Best roaming mobile plans for voice and SMS

By Nathan Lawrence

Last updated 10 April 2025

Contents

In this guide:

Best voice and SMS roaming overall
Best cheap voice and SMS roaming
Best voice roaming
Best SMS roaming
Best prepaid roaming
Call and SMS roaming FAQ

Singapore mobile providers like StarHub and Singtel are big on data roaming add-ons. But when it comes to making calls or sending SMSes while travelling, things get more complicated. Singtel and SIMBA (formerly TPG Telecom) offer call add-ons. But most mobile providers in Singapore use roaming rates based on the country you’re calling from.

Sending SMSes is a similar story. Basically, you’ll need a call and/or SMS add-on to talk and text overseas. Before we detail the best roaming plans for calls and SMS, here’s a list of popular mobile plans from providers that offer text and talk roaming add-ons.

#1	SIMBA Editor's Pick	SIMBA Editor's Pick SuperRoam 10 SIM Only 300GB data SIMBA mobile digital network (5G) Unlimited National Calls 30 Messages $10 Min. cost $10 Go	$10 Min. cost $10	Go
#2	Eight Editor's Pick	Eight Editor's Pick Double Eight SIM Only 228GB data on StarHub network 588 Minutes 88 Messages $8 Min. cost $8 Go	$8 Min. cost $8	Go
#3	Zero1	Zero1 Starter SIM Only 4G 100GB data on Singtel's 4G network 300 Minutes 100 Messages Deal: : 5G included for 3 months + 2GB roaming $7.06 + $15.36 Upfront Min. cost $22.42 Go	$7.06 + $15.36 Upfront Min. cost $22.42	Go
#4	M1	M1 5G SIM Only 150GB 150GB data M1 5G network 1100 Minutes 1100 Messages Deal: : $3 off first 3 months for new sign-ups and port-ins only $14.95 Min. cost $11.95 Go	$14.95 Min. cost $11.95	Go
#5	MyRepublic	MyRepublic Starter Plan 288GB data on M1 4G network 200 Minutes 100 Messages $9.90/mth Min. cost $9.90 Go	$9.90/mth Min. cost $9.90	Go
#6	Circles.Life	Circles.Life 5G Special SIM Only 350GB data on M1 5G network Unlimited National Calls 25 Messages Deal: : Get 350GB for just $15/month for the first 3 months, reverts to 250GB for $18 forever after $18 Min. cost $16 Go	$18 Min. cost $16	Go

Mobile providers with calls and SMS in Singapore

We track 16 mobile providers in Singapore, but not every mobile provider offers both call and SMS roaming. Some telcos have add-on voice roaming packs, but most simply use a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) system. The only telcos we found that didn't offer any voice or SMS roaming were GOMO, giga, Maxx, ZYM Mobile and Changi Mobile.

The table below has a full breakdown of call and SMS roaming for the mobile providers we track in our comparison engine.

Mobile provider	Calls	SMS
StarHub	PAYG rates	PAYG rates
Singtel	Add-on, PAYG rates	Add-on, PAYG rates
M1	PAYG rates	PAYG rates
SIMBA	Free voice roaming over VoLTE*	Incoming only
giga	Not supported	Incoming only
GOMO	Not supported	Incoming only
Circles.Life	PAYG rates	PAYG rates
MyRepublic	PAYG rates	PAYG rates
eight	288 minutes voice roaming over VoLTE*	Incoming only
VIVIFI	PAYG rates	PAYG rates
Zero1	PAYG rates	PAYG rates
redONE	PAYG rates	PAYG rates
CMLink	PAYG rates	PAYG rates
ZYM Mobile	Not supported	Incoming only
Maxx	Not supported	Incoming only
Changi Mobile	Not supported	Incoming only

*Voice over LTE (VoLTE) requires a 4G or 5G connection and is not supported in all destinations.

Best voice and SMS roaming overall

Core SIM Only 5G

150GB data
Singtel 5G network
700 Minutes
700 Messages
Deal: : Get up to $700 one-time cashback when you add a phone with PayLater + $40 Takashimaya vouchers

$40

Min. cost $40

$40

Min. cost $40

Singtel has the best call and SMS roaming overall in Singapore, offering the choice of talk and text add-ons or roaming rates. We recommend pairing an SMSVoiceRoam add-on with the Singtel Core SIM Only mobile plan. SMSVoiceRoam packs start from just $5 for 10 minutes of outgoing local and Singapore calls, incoming calls, and 10 outgoing SMS.

The Singtel Core SIM Only mobile plan costs $40 a month and comes with 150GB of data, 700 minutes of local calls, 700 local SMS, free caller ID, 1GB of Asia Roaming data, six months of Disney Plus Premium and six months of McAfee Mobile Security.

Also consider the following:

#1	Singtel	Singtel Lite SIM Only 5G 60GB data Singtel 5G network Contract (12 mths) 400 Minutes 400 Messages Deal: : Get up to $700 one-time cashback when you add a phone with PayLater + $40 Takashimaya vouchers $35 Min. cost $420 Go	$35 Min. cost $420	Go
#2	Singtel	Singtel Core SIM Only 5G 150GB data Singtel 5G network 700 Minutes 700 Messages Deal: : Get up to $700 one-time cashback when you add a phone with PayLater + $40 Takashimaya vouchers $40 Min. cost $40 Go	$40 Min. cost $40	Go
#3	Singtel	Singtel Plus SIM Only 5G 200GB data Singtel 5G network 1000 Minutes 1000 Messages Deal: : Get up to $700 one-time cashback when you add a phone with PayLater + $40 Takashimaya vouchers $55 Min. cost $55 Go	$55 Min. cost $55	Go
#4	Singtel	Singtel Ultra SIM Only 5G Unlimited data Singtel 5G network 1500 Minutes 1500 Messages Deal: : Get up to $700 one-time cashback when you add a phone with PayLater + $40 Takashimaya vouchers $80 Min. cost $80 Go	$80 Min. cost $80	Go

Best cheap voice and SMS roaming

Supreme Plan Flash sale

400GB data
on M1 4G network
300 Minutes
100 Messages

$10.90/mth

Min. cost $10.90

$10.90/mth

Min. cost $10.90

Consider MyRepublic if you want a mobile provider with cheap call and SMS roaming rates. We compared mobile provider rates across popular destinations across Asia, Europe and North America. MyRepublic consistently has the cheapest roaming rates for SMS as well as incoming and outgoing calls.

To keep costs down, we’re recommending the MyRepublic Supreme Plan, which is currently on sale. It costs just $10.90 a month and comes with 400GB of full-speed local data (and unlimited speed-capped data afterwards), 3GB roaming data for use in Malaysia and Indonesia (plus an additional 2GB for the first three months), 300 minutes and 100 SMS.

Also consider the following:

#1	SIMBA Editor's Pick	SIMBA Editor's Pick SuperRoam 10 SIM Only 300GB data SIMBA mobile digital network (5G) Unlimited National Calls 30 Messages $10 Min. cost $10 Go	$10 Min. cost $10	Go
#2	Eight Editor's Pick	Eight Editor's Pick Double Eight SIM Only 228GB data on StarHub network 588 Minutes 88 Messages $8 Min. cost $8 Go	$8 Min. cost $8	Go
#3	Zero1	Zero1 Starter SIM Only 4G 100GB data on Singtel's 4G network 300 Minutes 100 Messages Deal: : 5G included for 3 months + 2GB roaming $7.06 + $15.36 Upfront Min. cost $22.42 Go	$7.06 + $15.36 Upfront Min. cost $22.42	Go
#4	M1	M1 5G SIM Only 150GB 150GB data M1 5G network 1100 Minutes 1100 Messages Deal: : $3 off first 3 months for new sign-ups and port-ins only $14.95 Min. cost $11.95 Go	$14.95 Min. cost $11.95	Go
#5	Circles.Life	Circles.Life 5G Special SIM Only 350GB data on M1 5G network Unlimited National Calls 25 Messages Deal: : Get 350GB for just $15/month for the first 3 months, reverts to 250GB for $18 forever after $18 Min. cost $16 Go	$18 Min. cost $16	Go
#6	StarHub	StarHub Medium 5G SIM Only 150GB data StarHub 5G network 1000 Minutes 500 Messages Deal: : Exclusive for new sign-ups: Free 12-month subscription to SmartSupport Lite $22 Min. cost $22 Go	$22 Min. cost $22	Go

Best voice roaming

Editor's Pick

SuperRoam 12 SIM Only

500GB data
SIMBA mobile digital network (5G)
Unlimited National Calls
100 Messages

$12

Min. cost $12

$12

Min. cost $12

All SIMBA plans include free voice roaming over VoLTE, which means, as long as the country you're visiting supports VoLTE, SIMBA will waive any fees. The only catch is that the minutes you use while voice roaming will be deducted from your IDD allowance for that month. If you use it all up, you can purchase a Super IDD add-on for $5, which includes 500 minutes for 21 selected destinations.

Unfortunately, SIMBA (TPG) isn’t a great choice if you’re after a mobile provider that offers roaming SMS, as you can only receive texts, not send them.

We recommend the SIMBA SuperRoam 12 SIM Only plan. It costs $12 every 30 days for 500GB of data for use in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong, 18GB of roaming data for Bangladesh, Taiwan and Thailand, plus a further 7GB for use in more than 60 international destinations. You also get unlimited calls to local mobiles, 600 IDD minutes, 100 Myanmar minutes, and 100 local SMS.

Also consider the following:

#1	Eight Editor's Pick	Eight Editor's Pick Double Eight SIM Only 228GB data on StarHub network 588 Minutes 88 Messages $8 Min. cost $8 Go	$8 Min. cost $8	Go
#2	Zero1	Zero1 Starter SIM Only 4G 100GB data on Singtel's 4G network 300 Minutes 100 Messages Deal: : 5G included for 3 months + 2GB roaming $7.06 + $15.36 Upfront Min. cost $22.42 Go	$7.06 + $15.36 Upfront Min. cost $22.42	Go
#3	M1	M1 5G SIM Only 150GB 150GB data M1 5G network 1100 Minutes 1100 Messages Deal: : $3 off first 3 months for new sign-ups and port-ins only $14.95 Min. cost $11.95 Go	$14.95 Min. cost $11.95	Go
#4	MyRepublic	MyRepublic Starter Plan 288GB data on M1 4G network 200 Minutes 100 Messages $9.90/mth Min. cost $9.90 Go	$9.90/mth Min. cost $9.90	Go
#5	Circles.Life	Circles.Life 5G Special SIM Only 350GB data on M1 5G network Unlimited National Calls 25 Messages Deal: : Get 350GB for just $15/month for the first 3 months, reverts to 250GB for $18 forever after $18 Min. cost $16 Go	$18 Min. cost $16	Go
#6	StarHub	StarHub Medium 5G SIM Only 150GB data StarHub 5G network 1000 Minutes 500 Messages Deal: : Exclusive for new sign-ups: Free 12-month subscription to SmartSupport Lite $22 Min. cost $22 Go	$22 Min. cost $22	Go

Best SMS roaming

Supreme Plan Flash sale

400GB data
on M1 4G network
300 Minutes
100 Messages

$10.90/mth

Min. cost $10.90

$10.90/mth

Min. cost $10.90

Once again, MyRepublic is a good mobile provider to consider for all forms of roaming, including SMS roaming, which costs just $0.15 for Zone 1 destinations, $0.65 for Zone 2 (which includes most destinations), and $1.15 for Zone 3.

As with our best cheap roaming pick, we recommend the MyRepublic Supreme Plan. It's currently just $10.90 a month and includes 400GB of full-speed local data (and unlimited throttled data afterwards), 3GB roaming data for use in Malaysia and Indonesia (plus an extra 2GB for the first three months), 300 minutes and 100 SMS.

Also consider the following:

#1	SIMBA Editor's Pick	SIMBA Editor's Pick SuperRoam 10 SIM Only 300GB data SIMBA mobile digital network (5G) Unlimited National Calls 30 Messages $10 Min. cost $10 Go	$10 Min. cost $10	Go
#2	Eight Editor's Pick	Eight Editor's Pick Double Eight SIM Only 228GB data on StarHub network 588 Minutes 88 Messages $8 Min. cost $8 Go	$8 Min. cost $8	Go
#3	Zero1	Zero1 Starter SIM Only 4G 100GB data on Singtel's 4G network 300 Minutes 100 Messages Deal: : 5G included for 3 months + 2GB roaming $7.06 + $15.36 Upfront Min. cost $22.42 Go	$7.06 + $15.36 Upfront Min. cost $22.42	Go
#4	M1	M1 5G SIM Only 150GB 150GB data M1 5G network 1100 Minutes 1100 Messages Deal: : $3 off first 3 months for new sign-ups and port-ins only $14.95 Min. cost $11.95 Go	$14.95 Min. cost $11.95	Go
#5	Circles.Life	Circles.Life 5G Special SIM Only 350GB data on M1 5G network Unlimited National Calls 25 Messages Deal: : Get 350GB for just $15/month for the first 3 months, reverts to 250GB for $18 forever after $18 Min. cost $16 Go	$18 Min. cost $16	Go
#6	StarHub	StarHub Medium 5G SIM Only 150GB data StarHub 5G network 1000 Minutes 500 Messages Deal: : Exclusive for new sign-ups: Free 12-month subscription to SmartSupport Lite $22 Min. cost $22 Go	$22 Min. cost $22	Go

Best prepaid roaming

Editor's Pick

5G $35 Ultimate Monthly Plan

Unlimited data
Singtel 5G network
Unlimited National Calls
500 Messages

$35

Per 30 Day Renewal

$35

Per 30 Day Renewal

Singtel prepaid plans are also worth considering for those looking to use calls and SMS overseas. Either use a SMSVoiceRoam add-ons outlined above or opt for (admittedly) much higher pay-as-you-go roaming call and SMS rates.

The Singtel 5G $35 Ultimate Monthly Plan is what we recommend you start comparisons with. It costs $35 per 28-day renewal cycle and comes with unlimited data (restricted to 300GB of 5G data) for use in Singapore and Malaysia, 1,000 minutes of local outgoing calls, 500 local SMS and up to 1,000 IDD minutes to selected countries.

Also consider the following:

#1	Singtel	Singtel 4G $15 Ultimate Plan 50GB data Singtel 4G network 500 Minutes 100 Messages $15 Per 30 Day Renewal Go	$15 Per 30 Day Renewal	Go
#2	Singtel	Singtel 5G YAY! Monthly Plan 150GB data Singtel 5G network 2500 Minutes 300 Messages $19.90 Starter Pack 30 Day Expiry Go	$19.90 Starter Pack 30 Day Expiry	Go
#3	Singtel Editor's Pick	Singtel Editor's Pick 5G $35 Ultimate Monthly Plan Unlimited data Singtel 5G network Unlimited National Calls 500 Messages $35 Per 30 Day Renewal Go	$35 Per 30 Day Renewal	Go
#4	Singtel	Singtel 5G $40 Ultimate Monthly Plan Unlimited data Singtel 5G network Unlimited National Calls 500 Messages $40 Per 30 Day Renewal Go	$40 Per 30 Day Renewal	Go

Call and SMS roaming FAQs

Can SIMBA (TPG) roam in Malaysia?
Yes, a SIMBA (TPG) mobile plan can be used for call roaming (but not SMS) while in Malaysia. All SIMBA plans include free voice roaming over VoLTE, which means, as long as the country you're visiting supports VoLTE, you're covered, and whatever minutes you use while voice roaming will be deducted from your IDD allowance for that month.

Can GOMO be used for roaming?
No, GOMO mobile plans do not support calls or outgoing SMS while roaming, however you will still be able to receive SMS.

What is the cheapest roaming plan for Malaysia?
The cheapest mobile plan add-on for roaming in Malaysia is from MyRepublic for texts ($0.15 per SMS) or a three-way tie between VIVIFI, Zero1 and CMLink for call costs ($0.35 per minute for incoming and outgoing calls).

Does Circles.Life offer roaming in Thailand?
Yes, Circles.Life offers pay-as-you-go roaming rates for calls, SMS and data in Thailand. Incoming and outgoing calls start at $3.10 per minute and outbound SMSes cost $0.80 each.

Does M1 offer roaming in Australia?
Yes, M1 customers can either use a Data Passport add-on or pay-per-use roaming while visiting Australia. It costs $2.58 per minute for incoming and outgoing M1 calls within Australia, plus $0.67 per outbound SMS.