices read on 26 October 2026.

Pick a local SIM if you stay three weeks or more, need an Italian number, or want to share data with a laptop. Pick a travel eSIM for shorter stays, for a late arrival, or if you do not have the documents the operator asks for. And if your SIM is from the EU, keep using it: roaming at home prices beats both.

Continuing your trip? Our France, Spain and Greece guides cover the next stops, and TIM, Vodafone and Iliad all include some EU roaming data in these offers.

How we checked

We read the tourist and mobile offer pages of TIM, Vodafone Italia and Iliad on 26 October 2026, together with TIM's tariff transparency documents. We recorded only what the pages showed: where a price, a fee or a rule was missing, we say so. WindTre's site refused automated reading that day, so we give no WindTre prices.

Speed figures come from Opensignal's December 2025 Italy report and nPerf's 2025 mobile barometer; the EU roaming rules from the European Commission's Your Europe portal. Travel eSIM prices come from our comparison of seven Italy eSIMs, read the same day. We did not buy the lines or test them in Italy, and we found no reliable source for airport shop locations or prices, so we give none. Check the operator's page or counter before you buy.