Georgia SIM Card for Tourists: Magti at the Airport, Passport Rules or eSIM?

Last updated on 10 October 2026

At Tbilisi and Kutaisi airports, Magti hands out a free SIM card with its Welcome package for tourists: 15 GEL (about €5.15) for 5 GB over 15 days, or 30 GEL (€10.29) for 3 GB plus free local calls and 30 international minutes. You show your passport at the counter. The POVNOMAD Georgia eSIM costs €2.90 for 1 GB over 7 days or €10.90 for a week of unlimited data, and you install it before you fly. As of 10 October 2026.

Put plainly: in Georgia the local SIM is cheap and easy to get. If you land in Tbilisi or Kutaisi and need more than 1 GB, Magti’s 15 GEL package costs less than any travel eSIM we checked. The eSIM is worth it when you want to be online the moment you land, when you arrive by land or at another airport, or when 1 GB is enough for a short trip.

Local SIM, travel eSIM or roaming: what is the difference in Georgia?

As of 10 October 2026. Magti offer from magticom.ge (tourist SIM page for Georgian airports), POVNOMAD prices and network from the Georgia product page. Converted at the official rate of the National Bank of Georgia valid on 10 October 2026 (€1 = 2.9154 GEL).

How much does a tourist SIM card cost in Georgia?

Magti, the operator with the most coverage according to its own website, publishes two Welcome packages for travellers arriving at Tbilisi or Kutaisi airport. The SIM card comes free with either:

Source: magticom.ge, “SIM cards for Tourists in Georgian airports”, retrieved 10 October 2026. The page carries no date. Euro amounts at €1 = 2.9154 GEL (National Bank of Georgia, 10 October 2026).

Georgia’s two other operators are harder to pin down. Silknet’s website has a tourist package page, but the packages load by script and did not show in readable form when we checked on 10 October 2026. On Cellfie’s website we found no tourist package that day. Travel blogs quote prices for both that contradict each other, so we leave them out. Ask at the desk for the total price including the SIM card.

Travel eSIMs, bought before departure, as of 10 October 2026:

Read on 10 October 2026 on povnomad.com, airalo.com/georgia-esim and esim.holafly.com/de/esim-georgien/. Holafly sells unlimited plans only. “–” = no such plan.

For 5 GB over 15 days you pay €5.15 at the Magti desk, €10.90 with us (30 days) and €15.00 at Airalo. Only below 1 GB is the eSIM cheaper. The unlimited plans and the roaming costs of German contracts are compared in our Georgia eSIM provider comparison.

Do you need a passport for a Georgian SIM card?

Yes. Under the consumer rules of Georgia’s regulator, the Georgian National Communications Commission (ComCom), a contract for mobile services must contain the customer’s identity and address (Resolution No. 3, Article 12, English version on comcom.ge). As a visitor, you show your passport, so take the original with you.

A travel eSIM from abroad needs no Georgian contract, because it joins the network as a roaming guest. Our Georgia eSIM uses the same Magti network as the local SIM.

What if you do not land in Tbilisi or Kutaisi?

Magti’s tourist page names the airports of Tbilisi and Kutaisi as the places to get the Welcome package. It does not say whether its city offices sell the same package. If you arrive at Batumi airport or by land from Turkey or Armenia, plan for that gap: either find a Magti office in town or have an eSIM ready.

The eSIM switches on as soon as your phone finds the Georgian network after the border. If you continue to Armenia or Azerbaijan, each country needs its own profile. Our guide Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on one trip covers the border crossings and the costs.

Does a Georgian SIM work in the mountains?

That depends on the network, not on whether the SIM is local. In Svaneti, Kazbegi and towards Tusheti, Magti is often the only network with signal, and Tusheti is largely offline. Our eSIM runs on Magti, Airalo’s Georgia eSIM on Cellfie, and Holafly lists Magticom and Beeline, the former name of Cellfie (as of 10 October 2026). Download maps before mountain hikes, whatever SIM you use. Details per region are in the Georgia comparison.

How do you buy the local SIM the right way?

• Have your passport and an unlocked phone ready. A phone locked to a German network will not accept the Magti SIM.
• Choose the package by how you use your phone: 15 GEL for 5 GB of data only, 30 GEL if you also call within Georgia or abroad.
• Magti lists the activation codes 3315 for the 15 GEL package and 2230 for the 30 GEL package. Ask the staff to activate it before you leave the desk.
• Both Welcome packages expire after 15 days. Magti’s tourist page names no follow-up package, so ask at the counter if you stay longer.
• If you take out your German SIM, you will not receive SMS codes from your bank. With a dual-SIM phone both lines stay active.

When is the eSIM the better choice, and when is it not?

Take the local SIM if you land in Tbilisi or Kutaisi, stay up to 15 days and need more than 1 GB, or want a Georgian number for calls to guesthouses and drivers. The 15 GEL package beats every travel eSIM we checked on price.

Take the eSIM if you want to be online the moment you land. It also fits if you arrive by land or at Batumi, if a week of unlimited data at €10.90 suits you better than a fixed 5 GB, or if your trip continues to Armenia or Azerbaijan. Install it at home on Wi-Fi (instructions for iPhone and Android); validity starts on first contact with the network in Georgia.

One limit: Magti advertises 5G for its own SIM, while our Georgia eSIM lists Magti 4G. For maps, messengers and video calls, 4G is enough.

Frequently asked questions

As of 10 October 2026. Prices read on that day on magticom.ge, povnomad.com, airalo.com and esim.holafly.com; exchange rate of the National Bank of Georgia valid on 10 October 2026. Prices and rules may change at any time.