Connecting at Home and Abroad – Is Google Fi Worth getting in 2025?

While I absolutely adore being able to travel around the world, I absolutely do not adore being without access to the internet. There are a large number of services that promise to keep you connected, no matter where you are. But as it turns out, each of them has its upsides and its downsides. However, for the last 5 years or so, my personal choice for worldwide connectivity has been the US-based cell provider, Google Fi.

TLDR; Google Fi is Great! (for some travelers)

Google Fi is a great fit for frequent travelers who:

• Spend at least a little time in America each year
• Need an American phone number for calls and texts
• Travel frequently between multiple countries –or– need a reliable back-up internet source while traveling

I’ve been using Google Fi for years at this point, and have no plans to switch. Keep reading to find out more!

Not an American? You want Saily Ultra instead!

What is Google Fi?

Google Fi is an MVNO operated by Google and is based out of the USA. As such, Google Fi is only available to residents of the USA. However, two of Google Fi’s plans also allow for connecting to the internet while traveling overseas, and these plans have been absolutely amazing for keeping our family connected during our travels.

So, would I recommend Google Fi for connecting to the internet while traveling? In the past I would have said it’s complicated. But in 2025, I can resoundingly say, yes. I would recommend it. But that recommendation does still come with some caveats.

Keep reading to find out more.

Why should you choose Google Fi?

Let’s start off by discussing the reasons why Google Fi feels like a good fit for families wanting to travel.

Google Fi offers easy internet access in America and all over the world

When we first got started with Fi, the main selling point was the ability to switch between T-Mobile and Sprint on the fly, always keeping you connected to the fastest possible network. But since Sprint merged with T-Mobile, that’s become a bit of a moot point. At this point, Google Fi operates almost exclusively on T-Mobile while in the States, which, honestly, has been fine. We had some speed struggles way back in 2019, but I haven’t had any complaints in recent years.

But that network switching magic is still there, for customers who decide to head overseas! Within seconds of touching down in a new country I get a notification telling me that I’m covered and after another minute or so I have an internet connection ready so I can do things like check the exchange rate before using the ATM or get an Uber to my hotel.

I particularly love it during long layovers and in countries where we aren’t staying for more than a week, because those are the places where I don’t really want to go through the effort of buying a local SIM card for cheaper data.

Google Fi offers simple, flexible pricing options

Google Fi started off with two main plans: “Unlimited Plus” and “Flexible.” However, since then they’ve added a less expensive plan that only works in the US, Mexico and Canada and a US-only plan that’s an inexpensive option for in the States.

One of the coolest parts of their plans is that you can easily switch between the different plans month to month on your account page. You’re never locked in to one or another, which allows you to save money in months when you aren’t planning on using a ton of data!

Personally, I use Google Fi Unlimited Premium while I’m Stateside and relying on them for all my mobile internet and switch over to Flexible when I’m overseas and mostly using my plan as an emergency back up internet option.

You can see the different plans they offer listed out below.

If you plan on traveling overseas with Fi, it’s worth noting that only two of the plans include data outside of the North American region. The “Flexible” plan, which costs $20 for the line, includes unlimited texting and calling and costs $10/GB for data, up to 6GB. After that, Google Fi’s “Bill Protection” kicks in and your data is free. That means it won’t ever cost you more than $80/month.

The other international plan is the “Unlimited Premium” plan for $65 a month, which gives you more highspeed data. You can use as much data as you like on either plan, but the Flexible plan will cost more than the Unlimited plan during months when you use more than 5GB, and less in months where you don’t.

It’s also worth noting that the Flexible plan starts throttling your speed after 15GB while the Unlimited Plus plan gives you 50GB before it starts slowing you down.

I typically use the Flexible plan and prepaid local SIMs for data while traveling and Unlimited Premium when I’m in the States. Having the option to fall back on Google Fi when my prepaid internet runs out of data has been an absolute lifesaver a number of times, and, combined with having a phone number for 2FA texts, it’s easily worth the $20/month that it costs to keep my line active.

Other Benefits

For both the Unlimited Premium and Flexible plans, Google Fi also has an option to order data-only SIM cards which can be used in secondary devices. This allows you to have more internet-connected devices on a single plan, which is amazing! I like to put them in my kids’ phones so they can have their own internet connection without needing me to buy them a separate plan.

And if you’re on the Unlimited Plus plan you get even more benefits, like 100GB of Google One Storage.

So, why shouldn’t I get Google Fi?

Sound good so far? Great!

Unfortunately, there are some limitations you should be aware of.

Google Fi will cut you off if you use too much data outside the USA

While the international data is easily the biggest selling point for Google Fi among travelers, you can’t really depend on it being your sole source of internet. That’s because if you use too much international data on your Fi plan, you’ll get an email telling you that you’re doing it wrong and asking you to return Stateside before you can have more. The email comes with a 30-day grace period, so you shouldn’t be taken completely by surprise, but it’s still a bit annoying.

If you do get cut off, you’ll have to head back Stateside before your internet gets turned back on, but you’ll still be able to use your Google Fi number for calls and texts as normal.

Why does this happen? My theory is that it costs significantly more for Google to provide you internet using their international partners than it does in the States. So, if you use more internet outside the US than in the US, you start cutting into their profits. As long as you use more data inside the US than outside the US in a rolling 6-month period, you probably won’t be cut off.

But the thing is, if you’re spending longer than about a week in a single country, you shouldn’t be using Google Fi for your internet anyways! Because…

Google Fi is more expensive than local plans in other countries

It’s almost always cheaper to buy a local tourist SIM on arrival than it is to pay $10/GB for Google’s offerings.

We use Google Fi internet solely for Facebook browsing during our airport layovers and as a back up option for when we (invariably) run out of internet during an important work meeting. That, combined with having a functioning US phone number, is worth it to us.

And those are really the only downsides, from my perspective.

I used to have problems with Google Fi’s speed while Stateside, but T-Mobile has done a great job of strengthening its network, so I don’t have that problem anymore. I’ve heard some people complain about Fi’s customer service, but I’ve personally had good experiences with them on multiple occasions.

I really, truly like Google Fi, and I’ll be sticking with them unless something major changes.