Tesco Mobile Roaming Charges 2026: Home From Home and Beyond
Tesco Mobile customers, on pay monthly or pay as you go, can use their UK allowance in 48 "Home From Home" destinations at no extra cost. That covers the EU plus Switzerland, Monaco, Norway, Iceland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Outside them the picture splits sharply: the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa cost 1p per MB of data, while Turkey, Dubai, Egypt, Morocco, Thailand and Japan cost £5 per MB. Tesco Mobile runs on O2's network. Below is each region, the fair use rules, and where a travel eSIM saves you money.
Prices checked on 8 October 2026 against Tesco Mobile's Q2 2026 price list, its Home From Home page, its roaming page and its roaming terms (from 8 September 2025). Some of Tesco's help pages still quote an older £5-per-MB rate for every country outside the EU. The price list and roaming page show 1p per MB for the USA and four other countries.
Home From Home: 48 destinations included
All Tesco Mobile customers get Home From Home: "All our customers can get Home From Home, on both pay monthly and pay as you go." Your UK minutes, texts and data work in these destinations just as they do at home:
Austria, the Azores, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Canary Islands, Croatia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Martinique, Mayotte, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Réunion, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, St Martin, St Barts, Sweden, Switzerland and Vatican City.
Switzerland and Monaco are worth spotting. Several other UK networks leave one or both out of their Europe zones.
Three things to know:
- No usage cap. Tesco's FAQ answers "There's no cap/usage limit" for Home From Home. Many networks limit Europe data to between 12GB and 50GB; Tesco doesn't.
- Over your allowance, you pay UK standard rates: 10p per MB of data, 25p a minute for calls to the UK and 10p a text.
- Long stays. If you spend more than two months of a rolling four months abroad, Tesco texts a warning and gives you two weeks to change your use. After that it adds a data surcharge of 0.35p per MB.
Home From Home was due to end in 2026. Tesco now says it is "letting it roll on" with no end date, and promises 30 days' notice of any change.
Outside Home From Home
Tesco's price list groups the rest of the world into regions, with very different data prices:
| Region | Popular destinations | Data | Calls to UK | Receiving calls | Texts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 3 | USA (incl. Alaska and Hawaii), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa | 1p per MB | 89p/min | 89p/min | 40p |
| Region 2 | Turkey, Northern Cyprus | £5 per MB | 69p/min | 69p/min | 40p |
| Region 4 | UAE (Dubai), Egypt, Morocco, Thailand, Japan | £5 per MB | £1.49/min | £1.49/min | 40p |
The USA rate is good value: at 1p per MB, a gigabyte costs about £10. The Region 2 and 4 rates are a different story. At £5 per MB, 100MB of maps and messaging in Turkey or Dubai costs £500, and Tesco sells no roaming bundle to bring that down. We found no data pass for these destinations on Tesco's pages.
A handful of countries have no Tesco service at all, including Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Brazil and Sri Lanka.
Is a travel eSIM worth it on Tesco Mobile?
- Europe, including Switzerland and Monaco: no. Home From Home already covers you, with no cap.
- USA: Tesco's 1p per MB is fair. A USA eSIM from £2.59 is still cheaper if you use more than a few hundred megabytes.
- Turkey, Dubai, Egypt, Morocco, Thailand, Japan: yes, without question. At £5 per MB, a travel eSIM such as £1.76 for Turkey or £2.91 for the UAE costs less than one megabyte of Tesco data.
| Data | Duration | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 3GB Data | 15 Days | £1.76 |
| 5GB Data | 30 Days | £2.63 |
| 10GB Data | 30 Days | £4.74 |
| 20GB Data | 30 Days | £8.52 |
| 50GB Data | 30 Days | £19.18 |
| 1 Day | 1 Day | £2.59 |
| 2 Days | 2 Days | £5.19 |
| 3 Days | 3 Days | £7.78 |
| 4 Days | 4 Days | £10.20 |
| 5 Days | 5 Days | £12.93 |
| 6 Days | 6 Days | £15.67 |
| 7 Days | 7 Days | £18.41 |
| 8 Days | 8 Days | £19.78 |
| 9 Days | 9 Days | £21.83 |
| 10 Days | 10 Days | £23.20 |
| 11 Days | 11 Days | £25.25 |
| 12 Days | 12 Days | £27.30 |
| 13 Days | 13 Days | £28.67 |
| 14 Days | 14 Days | £30.04 |
| 15 Days | 15 Days | £32.09 |
| 16 Days | 16 Days | £33.46 |
| 17 Days | 17 Days | £34.15 |
| 18 Days | 18 Days | £35.51 |
| 19 Days | 19 Days | £37.57 |
| 20 Days | 20 Days | £38.94 |
| 21 Days | 21 Days | £40.30 |
| 22 Days | 22 Days | £40.99 |
| 23 Days | 23 Days | £41.67 |
| 24 Days | 24 Days | £42.36 |
| 25 Days | 25 Days | £43.04 |
| 26 Days | 26 Days | £43.73 |
| 27 Days | 27 Days | £44.41 |
| 28 Days | 28 Days | £45.09 |
| 29 Days | 29 Days | £45.78 |
| 30 Days | 30 Days | £47.15 |
Using a travel eSIM with your Tesco Mobile number
Tesco Mobile supports eSIM, and it doesn't charge to unlock older phones ("We don't charge to unlock"). With a dual-SIM phone:
- Install the travel eSIM at home, over Wi-Fi.
- When you arrive, choose it for mobile data.
- Turn data roaming off on your Tesco line. It still receives calls and texts, and at £5 per MB that switch is the one that matters.
Tesco's data limit abroad
Tesco bars data abroad once you have spent £40 on it in a month, unless you raise your safety buffer in the app or My Account. Your Tesco spend cap also applies abroad: "Your cap will apply in the UK, HFH Destinations and International Destinations." Since 1 October 2024, Ofcom has also required networks to send a free message when your phone connects abroad, with the charges and how to limit them.
Frequently asked questions
Is roaming free with Tesco Mobile in Europe?
Yes. Home From Home covers 48 destinations, including Switzerland and Monaco, on pay monthly and pay as you go, with no usage cap.
Does Tesco Mobile charge in Turkey?
Yes. Turkey isn't a Home From Home destination. Data there costs £5 per MB, calls to the UK 69p a minute and texts 40p.
How much is Tesco Mobile data in the USA?
1p per MB, according to Tesco's Q2 2026 price list and roaming page. Older help pages still say £5 per MB, so check the roaming page before you travel.
Is Home From Home ending?
Not at the moment. Tesco says it was set to stop in 2026 but is "letting it roll on", with 30 days' notice before any change.
Going beyond Home From Home?
A data eSIM costs less than one megabyte of Tesco roaming in Turkey or Dubai, and keeps your number live for calls.
See travel eSIMs