--- title: "Roaming in the USA: what it costs and how to avoid it" description: "The United States sits outside European roaming and is usually one of the priciest zones. How to check your plan and what to do before boarding." url: https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/roaming-in-the-united-states markdown: https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/roaming-in-the-united-states.md lang: en site: Gigapass generated: 2026-10-24 languages: es: https://getgigapass.com/blog/roaming-en-estados-unidos de: https://getgigapass.com/de/blog/roaming-usa it: https://getgigapass.com/it/blog/roaming-stati-uniti fr: https://getgigapass.com/fr/blog/itinerance-etats-unis pt: https://getgigapass.com/pt/blog/roaming-estados-unidos nl: https://getgigapass.com/nl/blog/roaming-verenigde-staten ja: https://getgigapass.com/ja/blog/amerika-roaming ko: https://getgigapass.com/ko/blog/miguk-roaming zh-hans: https://getgigapass.com/zh-hans/blog/meiguo-manyou pl: https://getgigapass.com/pl/blog/roaming-stany-zjednoczone sv: https://getgigapass.com/sv/blogg/roaming-usa no: https://getgigapass.com/no/blogg/roaming-usa da: https://getgigapass.com/da/blog/roaming-usa tr: https://getgigapass.com/tr/blog/abd-roaming ru: https://getgigapass.com/ru/blog/rouming-ssha zh-hant: https://getgigapass.com/zh-hant/blog/meiguo-manyou ar: https://getgigapass.com/ar/mudawana/al-tajawul-fi-amrika he: https://getgigapass.com/he/blog/nedida-be-artzot-habrit index: https://getgigapass.com/llms/en.txt --- # Roaming in the United States: prices, zones and alternatives > The United States sits outside European roaming and is usually one of the priciest zones. How to check your plan and what to do before boarding. [Home](https://getgigapass.com/en) › [Blog](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog) › Roaming in the United States: prices, zones and alternatives Destinations The United States sits outside European roaming and is usually one of the priciest zones. How to check your plan and what to do before boarding. **Irene Salazar** 10 Aug 2026 7 min Photo by Michael Heise on Unsplash In this article › What your home plan covers there › How to check it in five minutes › The usage you do not see, and there it is greater › What to do before boarding › And a note on emergency calls The United States is, along with Japan, the destination that produces the most roaming stories on the way home. Not because it is the dearest per megabyte, but because it is where the phone gets used most: long distances, constant navigation and everything handled by app. ## What your home plan covers there The roaming included by regulation is the European Union and European Economic Area one. The United States is not in it, so your plan treats it as an international zone and applies its own terms, which range from a daily pass to pay-as-you-go. Some higher tiers include days of data in international zones, and others include nothing at all. That is a big difference, and you do not find out until you look. ## How to check it in five minutes 1. Open your operator's app and go to the roaming section. 2. Find which zone the United States falls into. 3. See what your plan includes in that zone: nothing, a bundle, or a few days a year. 4. Check and adjust the data spending cap you have set. ## The usage you do not see, and there it is greater A trip around the United States uses a phone in a very particular way: navigation for hours, music in the car, looking for somewhere to sleep as you go, and photos that upload themselves. That is exactly the profile that sets off a pay-as-you-go bill. - Photo backup is the first suspect: you take hundreds on a trip and they upload as soon as there is a connection. - App updates fire off if they are not set to wi-fi only. - Streaming music on the drives adds up more than it looks. - Video calls home, with six or nine hours of difference, get made from the hotel and from the road. ## What to do before boarding 1. Turn off data roaming on your home line. 2. Leave the line active for calls and texts: that is what brings in your bank's codes and the airline's alerts. 3. Set backups and updates to wi-fi only. 4. Download the maps for the route and the music for the drive. If the trip is by car, what is worth preparing is in [internet on a road trip across the United States](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/internet-on-a-us-road-trip). ## And a note on emergency calls 911 works from any phone with coverage, whether the line is active or not. What needs data is roadside assistance, travel insurance and almost anything to do with the rental company, because over there all of that goes through an app. If you buy an iPhone in the United States, bear in mind that since the 14 the ones sold there have no card tray: they are eSIM only. Leaving soon? Pick the days and the data you need. Install it before you leave and pay once. [See plans](https://getgigapass.com/en/united-states) Irene SalazarDestination guides She has lived in four countries and fought with the local SIM in every one of them. She writes the country guides she wishes she'd read first. ## Frequently asked questions **Is roaming free in the United States?** No. The roaming included by regulation is the European Union and European Economic Area one, and the United States falls outside it. **How much does roaming in the United States cost?** It depends on your operator and your plan: it may be a daily pass, a few days included per year, or pay-as-you-go. You check it in your operator's app before travelling. **How do I avoid paying roaming in the United States?** Turn off data roaming on your home line and use an eSIM for the destination. Your number stays active for calls and texts. **Can I call 911 without data?** Yes. Emergency calls work from any phone with coverage. What needs data are the insurance and roadside assistance apps. **Does the same plan work in Canada and Mexico?** Only if it is a regional plan that includes them. A United States plan covers the United States alone. ## Keep reading - [Comparisons](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/best-esim-for-the-usa) | Best eSIM for the United States: what changes with your kind of trip | 8 min - [Destinations](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/internet-on-a-us-road-trip) | Internet on a US road trip: what to sort out before you set off | 8 min - [Destinations](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/how-much-data-united-states-15-days) | Fifteen days across the United States: how much data you need | 7 min