SIM Cards & Mobile Internet in Serbia: The 2026 Belgrade Guide

Staying connected in Belgrade is refreshingly cheap and, once you know the drill, quick. Serbia has some of the most affordable mobile data in Europe, strong 4G across the city, and 5G expanding fast. Whether you're here for a long weekend or settling in for a year, this guide walks you through choosing a network, buying and registering a SIM, and keeping it topped up.

The three networks

Serbia has three mobile operators, and all of them cover Belgrade well:

• mts (Telekom Srbija) - the market leader, with generally the widest coverage outside cities. Useful if you'll travel around Serbia.
• Yettel - formerly Telenor, popular with travellers for its flexible tourist and eSIM packages.
• A1 Serbia - the challenger, often with the most generous data-for-the-price deals and easy online and eSIM signup.

In practice the differences are small. Independent measurements in 2025 put all three at roughly 86–90% 4G availability, with average download speeds around 60–90 Mbit/s. 5G is live in central Belgrade and larger cities and still expanding. For a stay confined mostly to the capital, pick on price and package; if you'll roam rural Serbia often, mts has a slight edge.

What you need to buy and register a SIM

Bring your passport (or an EU or national ID card). Serbian law requires every SIM - even prepaid - to be registered to an identity document, and the shop assistant will scan or note yours at purchase. It takes a couple of minutes and the SIM is usually active immediately. There's no separate "tourist registration" step; your passport is all you need.

Where to buy

Options, roughly from fastest to cheapest:

• Nikola Tesla Airport (BEG) - operator kiosks in the arrivals hall, just past baggage claim, sell tourist SIMs on the spot. Convenient, but note they are not 24/7 and typically close around 22:00, so a late-night landing may mean waiting until morning.
• Operator shops - mts, Yettel and A1 stores fill every shopping mall (Rajićeva, Delta City, Ušće) and the central pedestrian streets. Staff usually speak English and can set everything up for you.
• Kiosks (trafike) - the little newsstands on most corners sell SIMs and, crucially, top-ups.

A1 is currently the only operator that lets you order a physical prepaid SIM online; for instant connectivity most travellers reach for an eSIM instead (see below).

Tourist packages and prices (as of 2026)

Prepaid "tourist" bundles combine data, some local minutes and SMS for a fixed number of days. Exact offers shift constantly, but as a 2026 snapshot:

• mts - entry tourist SIMs from around 300 RSD (about €2.50) for a few GB over a week, up to larger bundles near 600 RSD with more data and minutes.
• Yettel - airport and tourist packs roughly 700–1,000 RSD (about €6–9); a common option gives around 50 GB valid for 30 days.
• A1 - longer-stay tourist bundles with very high data allowances (100–200 GB) for roughly €15–20 a month.

As a rule of thumb, budget 600–1,800 RSD (about €6–18) for a comfortable tourist prepaid with plenty of data. All prices are in Serbian dinars (RSD); roughly €1 ≈ 117 RSD in 2026.

eSIM: skip the queue

If your phone supports eSIM, it's the easiest way to land already connected. Yettel and A1 both sell eSIMs and data packages online, delivered as a QR code you scan on arrival; Globaltel, a smaller local operator, also sells eSIMs fully online. International travel-eSIM apps (Airalo, Holafly, Nomad and others) offer Serbia plans too - often pricier per gigabyte than a local SIM, but unbeatable for convenience if you only need data for a short trip.

Topping up (dopuna)

Prepaid credit is called dopuna. You can add it almost anywhere:

• At any kiosk (trafika), supermarket, petrol station or post office - just say your operator, your number and the amount (writing the number on paper avoids confusion). Vouchers typically run from 100 RSD upward.
• Through your operator's app or website with a card, which also lets you buy specific data add-ons.

Once you have credit, you activate a data package by dialling a short USSD code or tapping through the app - the assistant who sells you the SIM will set up your first package and show you how.

Roaming and the region

Good news if you'll hop around the Balkans: roaming between Serbia and its Western Balkan neighbours (Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo) is already surcharge-free under the regional "Roam like at home" arrangement, so your Serbian SIM works at domestic rates across much of the region. Roaming into the EU is still charged for now, but this is changing: in 2026 the EU and the Western Balkans opened formal talks to extend "Roam Like at Home," aiming to scrap EU roaming surcharges by 2028.

Staying longer? A note on contracts

Most long-term residents happily stick with prepaid - it's cheap and hassle-free. If you want a postpaid plan (monthly billing, phone instalments, home internet bundles), operators generally ask for proof of residence: a temporary-residence permit (boravak) and sometimes a local address or bank account. Until you have those, a registered prepaid SIM topped up monthly does everything you need.

Quick tip: keep your passport handy, buy in a mall or operator shop if you want English-speaking help, and grab an eSIM online before you fly if you land late - airport kiosks close by 22:00.