How do you get a mobile phone plan in Costa Rica in 2026?

Buy a prepaid SIM or eSIM from Kölbi (the ICE mobile brand), Claro, or Liberty at airport kiosks, malls in Escazú, or downtown San José stores. Passport identification usually works for basic prepaid. Bring an unlocked phone; carrier-locked handsets stall the first hour. Top up with cash or card and test data on your actual street before you celebrate coverage maps.

Postpaid plans and smoother contract changes get easier with a DIMEX and local address: Get a DIMEX and Apply for a residence permit. Escazú and San José metro stores are denser than Nosara roadside kiosks: Escazú cost of living. Keep the number when you switch plans so bank OTPs do not break: Open a bank account.

Central Valley fibre-plus-mobile combos often feel stronger than some Pacific and Caribbean pockets where home internet already wobbles: Utilities, internet, and transport. If you work remote, treat mobile data as video-call backup when home Wi-Fi drops in green season. Compare call and data buckets; tourist SIMs can look cheap until roaming habits appear.

Model the line inside your monthly sheet rather than as pocket change: Monthly budget and How expensive is Costa Rica. Spanish helps at store counters when plan names and promo fine print diverge. Do not hand your only SIM to a stranger “activator”; complete registration in-store. WhatsApp on Wi-Fi is not a substitute when Uber and bank codes require the Costa Rican MSISDN.