eSIM vs VPN in China
A travel eSIM opens Google, WhatsApp and Instagram on your phone’s mobile data without a VPN, because the data roams out through a network outside mainland China. On hotel Wi-Fi or a laptop you still need a VPN.
Updated · We have not tested any eSIM yet
How each one gets past the firewall
- Travel eSIM
- Your phone’s data is carried to a gateway outside mainland China, usually in Hong Kong or Singapore, and goes online from there. The firewall does not filter it. A SIM from home with data roaming works the same way.
- VPN
- An app opens an encrypted tunnel to a server abroad, over any connection: Wi-Fi, mobile data, a laptop. The firewall actively looks for these tunnels and blocks them, so a VPN that works today can stop tomorrow. That is why we test every 2 hours.
Which one you need
- Phone only, short trip
- A travel eSIM is the simplest: no app to set up, it works when you land.
- Laptop or hotel Wi-Fi
- A VPN. The eSIM covers mobile data only; Wi-Fi in China goes through the firewall. Sharing the phone’s data as a hotspot works, but uses up the plan quickly.
- ChatGPT
- A VPN with a server in a supported country. eSIM data often goes online in Hong Kong, where ChatGPT is not available.
- Long stay
- Usually a local SIM plus a VPN. Months of roaming data cost more than a VPN plan.
- Both, as a backup
- Safest. When VPNs are blocked in a crackdown, eSIM roaming data is not affected; when the eSIM data runs out, the VPN still works on Wi-Fi.
Before you buy an eSIM
- Check that your phone supports eSIM and is not locked to a carrier.
- Install the eSIM before you leave, while you can still reach the provider’s website and app.
- Pick a plan that says no VPN is needed in China. Plans on a local Chinese network need a VPN like any Chinese SIM.
- Keep your home SIM on for SMS codes. Travel eSIMs are data only, with no phone number; Alipay, WeChat Pay and DiDi accept a foreign number.
Which VPNs work in China now
As of , 0 of the 6 VPNs we test worked from China Mobile home broadband in Zhejiang.
VPN rankingsWhat we have tested
We have not tested any eSIM yet. What this page says about eSIMs comes from how roaming works and from what eSIM providers state. Every VPN figure on this site comes from our own tests on a China Mobile home broadband line in Zhejiang. When we test eSIMs, the results will appear here.