The best crypto to pay for an eSIM
Monero for privacy. USDT or USDC on a low-fee network for a steady price. Solana for speed. If none of that matters to you, pay with whatever you already hold. Every coin gets you the same eSIM, with no markup. Rank all 12 ways to pay by what matters to you:
Interactive ranker
Which coin is best for you?
Tick what matters. All 12 ways to pay are ranked live.
USDT on BNB Smart Chain10/10
How to pay with USDT| # | Coin | Lowest fees | Fastest | Most private | Steady dollar value | Easiest to buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USDTBNB Smart Chain | |||||
| 2 | USDCBNB Smart Chain | |||||
| 3 | USDTTron | |||||
| 4 | USDTEthereum | |||||
| 5 | USDCEthereum | |||||
| 6 | SolanaSolana | |||||
| 7 | BNBBNB Smart Chain | |||||
| 8 | PolygonPolygon | |||||
| 9 | MoneroMonero | |||||
| 10 | TRONTron | |||||
| 11 | EthereumEthereum | |||||
| 12 | BitcoinBitcoin |
Speed follows each network's block time. Fee and "easy to buy" ratings are our judgment of typical conditions; live fees change by the hour.
The best coin for each goal
Most private
Monero
The only coin we accept that hides the payment itself.
A steady dollar amount
USDT or USDC
$20 sent is $20 of balance. Best on BNB Smart Chain or Tron for low fees.
Fastest and cheapest
Solana
Blocks in under half a second and a base fee of a tiny fraction of a cent.
Whatever you hold
Pay with it
Converting first costs a trading fee, and in some countries counts as a taxable sale.
Fees: the part that actually costs you
We add nothing. The only cost is the network fee your wallet charges to send. That fee depends on the network, not on the amount, which is why the same coin can be a great or a poor choice depending on how much you top up.
The same $1 fee, on different top-ups
Network fees are flat, so they eat a bigger share of a small payment.
- $205%
- $502%
- $1001%
- $5000.2%
Cheapest to send, usually
Solana, BNB Smart Chain, and Polygon typically cost a fraction of a cent to send. Solana's base fee, for example, is 5,000 lamports per signature, which is 0.000005 SOL. Tron is low too, though sending USDT on Tron uses network resources paid in TRX. Ethereum costs the most, and USDT or USDC on Ethereum costs more than plain ETH. Bitcoin swings with demand: cheap on quiet days, expensive on busy ones.
Check today's fee
Fees change by the hour. These free trackers show the live figure before you send:
Speed: how soon your balance is ready
A payment counts once the network writes it into a block. Some networks add a block every fraction of a second, Bitcoin roughly every 10 minutes:
Time between blocks, network by network
Shorter bar = the network confirms payments sooner. Log scale.
- Bitcoinabout 10 min
- Moneroabout 2 min
- Ethereum12 s
- Tron3 s
- Polygonabout 2 s
- BNB Smart Chain0.45 s
- Solanaunder 0.5 s
For most people this barely matters: even Bitcoin is quick enough to top up before a trip. It matters most when you are standing at arrivals with no data and want to get online now. Then pick Solana, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon, or Tron.
Privacy: only one coin hides the payment
Every coin we accept except Monero runs on a public blockchain, where anyone can look up an address and see its payments. Monero hides the sender, receiver, and amount. If privacy is the reason you are paying with crypto, Monero is the answer. Our anonymous eSIM guide covers the rest of the picture.
Sources
- Bitcoin: block time (about 10 min)
- Monero: block time (about 2 min)
- Ethereum: block time (12 s)
- Tron: block time (3 s)
- Polygon: block time (about 2 s)
- BNB Smart Chain: block time (0.45 s)
- Solana: block time (under 0.5 s)
- getmonero.org: What is Monero
- Solana docs: Fees
Checked on 2026-09-28. Fee ratings reflect typical conditions, not a quote.
Keep reading
Choosing a coin, answered
What is the best crypto to pay for an eSIM?+
It depends on what you care about. Monero is the most private. USDT or USDC on BNB Smart Chain or Tron gives a steady dollar value with low fees. Solana is the fastest and cheapest to send. Otherwise, pay with what you already hold.
What is the cheapest coin to send?+
Solana, BNB Smart Chain, and Polygon usually cost the least to send, often a fraction of a cent. Tron is also low. Ethereum and, at busy times, Bitcoin cost the most.
Which crypto is fastest for paying?+
Solana and BNB Smart Chain add blocks in under half a second. Tron takes about 3 seconds, Ethereum 12 seconds, Monero about 2 minutes, and Bitcoin about 10 minutes on average.
Which crypto is most private?+
Monero. It hides the sender, receiver, and amount of every payment. Every other coin we accept runs on a public blockchain.
Should I pay with a stablecoin?+
It is the simplest choice if you want the amount you send to equal the balance you get, and it keeps the tax side simple because a stablecoin rarely gains value.
Why do fees matter more on small top-ups?+
Network fees are roughly flat, so the same fee is a much bigger share of a $20 top-up than of a $500 one. On expensive networks, top up less often and in larger amounts.
Is it better to send from an exchange or my own wallet?+
Your own wallet, usually. Exchanges often charge their own withdrawal fee on top of the network fee, and they see where your coins go.
Do you add a fee for any coin?+
No. We add no markup for any coin. The only fee is the network fee your wallet charges to send the payment.
Pay with any of nine coins
No markup, no card, no email, no ID. Travel data in 200+ countries.