Roaming Outside the EU: What German Mobile Plans Cost in 2026

Last updated on 6 October 2026

Outside the EU, the EU roaming regulation does not apply, so every German mobile operator sets its own prices. Without a preset add-on, one megabyte in Turkey costs about €11.88 with Vodafone and €0.99 with o2 and 1&1; in Montenegro Vodafone charges about €0.12 and o2 €0.99, while Telekom blocks data there unless you have a pass or annual roaming allowance. All four bill the UK like the EU, but only Telekom does the same for Switzerland. As of 30 September 2026.

You only pay the no-add-on rates if your contract has no other roaming option preset. Most Vodafone plans come with EasyTravel or the ReisePaket World switched on, and o2 starts a day pass automatically in Switzerland. A travel eSIM spares you the arithmetic: the Turkey eSIM and the Switzerland eSIM start at €2.90 for 1 GB over seven days, and the Europe eSIM covers Switzerland, the UK and Turkey on one profile, 3 GB over 30 days for €6.00.

What does mobile data cost without an add-on in each country?

As of 30 September 2026, consumer contracts, valid only if no other roaming option is preset or booked. Sources: Vodafone InfoDok 443 (September 2026, billed in 50 kB blocks: zone 1 €0.20, zone 2 €0.58, zone 5 €0.00585 per 50 kB); o2 zones and UK rule on o2online.de (read 30 Sept 2026), o2 price per MB from teltarif.de (August 2026); 1&1 country list on 1und1.de (30 Sept 2026), zones and prices from teltarif.de (July 2026); Telekom country groups from teltarif.de (July 2026), because telekom.de blocks automated requests. Our conversion: 1 MB = 1,024 kB. If your phone uses a French network in Monaco, Vodafone bills calls at EU rates (InfoDok 443, footnote 16).

The gaps between operators are large. In Montenegro and the other five Western Balkan countries, the same megabyte costs about eight times as much with o2 as with Vodafone. In Turkey it flips: without an add-on Vodafone charges about twelve times what o2 and 1&1 charge. Telekom blocks data in country group 2 until you buy a pass or use your annual roaming allowance, so no bill builds up by accident.

Which option is preset on your contract?

Sources: Vodafone InfoDok 4607 (EasyTravel, July 2026) and InfoDok 4609 (ReisePaket World, July 2026); o2 Switzerland roaming and Roaming Plus World (read 30 Sept 2026); Telekom and 1&1 from teltarif.de (July 2026). The o2 promotion with 4 GB instead of 2 GB ran until 30 Sept 2026. Other Telekom passes appear on pass.telekom.de when you open it over the Telekom SIM.

Vodafone customers should check the preset in the Western Balkans. The ReisePaket World costs €9.99 a day, the standard World Data rate about €0.12 per MB. On paper the standard rate stays cheaper up to about 83 MB a day; above that, the pack with its 500 MB pays off. EasyTravel and ReisePaket World run on German time, and a single use on a calendar day triggers the day price, even one text message. The MeinVodafone app, Mein O2 and the 1&1 Control-Center show which option you have.

When does the €59.50 cost cap kick in?

Mobile data roaming has a cost cap of €50 plus VAT, or €59.50 per billing period. According to the German regulator Bundesnetzagentur, it has applied outside the EU as well since 1 July 2012, unless the visited network cannot report usage in real time. Once you hit the cap, data stops until you lift it. o2 sets a second cap at €119.00 after that.

Sources: Bundesnetzagentur on the cost cap, o2online.de on its cost protection (both read 30 Sept 2026), prices as in the first table. Our calculation: €59.50 divided by the price per MB.

Five megabytes go fast; a photo backup or an app update in the background is enough. In Turkey, Vodafone’s cap can therefore trip on the first day without an add-on, and you are offline after that.

Why are the UK and Switzerland special cases?

The EU roaming regulation covers the 27 EU states, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and since 1 January 2026 also Moldova and Ukraine. The UK and Switzerland are not on the list. Telekom, Vodafone, o2 and 1&1 still bill the UK at domestic rates on a voluntary basis; o2 limits this to 31 December 2026, and 1&1 reserves the right to change it. Where the rule stops, for example on Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, is covered in The UK after Brexit: roaming costs or an eSIM?.

Of the four, only Telekom treats Switzerland like an EU country. Vodafone, o2 and 1&1 bill it as a foreign zone, with day prices between €2.99 and €7.99. The Switzerland eSIM comparison lists more operators and compares travel eSIM prices.

Does EU roaming apply in the Western Balkans in 2026?

No. On 30 September 2026, none of the six Western Balkan countries has EU roaming. In October 2025, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that roaming charges with Albania and Montenegro would end in 2026. On 25 February 2026 the European Commission proposed negotiations with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, and on 4 June 2026 the Council of the EU authorised them (European Western Balkans). Each country must first adopt EU roaming law, then a joint body decides on the start. Nobody has named a date so far. Reports that roaming would end in June 2026 did not come true.

Since 1 January 2026, only a voluntary price cap from the 2022 Tirana Declaration applies: the signing operators promised to offer 1 GB for less than €14 in at least one product. That changes nothing for your contract unless you have that product. We have not checked which German options meet the cap. Where your phone slips onto a non-EU network on the Adriatic coast is shown in Border roaming in the Balkans.

What does a travel eSIM cost in these countries?

Prices from the POVNOMAD product pages on 30 Sept 2026. Smart: 1 GB of high-speed data per 24 hours, then unlimited at 1 Mbit/s. XL: 3 GB of high-speed data per 24 hours, then the same. Validity starts with the first connection in the destination country.

A week in Turkey costs €21.99 with Vodafone’s EasyTravel Week, and €14.99 with o2’s Roaming Plus World for 2 GB over a month. The Turkey eSIM costs €9.90 for seven days of unlimited data. In Switzerland, 1&1 sells 2,000 MB for a week at €9.99, while the Switzerland eSIM gives you 5 GB over 30 days for €6.90. If you have MagentaMobil, use your annual roaming allowance first; if it covers the trip, you do not need an eSIM.

For a trip through several Western Balkan countries, the Global eSIM covers all six on one profile, 3 GB over 30 days for €17.90. A prepaid eSIM only works in its own countries and cannot run up a roaming bill. Your German number stays active for calls and texts, which your operator bills at its roaming rates outside the EU. Turn data roaming off for the German SIM and on for the eSIM.

Frequently asked questions

As of 30 September 2026. Tariff details from Vodafone, o2 and 1&1 documents and from teltarif.de with the dates given above; POVNOMAD prices from the product pages on 30 September 2026. Prices and options can change; your operator’s contract documents are what counts.