Best SIM Cards for Students in France (2026)

Which SIMs Are Best for Students in France?

Four SIMs cover almost every student in France as of October 2026: a big-data forfait, a prepaid plan with no French bank account, an Orange-network plan and a travel plan. All four are no-commitment, so you can leave any month. Prices below are after-promo prices from each provider's page; confirm them before you buy.

Best big-data forfait

1. Free Mobile

4.5

Free Mobile, part of the Iliad group, runs its own network including 700 MHz; the legacy Orange roaming has ended. Its Free 5G 350 GB plan costs €19.99 a month flat, €9.99 with a Freebox Pop, and Free locks these prices until 2027. The Forfait 2€ (€2 a month, €0 with a Freebox) suits a Wi-Fi-first student. Prices as of October 2026.

Why we recommend it: Free 5G 350 GB at €19.99 flat, or €9.99 with a Freebox Pop, plus a €2 forfait, makes Free Mobile the big-data pick for students with a French bank account.

Pros

• +Free 5G 350 GB at €19.99 flat, prices locked until 2027
• +€9.99 per line with a Freebox Pop, useful in a flatshare
• +Forfait 2€ at €2 a month for Wi-Fi-first use
• +Reimburses up to €10 of your old operator's exit fees

Cons

• −Weakest rural call quality: 84% perfect calls, 4th of four (ARCEP, September 2026)
• −French-only customer service and a €10 SIM fee

• Forfaits sans engagement on Free's own network
• Pass Free prepaid exists but is for French residents only, sold online

Visit Free Mobile

Best without a French bank account

2. Lebara

4.5

Lebara is a prepaid brand on the SFR network. You pay by card every 30 days, with no French bank account, no address and no contract: you leave by not renewing. In October 2026 the 200 GB 5G plan costs €9.99 (cut from 250 GB at the same price during 2026) and the 350 GB 5G plan €13.99. The SIM and the eSIM are free, and support is available in English.

Why we recommend it: Lebara 200 GB 5G at €9.99 per 30 days needs no French bank account and no address, and the SIM is free, which makes it the easiest first SIM for a student.

Pros

• +200 GB 5G for €9.99 per 30 days, free SIM and eSIM
• +Card payment, no French bank account or address
• +English-language support
• +Undercuts RED by SFR on the same SFR network

Cons

• −Cannot send or receive MMS on any plan
• −Only 15 GB usable in the EU on the 200 GB plan

• 30-day prepaid on the SFR network
• Activation online with a passport, EU ID card or titre de séjour

Visit Lebara

Best for Orange network on a budget

3. Sosh

4.3

Sosh is Orange's online-only brand on the full Orange network, ranked first in ARCEP's 2025 quality campaign (published 24 September 2026, 91% perfect calls). The Voyage 200 GB 5G plan costs €15.99 flat with 40 GB usable from 135 destinations. 5G starts at the €15.99 tier: the 20 GB (€9.99) and 100 GB (€13.99) plans are 4G. For a student who splits time between a university town and a rural family home, Sosh puts Orange coverage behind a budget price.

Why we recommend it: Sosh Voyage 200 GB 5G at €15.99 flat runs on Orange, ranked first by ARCEP in September 2026, with no age limit and no promo cliff.

Pros

• +Orange network: 91% perfect calls, 83% in rural zones (ARCEP 2025)
• +Voyage 200 GB 5G at €15.99 flat, no promo cliff
• +40 GB of data usable from 135 destinations
• +No age limit, unlike the Orange under-26 deal

Cons

• −Support is online and chat only, in French
• −5G only from the €15.99 tier, plus a €10 SIM fee

• Forfaits sans engagement on the Orange network
• eSIM activation; postpaid only, so you need a RIB

Visit Sosh

Best for travel beyond Europe

4. Bouygues B&You

4.1

B&You is Bouygues Telecom's online low-cost range. The 200 GB 5G plan costs €15.99 flat with roaming from 150 destinations, and the 100 GB 5G plan is €10.99 for 12 months, then €13.99. Budget for the fees: a €5 setup fee since April 2025 and a €5 exit fee on every no-commitment plan since 27 July 2026. Cancel online in the espace client: Bouygues Telecom charges €7.50 to cancel by phone.

Why we recommend it: B&You 200 GB 5G at €15.99 flat adds roaming from 150 destinations on the Bouygues network, which nPerf ranked first overall for 2025.

Pros

• +200 GB 5G at €15.99 flat, roaming from 150 destinations
• +Bouygues network: nPerf 2025 winner overall
• +SIM card from €1
• +Online sign-up with passport and RIB

Cons

• −€5 setup fee and €5 exit fee on top of the monthly price
• −100 GB plan jumps from €10.99 to €13.99 at month 13

• Sans engagement on the Bouygues network
• Bouygues Telecom ended classic prepaid on 30 June 2025

Visit Bouygues B&You

Ranking as of October 2026. Prices are new-subscriber prices from each provider's page, after any promo. Confirm current offers on the official site before you buy.

RED by SFR left this ranking in October 2026. SFR, RED and Prixtel raised prices for existing subscribers by €0.99 to €4.99 a month, so the old promise of a price fixed for life no longer holds. Lebara now sells 200 GB 5G for €9.99 on the same SFR network, against €11.99 for 100 GB 5G at RED. If RED raises your price, refuse the change in your espace client or cancel free within 4 months under article L224-33 of the Code de la consommation.

Are There Student-Specific Mobile Deals in France?

Orange sells the one real student deal in France: a 200 GB 5G forfait at €15.99 a month for under-26s, as of October 2026. The plan runs on the Orange network, ranked first by ARCEP in its 2025 quality campaign, and includes 40 GB usable from 78 destinations. You need proof of age, a RIB and an address at sign-up, plus a €10 SIM fee.

The catch is the age cliff. After your 26th birthday the same plan costs €34.99, a 119% rise. Sosh, Orange's online brand, sells Voyage 200 GB 5G at the same €15.99 to anyone, on the same network, with 40 GB usable from 135 destinations. The under-26 plan wins on Orange stores and an English helpline. Sosh wins over time, because its price does not jump.

• Orange 200 GB 5G under-26 (€15.99): the pick if you want shop help and an English helpline, and you will stay under 26 for most of your studies.
• Sosh Voyage 200 GB 5G (€15.99): the same price and network with no age limit, but support is online and chat only.
• Other operators: the Orange plan is the only under-26 forfait we verified on an operator page in October 2026. Cheap forfaits and prepaid plans above often beat any "student" label on price.
• No lock-in: all of these are sans engagement, so you can switch before your birthday and keep your number with a RIO.

Which SIM Fits Your Student Situation?

Three student situations cover most cases, and each has a clear winner as of October 2026. The deciding factors are whether you have a French bank account (RIB), how long you stay, and whether you share a flat with fibre.

For the exchange student, Lycamobile runs on the Bouygues network and Lebara on SFR. Both are 30-day prepaid plans paid by card, so a one-semester stay ends with no cancellation fee. Lycamobile prices rotate with promotions, so confirm the tier before you buy. Lebara cannot send or receive MMS, which matters if people send you photos by classic MMS rather than an app.

In a flatshare, each Free 5G 350 GB line drops from €19.99 to €9.99 a month once one flatmate holds a Freebox Pop, and one box covers up to four discounted lines (as of October 2026). The Freebox subscription itself is billed separately, and every line still needs its own ID check at activation.

What Does a Student SIM Cost Over an Academic Year and Over 24 Months?

A 10-month academic year costs between €101.23 and €209.90 on the plans below, one-off fees included, as of October 2026. Prepaid plans renew every 30 days, so 10 months (304 days) takes 10.13 renewals and 24 months (730 days) takes 24.33. Monthly forfaits bill 10 and 24 times.

Lebara is the cheapest year, but not the cheapest gigabyte: Lycamobile gives 350 GB for €30.27 more over 10 months. Sosh Voyage and the Orange under-26 plan cost the same €393.76 over 24 months while you stay under 26. Turn 26 at month 13 and the Orange plan costs €621.76, which is €228 more than Sosh on the same network. B&You adds €11 of fees, because the Bouygues group charges a €5 exit fee on every no-commitment plan since 27 July 2026.

What Do Students Need to Sign Up?

Every SIM in France needs ID at activation, prepaid included, under décret n° 2017-460 of 30 March 2017 (texts on Légifrance). A monthly forfait also needs a RIB (French bank details for the direct debit) and a billing address. A prepaid SIM needs neither, which makes prepaid the easiest day-one option.

• RIB (Relevé d'Identité Bancaire): needed for a monthly forfait from Orange, Sosh, SFR, RED, Bouygues Telecom, B&You or Free, so the operator can set up the direct debit (prélèvement). Lebara and Lycamobile sell 30-day prepaid plans paid by card instead, with no French bank account. Syma Mobile is sold in tabacs, but its contract needs a RIB.
• Pièce d'identité: a passport (any nationality), an EU ID card or a French titre de séjour. A foreign driving licence is generally not accepted. You can buy a prepaid card at a tabac without ID, but unidentified lines are blocked and their credit is lost.
• No French address for prepaid: Lebara, Lycamobile, SFR La Carte and Orange Mobicarte need no proof of address. Pass Free prepaid is the exception: its terms restrict it to French residents.
• eSIM in minutes: Lebara includes a free eSIM, and Sosh, Free, B&You, Orange and Lycamobile offer eSIM too, so a compatible phone can activate a line without waiting for a physical SIM.

Frequently Asked Questions

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