BNESIM review in 2025 – What do you need to know about BNESIM?

BNESIM is an eSIM provider which is known for offering budget-friendly roaming solutions. However, the opinions on its services are mixed. In This BNESIM review, we’re trying it out for ourselves to help you decide if their services are a good fit, or if you’re better off going with other eSIM providers. 

BNESIM is a popular eSIM provider known for its wide coverage in various countries and affordable data plans. With their eSIM, you’ll experience the benefits of having local coverage, without the hassle of having to switch out your physical SIM card.

In this BNESIM review, we explore BNESIM’s features, such as instant connectivity, unlimited data plans, prices, supported countries, and device compatibility. We’ll also test the BNESIM website and application on computers, and mobile iOS, and Android devices. But before we start, we have to talk more about what BNESIM is, so keep on reading and discover everything about the eSIM provider.  

What is BNESIM and how does it work? 

BNESIM, founded in 2017, is an eSIM provider based in Hong Kong. The name BNE stands for Best Network Ever, which may come across as quite cheesy for a network provider. Even though the company is known for having affordable eSIMs in a wide variety of countries, it is not all they offer. BNESIM provides different network solutions such as pocket Wi-Fi, physical SIM cards, and even VPNs.

For this review, we’re taking a look at the eSIMs they provide. On their website, you can find plans for more than 170 countries with one-time purchase plans or monthly subscriptions for frequent travelers. Once you install one of their eSIMs you will be connected to a local carrier at your destination and enjoy the benefits of having fast local coverage without high roaming costs. Since an eSIM is a digital SIM card, you don’t need to remove your physical to be able to use it. 

BNESIM eSIM online reviews

When you’re looking for reviews from different people who have used the BNESIM services, you will find mixed opinions. Some people loved it, while others were not satisfied with the services at all. Even the review sites give a mixed opinion: 

• Trustpilot: a 4/5 star rating
• Google Play Store: a 3,7/5 star rating
• Tripadvisor: a 2,5/5 star rating

Some of the main complaints were unclear website instructions or missing information about the data plan, while others said it was super easy and worked perfectly. To show this, we have included 2 reviews from different BNESIM users. 

“Cheap rates under 1 dollar for 1 GB for Europe when you need just text messages for communication. Easy installation through the app took about 2 minutes. I did have to change 1 setting manually to activate the connection. So far so good.” – Ivan Boragine, 5-star rating with over 151 reviews on Trustpilot. 

“I’ve been using BNESIM for over a year, in UK, Europe and USA, and both phone and data service has worked well. Pricing is very reasonable, and support is responsive. Only issue is that it is impossible to text mobile phones in the UK because BNE doesn’t set caller id for texts, so they end up getting blocked.” – David, 4-star rating with 4 reviews on Trustpilot

So instead of taking the words and opinions of others, we decided to test out the BNESIM services for ourselves to provide you with more clarity about the services. 

BNESIM eSIM pros and cons 

To start our review, we like to summarize some of the pros and cons in a short list. These pros and cons are a result of our testing methodology. Let’s start with the pros and reasons why you should consider BNESIM as an eSIM provider. 

BNESIM eSIM pros

• Cancellation of auto-renewals: You’re always able to manage your subscription and cancel its renewal before the next renewal date. These renewable plans are often cheaper than buying one-time plans. 
• Appless Installment: To enjoy BNESIM’s eSIM cards, you don’t have to install their app. You can purchase and manage everything on their website. However, things are easier to manage with the app.
• Plans without Expiration date: If you’re planning on visiting a country multiple times a year and don’t want to have the hassle of installing an eSIM each time you go, you can opt for the BNE eSIM plans without expiration dates. Whenever you’re out of data, you can just top up your current card.

BNESIM eSIM cons

• Website design: Making purchases on the website is quite difficult because of the design. It is not always clear what the next step is in your purchasing process.
• Limited time options: When compared with other eSIM providers, BNESIM is quite limited in the duration of their data plans. Most of them either have a 7-day or 30-day validity, while others give you different options with plans lasting up to 90 days. 
• Unlimited Plans Data Throttle: When you choose the unlimited monthly plans, you have up to 24GB of fast internet. However, when you go over the 24GB limit, your internet speed will be reduced to 128kbps, which is really slow. 

BNESIM eSIM features an overview

The services of BNESIM’s plans come with different features. One of the main ones is being instantly connected to local networks. However, there are some other features you can use: 

Auto-renewal for Monthly Subscriptions

If you want to be completely hands-off, and you travel often, then their subscriptions are probably going to be your best choice. These have an automatic renewal so that you don’t have to worry about paying on time. Whenever you don’t want to use the subscription anymore, you can just cancel it before the next renewal date. 

Smart Top Up

The Smart Top Up feature allows you to not worry about ever running out of data. As soon as you have less than 10mb left, it will charge your selected payment method and top up automatically.

BNESIM eSIM price and plans 

BNE’s eSIM prices and plans are different for every region or country. However, for each country or region, you have 3 different plans which have their own prices. BNESIM is known for its affordable plans, with some starting at less than $1. The plans you can choose from are: 

• Plan
• One Time
• Pay-As-You-Go

To show you the difference between the prices, we have looked for a UK eSIM. The results might be different for the country or region you’re trying to get an eSIM for. 

In general, the monthly renewal plan will be most beneficial, even if you’re planning on staying a little under a week, as you can just cancel the subscription as early as you want. To prevent getting an extra charge, we recommend that you cancel the subscription a couple of days before the next renewal date at the latest. 

BNESIM eSIM phone and device compatibility

Before you purchase an eSIM from BNE SIM, you have to make sure that your device is compatible with eSIM phone plans. Most modern phones are equipped with eSIM capabilities, however, we have listed some of the most common phones that are able to use eSIM providers. 

• iPhone compatibility: Any iPhone from the iPhone Xs has the capability of installing an eSIM. 
• Android Compatibility: Since multiple different phone brands use Android, the list of Android phones that can use eSIMs is a lot longer than the iOS devices. If we take Samsung as an example, all of their “S-line”, “Note-line” and “Fold/Flip” line from the Samsung S20, are equipped with eSIM capabilities. 

BNE eSIM country availability

A good eSIM provider will provide plans for countries all over the globe. BNESIM does exactly that. You can use BNESIM’s services in over 200 countries, with specific plans for over 170 countries. If you’re traveling through multiple countries in certain regions, you can choose regional plans that work in different countries.

Before choosing a regional plan, you should check the list of the countries the eSIM will work in. You can check this on the website or app by clicking “countries” when choosing the data plan to get an overview of all the countries the eSIM will work in. 

BNESIM eSIM coverage and network speed

BNESIM has partnered with more than 340 different Mobile Network Operators to give its customers the best possible experience and internet speeds. However, the actual internet speed can depend on the network you’re connected to while traveling. If you choose a plan with a data limit, your internet will be the fastest it can be until you run out and have to top up again. However, if you choose an “unlimited” data plan, you’ll have 24GB worth of fast internet. If you go over that limit, you still have internet access, but at a reduced speed of only 128kbps.

BNESIM eSIM website and application – ease of use

When it comes to purchasing one of the BNE eSIMs you can choose to make the purchase on the website or through their app. Each of these gives a different experience. For this BNESIM review, we have tested out both options and came up with the following conclusions: 

Ease of use of the BNESIM website 

BNESIM offers multiple internet or data-related solutions, which are all offered on their website. You can find options for physical SIM cards, Pocket Wi-Fi, and VPN services alongside the option of getting an eSIM, which sounds great but can cause confusion. There are different menus to choose from before you can actually get to the page where you can buy an eSIM. 

When it comes to the ease of use of the BNESIM website, there are some things that they can improve on. For example, having to browse through the different options makes it difficult to find the place where you can buy eSIMs. Then on the next page, the layout of the website makes it very confusing to see what you’re getting yourself into.

Ease of use of the BNESIM application 

When you first open the application of the eSIM provider, you get a little introduction to the different benefits their eSIMs can provide you with. Then you’ll be able to create an account or log in if you already have an account. As soon as you’re done with that you get to the main part of the app which has 5 clear sections: 

• Home: with a quick overview of everything relevant to you 
• Store: where you can buy new eSIMs
• eSIMs: where you can manage all your current active or inactive eSIMs
• Wallet: To see your current BNESIM credit 
• VPN: If you’re also using the BNESIM VPN services, you can manage it in this section of the app. 

The application of the eSIM provider is a lot easier to use for people who are completely new to the world of eSIMs. The app gives you a great overview of your current data plans and how much data you have left, and before purchasing a plan, you can check their list of compatible devices. It also shows you if the device you’re currently using is eSIM compatible, to see this you’ll have to scroll down in the app while looking for an eSIM plan.

BNESIM eSIM customer service and experience

To make this BNESIM review complete, we have also tried to contact customer support, which gave us a quick response to our questions. You have multiple options to contact customer support: 

• Using the 24/7 live chat box
• Sending a message on WhatsApp 
• Sending an email to their customer support address. 

We tested out the 24/7 live chat option and got a response to our questions within minutes. If you don’t want to wait for a response, you can always visit their FAQ page and use the search function to find all relevant answers on your phone. 

Is BNESIM eSIM reliable and safe?

Yes, BNESIM is reliable and safe, they partnered with local mobile network operators to provide reliable internet speeds wherever you go. With eSIMs, there are safety protocols to make sure the connections with mobile network operators are secure, which are similar to physical SIM cards.

Where to buy BNESIM eSIM? 

To purchase one of the eSIMs from BNE SIM, you can head over to their website or use their app. There are different payment methods that you can use to finalize the purchase such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, VISA, Mastercard, and American Express cards. To be able to manage your plans and subscriptions, you have to create an account. 

How to activate BNESIM eSIM? 

The activation process is where you might find some trouble with BNESIM. Especially if you’re trying to install the eSIM on an Android phone. However, this review is here to help you. You can follow our step-by-step guide for both iOS and Android devices. 

Activating a BNE SIM on iPhones

Before you start the installation process of the eSIM, it’s best to make sure that your iPhone is on the latest version of iOS. (At least iOS 16.5 or later). Then follow the next step-by-step guide to install your eSIM: 

• Step 1: Download and Open the BNE SIM app.
• Step 2: Make an account and purchase the correct eSIM plan you want to use.
• Step 3: Go to the tab “My eSIMS” and select the recently purchased eSIM
• Step 4: Click on “Install eSIM now” and let the iPhone set it up for you. 
• Step 5: Choose “Continue” on both prompts the installer gives you
• Step 6: Click “Done”, and you’re ready to use your new eSIM. 

Make sure that you have a stable internet connection during the time of installing your new eSIM. When the setup is complete, you can label the new plan and set up the data plan. To select this SIM for local internet, follow these steps:

• Go to settings and select cellular/Mobile data 
• Scroll down to data plans
• Select the eSIM plan, and turn it on

As soon as you’re done with this, you will be able to use the new eSIM data plan and stay connected abroad. 

Activating a BNE eSIM on Android phones 

The Android setup process is a lot longer and can be quite tricky if it is the first time you’re using BNESIM. We have tried to make it as easy as possible by providing a step-by-step guide: 

• Step 1: Open up settings and select the “connections” option 
• Step 2: Choose the “Mobile Networks” option in this section
• Step 3: Click on “Add Mobile plan” 
• Step 4: Choose “Scan Qr-code” 

For this installation method, you would need a second device such as a laptop or another phone where you can access the QR code sent to you by mail. 

• Step 5: Open your email and make sure the QR code is visible for your phone camera
• Step 6: Scan the QR code and choose the option “add and use now”
• Step 7: Rename the new SIM card to be able to identify it. 
• Step 8: Go to “Sim card manager” and select the new eSIM to change the preferred mobile data SIM. 

The next few steps are where it will get tricky. 

• Step 9: In the “Connections” tab from settings, select “mobile connections” 
• Step 10: Select the option “Access Point Names” (APNs), choose the eSIM tab, and select “Add” 
• Step 11: Enter BNESIM as the name and select add. 
• Step 12: Select BNESIM as your access point
• Step 13: Go back to “mobile Connections” and Turn on Data Roaming

After this, you should have successfully installed the eSIM from BNESIM. The rest of the plan is manageable via the app. 

BNESIM eSIM alternatives 

BNESIM is not the only option when it comes to staying connected when you travel abroad. For example, often you can get physical SIM cards at the airport of your destination. You can also choose to get BNESIM’s or any other provider’s Pocket Wi-Fi. However, these options are often a bit more expensive. 

BNESIM is not the only eSIM provider on the market, examples of other options are Holafly and Airalo. And even though BNESIM is a good all-round option, in our opinion Holafly is the best overall pick since they provide quality service.

BNESIM eSIM review – conclusion

As an eSIM provider, BNESIM is a good all-round option. They have coverage in over 170 countries, affordable plans, fast internet speeds, and an easy-to-use app to manage your current subscriptions or data plans. With their instant connectivity, you’ll arrive at your destination and immediately be able to connect to the internet with your local data plan. So if you’re planning an international trip to Europe, or anywhere else in the world, BNESIM eSIMs are a great affordable solution.

Alessia Copolla

I’m Alessia Coppola, and I combine my love for writing with a passion for travel and staying connected. Through my work, I guide readers to the best solutions for staying connected while on the move, covering options like eSIMs, SIMs, and pocket Wi-Fi. My goal is to help travelers stay connected easily and seamlessly, no matter where they are in the world.