If you locomote afield frequently , you ’ve probably wonder how to cut back on bill shock absorber . We ’ve all been there : you have a great vacation , get back home , and your next postpaid bill dribble . Except , it ’s much higher than you expected thanks to roaming charges for using your earphone afield .
Most web offer some form of drift sheaf . While Verizon and AT&T pass pay up daily bundles that can quickly wring up a bill of more than $ 100 per line for the calendar month , T - Mobile stay the only of the swelled three carriers to put up inclusive roaming for free .
However , it ’s not the only carrier to do so , with several virtual networks ( MVNOs ) running on T - Mobile proffer free roaming . One of these is Google Fi , and since its launch , it has appeal roaming client thanks to inclusive data price .
How does T - Mobile compare to a braggy MVNO pardner - slash - rival ? I tested both on a recent trip and it ’s a tight conflict . Here ’s which one I ’d pick , and why .
How I tested each network
Over the past month , I ’ve traveled from the US to the UK , Norway , Dubai ( in the UAE ) , India and Qatar . Each land has its idiosyncrasies about net coverage , but with both networks basically using T - Mobile ’s roaming agreements , I found that each carrier mostly connects to the same networks .
However , despite that , there was a noticeable remainder in both pep pill and connectivity . T - Mobile ’s roaming plan was mostly confine to LTE insurance coverage — which is scratchy in some countries more than others — while Google Fi link to the truehearted internet available , which was usually 5G. These differences also meant there were noticeable differences in speed , Ping River , and reliableness .
At first , the T - Mobile SIM card was in theGalaxy S25 Ultrawith my personal Google Fi SIM in myiPhone 16 Pro , however , I move the latter to theGalaxy S25 Plusfor this test . The net result is as close a comparability as possible between these two carrier and tests that take out as many variable as potential .
Key differences between T-Mobile and Google Fi
The first affair to observe is that not all T - Mobile program include inclusive roaming . We ’ve cover the differences in ourbest cell phone plansguide , but also worth mentioning is that if you have a programme with inclusive data , you ’ll only get 5 GB at gamy speed with the remainder limited to GPRS speeds . Having traveled around the world extensively with T - Mobile , you ’ll desire to make up to get extra mellow - speed data as these speeds are not operable for most things .
Meanwhile , Google Fi allow you to use your inclusive data at no supererogatory complaint while drift in one of the 100 + supported countries . In theory , this should work when you ’re connect to one of their specific carriers in that country , but I ’ve found that this does n’t matter as much . That said , how did each carrier do ?
Data Roaming Costs
The proliferation of voice - over - IP ( VOIP ) apps like FaceTime , WhatsApp , and Telegram means you ’ll believably be using your sound mostly for information so I focused most of my testing on this . However , as you ’ll read in the next plane section , I also screen the call lineament and charge between each meshwork as well , although less than the data testing .
Throughout 100 tests , I found that Google Fi is consistently much quicker , more reliable , and connected to importantly more 5 g-force networks . It ’s not even close . Over 30 days , I used 42.6 GB of data on Fi while stray , which was all include in my Google Fi plan . I ’m on the Flexible Plus design , which includes up to 50 GB of datum per fighting live .
My T - Mobile SIM was used slenderly because I know that the gamy - speed data was circumscribe to 5 GB , but even then , I exceeded this within 7 days . My full utilisation across both SIM card was 54 GB in one month , which would have cost me an extra $ 40 with Google Fi ( at $ 10 / Gbit to keep eminent - amphetamine data after the 50 GB fair use policy ) or $ 200 with T - Mobile , who tender a roaming sheaf for $ 50 that includes 15 GB of high - speed data .
study the difference in toll here , it ’s no competition . Google Fi is the clear-cut succeeder .
Data Roaming Speeds
As I have allude to , there ’s a significant difference in data pep pill when tramp with these two networks . Much like the roaming costs section , this is also rather clear - cut : Google Fi is significantly unspoilt than T - Mobile , even when using so - call gamy - speed data point on the latter .
I ran a diverseness of tests in each area , but my modified sentence in some mean there were few data point period than in others . notwithstanding , the table below shows a summary of all my examination resultant role .
You may be wondering why there ’s such a difference of opinion in the medium velocity , and the solution is clean straightforward : despite T - Mobile systematically having a better ping , the upper were almost always under 40 % of the speed of the Google Fi SIM . This bestow itself to the theory that speeds were being restrict by T - Mobile or the roaming agreement , which was further supported by the fact that many times the speed trial would run normally at first , only to quickly slow down substantially . The latter was the opposite of my experience on Google Fi which was boring at first and then rush along up well .
At first , I thought this was a trouble with the T - Mobile account , but it turn out that my account is okay . It seems like T - Mobile is consistently deprioritized , and much more than Google Fi . In many cases , the speeds were under 1Mbps , which I removed from this calculation but have name the total reckoning of in the mesa ; had I not done so , the average f number would have been less than half of the phone number in the board above .
I ’ve seen this phenomenon before , but I thought it was trammel to just the UK . At the same time , I ’ve never had T - Mobile speed up this slow before , and I test this across two SIMs connected to the same account with the same result .
Calls and text charges
While information vagabond is undoubtedly the most crucial part of roaming , you may find yourself postulate to make a local call or broadcast a local text . The latter is middling unlikely , but I find myself needing to make several call to local concern while jaunt . Here ’s where the two networks diverge reasonably .
Neither meshwork charges for texting when abroad , so you’re able to text to your heart ’s desire . Google Fi makes it easy to understand call charge when roaming . Calls are charged at a flat $ 0.20 / per minute , although they ’re bum when made over Wi - Fi . regrettably , Wi - Fi calling is n’t useable in every state and on every toter , so I just assume it ’s billed at this rate .
T - Mobile also has a similar billing structure , with birdsong back to the US and in your roaming country charged at $ 0.25 / moment , as long as Simple Global is active on your account . However , T - Mobile ’s external pile — which include the additional high - speed data mentioned above — also follow with free unlimited calling , so this could be a great way to fix your roaming cost .
It’s a tight contest but Google Fi is better
If we were to consider the plans alone , it would be a taut contest that T - Mobile would arguably deliver the goods , but having tested both , there ’s no contest for me : Google Fi has the better roaming package .
However , if you ’re roaming in a country like the UAE or India where you may need to make interpreter calls , T - Mobile ’s unlimited roaming bundle may be useful . That said , at a rate of $ 5 per 24-hour interval ( with 512 megabyte data ) , $ 35 for 10 days ( 5 GB data point ) , or $ 50 for 30 twenty-four hour period ( 15 GB data ) , it can be quite expensive if you use a deal of information .
If you are an average substance abuser who wo n’t use a batch of datum but needs some calls as well , T - Mobile may be the serious fit . For most people , Google Fi ’s Unlimited Plus package is the good fit , and it ’s the one I plan to keep using while traveling .
