eSIM vs Physical SIM

Both eSIMs and physical SIMs do the same basic job: they connect your phone to a mobile network. The difference is how they do it.

• A physical SIM is the little plastic card you insert into your phone.

• An eSIM is a built-in digital SIM you activate by scanning a QR code or entering a code

If you travel, swap plans, or just like things simple and digital, the choice between the two matters.

How KOHO Everything Fits In

Whether you’re using an eSIM or a physical SIM, you still need a smart way to pay for plans, roaming, and travel costs.

With the KOHO Everything Plan, you get:

• Grow your savings with 3.5% interest, one of the highest rates in Canada

• Earn a 2% cash back rate on groceries, eating, drinking, and transportation and 0.5% cash back on everything else

• There are no foreign exchange fees, so you save on international purchases and travel

• Get 3GB of free data (KOHO eSIM)

• Unlimited transactions and free e-transfers

• No minimum balance required, ever

What is a Physical SIM?

A physical SIM card is:

• A small removable chip that slots into your phone

• Tied to a mobile plan and phone number from your carrier

• Easy to move between phones—just take the card out and insert it into another device (as long as it’s compatible and unlocked)

Pros:

• Works on older and newer devices

• Simple to understand: card in = service on

• Easy to hand to someone else or move between phones

Cons:

• You can lose or damage the card

• Swapping SIMs when travelling can be fiddly

• You’re limited by the number of SIM slots in your phone

What is an eSIM?

An eSIM is a software-based SIM built into your device:

• No physical card required

• You add a plan by scanning a QR code or entering activation details

• Many phones let you store multiple eSIM profiles and switch between them in settings

Pros:

• Great for travel – you can buy and activate a local plan before you land

• No tiny card to lose or swap

• Easy to switch providers or plans without visiting a store

• Often lets you keep your main number active while using a local data eSIM

Cons:

• Only works on eSIM-compatible devices

• Moving an eSIM between phones can be a bit more techy than swapping a physical card

• If your phone dies, you can’t just pop the SIM into a backup device unless you re-activate the eSIM

eSIM vs Physical SIM: Which One is Better?

It really depends on how you use your phone:

Choose a physical SIM if you:

• Have an older or budget device that doesn’t support eSIM

• Rarely travel and mostly stick with one carrier

• Like the idea of a simple, removable card you can move between phones

Choose (or add) an eSIM if you:

• Travel often and want cheap local data without hunting for kiosks

• Want to set up plans instantly from your couch or at the airport gate

• Like having multiple plans (for example, one for home, one for travel) on the same phone

• Don’t want to juggle physical cards

Plenty of people use both: a physical SIM for their main Canadian plan, and an eSIM for short-term or travel data.

How to Decide What’s Right for You

Ask yourself:

• Does my phone support eSIM?

• Do I travel enough that local data plans would save me money?

• Do I prefer set-and-forget (physical SIM) or flexible and digital (eSIM)?