Roaming in Albania: what EE, O2, Vodafone, Three, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile charge

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

Roaming in Albania is not covered by the European rules that make Greece or Italy cheap for many travellers: Albania is not in the European Union, and UK and US carriers price it as a worldwide destination. We read the Albania terms of seven carriers on 16 October 2026: EE, O2, Vodafone and Three in the UK, and Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile in the United States. Here is what a day and a week cost, and when a travel eSIM is cheaper.

Is Albania covered by European roaming deals?

No: Albania is outside the European Union, so the EU's roam-like-at-home rules do not apply, and no UK carrier we checked puts it in its European zone. EE places Albania in "Zone 1", the zone of the United States, China and Australia, not in its EU zone. Vodafone UK counts it among the 84 destinations of its "Global Roam" plans rather than among the 52 of "Euro Roam". O2 and Three put it in their worldwide lists.

The Western Balkans do have a roaming deal with the EU, but it does not help a British or American traveller. A declaration signed in 2022 by "telecommunications operators from both, Western Balkans and the European Union" caps data roaming within special offers at €18 per gigabyte since 1 October 2023, according to the Regional Cooperation Council. UK and US carriers are not part of it.

The two Albanian networks a visitor connects to are One Albania and Vodafone Albania. Which one your carrier uses does not change the price you pay at home.

What do UK carriers charge in Albania?

From £30 a week with EE's 7-Day Pass to £56 a week at the £8 daily charge of Vodafone and Three, unless your plan already includes Albania. These are the terms on 16 October 2026 for pay monthly customers:

EE

EE's roaming page lists Albania first in Zone 1, with a "24-Hour Pass - £6" and a "7-Day Pass - £30" that let you use your UK calls, texts and data. Zone 1 is also eligible as an "Inclusive Extra" on plans that have one. EE's country data for Albania lists out-of-allowance calls at £2.46 a minute, made or received, and texts at 98p.

O2

O2 Travel costs "£7 a day (for the days that you use it)" and gives "unlimited minutes, texts and data in 75 destinations outside Europe", Albania included. The day "covers 24 hours from first usage", and "data speeds are capped at 2Mbps". O2 also sells data-only bolt-ons: Albania is in Zone 2, where 1 GB costs £9, 3 GB £20 and 5 GB £29 on its bolt-on page. Calls outside Europe are "charged at £3/min and sending a text costs £1" when they are not covered by a bolt-on. Customers on O2's Ultimate plans have Albania in the 75 destinations of the Inclusive Zone Ultimate.

Vodafone

Vodafone's roaming charge checker answered for Albania: "if you have a data plan with 84 inclusive destinations then roaming is included (up to 25GB). If not, you'll be charged £8 a day on top of your existing plan for calls, texts and up to 25GB of data." Plans bought before 11 August 2021 pay £6 a day. "A day starts from the time when roaming is detected and lasts for 24 hours", and receiving standard-rate calls and texts is free.

Three

Three lists Albania among its 92 "Go Roam Around the World Extra" destinations for pay monthly customers, with up to 12 GB of your data allowance. Without inclusive roaming, a daily charge unlocks your allowance for 24 hours: £7 if you joined or upgraded between 1 October 2021 and 17 December 2025, and £8 from 18 December 2025, a price that started on 1 April 2026. Three's Lite plans and older Advanced plans do not include daily Go Roam passes. On pay as you go, Three lists Albania under "Rest of the World", among the destinations not included in Go Roam.

What do US carriers charge in Albania?

Verizon and AT&T charge $12 a day, and T-Mobile includes Albania in its qualifying plans with a limited amount of high-speed data.

Verizon's TravelPass list shows "Albania $12 per day", and its TravelPass page adds: "After 5GB of high speed data, then unlimited data at 3G speeds for the remainder of the TravelPass session." AT&T's Day Pass gives "unlimited talk, text, and high-speed data for $12/day" in 210 or more destinations, Albania among them, with "$6 for each additional line used on the same calendar day".

T-Mobile lists Albania among the countries "included with your international roaming benefit". Its plan page gives up to 15 GB of high-speed data on Experience Beyond and 5 GB on Experience More, then "unlimited data at up to 256kbps", with calls at $0.50 a minute. Essentials plans get free texting only and need an International Pass for data: 2 GB for one day at $10, 15 GB for 10 days at $50, or 30 GB for 30 days at $75, usable as a hotspot.

Is a travel eSIM cheaper than roaming in Albania?

For a week or more, yes, unless your plan already includes Albania. On 16 October 2026, Nomad sold 7 days of unlimited data in Albania for £18.89 or $25, with 2 GB a day at full speed and then 1 Mbps. Holafly, the most expensive of the brands we compared, charged £30 or $36.50 for 7 days.

Set against the carriers, a week of data costs:

• £18.89 with Nomad against £30 with EE's 7-Day Pass, £49 with O2 Travel and £56 at the £8 daily charge of Vodafone or Three.
• $25 with Nomad against $84 with Verizon TravelPass or the AT&T Day Pass for seven days.

For a long stay, the gap widens. Holafly's 30-day plan cost £101 or $125.90, still well below thirty days at £8 or $12, and cheaper fixed plans exist: 10 GB valid 30 days cost €16 at Yesim and €10.90 at SimBalkan. Our comparison of Albania eSIMs lists the prices by trip length and the network each plan uses.

Roaming keeps two advantages: your own number works for calls and texts without any setup, and on EE, O2 Travel, Vodafone and Three your UK minutes and texts are included in the daily price. A common compromise is to keep the home SIM for calls and texts, with data roaming switched off on that line, and to use a travel eSIM for data.

What happens if you roam in Albania without a pass?

Data either stops or becomes very expensive, depending on the carrier. EE says plainly for pay as you go customers that "the internet won't work on your phone abroad unless you buy an add-on", and its add-ons for Albania are small: 20 MB for 24 hours at £5, 45 MB at £10, and 90 MB for 7 days at £20. O2 Travel is not automatic: "If you don't activate O2 Travel, or you visit a destination that isn't covered, you'll pay our standard rates."

In the United States, AT&T's pay-per-use rates apply when you have no Day Pass: data at "$2.05/MB", calls at "$4/minute in all other countries" and texts at "$1/text message". At that rate, 100 MB of data would cost $205.

Do not count on a legal safety net. The EU-derived rule that set a £45 monthly limit on roaming data no longer has effect in UK law: The Trade (Mobile Roaming) Regulations 2023 revoked what remained of it in April 2023. Some carriers keep a limit of their own: Three says it has "set a worldwide data roaming limit of £45 a month (excluding VAT)" on its data roaming limit page. Ask your carrier whether a limit applies to your line before you travel.

Do Montenegro, Kosovo and North Macedonia cost the same?

Not always: Montenegro usually sits in the same zone as Albania, but Kosovo is often billed differently, dearer at EE and O2 and cheaper at Vodafone. For a Balkan road trip, check each country:

• EE: Albania and Montenegro are in Zone 1 (£6 a day, £30 a week); Kosovo is in Zone 2 (£8 a day, £40 a week).
• O2: O2 Travel covers Albania and Montenegro but not Kosovo or North Macedonia, which sit in data Zone 3, where 1 GB costs £65.
• Vodafone: Kosovo is among the 52 destinations of Euro Roam, while Albania is in Global Roam, so Kosovo can cost less than Albania.
• Three: Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia are all in the Around the World Extra list with Albania.
• Verizon: $12 a day in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia alike.
• T-Mobile: all four are on its list of included countries.

Travel eSIMs have the same problem with Kosovo: most Balkan plans leave it out. Our guide to one eSIM for Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo lists the plans that really cover all three.

Is a local Albanian SIM worth it instead?

For a long stay, a local tourist pack gives far more data than any roaming offer, but it takes an identity check. Vodafone Albania's tourist eSIM page listed, on 16 October 2026, 1 TB of data and 1,000 national minutes for 15 days at 2,700 lek, 1.1 TB for 21 days at 2,900 lek, and 1.2 TB for 30 days at 3,300 lek. Prices are in lek and include VAT; your bank converts them at its own rate.

The purchase goes through an online "ID Check" and an electronic contract signature, and the plastic version is collected in a Vodafone store "with a valid ID or passport", including a shop at Tirana airport. The 15-day and 21-day packs also work in the Western Balkans, within a 6 GB fair-use limit. You get an Albanian number, useful for local calls and bookings, but your UK or US number is no longer the one people reach unless you keep your home SIM active alongside it.

Which option suits which traveller?

The cheapest answer depends on your plan, the length of the trip and how much you call. On the prices of 16 October 2026:

• Your plan already includes Albania (Vodafone with 84 inclusive destinations, O2 Ultimate, T-Mobile Experience): use it, within its data limit.
• A weekend on EE: the £6 24-Hour Pass for each day is simple, and your UK minutes come with it.
• A week or more, data first: a travel eSIM, from £18.89 or $25 for 7 days of unlimited data, with the home SIM kept for calls.
• A month or longer: a Vodafone Albania tourist pack, or a fixed 10 GB eSIM plan from €10.90.

Can you roam by accident near Albania's borders?

Yes: near a border, a phone can connect to a network in the neighbouring country and bill you at that country's rate. Vodafone UK describes it on its roaming page: "Sometimes, your device can connect to another country's network. This is called inadvertent roaming and happens when you travel near an international border." Albania's regulator AKEP gives the same warning on its roaming page, and advises users to select the national network manually.

The risk matters most near the borders with Greece, Montenegro, Kosovo and North Macedonia, where your carrier may bill a different zone. Selecting One Albania or Vodafone Albania by hand in the network settings keeps your phone on an Albanian network.

How do you use a travel eSIM and keep your number?

Install the eSIM before you leave, set it as your data line, and switch data roaming off on your home line. Your phone must take an eSIM and must not be locked to your carrier: check our list of eSIM-compatible phones, our pages for the iPhone range and Google Pixel, or check eSIM support without installing anything. Our guide on unlocked phones and travel eSIMs explains how to check.

On landing, turn data roaming on for the eSIM line only. If it does not connect, our guide to an eSIM stuck on activating covers the usual fixes, and some providers ask for your EID number before sending the QR code. Calls still reach your home number: Vodafone UK says receiving standard-rate calls and texts is always free, and O2's daily charge is triggered only if you "make a call, send a text or use data".

Our general guide to roaming charges before travelling covers the questions to ask your carrier for any destination.

How we checked

We read each carrier's roaming pages on 16 October 2026: EE's roaming zones and its Albania country data, O2's Travel, bolt-on and Inclusive Zone pages, Vodafone UK's roaming charge checker for Albania on pay monthly, Three's Go Roam and destination pages, Verizon's TravelPass list, AT&T's Day Pass and pay-per-use pages, and T-Mobile's included countries and International Passes. Weekly totals are the daily price multiplied by seven.

The travel eSIM prices are those Nomad and Holafly displayed in pounds and dollars on their Albania pages the same day, without conversion. Carriers change prices and zones often, and some prices depend on the date you joined: check your own plan in your carrier's app before you travel.