Like the rest of the Baltic States, Lithuania is incredibly cheap. That’s especially true if you’re looking to stay connected while you’re in the country.
As with our reports from Latvia and Estonia, a SIM card with calls, texts, and data will cost you no more than a few euros and offers excellent speeds.
If you want to pick up a SIM card while you’re in Lithuania, here’s what you need to know.
- Need travel insurance for your time in Lithuania? We currently use HeyMondo, thanks to its comprehensive coverage options, competitive pricing, and the ability to buy or renew a policy while outside your home country. Residents of most countries get a discount with this link.
Companies
There are three different cell companies in Lithuania — Bite, Tele2, and Telia, providing 3G service on the 900 and 2100 MHz band.
For LTE, you’ll find Tele2 and Telia on 800 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2600 MHz, covering 99% of the population of Lithuania. Bite operates on the same frequencies, with only slightly less coverage.
I picked Tele2 because it had good coverage and low prices.
While this article is about buying physical SIM cards, if you have a recent iPhone or other supported device, the best way to get connected in Lithuania may be to buy an eSIM instead.
We've written an explainer of what eSIMs are all about if you're not familiar with them. Because they're software rather than a plastic card, you can buy before you leave home, avoid the hassle of kiosks and phone stores entirely, and get connected as soon as you land.
These days, we use aloSIM: easy to buy and set up, it's a simple, low-cost way of staying connected when you travel. You'll get a discount on your first purchase with the code TMA.How to Buy a Prepaid SIM in Lithuania
Finding a SIM card was easy: I just wandered into the closest Narvesen convenience store and asked for one, along with how much data I wanted. The sales assistant handed me a Tele2 packet (with the prepaid brand name “Pildyk”) for €2, along with a €3 top-up card, and then I was on my own.
Getting it set up and working was very straightforward — I basically just put it into my phone, turned it on, and entered APN details as follows:
APN: internet.tele2.lt
No username or password
After that I followed the instructions on the top-up card to add the extra credit, texted the code to buy the data package I wanted (as below), and that was it.
Prefer to spend your vacation sightseeing instead of buying SIM cards? Grab one in advance to stay connected in Lithuania and across Europe.
This Orange SIM includes 20GB of data, 1000 international texts, and two hours of international calls. The price includes US delivery, and it's valid for two weeks in 30 European countries. Use the code SIMOFF20 at checkout to get 20% off!
Other options are available if you're traveling for longer, need a portable hotspot, or want a different mix of calls, texts, and data. No matter how you do it, you'll be connected with a minimum of fuss before you've left the airport.Prepaid SIM Costs
There were several different packages available, both data-only and with calls and texts as well. The SIM card came with €2 of credit, plus the €3 top-up card that I’d added.
In the end I went with 3GB of data valid for 30 days, which used up €3.50 of my credit. You can also get 6GB of data for €6, or unlimited data for a day (€0.99,) week (€3.49,) or month (€12.99.) As I mentioned, Lithuania is not expensive!
Topping Up
You can buy top-ups from any of the convenience stores in Lithuania (Narvesen, Maxima, Iki, and Rimi), as well as at Tele2 stores.
Coverage and Data Speeds
Coverage was strong throughout Vilnius and on the route to the airport, and speeds were fast at all times. All in all, staying connected in Lithuania was extremely good value for money.
EU Roaming
Lithuania is part of the European Union, so EU roaming regulations apply. These “roam like at home” rules ended roaming charges across much of Europe in 2017, generally letting you use a SIM card from any EU/EEA country across all the others at no extra charge.
When it comes to roaming elsewhere in the EU with a Lithuanian SIM, though, beware. The low price of cell service in Lithuania has allowed all of the mobile companies to opt out of the roaming regulations. You either can’t roam outside Lithuania with their SIM cards, or need to pay fairly high rates to do so.
Check out our guides to buying SIM cards in many other countries here.
Main image via proslgn/Shutterstock.com
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Comments
As a local I could offer you an alternative to Pildyk. It is Ezys (Omnitel) – for 2,29 EUR you get 1GB 4G internet, 250mins and 6000 SMS (I guess the latter 2 are not so relavant for travelling people) but the price is still great. Nano card actually comes with the package, so you don’t have to worry about that.
Also, Ezys constantly offers different discounts, for example free Facebook data, or free data at night and similar. If you run out of 1GB included with the SIM card you can order one of these plans http://www.ezys.lt/index.php/mobile-data-plans-/310001 Not sure why it is not included in English version but if you order more than 4GB you get free data for Facebook as well, which is pretty nice if you upload a lot of photos/videos etc
we paid €2.50 for a pyldik sim at a street vendor kiosk. 1 week and 1GB. leaving €1 credit which can be used for calls / texts or to get more data.
full size, micro, and nano sizes supported.
no APN settings required. the system sent a configuration message which I accepted and it took care of everything.
I ran out of data and am now on a plan called “SOS Internet”. I’m not sure how this works, google translating this stuff isn’t 100%.
I seem to have 1GB for 1 day for free.
Off to latvia tomorrow!
This is great info! I will be travelling to Vilnius , followed by Riga and Tallinn. I intend to purchase Tele2 Pildyk prepaid SIM and top-up with 30 days data 1.5GB option. Anyone know if such Pildyk SIM card support data roaming in Riga and Tallinn? This will save me from buying another SIM card outside Lithuania. Thanks!
Do these options include texting/calling international numbers? Is that what you get when you purchase data instead of minutes? I am going to be in Lithuania/Latvia/Estonia/Russia area all next semester and am looking for a cheap plan!
Typically not. For cheap/free calling and texting, we usually suggest using your data allowance or Wi-fi with WhatsApp and Skype Calling (which lets you call mobiles and landlines, in most cases for a few cents per minute).
Hi friends,
I am coming to siauliai. I need to know, which sim card / mobile network is good in 3g/4g speeds. As right now, my main concern is cheap data packages for a months and also free mintues and sms an additional advantage for me.