Getting online in Vietnam, and what not to pay for it
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Vietnam is easy to be online in and easy to overpay for. The gap between the street price of a Vietnam SIM card and the airport kiosk price is worth ten minutes of planning. The plastic-versus-eSIM decision is not the one most guides make it either.
Do you actually need a SIM?
Yes, for two things: Grab and maps. Wifi is genuinely everywhere in Vietnam: cafes, hotels, restaurants, often better than at home. A traveller who only checks messages in the evening could get by without a SIM at all.
The problem is the other half of the day. Booking a car happens on a pavement, not in a cafe, and so does working out which of six identical lanes you want. Both need data at exactly the moment wifi is not there.
eSIM or a physical SIM?
eSIM if you value not queueing, plastic if you value the price and a local number. Neither is wrong, and the trade is clear enough to decide in a minute.
| What | Physical SIM | eSIM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 150,000–300,000 dong bundle | From about 11 US dollars |
| Passport needed | Yes, by law | No |
| Buy it | On arrival, in a shop or kiosk | Before you fly |
| Gives you | A Vietnamese phone number | Data only, usually |
| Works when | After registration | The moment you land |
The Vietnamese number is the underrated half. Some hotels, restaurants and delivery services want a local number to confirm a booking, and an eSIM that is data-only cannot give you one.
Which network should you pick?
Viettel, unless you have a specific reason not to. It is the country's largest carrier at roughly 54 per cent of the market. The coverage numbers are the reason to care: 4G reaching 98.6 per cent of the population, and 5G 91.2 per cent.
In Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City all three networks are fine, and Vinaphone and Mobifone both sell competitive tourist plans. The difference shows up where the roads climb — Ha Giang, Sapa, the Mekong's smaller channels — and that is where Viettel earns the default.
What should it cost?
About 150,000 to 300,000 dong for a tourist bundle — six and a half to fifteen dollars for the whole trip. That buys 5 to 30 GB depending on the plan, which is more than most two-week visits use.
Viettel's own plans run from 60,000 to 200,000 dong, valid 15 to 30 days, with the upper end including unlimited data. Vinaphone's sit between 90,000 and 200,000 with a daily allowance of one to six gigabytes.
Airport kiosks are the exception and they are not subtle about it. Prices there run 250,000 to 400,000 dong, roughly 30 to 50 per cent above street prices, for the same plans. Convenient on a late arrival; not a price to accept by default.
Why do they photograph your passport?
Because the law requires every SIM to be registered to a named person. Staff take a photograph of your passport, often one of you as well, and register the SIM on a national database before it works.
Nothing about this is a scam and there is no way around it for a physical SIM. It is also the single strongest argument for an eSIM: no passport, no queue, no fifteen minutes at a counter after a long flight.
Where should you buy it?
An official carrier store in town, on your first morning. Viettel, Vinaphone and Mobifone all run their own shops, staff can activate the plan in front of you, and the price is the price.
If you land late and want it working immediately, buy the airport kiosk SIM and accept the markup as the cost of not thinking about it. If you would rather skip the counter entirely, buy an eSIM before you fly and land connected.
One thing worth doing either way: check your phone is unlocked and, for an eSIM, that it supports one. A phone locked to a home carrier turns this whole article into a wifi-only trip. Anyone staying a month and working should read the remote work guide, where data is the backup rather than the connection.
Data is also one of the few costs in Vietnam that does not scale with how you travel. The same fifteen dollars covers a backpacking fortnight and a mid-range one. Our guide on what a week costs sets that against the two lines that actually move a budget.
FAQ
Do you need a SIM card in Vietnam?
Effectively yes. Wifi is everywhere in cafes and hotels, but the two things that make a trip easier — booking a Grab and reading a map while standing on a street — both need data at the moment you are not sitting in a cafe.
Which network is best in Vietnam?
Viettel, in most cases. It is the largest carrier with about 54 per cent of the market, its 4G reaches 98.6 per cent of the population and its 5G covers 91.2 per cent, which matters once you leave the cities for Ha Giang or the delta.
How much should a Vietnamese tourist SIM cost?
Roughly 150,000 to 300,000 dong for a bundle with 5 to 30 GB, about 6.50 to 15 US dollars. Viettel's own plans run from 60,000 to 200,000 dong for 15 to 30 days. Anything much above that is a convenience charge rather than a price.
Is an eSIM better than a SIM card in Vietnam?
It is more expensive and much less hassle. Tourist eSIMs start around 11 US dollars for 7 to 30 days, need no passport and no queue, and can be activated before you fly. A physical SIM is cheaper and gives you a Vietnamese phone number, which some bookings ask for.
Why does the shop photograph my passport?
Vietnamese law requires every SIM to be registered to an identified person, so staff photograph your passport and often you as well before activating it. There is nothing unusual about it, and an eSIM bought online is the way to skip it.