Kyiv eSIM
In Kyiv you connect to Kyivstar or Vodafone, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 44 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Kyivstar and Vodafone
- Typical speed in Ukraine
- 44 Mbps typical, 10 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- 4G only
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Kyiv
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $5.89 | $5.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $2.63 | $7.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $1.98 | $9.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $1.49 | $14.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $1.29 | $25.89 |
How Ukraine compares across Europe
- Regional typical speed
- 71 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, Kyivstar, Vodafone
- 5G
- 4G only
- Next fastest nearby
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, 46 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Armenia, 43 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 2: Kyiv, Lviv
Landing at Boryspil International Airport (KBP)
- Airport
- KBP / UKBB
- Distance
- 29 km from the centre of Kyiv
- Also serves
- Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany) (IEV)
Getting into Kyiv
- Direct international Ukrzaliznytsia trains to Kyiv from Poland, Hungary and Moldova (the normal way in while the airports are shut)
- International coaches to Kyiv from European cities, and private vehicles via the western border crossings
- Kyiv Boryspil Express (Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi to Boryspil airport) - launched 30 November 2018, not running for air passengers while the airport is closed (KBP)
Underground and on the metro
Kyiv Metro runs 3 lines. It opened in 1960. The operator states mobile coverage throughout the tunnels.
Worth knowing about Kyiv
- Ukraine's airspace is closed to civil aviation and both Kyiv airports, Boryspil and Zhuliany, are not operating; the city's own tourist board tells visitors to fly to Warsaw, Lublin, Chișinău or Budapest and continue overland by train or bus.
- Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine and lifecell run 4G at all 46 underground Kyiv Metro stations and in the tunnels between them; the rollout finished in May 2021 when Teremky was connected, so a data eSIM keeps working underground.
- All 46 underground metro stations double as shelters open 24/7, with free entry to the platforms during an air raid alert, and the city has fitted them with folding chairs and Wi-Fi.
- During an air raid alert Kyiv Metro trains run only on underground sections and stop crossing the Dnipro bridges - the red line shuttles between Akademmistechko and Arsenalna/Khreshchatyk and the green line splits into two segments, while the entirely underground blue line runs normally.
- A curfew runs in Kyiv from midnight to 05:00 and the metro and ground transport stop between about 22:30 and 23:00, so plan any late arrival at the railway station around it.
Sources for this page
Other cities in Ukraine we cover
- Lviv
- 468 km from Kyiv