If you are in Georgia for more than about three weeks, or heading anywhere with switchbacks, buy a local Magti SIM and stop reading comparison tables. Georgian prepaid pricing is genuinely startling by European standards, roughly 15 lari for 20 GB, and no international product will ever match it. But price is the easy half of this decision and the half most guides stop at. The harder half is that Cellfie, which sells the cheapest bundles in the country, is also the network that thins out fastest once you leave a main road, and Georgia's whole appeal is what happens when you leave the main road. Below is what each operator actually charges in 2026, what the passport registration involves, and the specific cases where paying several times more for a travel eSIM is still the right call.
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Three Operators, and Why Ranking Them by Price Misleads
Georgia has three mobile networks and they are unusually easy to tell apart, because each has picked a clear position and stuck to it. Through early 2026 Magti held 41.4 percent of the country's subscribers, Silknet 35.7 percent and Cellfie 22.6 percent, on bases of roughly 2.43, 2.09 and 1.32 million lines. All three grew revenue year on year, which in a country of 3.7 million people tells you how much of this market is visitors.
Rank them on price and the order reverses completely: Cellfie is the cheapest, Silknet sits in the middle, Magti costs the most. Rank them on coverage and you get the original order back. That is the entire decision in one sentence, and the reason a lot of visitors get it wrong is that they make the choice at an airport counter based on a laminated price card, before they have any feel for how empty rural Georgia is.
What population coverage does not tell you
Every operator here quotes an impressive percentage, and every one of those percentages is measured against population rather than territory. Georgia's population sits in a narrow band of valleys, the Black Sea coast and a handful of cities. The Greater Caucasus, where you are presumably going, is largely outside that band. So 98 percent of populated areas and 95 percent of the population are both true and both nearly irrelevant to a week spent driving to Kazbegi and Mestia. Ask instead which network built towers where nobody lives, and the answer is Magti.
Magti (MagtiCom)
Magti is the market leader and the network Georgians recommend to each other when the conversation turns to reliability rather than cost. Its 4G reaches roughly 95 percent of the population, it was first to 5G, and it now runs 5G across most populated parts of the country using 700 MHz, 2600 MHz and the 3400 to 3700 MHz band. The 700 MHz layer is the one that matters outside the cities, because low-frequency spectrum travels further and pushes down into valleys where higher bands simply stop.
What that translates to on the ground is towers in places with no obvious commercial justification. Visitors have reported holding video calls from Diklo in Tusheti, close to the Russian border and about as remote as a road in Georgia gets. On the Georgian Military Highway you will still lose signal repeatedly, but you regain it sooner and more often than on either rival, and on a mountain road that difference is the whole point.
Magti prices in 2026
Thirty-day data bundles run roughly: 1 GB near 1.77 dollars, 3 GB near 3.20, 5 GB near 4.28, 20 GB near 10.68, and an unlimited package around 11.39. In lari the headline promotion has been 20 GB for 15 lari against a 30 lari list price, and standalone 5 GB bundles have sat around 12 lari. The SIM itself costs about 10 lari. Prices move with promotions, so check the current card at the counter rather than trusting any published table including this one.
Buy Magti if your trip has mountains in it, if you are staying long enough that a local line makes sense, or if you simply do not want to think about coverage again. It is the most expensive of the three and it is still absurdly cheap.
Silknet (formerly Geocell)
Silknet became the country's second network by buying Geocell for 151.7 million dollars, and it has since built the most traveller-friendly product line of the three. It covers roughly 98 percent of populated areas and is genuinely excellent through Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi as well as the popular tourist hubs, which describes the itinerary of a very large share of visitors.
Its Tourist Pack range is the clearest packaging anyone in Georgia offers. The 15-day option bundles 4 GB with 30 minutes of calls, unlimited SMS and 15 minutes of international calling for 15 lari. A 7-day unlimited data option with 30 minutes of calls and unlimited SMS is also 15 lari. The bigger 15-day package, with unlimited data, unlimited domestic calls and SMS plus 30 international minutes, runs 30 lari.
The 7-day unlimited pack at 15 lari is arguably the single best-value tourist product in the country if your week is city-based. Roughly five dollars for a week of unlimited data on a strong urban network is not something you find in many places. Where Silknet weakens is exactly where Cellfie does, just less severely: the coverage claim is about populated areas, and the high Caucasus is not populated.
Cellfie (formerly Beeline)
Cellfie is the challenger, the cheapest and the fastest growing, posting 12.9 percent revenue growth in early 2026 off the smallest subscriber base. It sells tourist SIMs in 7, 14 and 30-day validities and it undercuts everyone: a 7-day 7 GB package has gone for 7 lari, roughly two and a half dollars, and app-exclusive offers have put 10 GB at 5 lari. Its Maxi plan bundles 20 GB over 30 days for around 25 lari.
Those numbers are real and for the right traveller they are unbeatable. If you are spending five days in Tbilisi, working from cafes in Vera, taking the metro, eating in Marjanishvili and flying out, Cellfie will serve you perfectly and cost less than a single coffee per day.
The line where Cellfie stops making sense
Signal drops noticeably as soon as you leave a main highway or gain altitude. Not catastrophically at first, just enough that a navigation app starts stuttering on the climb toward Gudauri and the Jvari Pass becomes a long silent stretch. If your Georgia is strictly urban, take the cheap bundle with a clear conscience. If there is a mountain day anywhere in the plan, the eight lari you saved is not a good trade for being offline on a road with no barriers and a lot of trucks.
Passport Registration: What It Actually Involves
Georgia requires prepaid mobile lines to be registered against an identity document, so buying a SIM here is not the anonymous over-the-counter transaction it is in some neighbouring countries. Expect the assistant to take your passport, scan or copy the details, and enter them before the number activates.
How the purchase goes
1. Hand over your passport. A driving licence or national ID card will not substitute for a foreign visitor.
2. Choose a package. Staff at the airport branches and central city shops speak sufficient English and will usually steer you toward the tourist bundles without being asked.
3. Pay, usually in lari and usually by card without difficulty.
4. Wait a couple of minutes for activation, and check that data works before you leave the counter.
The whole thing takes five to ten minutes with no queue and considerably longer behind three flights' worth of arrivals. Two practical consequences: one person cannot buy SIMs for a whole family, since each line registers to its own holder, and you should not lose the receipt if you plan to top up in a shop later.
This registration step is the single friction point that a travel eSIM removes entirely, which is worth weighing against the price difference rather than treating as a triviality. It is also why some visitors arrive on an eSIM and only sort out a local card once they know how long they are staying.
Georgian Prepaid Options Side by Side
| Operator | Representative package | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magti | 20 GB, 30 days | Around 15 GEL on promotion (near 10.68 USD) | Mountains, long stays, anyone who wants no coverage anxiety |
| Magti | Unlimited, 30 days | Around 11.39 USD | Heavy use plus rural travel |
| Silknet | Unlimited data, 7 days, 30 min calls | 15 GEL | A city-based week with strong value |
| Silknet | 4 GB, 15 days, calls and SMS | 15 GEL | Light users on a two-week city trip |
| Cellfie | 7 GB, 7 days | 7 GEL | Short, strictly urban stays |
| Cellfie | Maxi, 20 GB, 30 days | Around 25 GEL | Budget long stays in Tbilisi or Batumi |
| Travel eSIM | 5 GB metered, or unlimited by day | Roughly 5 to 10 USD and up | Short trips, late arrivals, no passport step, multi-country routes |
The SIM card itself adds around 10 lari on top of the package at any of the three, which matters when the package is 7 lari and does not when it is 30.
Where to Buy a SIM in Georgia
Tbilisi International Airport. All three operators run staffed branches in the arrivals hall, open around the clock to match the volume of overnight arrivals. These are official shops rather than concessions, so the pricing matches the high street and the packages are the same. The Tbilisi Airport guide covers the arrivals layout and the routes into town.
Kutaisi and Batumi airports. Both have carrier presence, though with shorter hours and fewer staff than Tbilisi. If you are flying in on a budget carrier to Kutaisi at an antisocial hour, do not assume a shop will be open.
City centre branches. Magti, Silknet and Cellfie all have shops along Rustaveli Avenue, in the main malls such as Galleria and East Point, and across Batumi's centre. Buying in town means no queue and time to ask questions, at the cost of arriving disconnected.
Topping up once you are here
Payment terminals are everywhere in Georgia, standing in supermarket entrances, metro stations and on street corners, and they all handle mobile top-ups. Choose your operator on screen, enter your number, feed in cash. Each carrier's app will also take a card, which is easier if your Georgian is limited. The terminals are the reason running out of data mid-trip is a five-minute problem rather than a real one.
eSIM or Local Card for Georgia?
This site sells eSIMs and is still going to tell you plainly that for a long Georgian stay the local card wins. Eleven dollars for unlimited on the best network in the country is not a number an international provider can approach. What follows is the honest division of cases.
Buy local when
Buy an eSIM when
The one trap worth naming: if you go the eSIM route and your itinerary includes mountains, the provider matters far more than the price. Most travel eSIMs for Georgia ride Cellfie or Silknet. Only some ride Magti. The Georgia eSIM guide sets out which is which, and the eSIM Finder will size the plan once you have picked a side.
Practical Georgia Connectivity Notes
Download offline maps before you leave Tbilisi. This is the one piece of advice every experienced Caucasus traveller repeats, and it applies whatever you bought. Ushguli, the Chaukhi Pass and the Tusheti tracks have no usable signal on any Georgian network at any price.
Borders are dead zones. Neither a Georgian SIM nor a Georgia-only eSIM survives the crossing into Armenia, Azerbaijan or Turkey, and the crossings themselves, Sadakhlo and Bagratashen especially, tend to be poor on both sides while you sit between networks. Plan a regional plan if the route continues.
WhatsApp is the local default. Guesthouses, drivers and tour operators across Georgia expect to be reached on WhatsApp rather than by phone call, and they will send you a location pin rather than an address. That reduces how much a local number actually buys you, and raises how much a working data connection does.
Payment terminals beat shops for top-ups. They are on practically every street corner and take cash without conversation.
Two lines beat one. Georgian SIMs are cheap enough that running a local card alongside an eSIM costs very little and removes the single point of failure on a trip where you may be a long way from help. Anyone driving the Military Highway or heading to Mestia should consider it. The Tbilisi city guide covers what to expect once you are back in the capital and underground.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Georgian operator should I actually pick?
Magti if there is a mountain anywhere in your plan, because it is the only network with meaningful reach into Kazbegi, Svaneti and Tusheti. Silknet if your trip is Tbilisi and Batumi and you want the best-packaged tourist bundle, with its 7-day unlimited pack at 15 lari being genuinely excellent value. Cellfie if you are staying strictly in cities and want the cheapest possible option, with 7 GB for 7 lari and app offers around 10 GB for 5 lari. The ranking flips entirely depending on where you are going, which is why there is no single right answer.
How much does a Georgian SIM card cost in total?
The card itself runs around 10 lari from any of the three operators, and the data package sits on top of that. So a Cellfie 7 GB week works out near 17 lari all in, a Silknet unlimited week near 25, and a Magti 20 GB month near 25 with the promotional price. Even the most expensive combination is under ten dollars, which is why long-stay visitors almost always end up with a local line regardless of what they flew in on.
Do I really have to show my passport?
Yes, without exception. Georgia registers prepaid lines to an identity document and the shop cannot activate a number without scanning yours. A driving licence will not do for a foreign visitor. It takes a couple of minutes and is not intrusive, but it does mean each person in your group needs to be present for their own line, and it is the single step a travel eSIM avoids completely.
Can I top up a Georgian SIM without going back to a shop?
Easily. Payment terminals stand in supermarket doorways, metro stations and on street corners across every Georgian town: pick your operator on the screen, type in your number, feed in cash, done. Each carrier's own app also accepts card payments, which is usually simpler if you do not read Georgian. Running low on data is a five-minute inconvenience here rather than a genuine problem.
Is a Georgian SIM usable in Armenia or Turkey?
No. There is no regional roaming arrangement covering the South Caucasus in the way the EU covers its members, so a Georgian prepaid line stops at the border and roaming charges, where they apply at all, are not worth paying. The same is true of a Georgia-only travel eSIM. Multi-country routes through Tbilisi, Yerevan and Baku need a regional or global plan bought deliberately, and expect a dead patch at the crossing itself.