Internet in Brazil: the CPF puzzle, and why an eSIM solves it

You land in São Paulo or Rio, you go looking for an operator shop for a local SIM like you would anywhere else, and that’s where the story starts. The assistant asks for your CPF. Your what? The Cadastro de Pessoa Física, the Brazilian tax number. You don’t have one, they can’t activate the line without it, and you walk out with no data.

It’s the trap hardly anyone spells out clearly before you go. In Brazil, the connectivity question isn’t “which card is cheapest”, it’s “how do I get one at all”. The good news: there are simple ways round it. We’ll cover the lot, including where UK roaming stands.

Why you need data in Brazil (and how much)

On the ground your phone works non-stop: Uber and 99 (the local ride app) to get around safely, Google Maps in sprawling cities, WhatsApp for absolutely everything in Brazil (it’s the national communication channel), Pix payments, and a translation app when the Portuguese comes too fast. Without data you’re quickly stuck.

Hotel and café Wi-Fi helps, but it doesn’t follow you into the street, onto Copacabana beach, or onto the night bus up to the Nordeste. Good mobile data is what makes the trip smooth and safe, especially in the big cities. For a normal trip that’s a few hundred MB a day, the real question is how you get it without paying £60 a gigabyte.

Solution 1: will your UK phone work in Brazil, and what does it cost?

Your phone connects, but Brazil sits well outside EU roaming, so cost is the catch, and only one UK network makes it genuinely affordable.

• Three: Brazil is in Go Roam Around the World, so it’s about £5/day off your existing allowance, comfortably the best UK option here.
• EE: Brazil sits in the rest-of-world zone, reachable only via a pricey add-on or PAYG, budget accordingly.
• Vodafone: no cheap daily pass covers Brazil; you’re in the Rest of World zone at £50-plus per GB.
• O2: Brazil isn’t in O2 Travel, so it’s expensive pay-as-you-go.
• Budget MVNOs (Giffgaff, Smarty, Voxi, Lebara): roaming add-ons run £4-15 per GB, if they cover Brazil at all.

So if you’re on Three, roaming actually works. If you’re not, the real question becomes the local SIM versus the eSIM, and that’s where Brazil is different from everywhere else (keep reading, the CPF changes the maths).

You’ll find exactly what each UK network charges for Brazil just below.

Bottom line on roaming: great if you’re on Three, expensive otherwise. And even then, the local-SIM alternative has a catch that makes the eSIM the realistic default here.

Vivo, Claro, TIM: the local operators

Three networks matter. Vivo is the hero: 100% of municipalities on 4G, the best national 5G, and the most reliable in remote areas like the Pantanal and the Nordeste. It’s also the network Holafly runs on. Claro follows closely, with massive 4G coverage (around 98% of the population) and a good footprint in the Amazon and rural areas.

TIM is excellent in the cities, a little thinner rurally, but it has one unique advantage for a tourist: it’s the only one genuinely accessible without a CPF, on your passport alone. So the takeaway: for coverage and eSIM, aim for Vivo; for a physical SIM bought on the spot without the admin nightmare, it’s TIM.

Pros and cons of SIM cards for Brazil

How much does a Brazilian SIM cost in September 2026

The price of local data is trivial: a few dozen reais for several gigabytes, a handful of pounds. So the problem is never the price, it’s the access. Without a CPF, most shops can’t activate the line, and the local SIM’s low price stays largely theoretical for a passing tourist.

Here’s an up-to-date snapshot of the local SIM options you can buy on the ground in Brazil:

Buy your SIM on arrival, or set it up before you fly?

Three approaches, but in Brazil they really aren’t equal, because of the CPF.

Holafly Brazil: who it’s really for

For most travellers, this is our pick, precisely because it solves the CPF problem. Holafly runs on Vivo in Brazil, the country’s best network. You install it before you go, activate on arrival, without a single document. Unlimited data (with a fair-use policy), around £22 for 7 days, £40 for 15 days and £75 for 30 days. For a cities-and-beaches trip, it’s total peace of mind.

Network coverage in Brazil: where it’s strong, where it struggles

The real test: the CPF puzzle, and how to get round it

This is THE thing that sets Brazil apart from almost every other destination. Elsewhere, “buy a local SIM” is a simple, often cheaper alternative. In Brazil it’s a near dead end for a tourist. The reason is three letters: the CPF, the Brazilian tax number. Every line must be registered to the buyer, and since 100% of Brazilians have a CPF, assistants simply don’t know how to activate a line without one. Shop refusals are common, the queue is long, and it’s all in Portuguese.

Two genuine ways out. The first: get a tourist CPF, free, via the Receita Federal online or a Brazilian consulate before you leave, granted in a few days. The second, faster: the eSIM, which asks for no documents and activates in three minutes. That’s why in Brazil the eSIM isn’t just “more convenient”, it’s the realistic default for a short stay. The CPF turns the old local-SIM-versus-eSIM debate into a much simpler choice: paperwork on one side, a QR code on the other.

Carrying on across South America?

Brazil is a Three customer’s country: Go Roam Around the World at about £5 a day, while Vodafone charges more than £50 a GB. In Peru, Three still works and so do EE and Vodafone, so you have choices again. Colombia brings O2 back into the game with its inclusive worldwide zone. And in Mexico nobody asks for a CPF, and a Telcel top-up sits on every street corner.

Our honest take

Three cases, by traveller type. If you’re on Three, its £5/day Go Roam covers Brazil and roaming just works. If you want simplicity without wrestling the CPF, get the Holafly eSIM with code LAPLANETEDECARO (-5% off): unlimited on Vivo, activated in three minutes, no documents. If you want a physical SIM and have time, use TIM on your passport, or get a tourist CPF for Vivo or Claro.

Whatever you do, don’t get caught out by the CPF by arriving with no solution. Brazil is huge and well connected in its cities, so you may as well be online the moment you leave the airport.

PS: if you’re not on Three and you’re tempted to “just turn roaming on and see”, please don’t, that’s how a fortnight in Rio turns into a three-figure phone bill. Two minutes setting up an eSIM beforehand, and you skip both the bill shock and the CPF queue. Viva o WhatsApp.