Best eSIM for North Macedonia (2026): Prices, Networks and Which Plan to Buy

The best eSIM for North Macedonia on price is Wayfarro: it matches Nomad at $4 for 1GB, $8 for 3GB and $12 for 5GB, beats it at 10GB and 20GB, and its 7-day unlimited plan at $21 is under Airalo's $27.50. Nomad sells no unlimited plan for North Macedonia at all, and both Nomad and Airalo run on A1, one of the country's two networks. Wayfarro's prices come straight from its store; Nomad's and Airalo's were checked in October 2026.

You need one of them because North Macedonia isn't in the EU. Roam-like-at-home ends at the Greek and Bulgarian borders, so an EU, UK or North American SIM pays full roaming rates from the moment it connects at Skopje airport.

North Macedonia eSIM prices compared

Prices for the plans travelers actually buy, read from each provider's North Macedonia page. Providers run sales often, so check before you buy.

Plan	Wayfarro	Nomad	Airalo
1GB · 7 days	$4	$4	—
2GB · 15 days	$6.50	—	—
3GB · 30 days	$8	$8	—
5GB · 30 days	$12	$12	—
10GB · 30 days	$16	$18	—
20GB · 30 days	$26	$32	—
50GB · 30 days	$53	—	—
Unlimited · 1 day	$5	—	—
Unlimited · 3 days	$8	—	$12.50
Unlimited · 5 days	$15	—	$20.50
Unlimited · 7 days	$21	—	$27.50
Unlimited · 10 days	$28	—	$35
Unlimited · 15 days	$31	—	$49
Unlimited · 30 days	$61	—	$72
Networks	Not named on the plan page	A1	A1

How to read this table: On fixed data, Wayfarro and Nomad tie at 1GB, 3GB and 5GB, and Wayfarro is cheaper at 10GB and 20GB; Nomad's page listed no 50GB or unlimited plan. On unlimited, Wayfarro is under Airalo at every length and is the only one of the three with a 1-day plan. Airalo's page showed unlimited plans only when we checked; it also sells fixed-data plans from $4, so check its site for those. A dash means the provider doesn't sell that exact plan, or we couldn't confirm its US-dollar price.

Wayfarro's unlimited rows are its Unlimited Lite plans: 1GB a day at full speed, then 512 kbps until the next day. It also sells Unlimited Essential (1GB a day, then 1.25 Mbps) and Unlimited Plus (2GB a day, then 2 Mbps); seven days costs $22 on Essential and $37 on Plus. Airalo's page states full speed for the first 3GB each day, up to 20 Mbps, then 1 Mbps.

Which is the best eSIM for North Macedonia for your trip?

North Macedonia is small, so the question is less how far you'll go and more where you'll cross out of it:

• Two or three days in Skopje: 1GB at $4, the same at Wayfarro and Nomad, covers maps across the Stone Bridge, taxi apps and the Matka Canyon boat trip. For a weekend of posting and streaming, the 3-day unlimited plan at $8 is cheaper than Airalo's $12.50 and Nomad has nothing to match it.
• A week of Skopje, Ohrid and Bitola: 5GB at $12 for most people, or 7-day unlimited at $21 if you'll upload lake videos all day.
• A summer fortnight by Lake Ohrid: 10GB at $16 beats Nomad's $18, or the 15-day unlimited plan at $31 if the apartment Wi-Fi turns out to be weak.
• A month in Skopje working remotely: 20GB at $26 against Nomad's $32, or 50GB at $53, which neither competitor sells. The 30-day unlimited plan at $61 undercuts Airalo's $72.
• Ohrid plus the Albanian shore, or Skopje on a loop through Tirana, Belgrade or Thessaloniki: don't buy a North Macedonia-only plan. The Balkans regional plan covers North Macedonia with Albania, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania and Moldova on one eSIM, from $6 for 1GB. Wayfarro's Europe plan does not include North Macedonia, so read the country list before choosing it over the Balkans plan.

Networks and coverage in North Macedonia

North Macedonia has two networks of almost exactly the same size: Telekom and A1. Telekom, formerly T-Mobile, belongs to the Deutsche Telekom group through Magyar Telekom; A1 belongs to Austria's A1 Group and was previously one and Vip. Each had just over 900,000 subscribers at the end of 2025, in a country of two million mobile subscriptions. Both run 4G on 800 and 1800 MHz and 5G on 700 and 3600 MHz. Nomad and Airalo both use A1; Wayfarro's plan page doesn't name its partner, so the network shows on your phone when you land.

• Skopje: 4G and 5G across the centre, the Old Bazaar and up to the Millennium Cross on Vodno. Skopje International Airport at Petrovec, the busier of the country's two airports, is covered on the 20-minute drive into town.
• Matka Canyon: signal at the dam, the monastery and on the lake near the boat jetty; it fades as the canyon narrows past Vrelo cave.
• Ohrid: full coverage in the old town, along the lakefront and at the St. Paul the Apostle airport, which sits 170 km south-west of Skopje. The road round the lake to Sveti Naum is covered, with the Albanian networks visible across the water.
• Mavrovo National Park: the largest of the country's four national parks, at about 780 km². The ski village, the lake and the Galičnik road have signal; the deep canyons and the trails toward Korab don't.
• Bitola and Pelister: 4G through the city and along Širok Sokak. Pelister National Park above town is patchy beyond the hotel zone, and the Greek border crossing at Medžitlija is 14 km south, where your phone may see a Greek tower.
• The A1 motorway from the Serbian border to Gevgelija: continuous coverage the length of the country, which is also the road most people take to and from Thessaloniki.

Mountains cover most of North Macedonia, and the pattern is the same everywhere: towns, lakes and main roads are fine, the high trails are not. Download offline maps for Mavrovo, Pelister and the Šar range before you leave town.

Borders and why the lake is the catch

Lake Ohrid is shared with Albania, and that single fact decides more eSIM choices here than anything else. The lake is one of Europe's deepest and oldest, with over 200 endemic species, and its western shore belongs to Albania. A North Macedonia-only plan stops at the border post past Sveti Naum, and on the water near the line your phone may pick an Albanian tower and roam at your home carrier's rate. If you'll stick to the Macedonian shore, set the network manually; if Pogradec or Tirana is on the plan, the Balkans plan is the best eSIM for North Macedonia, because it covers both shores.

The rest of the border splits the same way as elsewhere in the region. Greece and Bulgaria are in the EU, so an EU plan covers them and stops here. Serbia, Kosovo and Albania aren't (and no Wayfarro plan covers Kosovo), and the Western Balkans roam-free deal from July 2021 only applies to SIMs bought in the region. The Balkans eSIM guide walks through which plan covers which neighbour, and the Albania guide covers the other side of the lake.

North Macedonia uses the denar, not the euro, so cash and card payments also go through foreign-currency rules. A data plan paid in dollars before you leave is one less thing to convert at Skopje airport.

How to set up an eSIM for North Macedonia

Install at home on Wi-Fi, then switch it on when you land.

1. Check your phone is unlocked and supports eSIM. iPhone XS and later, Google Pixel 3 and later, and most recent Samsung Galaxy phones do.
2. Install before you travel. Scan the QR code or tap the install link; the step-by-step install guide covers iPhone and Android.
3. Label it "North Macedonia" so you can find it in settings.
4. On arrival at Skopje or Ohrid airport, set the North Macedonia eSIM as your mobile-data line and turn on Data Roaming for it. Travel eSIMs technically roam, so data won't connect without this.
5. Keep your home SIM on for calls and texts with its data roaming off, so bank codes still arrive. With no EU roaming here, leaving its data on is the expensive mistake.

Wayfarro's validity starts on first connection in North Macedonia, not at install, so installing a week early costs nothing. Top-ups go onto the same eSIM without reinstalling.

Bottom line

For North Macedonia alone, the best eSIM for North Macedonia in this comparison is Wayfarro: level with Nomad on 1GB, 3GB and 5GB, cheaper on 10GB and 20GB, and cheaper than Airalo on every unlimited length, with Nomad selling no unlimited plan here at all. Both competitors run on A1, which is a good network, and the two Macedonian networks are so evenly matched that whichever one your eSIM picks will do. If the trip crosses to the Albanian shore of Lake Ohrid or on to Greece and Serbia, buy the Balkans plan instead. See Wayfarro's North Macedonia eSIM plans.