The Best Portable WiFi for Travel in Europe

10 May 2024

pocket wifi

Joseph Philipson

The 7 Best Portable WiFi Options for Europe Travelers

Pocket WiFi is a way to connect multiple devices to the internet while you travel. Through a mobile data connection, pocket WiFi simultaneously creates a fast and stable WiFi connection for several devices.

When traveling, pocket WiFi is usually cheaper and more effective than paying data roaming costs to your domestic mobile carrier and more straightforward than buying SIM or eSIM cards for each internet-ready device.

You can rent a pocket WiFi device, connect to it, and keep browsing the internet as you travel in and around Europe.

Here are the 7 best portable WiFi options for a trip to Europe.

Best Portable WiFi Providers in Europe

Not all pocket WiFi is created equal, and you should research the best portable WiFi for travel in Europe.

Before choosing the right solution for you and your friends or family, consider the price, reliability, connectivity, speed, and connection type of available devices.

Here are some of Europe’s best pocket WiFi solutions and their pros and cons.

Hippocketwifi: The Best Pocket WiFi Option for Europe Travel

Starting from €3.90 a day plus free delivery, HippocketWiFi offers an affordable solution for travelers to stay connected with WiFi in France and Europe.

Hippocketwifi comes highly recommended with ratings of 4.7/5 on eKomi, 4.5/5 on Facebook Reviews, and 4.7/5 on Google Reviews.

When you order, you can either have your pocket WiFi delivered to France or Europe for free within 3 business days or choose express delivery to France or Europe within 1 business day for €10.

Delivery options to the USA and Canada are also available if you prefer to have your device with you before you leave.

The devices use a 4G LTE Network that offers up to 100MB/s speeds and lasts up to 6 hours of continuous use. The device automatically switches off when not in use, so the actual time it’ll last will be longer than this.

from

3.95€

per day

From

For days in with data plan

Europeinternet.net

Europe Internet offers up to 5 GB per day across a 4G LTE connection for €60 for 10 days (€6/day). It costs €90 for 20 days (€4.50/day) or €120 for 30 days (€4/day). For more extended rental periods, the device costs just €75 a month after the first 30 days (€2.50 per day).

It comes with free delivery and free returns, and you can rent their 4G+ pocket WiFi for up to 360 days.

The free standard shipping is only available for UPS points. Express shipping is available for €5 to a UPS Point or €10 to a hotel or residence.

Travel WiFi

With Travel WiFi, you can rent or buy a hotspot for when you travel.

Their rental plans for France start at €6.24 per day for 1 GB, €7.14 per day for 5 GB, and €8.03 per day for the 10 GB plan.

For extended rental periods, their travel WiFi is much more affordable and available for as little as €3.73 per day for a 100GB data plan for 30 days or more.
The device offers a 4G LTE connection for up to 5 devices.

Travel WiFi also offers SIM card solutions for travelers.

WiTourist

WiTourist offers a range of pocket WiFi devices, from smaller 4G devices to office-ready 5G devices.

This solution is only for WiFi in Italy. The cheapest option starts at €3.90 per day for 2 GB of data across a 4G connection for up to 5 devices.

The faster 5G device offers unlimited data for up to 16 devices starting at €7.90 per day.

Their Office 5G device also supports up to 256 devices, but this isn’t really a portable solution.

Prices are also subject to an additional €5 “order management” charge.

WiTourist has a 4.7/5 rating on Facebook Reviews and 4.6/5 on Google Reviews.

My Webspot

My Webspot is an international pocket WiFi rental solution.

Renting a device for a week in France will cost €76.30 or €10.90 per day. This option includes 3 GB per day across a high-speed 4G LTE network and unlimited data access at 512kbps.

Users have the option to pay an extra €2.90 per day for unlimited data at the higher 4G LTE speeds.

Multi-country and region-wide solutions are also available.

My Webspot is rated 4.3/5 on Facebook Reviews, 4.5/5 on Google Reviews, and 4.9/5 on Ekomi.

Cello Mobile

Cello Mobile is a worldwide voice and data solution company. In addition to pocket WiFi and international WiFi solutions, they offer basic and smartphone rental and international SIM cards.

Rental for 7 days costs nearly $350 or around €325. At over €45 per day, this is significantly more expensive than any of the other options seen so far.

Cello Mobile uses the same 4G LTE networks as the other providers, so despite the price, the service provided isn’t significantly different from the others.

That said, it is rated 4.67/5 on ResellerRatings.com.

RentNConnect

RentNConnect offers EU eSIM cards, 5Gmobile hotspots, and EU mobile hotspot solutions.

The unlimited 4G mobile hotspot for use in the EU costs €7.19 per day and has a battery life of around 5 hours. The 5G solution starts at €9.99 per day.

They deliver devices to supported airports, hotels, AirBNBs, offices, or DHL pickup points.

Their monthly sim options start from €4.99.

Provider Cost Speed Connected Devices Ratings Delivery
Hippocketwifi Starting from €3.90 per day 4G LTE Up to 5 devices eKomi: 4.7/5, Facebook: 4.5/5, Google: 4.7/5 Standard delivery: Free to France/Europe (3 business days); €10 to USA, Canada (6 business days), €20 to other countries. Express delivery: €10 to France/Europe (1 business day), €20 to USA, Canada (2 business days)
Europeinternet.net €4 per day for 30 days 4G LTE Up to 10 devices Not specified Hotel or Residence (+€10), UPS Point (express shipment, +€5), UPS Point (standard shipment, free)
Travel WiFi €6.24 per day for 1 GB to €8.03 per day for 10 GB 4G LTE Up to 5 devices Not specified Included
WiTourist €3.90 per day for 2 GB to €7.90 per day for unlimited 4G/5G 5 to 256 devices eKomi: 4.7/5, Google: 4.6/5 Included
My Webspot €10.90 per day for 3 GB 4G LTE Up to 5 devices eKomi: 4.3/5, Google: 4.5/5, Ekomi: 4.9/5 Included
Cello Mobile Approximately €45 for 7 days 4G LTE Up to 10 devices ResellerRatings: 4.67/5 Included
RentNConnect €7.19 per day for unlimited 4G, €9.99 per day for 5G 4G/5G Not specified Not specified Included

Pocket WiFi FAQ

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about renting pocket WiFi.

Why Rent a Pocket WiFi for Your European Adventures?

Pocket WiFi is affordable (if you choose the right provider) and an excellent option for those with multiple internet-ready devices and many European countries like Spain, have a wide-reaching and robust network connection across large parts of the country, not just big cities like Madrid and Barcelona.

Travel SIM and eSIM options are also affordable, but these only work on one device. Suppose you want to use this connection across multiple devices. In that case, you’ll need to tether other devices to your smartphone, setting up a hotspot that can quickly drain the host device’s battery.

Instead, a dedicated pocket WiFi lets you connect many devices simultaneously through a fast and stable internet connection.

How Much Does Pocket WiFi Rental Cost?

The cost of pocket WiFi depends on several factors:

  • Provider
  • Connection type
  • Rental duration
  • Delivery options
  • Device type
  • Data limits

The faster the device and the better the connection, the more you’ll pay. Rental prices tend to decrease with longer rental periods, so the cost per day will be much less if you’re renting for several months rather than a few days.

As we’ve seen, different providers also charge wildly different amounts. Some charge as little as €3 per day, and others closer to €45 per day! Similarly, getting WiFi in urban Germany isn’t the same as staying connected in remote parts of Ireland.

Unlimited data options are more expensive, too. You can check your typical data usage on your smartphone or tablet, and you won’t need to pay for unlimited data if you typically use way less than what is available on limited data options.

How Long Does Pocket WiFi Battery Last?

Battery life depends on the device type and use.

The more devices you connect to the device and use, the quicker the battery drains.

Most pocket WiFi devices will last around six hours of continuous data connection use. Still, some devices, like those used by Hippocketwifi, automatically turn off when idle to save battery.

You’ll find that fully charging your device once a day is enough. Still, you can rent extra batteries and chargers to increase the device’s daily battery life.

How Many Devices Can You Connect to Your Pocket WiFi?

Check the specifications for the device you’re renting. The number of devices you can connect will depend on your pocket WiFi.

Usually, devices support between 5 and 10 simultaneous connections, with premium devices supporting dozens of connections at once.

Very basic devices may support at most 5 connections. Make sure that you disconnect devices that are no longer using the pocket WiFi connection, as this can drain the battery and contribute to your data limit (if you have one).

What Are the Other Alternatives to Pocket WiFi?

There are three main alternatives to browsing the internet via pocket WiFi:

  • International Data Roaming
  • SIM Cards
  • eSIM Cards

International data roaming solutions can be contracted through your domestic mobile carrier. These solutions are often very costly, which has led to more popular data solutions like pocket WiFi and dedicated SIM or eSIM cards.

You can also pay for a dedicated SIM card with data for the country or region you’ll be traveling. In this instance, you need to insert the SIM card into your phone or internet-ready device, and you can start browsing. A SIM card will give your phone a new number, so if your smartphone doesn’t have multiple SIM card slots, you’ll be without your usual phone number while you use it.

eSIM cards work the same way as SIM cards, but rather than removing and inserting physical SIM cards, you can simply set up new eSIM cards through your device settings (for compatible devices).