Orange, Yas or Expresso: which local SIM for a visitor to Senegal

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

A Senegal local SIM is the cheapest way to get a lot of data in the country, and Senegal has three networks to choose from: Orange, Yas and Expresso. We read the three operators' price lists, the regulator's rules and the latest independent measurements on 16 October 2026. Here is what a visitor can buy, where, with which document, and when a travel eSIM is the better choice.

Which local SIM should a visitor buy in Senegal?

For most visitors, Orange: it is the only one of the three whose site advertises a tourist SIM and an airport shop, and it leads the national network measurements. These are the three networks a visitor can choose from, by the regulator's count of 30 June 2026:

• Orange (Sonatel): 55.17% of Senegal's 24,825,746 mobile lines, a tourist SIM called Sim Teeru, and a shop at Blaise Diagne airport.
• Yas: 24.35% of the lines. Yas is the former Free Senegal, renamed in November 2024 by its owner, Axian Telecom. It sells an eSIM in its own agencies.
• Expresso: 14.95% of the lines, the cheapest large data passes, but the slowest average download in nPerf's 2025 figures and the lowest success rates in the regulator's national drive test.

The market shares come from the mobile market dashboard of the ARTP (Autorité de Régulation des Télécommunications et des Postes), Senegal's telecoms regulator. Two smaller operators share the rest: Promobile, a virtual operator, and Hayo, which the ARTP describes as the universal-service operator of the Matam region.

What is Orange's Sim Teeru, and what does it cost?

The Sim Teeru is Orange's tourist SIM: 9,900 CFA francs for 15 GB, 600 minutes and 500 texts, valid 15 days. Its page on orange.sn listed, on 16 October 2026:

• Price: 9,900 CFA francs, about €15.09.
• Data: 15 GB, "of which 5 GB usable only in a 5G zone with a 5G-compatible phone".
• Calls and texts: 600 minutes to all Senegalese networks, 5 minutes to international numbers and 500 texts.
• Validity: the bundle lasts 15 days; the number stays valid 30 days.
• Where: the Orange shop in the arrivals area of Blaise Diagne airport (AIBD), Orange agencies in Dakar (République, Sea Plaza, Almadies), and in Mbour, Saly, Ziguinchor and Cap Skirring, with Saint-Louis "coming soon".
• Documents: a passport, or an ECOWAS national identity card, plus a valid travel document: a boarding pass or a plane ticket.
• Payment: cash after currency exchange, Orange Money, or a bank card.

The Sim Teeru also exists as an eSIM: Orange tells you to ask the agent for "a SIM TEERU or ESIM TEERU", with the eSIM "available depending on compatibility". It is sold in person only; Orange's online shop listed no eSIM on 16 October 2026. After the 15 days, you top up with ordinary Orange passes, by dialling #1234# for internet. The SIM "cannot remain inactive beyond 30 days" without use, unless you pay to keep the number.

How much do data passes cost at Orange, Yas and Expresso?

A week of generous data costs between 2,000 and 2,500 CFA francs, about €3 to €4, at all three operators. These are the prices on each operator's site on 16 October 2026, for any customer with a line:

F stands for CFA francs. The CFA franc is pegged to the euro at 655.957 francs per euro, as the central bank BCEAO recalls, so 2,500 francs is €3.81 and 15,000 francs €22.87 whatever the day. Orange's monthly passes from 12 GB up include a 5G share: the 100 GB pass reads "of which 50 GB on 5G". The pass page does not explain it further; on the Sim Teeru page, Orange says its 5G share is "usable only in a 5G zone with a 5G-compatible phone". Orange's monthly passes also add "20 GB of night bonus per month", about 600 MB a night.

On price alone, Expresso is the cheapest for large amounts. But the price of a gigabyte matters less than whether the network reaches you, which is where the three differ most.

Which network is best: Orange, Yas or Expresso?

Orange, on the national figures of nPerf and the regulator; Yas is a fair second, and Expresso is well behind. At national level, three measurements agree:

The speeds come from nPerf's 2025 barometer, built from tests users ran on their own phones, and the coverage from nPerf's coverage barometer of September 2026, which measures 4G only where its Android users actually went and contains "no modelling". The success rates come from the ARTP's national drive test between 25 November 2024 and 9 March 2025, which concluded that "EXPRESSO and YAS did not reach the thresholds" for data, while Orange met them.

On 5G, only Orange and Yas appear: Yas, then still called Free, launched commercial 5G in Dakar on 5 March 2024, and Orange announced its mobile 5G for June 2024, according to the news site OSIRIS. In nPerf's coverage barometer, Orange's 5G population coverage, weighted to where its users tested, was 76.05%, against 60.48% for Yas; we found no 5G launch by Expresso. A 5G phone matters most with Orange's monthly passes, which reserve part of their data for 5G.

Yas's high latency, over 90 ms, can make WhatsApp calls less smooth even when downloads are fast enough. For a visitor who mainly uses maps and messaging, Yas works; for video calls or remote work, Orange is the safer line.

Do the local SIMs work in Saly, Casamance and the Saloum Delta?

Orange covers the main tourist regions well where users tested; Yas is close except in Casamance, and Expresso has clear gaps in Casamance and the Saloum Delta. nPerf's coverage barometer gives 4G figures by region, based on where its users ran tests, and the ARTP's drive test notes where its cars had a signal:

• Dakar region: all three above 97% on nPerf's 4G coverage score, with Yas first (98.92%) just ahead of Orange (98.73%). The ARTP's cars had a signal 100% of the time on all three.
• Thiès region (Saly, Mbour, the Petite Côte): nPerf found 4G in 98.00% of the places where Orange users tested, 96.75% for Yas and 71.63% for Expresso. The ARTP measured more than 98% signal presence for all three along its drive.
• Ziguinchor region (Casamance, Cap Skirring): 90.62% for Orange, 72.49% for Yas and 64.74% for Expresso on nPerf; on nPerf's overall coverage score, which also weighs the area covered, Expresso (63.95%) even ranks ahead of Yas (60.49%) there. The ARTP found Expresso's signal in only 64% of its drive in the Bignona department and 9% in Oussouye, where Cap Skirring lies, against more than 98% for Orange and Yas.
• Fatick region (the Saloum Delta side): 90.36% for Orange, 83.30% for Yas and 51.68% for Expresso on nPerf.
• Saint-Louis region: 93.59% for Orange, 88.17% for Yas and 78.37% for Expresso on nPerf; the ARTP measured 81% for Expresso in the Podor department.

These figures describe where people tested, mostly towns and roads. Neither source reports on the delta's islands or the tracks of Niokolo-Koba National Park, so download offline maps before heading there. Around Cap Skirring, where the regulator's cars found Expresso's signal only 9% of the time, an Expresso SIM is the one to avoid.

Can you get a local eSIM in Senegal?

Yes, but only in a shop: Orange sells the Sim Teeru as an eSIM, and Yas sells an eSIM for 2,000 CFA francs with 3 GB valid 30 days in its agencies. Yas's roaming page reads "Buy your eSIM for 2,000 FCFA and get 3 GB of internet valid 30 days! Visit our agencies". Expresso launched the first eSIM in Senegal on 30 April 2021, according to the news site OSIRIS, but its site showed no current eSIM offer or price on 16 October 2026.

None of the three sells an eSIM online to a visitor before arrival. If you want data from the moment the plane lands, a travel eSIM bought at home is the only option; our comparison of Senegal travel eSIMs lists the prices. Before you buy any eSIM, check your phone on our list of eSIM-compatible phones, and make sure it is not locked to your home carrier, as our guide on unlocked phones explains.

What do you need to register a SIM in Senegal?

Your presence in the shop and a passport, if you are not from an ECOWAS country. The ARTP reminded operators in January 2025 that the law of 12 December 2018 requires them to identify every user at subscription. According to its communiqué, reported by OSIRIS, the rules are:

• the customer must be present in person, or send someone with a legalised power of attorney;
• a maximum of three SIM cards per person and per operator;
• a national identity card or a valid passport for Senegalese and ECOWAS nationals;
• a passport for all other foreigners.

The ARTP then had unregistered numbers restricted from 18 March 2025 and suspended from 31 March 2025. For the Sim Teeru, Orange also asks for a boarding pass or a plane ticket.

Can you buy a SIM at Blaise Diagne airport?

Yes, at Orange: its Sim Teeru page names the "Boutique Orange AIBD" in the arrivals area. We found no mention of a Yas or Expresso shop at the airport on their own sites; Expresso's site lists shops in Dakar, Thiès and Touba. If the Orange shop is closed or busy when you land, a travel eSIM installed before the flight covers the drive to Dakar or Saly, and you can buy a local SIM later in town.

Keep your home SIM in the phone as a second line if your phone supports two, but switch its data roaming off. Our roaming guide for Senegal shows what UK and US carriers charge if you forget.

Does a Senegalese SIM work in The Gambia?

Yes, on roaming, and at Yas the Gambia rates already follow the regional free-roaming terms; Orange's Gambia page still charges for incoming calls. On 16 October 2026, Yas's roaming page listed for The Gambia: incoming calls free for the first 30 days (190 francs a minute after that), 25 francs a minute for a local call and 225 francs for a call to Senegal, with data at "0.5" franc per MB. It also sold a "Pass Internet Gambie" of 250 MB for 1,000 francs (7 days), 1 GB for 5,000 francs and 3 GB for 10,000 francs (30 days). The per-MB rate is far below the passes, so check it with Yas before relying on it. Orange's travel pass page for The Gambia listed 100 MB for 5,000 francs and 250 MB for 10,000 francs, valid 30 days, and still charged 190 francs a minute to receive a call. We found no Gambia roaming offer on Expresso's site.

Gambia's regulator, PURA, announced on 15 December 2025 an agreement with the ARTP to apply the ECOWAS roaming regulation from 1 March 2026, with capped charges and "free incoming calls for up to 30 consecutive days". Reports on its start disagree: the business news agency Ecofin wrote on 27 April 2026 that Senegal had finalised agreements only with Benin and Togo so far, while the Senegalese news site PressAfrik wrote on 26 June 2026 that free roaming had been "operational between the two nations since December 2025" and was being adjusted. The operators' own pages are the best guide: Yas applies it, Orange's Gambia page did not show it on 16 October 2026.

For a longer stay in The Gambia, a local SIM from one of its four operators (Gamcel, Africell, Comium and QCell, according to a PURA page with figures from 2020) or a regional travel eSIM makes more sense: Airalo's "Hello Africa" eSIM covers both countries, at €23.50 for 3 GB over 7 days on 16 October 2026.

Local SIM or travel eSIM: which costs less?

For a stay of a week or more with heavy use, the local SIM costs far less; for a short trip, the convenience of a travel eSIM often wins. Compare, on 16 October 2026:

• Orange Sim Teeru: €15.09 for 15 GB plus 600 minutes over 15 days, after a passport check at the airport.
• Orange Travel eSIM: €18.99 for 10 GB over 14 days (a promotion until 15 November 2026), data only, installed before you leave.
• Holafly eSIM: €37.90 for 7 days of unlimited data on Orange's network, with no speed figure published and a fair-usage clause that can slow it for up to a day.

The local SIM also gives you a Senegalese number, useful for drivers, guesthouses and Orange Money, the mobile payment service many businesses use. A travel eSIM keeps your WhatsApp on your own number without a second SIM, starts working at the gate, and needs no shop visit. Many visitors do both: a small travel eSIM for arrival, then a Sim Teeru in Dakar or Saly.

If your eSIM does not connect after landing, our guide to an eSIM stuck on activating walks through the usual fixes, and here is how to find your EID number if a shop asks for it. If you continue to Cape Verde, our guide to local SIMs in Cape Verde covers the same choice there.

How we checked

We read the offer pages of Orange, Yas and Expresso on 16 October 2026, including Orange's Sim Teeru page in a browser, since it loads in code. Prices are in CFA francs as published, with euro equivalents at the fixed rate of 655.957 francs per euro. The market shares are from the ARTP's dashboard of 30 June 2026, the most recent published; the drive test from its campaign of November 2024 to March 2025. The speed and coverage figures are nPerf's, from tests run by users; we found no current Opensignal report for Senegal. The Gambia roaming rates come from Yas's and Orange's own pages, and the status of the free-roaming deal from PURA, Ecofin and PressAfrik, which disagree. The registration rules come from the ARTP's communiqué as reported by the press, as we could not locate the original on the regulator's site. Prices change often, so check the operator's page before you travel.