eSIMs that never expire: the full list (and what 'never' really means)

"Does it expire?" is the second question people ask about a travel eSIM, right after "how much". The answer for most of the market is yes: 7, 15 or 30 days from activation, use it or lose it. A small group of providers sells something different — a balance or a data pot with no expiry at all — and because they use the word "never" in slightly different ways, this list spells out exactly what each one promises. Checked 19 September 2026.

Three different things called "never expires"

• A money balance that never expires. You hold dollars; data is billed per megabyte at the destination's rate; the dollars sit there until spent. This is the cleanest version because there is nothing to activate and no clock. Anon eSIM and Silent.link work this way.
• A data pot that never expires. You hold gigabytes bought at a fixed global rate; they do not expire, but the per-GB price is usually far higher because the provider has to price for the most expensive country you might use it in. PikaSim's "Forever eSIM" is this model.
• "No expiry" with a catch. The plan does not expire once activated, but you must activate within a window, or the eSIM profile lapses if unused for a period, or the "lifetime" is the SIM's lifetime rather than the data's. Read the small print on any provider that says "never" but sells plans.

The list

Provider	What never expires	Per-GB cost	Catches	Account / KYC
Anon eSIM	USD balance	$0.70–2.80 by country (US $1.40, UK $0.90, EU $0.80–0.90)	$5 one-time setup on a new eSIM; eSIM profile stays installed with a $0 balance indefinitely	None / none
Silent.link	Balance	$1.60 US, from $0.83 EU (PAYG)	~$9 entry incl. $5 balance; crypto only; US number lease renews annually	None / none
PikaSim Forever eSIM	Global data pot	from $14/GB	Global flat rate, so 10–20× the country PAYG rate in cheap countries; regular PikaSim plans expire	None / none
Surfroam	Balance (PAYG)	Varies by country; generally higher than the no-KYC PAYG providers	Physical SIM/eSIM sold up front; email account	Email
BNESIM (lifetime plans)	Data pot on selected "lifetime" packages	Package-dependent	Only specific packages; account required	Email
Roamless	Balance-style top-ups	Varies	Top-up validity terms differ by region; app account	Email
Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad	Nothing	—	All plans expire 7–30 days after activation	Email

We update competitor terms monthly in the no-KYC eSIM price index; if we have described your product wrongly, tell us and we will fix it within 48 hours.

Why per-MB billing is the natural fit for "never"

A data pot at a flat global rate has to be priced for Switzerland and the UAE even if you only ever use it in Thailand, which is why "forever" GB pots cost $10–15. A money balance does not have that problem: the balance is currency-neutral and the per-GB rate is applied at the moment you use data, in the country you are in. That is how Anon eSIM can hold a never-expiring balance at $0.70/GB in Thailand, $0.90 in the UK, $1.40 in the US and $1.60 in Japan without averaging them into a global number. The eSIM balance that never expires page has the mechanics.

What "never" costs you versus a bundle

Take three trips a year, each using about 2 GB. On expiring 5 GB bundles at $12 you buy three bundles ($36) and waste 9 GB. On a never-expiring balance at $0.80–1.40/GB you spend $5–8 total and waste nothing. The gap grows with every trip, which is why the model suits frequent and occasional travellers alike: the occasional traveller is the one who most often loses an entire bundle to a cancelled plan.

The fine print we apply to ourselves

Anon eSIM's balance genuinely has no expiry date and no inactivity clause. The eSIM profile stays on your phone with a zero balance for as long as you like. Two honest caveats: the profile is bound to the device it was installed on, so a new phone means a reinstall via your recovery token; and if you lose the recovery token, nobody — including us — can top up that eSIM, because we never stored it. Keep the token in a password manager and neither caveat will ever bite. There is no email or account to recover through; that is the point of a no-KYC eSIM.

Who should still buy an expiring plan

If you are going to one country for one week and will use every byte of a cheap local bundle, a 7-day plan from nadanada at $0.99 for 1 GB in Austria, or a tourist SIM at the airport, can be cheaper per gigabyte than any never-expiring option. The never-expires model wins the moment you have a second trip, an uncertain itinerary, or more than one country on the route — and it is the only model where a cancelled trip costs you nothing.

Frequently asked

Does the eSIM itself expire if I don't use it?

No. An Anon eSIM profile stays installed and valid with a zero or positive balance for as long as your phone keeps it. Some plan-based providers deactivate the profile after 6–12 months of inactivity (nadanada's terms say six months without connecting); ours does not.

Can I move a never-expiring balance to a new phone?

Yes, with your recovery token: it lets you re-issue the profile to a new device and the balance follows. Without the token the balance stays on the old profile, so treat the token like the eSIM itself.

Is a never-expiring balance the same as "lifetime data"?

No. "Lifetime" usually describes a data pot bought at a global flat rate — expensive per GB, as the PikaSim Forever example shows. A balance is money, applied at the destination's own per-GB rate, so it is both cheaper and simpler. The pay-as-you-go eSIM page has the billing detail.

What happens to the balance if Anon eSIM shuts down?

A fair question for any prepaid product, and one no provider can answer with certainty. What we can say: we treat unspent balance as a liability we owe you, not revenue we have booked, and we do not quietly zero balances after a period of inactivity, which is common in the mainstream market. If you want to minimise the risk, top up in $10–20 amounts as you go rather than loading a large sum up front — that is also how most of our customers use it.

Does the balance work for hotspot and in every country?

Yes to both: one balance, 200+ countries, hotspot included at full speed. Only the per-GB rate changes by country; the rates page lists all of them.

Three questions that expose a fake "never"

Before you trust any provider's no-expiry claim, ask these. One: what exactly doesn't expire — money, data, or the SIM? If the answer is "the SIM", your data still expires. Two: is there an activation window or an inactivity clause? "Activate within 90 days" and "profile removed after 12 months unused" are both common and both turn "never" into "eventually". Three: what is the per-GB price in the country you are going to? A never-expiring global pot at $14/GB is a bad deal for a week in Thailand where PAYG is $0.70. The honest answers for Anon eSIM are: money; no window and no inactivity clause; and the country rate you see on the rates page before you land. Any provider on the list above should be able to answer all three in one sentence; if the answer needs a paragraph, read the terms.