Traveling to South Africa and flying to Johannesburg and wondering if you can buy a prepaid sim card at the airport? Don't let high roaming charges or slow overseas data roaming plans ruin your trip.
This is a complete guide with everything you need to know before buying a sim card at Johannesburg Airport in 2025.
Find out where to buy a sim card, up to date prices as per January 2025, my recommendation, a vlog about my arrival and experiences and info about eSIMs for South Africa.
Local prepaid sim cards are in general cheaper than eSIMs, but with an eSIM you are online as soon as the plane lands and you don't need to find a phone store on arrival in Johannesburg.
Looking for an eSIM then check out my comparison of the best South Africa eSIMs in 2025.
Table of Contents
- Why buying a sim card for South Africa
- My recommendation
- Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport - JNB
- Where to buy a sim card at Johannesburg Airport
- Prices South Africa prepaid sim cards at Johannesburg Airport
- Best sim card at Johannesburg Airport
- Best eSIMs for South Africa
- Order a prepaid sim card for South Africa online
- My experience buying a sim card at Johannesburg Airport
- Vlog about arriving and buying a sim card at Johannesburg Airport
Traveltomtom also wrote a guide on how to buy a tourist sim card in South Africa in 2025.
Some links in this article about buying a sim card at Johannesburg Airport are affiliate links. If you buy any of the products after using an affiliate link I will earn a small commission. This is at absolutely no extra cost to you!
Why buying a sim card for South Africa
First of all we want to avoid high roaming charges. Don't use data roaming on your sim card from home or end up with shocking phone bills.
I don't recommend you to rely on WiFi as this is Africa and things do not work like back home. Most upscale places in South Africa have good and reliable WiFi, but even then… keep in mind that public WiFi is through an unsecured network. The use of a VPN is recommended to protect your data.
There is no guarantee public WiFi is working or fast enough to upload photos and videos to social media.
Traveling in South Africa with a working data connection is simply much more convenient. Think about getting directions from Google Maps or finding nearby hotels, bars, restaurants or ordering a taxi from an app like Uber. But also just simply staying in touch with friends and think about emergency situations and not having data on your phone.
Finding the best way to get data on my phone is the first thing I do when traveling to a new country.
As Traveltomtom is trying to visit every country in the world and I like to document all my travel tips you can already find more than 200 sim card guides on Traveltomtom from all over the world: Cape Town, Nairobi, Entebbe, Zambia, Namibia, Kenya, Cameroon, Rwanda, Egypt, Dubai, United Kingdom, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Germany, Istanbul, Australia, New Zealand and many more.
So next time you are planning your adventure abroad come check out Traveltomtom for the latest prepaid and eSIM advice for your next holiday destination. Bookmark me!
My recommendation
Traveltomtom recommends an MTN sim card for South Africa as they have a great 4G/5G mobile data network in South Africa and they sell prepaid sim cards for tourists at Johannesburg Airport.
A Vodacom sim card is also a good choice, but much more expensive than MTN tourist sim cards.
You can also order an eSIM for South Africa and the price is similar to buying a sim card at Johannesburg Airport.
A Sim Local eSIM for South Africa with 10 GB is $24.50 USD. An eSIM from Airalo with 10 GB is $26 USD or an eSIM from Ubigi with 25 GB is $39 USD.
Check out my comparison of the best South Africa eSIMs in 2025 for more detailed info.
Personally I prefer to be online as soon as the plane lands and happily pay a dollar or two extra for this convenience.
If your phone is not eSIM compatible you can order an international prepaid sim card for South Africa and get it delivered to your home address. Check out my comparison of the best international sim cards for traveling in 2025.
Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport - JNB
Welcome to South Africa. Johannesburg Airport is a very easy to navigate airport. After you picked up your luggage you follow the exit signs and you walk into a beautiful arrival hall. You come in on the ground floor and it feels like a small arena.
In front of you on your left hand side you will see Information desks for all your questions.
Where to buy a sim card at Johannesburg Airport
It is hard to miss the mobile phone stores and great thing is that they are right next to each other. As soon as you enter the arrival hall you walk to your right and then right around the corner you will see the stores of: MTN, Vodacom and Cell C.
See my vlog for a more visual overview and you will see that you can't miss the stores.
The opening hours of the phone shops are 6.00 am - 10.00 pm.
Prices South Africa prepaid sim cards at Johannesburg Airport
All info and prices are updated as per January 2025. Prices are in South African Rand: $1 USD = 19 ZAR and 100 ZAR = $5.3 USD.
Cell C
A Cell C sim card costs 29 ZAR = $2 USD for the registration and then you can buy data and caling packages. Cell C only offers monthly plans:
- 1 GB data = 95 ZAR - $5 USD
- 3 GB data = 249 ZAR
- 6 GB data = 299 ZAR - $16 USD
These are useful short dial numbers for Cell C:
- *101# = check balance
- 135 = costumer care
- 144 = voicemail
- *177177# = check my number
- *147# = buy data packages
Vodacom South Africa
After writing my article about the best South Africa sim card I know that Vodacom is pretty expensive compared to the other operators.
A Vodacom sim card at Johannesburg Airport costs 100 ZAR = $5 USD, just for the registration. Then you can buy minutes and data separately:
- 1 GB data = 85 ZAR - $4 USD
- 3 GB data = 229 ZAR - $12 USD
- 5 GB data = 349 ZAR - $18 USD
Vodacom also offers 3 prepaid sim card packages for tourists, including the sim card:
- 3 GB data + 30 minutes + 30 sms + 30 ZAR credit = R399 - $22 USD
- 5 GB data + 50 minutes + 50 sms + 50 ZAR credit = R549 - $29 USD
- 10 GB data + 100 minutes + 100 sms + 100 ZAR credit = R799 - $42 USD
Reminder that eSIMs for South Africa are cheaper. Some of the eSIMs from GigSky, Firsty or Sim Local are cheaper than Vodacom prepaid sim cards at Johannesburg Airport.
MTN South Africa
An MTN prepaid sim card costs 63.50 ZAR = $3.45 USD and comes with 60 ZAR airtime. Basically an MTN sim card is free at Johannesburg Airport.
These are the data only packages you can buy separately:
- 1 GB data = 99 ZAR - $5.4 USD
- 3 GB data = 229 ZAR
- 6 GB data = 399 ZAR
MTN offers 6 different tourist sim card deals:
- 262.50 ZAR = 1 GB data + 100 ZAR Airtime - $14.2 USD
- 392.50 ZAR = 3 GB data + 100 ZAR Airtime
- 662.50 ZAR = 6 GB data + 100 ZAR Airtime
- 862.50 ZAR = 10 GB data + 100 ZAR Airtime
- 1,762.50 ZAR = 20 GB data + 100 ZAR Airtime
- 3,002.49 ZAR = 50 GB data + 100 ZAR Airtime
Best sim card at Johannesburg Airport
Comparing the above prices for prepaid sim cards at Johannesburg Airport it shows clearly that Vodacom is the most expensive sim card and therefore does not get Traveltomtom's first recommendation.
eSIMs you order on the internet are even cheaper than Vodacom sim cards at Johannesburg Airport.
An eSIM Airalo eSIM for South Africa with 10 GB data also cost $26 USD. Sim Local charges $24.50 GB for 10 GB data.
Of course I would recommend an eSIM over buying a prepaid sim card in Cape Town. When the plane lands you are online and you don't need to go to a phone store in South Africa.
See for more details my comparison with the best eSIMs for traveling to South Africa in 2025.
Cell C has the cheapest prepaid sim cards at Johannesburg but Cell C also has the weakest 4G/5G network in South Africa and is not a recommended sim card for tourists. In my research for the best prepaid sim card in South Africa I compared all the network coverage maps.
Vodacom has the best 4G/5G mobile data network in South Africa.
All in all Traveltomtom rates an MTN sim card the best for your trip to Johannesburg in 2025. MTN has a great 4G/5G mobile data network in South Africa and competitive prices for data plans and prepaid sim cards for tourists.
Best eSIMs for South Africa
The easiest ways to stay connected when traveling to Johannesburg in 2025 is an eSIM. You arrange everything online within just a couple clicks. No more swapping physical sim cards or visiting a phone store.
You order an eSIM for South Africa on the internet, you receive a QR code, scan it, follow the simple steps and within less than 2 minutes you have a South Africa eSIM installed on your phone.
Upon arrival in Johannesburg it automatically connects you to an available network and you enjoy data on your phone pretty much when the plane lands.
For more detailed info on how eSIMs work and an answer to all FAQ about using eSIMs check out my guide with everything you need to know before ordering an eSIM for South Africa.
Here are some recommendations.
Airalo
Airalo is a reliable eSIM provider and Traveltomtom has used Airalo in more than 50 countries around the world and never had an issue.
Check out the Airalo South Africa eSIM plans for 2025:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $4.5 USD
- 2 GB data for 15 days = $8 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $11 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $15.5 USD
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $26 USD
Click here to order a South Africa eSIM via Airalo.
The above data-only eSIMs you can order via Airalo are from CellSA and are valid in South Africa only. They operate on the 4G/LTE network of Vodacom, the best 4G/5G mobile network in South Africa.
Ubigi
On Ubigi you always find lots of different eSIMs and sometimes it is hard to figure out the best ones. Read the Traveltomtom's full review of Ubigi with all pros and cons.
For South Africa I spotted some amazing eSIMs deals and that is why Ubigi is ranked high in South Africa eSIM comparison.
Here are the Ubigi eSIMs for South Africa in 2025:
- 1 GB data for 30 days = $6 USD
- 3 GB data for 15 days = $9 USD
- 10 GB data for 7 days = $19 USD
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $22 USD
- 25 GB data for 30 days = $39 USD
- 50 GB data for 30 days = $59 USD
Click here to order an eSIM for South Africa from Ubigi.
The Ubigi eSIMs for South Africa operate on the MTN 4G/5G network and are data-only. Incoming and outgoing calls are not supported. But 5G is supported.
The Ubigi 25 GB data plan for just $39 USD is actually is the best value eSIM for South Africa in 2025 and therefore also Traveltomtom's first pick.
Make sure your phone is eSIM compatible before ordering an eSIM for South Africa.
Traveltomtom wrote a detailed guide and comparison of the best eSIMs for South Africa in 2025.
Order a prepaid sim card for South Africa online
If your phone is not eSIM compatible but you would like to order a sim card for traveling to South Africa online then check out the following.
Arrive prepared in South Africa with an international prepaid sim card. You order them online and a physical prepaid sim card will be delivered to your home address. You put this sim card in your phone and it automatically connects to an available network upon arrival in South Africa, basically when the plane lands you are instantly online.
SimOptions is the only sim card provider that sells physical prepaid sim cards valid in 124 countries including South Africa:
- 10 GB data for 14 days = $49.90 USD
Click here for more info or to order an international prepaid sim card for South Africa via SimOptions.
Last reminder that if your phone is e-sim compatible you can arrange everything directly online without visiting a phone store. Get yourself an eSIM for South Africa in just a couple clicks.
My experience buying a sim card at Johannesburg Airport
On my recent trip to Johannesburg I used an Airalo eSIM to stay connected. But here are some experiences from the past.
On my trip to Johannesburg in 2021 I rented a car and drove down to Lesotho. Lesotho was country no. 114 for me on my trip around the world and after I also visited Eswatini, country no. 115. I did some research on the internet and read that Vodacom offered free roaming in Lesotho and MTN offered free roaming in Eswatini.
When I inquired in the store about this, both internet providers told me that this is NOT TRUE!
From my own experience I can also tell you that is indeed not the case. In Lesotho I bought a Vodacom sim card on arrival, see my blog about the best sim card for traveling to Lesotho in 2025.
According to the internet prepaid sim cards for South Africa are only valid for 90 days. However, I was able to reactivate my MTN sim card that I bought at Cape Town Airport when I got back to South Africa 4 months later without any problems.
Using my MTN sim card across South Africa was very good and I did not have any problems. I mostly even used 4G/LTE over public WiFi from the hotels or restaurants, but I must admit it can get a little pricey buying constantly new data packages.
Vlog about arriving and buying a sim card at Johannesburg Airport
Above you can have a look what it looks like arriving at Johannesburg Airport. The vlog makes it even easier to get directions and find out where to buy a sim card at Johannesburg Airport.
If you have any questions about buying a sim card at Johannesburg Airport or traveling in South Africa in general please leave me a comment and I will be happy to help you.
Curious what it looks like trying to visit every country in the world? Go check out my Instagram account @traveltomtom and follow along. As of January 2025 I have visited more than 155 countries, so still a long way to go.
Enjoy your trip to South Africa!