SIM Cards and Internet in Georgia 2026: Magti, Silknet, eSIM

Quick answer

Buy a Magti SIM (10 GEL, passport needed) at a Magti shop in town and add data in the MyMagti app: 5 GB for 12 GEL, unlimited for 10 GEL a week or 35 GEL (about $13) a month. Magti has the best coverage, including most mountain areas; Silknet is the runner-up and sells the easiest local eSIM online; Cellfie is cheapest and weakest outside cities. The 24-hour Magti desk at Tbilisi and Kutaisi airports sells 15-day tourist packages that cost more per gigabyte. If you want data before you land, an Airalo eSIM starts at $4.50 for 1 GB but runs on Cellfie's network.

SIM card: 10 GEL
Unlimited, 7 days: 10 GEL
Unlimited, month: 35 GEL
Networks: 3

You will want a local number. Bolt, the taxi app, registers with a phone number; guesthouse hosts and drivers message on WhatsApp; and the Wi-Fi in a mountain guesthouse is shared with every other room. We use Magti and have for years, as does nearly every foreigner we know who lives here. Everything below was checked on 11 September 2026: eSIM rules and tourist-package validity against Magti's and Silknet's own pages; package prices against wander-lush.org's Georgian SIM guide updated 17 July 2026, because both operators render their prices in a way that could not be read; Cellfie's unlimited prices against cellfie.ge; Airalo's plans against airalo.com; the airport desk against our airport guide. USD figures use the National Bank of Georgia rate on 11 September 2026 (1 USD = 2.61 GEL).

Which network

Network	Coverage, price and who it suits
Magti	The biggest network and the one with the widest reach: it covers 99% of populated areas by its own figure, works in Tbilisi metro stations, and holds a signal in most of Svaneti, Kazbegi and Tusheti. 5G in the cities. SIM or eSIM 10 GEL. Our pick for anyone leaving the cities
Silknet	Second network, much improved in recent years but still patchy in Upper Svaneti and around Vardzia. The easiest local eSIM to buy online before you fly, with a Georgian number. Fine for a Tbilisi and Batumi trip
Cellfie	Cheapest, with unlimited data from 8 GEL a week, and the weakest outside the cities. It is also the network the Airalo eSIM uses. For a city-only stay on a budget

All three sell hotspot-friendly SIMs, all three have shops in Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi and towns such as Telavi and Zugdidi, and all three need your passport to register the SIM by law; one passport covers several SIMs. Two towns have no Magti shop at all, Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) and Mestia, which is the one good reason to buy at the airport if you are heading straight to either.

Prepaid prices in 2026

Magti prepaid, bought in the MyMagti app

Item	Price	Notes
SIM card or eSIM	10 GEL	Includes 1 GEL of credit
1 GB, 30 days	5 GEL	About $2
3 GB, 30 days	9 GEL
5 GB, 30 days	12 GEL	Enough for two weeks of maps and messages
20 GB, 30 days	30 GEL
Unlimited, 24 hours	2 GEL
Unlimited, 7 days	10 GEL	The best deal for a week
Unlimited, 30 days	35 GEL	About $13
60 minutes of calls, 30 days	5 GEL	Only if you need to phone

Prices checked September 2026. Ranges reflect season and operator.

Unused data rolls over if you top up within seven days of expiry. A week in Georgia therefore costs 20 GEL all in: the SIM plus seven days of unlimited data; two weeks is two of those back to back. For longer stays that need only data, the 30-day bundles are the answer, and almost nobody needs a calls package, because hosts and drivers message rather than phone.

Silknet: an eSIM costs 5 GEL plus a 4 GEL new-number fee, data packages start at 8 GEL, and the tourist range on its site runs from a three-day package to Tourist Unlimited, unlimited data with unlimited local calls and texts for 15 days, which wander-lush priced at 30 GEL. Cellfie: unlimited internet is 2 GEL for a day, 8 GEL for 7 days, 14 GEL for 14 days and 26 GEL for 30 days on its own site today, and data bundles run 7 GEL for 1.5 GB to 25 GEL for 20 GB.

The airport SIM desks

Magti has a desk in the arrivals hall at both Tbilisi and Kutaisi airports, open whenever flights are landing, which in practice means 24 hours. It sells Welcome Packages only, with the SIM included and 15 days' validity according to Magti's page, set up in ten minutes with your passport. Wander-lush's July 2026 reading of the boards: at Kutaisi, unlimited data for 7, 14 or 30 days at 19, 42 and 60 GEL; at Tbilisi, 3 GB with unlimited local calls for 40 GEL, unlimited data with local calls for 60, and 90 or 120 GEL versions adding international minutes. Compare 60 GEL at the desk with 45 GEL for a SIM and a month of unlimited data in town, or 20 GEL for a week, and you see why we say buy in the city unless you need Bolt in the next ten minutes or are driving straight to Kazbegi or Mestia. The airport Wi-Fi is usually good enough to order a Bolt if the app is already installed and registered.

Cobbled lane in Tbilisi's old town with cafe tables outside under wooden balconies in late afternoon — Old-town cafes in Tbilisi all have Wi-Fi. The Magti shop on Rustaveli Avenue is one of the few open seven days.

Buying and topping up

Magti has more than 15 shops in Tbilisi, most closed on Sundays; the Rustaveli Avenue branch opens seven days. Kutaisi's is on St Nino Street by the park (09:00 to 18:00 weekdays, 10:00 to 17:00 weekends). Entering by land, there are Magti offices at Sadakhlo after the Armenian border and at Kabali and Gardabani after the Azerbaijani one; from the Turkish border at Sarpi the nearest are in Batumi. Take your passport, choose the package before you go in, check the SIM works before you leave, and keep the plastic card the SIM came in: your number and PUK code are written on it, and you need the number to log into the MyMagti app. Top up in the app with a foreign card, at any Magti shop, or at the cash terminals in malls and metro stations by typing your number. Phone repair shops also sell and activate SIMs for little or no markup.

eSIM: local or Airalo

Three routes. Magti eSIM, 10 GEL like the card, activated in a shop or in the MyMagti app; the online purchase needs a Magti account verified with a passport photo, and foreign cards sometimes fail on the site, so in-store is the reliable way. An eSIM can be re-activated five times before it must be replaced for 10 GEL. Silknet eSIM, 5 GEL plus the 4 GEL number fee, bought online from home in a few minutes, with a Georgian number for Bolt. Airalo, installed at home and working when the plane door opens: data only, no Georgian number, runs on Cellfie's network, and costs more per gigabyte, which is the price of not having to find a shop. Our eSIM guide goes deeper.

Coverage and Wi-Fi

In Tbilisi and Batumi, every cafe, restaurant and hotel has Wi-Fi and it is usually fast; the free public network in central Tbilisi is slow and not for anything with a password. Regional towns are fine in hotels and restaurants. In the mountains, guesthouse Wi-Fi exists but is shared and slow in season, and Starlink, which launched in Georgia in November 2023, is turning up at some lodges. Mobile signal is what matters there: Magti holds it along the Military Highway, in Mestia and Ushguli and in most of Tusheti, and drops out on the trekking passes between villages and in Vashlovani; Silknet and Cellfie lose it earlier. Whatever the network, download offline maps for the regions you are visiting, carry a power bank, and expect nothing between villages on a multi-day trek. Georgia does not censor the internet; the only VPN you may want is one back to your home country for a bank app that dislikes a Georgian address.

Person seen from behind working on a laptop at a window table in a brick-walled Tbilisi cafe — Cafe Wi-Fi is easy to find in Tbilisi, but unlimited mobile data for 35 GEL a month is the backup when a Tbilisi power cut takes the router with it.

Frequently asked questions

Which SIM card is best in Georgia?

Magti, for coverage: it reaches most of the mountain regions where Silknet and Cellfie drop out, and it costs the same, 10 GEL for the SIM and 35 GEL for a month of unlimited data. Silknet is a fair second choice for cities and the easiest local eSIM to buy online. Cellfie is cheapest and city-only.

How much does a SIM card cost in Georgia?

A Magti SIM or eSIM is 10 GEL with 1 GEL of credit. Data on top: 5 GB for 12 GEL, unlimited for 10 GEL a week or 35 GEL for 30 days. A Silknet eSIM is 5 GEL plus a 4 GEL number fee; Cellfie unlimited internet is 8 GEL a week.

Should I buy a SIM at Tbilisi airport?

Only if you need Bolt immediately or are going straight to Kazbegi or Mestia, which have no Magti shop. The 24-hour desk sells 15-day tourist packages from about 40 GEL that cost more per gigabyte than a SIM and a data bundle from a shop in town.

Do I need my passport to buy a SIM in Georgia?

Yes. Registration is required by law and the shop photographs or copies the passport; one passport can register several SIMs. No proof of address or local bank account is needed, and the phone must be unlocked.

Does an Airalo eSIM work in Georgia?

Yes, from $4.50 for 1 GB over 3 days to $28.50 for 10 GB over 30 days, data only with no Georgian number. It runs on Cellfie's network, so it is good for the airport and the cities and unreliable in the mountains. For more than a week, a Magti SIM is cheaper.

Is there mobile signal in the Georgian mountains?

On Magti, in the villages and along the main roads of Kazbegi, Svaneti and Tusheti, yes; on the passes between villages and in Vashlovani, no. Silknet and Cellfie fade sooner. Download offline maps before you leave the city.

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