Learn about the best SIM cards in Georgia – choose the right mobile/cell phone provider for your stay in Tbilisi & Georgia.

If you’re anything like us, getting a decent SIM card with a data plan is probably among your top priorities when moving to a new country.

Luckily, Tbilisi makes this process both easy and cheap. SIM cards in Georgia offer generous data allowances and are readily available. It will take you mere minutes to get.

But it helps to know the market a bit to be able to make an informed decision.

The Big Three

There are three mobile operators in Georgia: Silknet (formerly, Geocell), MagtiCom, and Cellfie (formerly, Beeline). All 3 have shops all over Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, and most other major Georgian cities.

Silknet and Magti are the larger two companies with, according to KPMG, just shy of 1.8 million subscribers for Magti and 1.6 for Geocell, with Cellfie jogging behind with some 1.1 million.

Silknet has acquired Geocell, a very popular and capable mobile provider that has a strong presence in the mobile market as well.

Magti started out as a mobile network provider before moving into the TV and home internet business (read more about home internet options in Georgia here), thus they also have very capable mobile coverage with “4.5G”.

Cellfie could get an honorary mention, as they only provide mobile internet access, though their coverage range is much smaller than the other two companies.

How Do We Choose Between The Three?

With over 98% of the populated territory in Georgia having mobile coverage, the reach of any given network won’t be a concern. That’s especially true if you live in Tbilisi, where all three options will give you 4G coverage in all corners of the city.

Note that Magti does seem to get more SMS spam than Geocell and Cellfie, but as of March 1st, 2024, you have the option to opt out of all or some marketing text messages. Thus, this should no longer be an issue.

Ask the locals, and they’ll tell you their choice depends mostly on which network their friends and family use. And that makes sense. Most, if not all of the operators, allow very cheap calls within the bounds of the same network. So if you have any friends that you’ll be calling or texting a lot, consider signing up with the same operator. Which brings us to pricing.

The Price Comparison

The first thing to note (and to try to avoid) is tourist packages. While they’re often great deals, it’s worth noting that most of these SIM cards expire in anywhere from a week to a month. So they don’t work for someone relocating here long-term.

But even with the tourist packages out of the way, you’ll still have plenty of options. Everyone’s needs will be different, but for this article, we’re going to assume that you’ll want some local minutes & text, around 5 GB in monthly data allowance, and a SIM-only package. I will also assume that you prefer to pay monthly, rather than weekly, if it means a better price.

With these requirements, here’s where we stand:

SIM Cards in Georgia

As you can see, the prices don’t differ a whole lot and are, universally, very affordable. Ultimately, it will come down to your preference and how you can make the packages suit your needs.

International Calls & Roaming

International pricing is an area where the offerings of these three operators differ a great deal.

Calls to the US, for instance, cost 0.70 GEL a minute at Geocell, 0.35 GEL at Magti, and 0.05 GEL at Cellfie – a HUGE difference.

But is Cellfie really the best option for international calls? Not necessarily, as the cost also depends on which country you are calling to, as different countries have different prices.

And to make matters even more complicated, there are also “package deals” that one can purchase. Geocell’s “International discount” package, for instance, allows calls to any international destination for 0.39 GEL per minute. The package costs 2 GEL per month itself.

If that’s not enough, things get even more complicated with roaming. The roaming prices, especially those of data roaming, are all over the place. There are lots of packages to choose between, and a lot will depend on where you’ll roam, for how long, and how much data you will need.

With that in mind, our best suggestion for those who are planning to use roaming a lot is to check out the websites of the operators and compare the available packages.

But for the rest of you, I hope this write-up gives you a better idea of what to consider when choosing an operator, in order to find the option that’s best for you.

Mobile Internet

As for mobile internet speed and coverage, MagtiCom is on 4G, Cellfie is on 5G, and Silknet has a mix of 4G and 5G.

Now that home internet packages have been dissected and analyzed, what about mobile internet coverage, speeds, and prices? Cellfie is known to be the cheapest option available on the market, especially if you use their app, by which you can get exclusive app offers like 10 GB for 5 GEL! Magti would cost you 24 GEL (2x 5GB bundles for 12 GEL each) and Silknet-Geocell would cost 15 GEL for only 8 GB of data. 

However, Cellfie’s massive downside is its coverage, which is a lot smaller than its competitors, especially in rural areas. If you will travel frequently outside of major urban areas, or live outside the main cities, then Cellfie is typically a bad choice for coverage. Paying a little extra for Magti or Silknet is a must if you don’t intend to stay city-bound.

One particular option to compare these 3 companies would be the unlimited data packages they offer. All three companies offer unlimited internet for 1 full day for 2 GEL. While the monthly unlimited internet package costs 32 GEL in Magit and Silknet. As for Cellfie, they offer 100 GB for 20 GEL (valid for 30 days).

Ultimately, the final choice comes down to your internet needs and how much you are using on average.

Pro Tips

  1. All three companies offer eSIMs and most (if not all) modern mobile phones support eSIMs. You may find it extremely useful to activate an eSIM on your mobile phone.

  2. Activate roaming before leaving Georgia. This will enable you to receive text messages containing confirmation codes from banks, government authorities, Revenue Service, business e-portal, etc.

  3. Use mobile Apps of your mobile operator. Promotional deals are often available.

  4. You can buy a Georgian SIM online, through the websites/apps of the mobile operators.

 

* Updated on February 2nd, 2024

 

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Janar K
Janar K

Managing Partner at ExpatHub.GE. With more than 15 years experience in planning business tax structures in countries around the world, Janar is our top expert on watertight structures with the minimum tax leakage.