Get a Dutch number in your first week, because a foreign one will block you.
Health insurers, GP practices, banks, delivery apps and government portals all send verification codes that either will not go to a foreign number or cost you to receive.
Plans run from about €4 a month prepaid to about €40 for unlimited data.
A passport is enough for a prepaid SIM; a monthly contract usually needs a BSN and a Dutch bank account.
The Four Plan Types
Prepaid
Buy a SIM at a supermarket, a phone shop or Schiphol, top it up, and you have a Dutch number the same day.
Monthly bundles start around €4, there is no credit check and no contract, which makes it the right choice for your first weeks.
SIM-Only
You keep your phone and pay monthly for calls, texts and data, on terms from month-to-month up to 24 months.
Month-to-month costs a little more and is worth it if you do not yet know how long you are staying.
Phone Contract
A handset bundled with a plan over 12 or 24 months.
Dutch rules require the handset element to be shown as a separate credit agreement, so compare the total against buying the phone outright before signing.
eSIM
KPN, Simyo, Vodafone and several others activate digitally in minutes with no physical card.
If your phone supports it, this is the fastest route to a working Dutch number from the airport.
What You Will Pay
A basic SIM-only plan with 5 to 10 GB costs €5 to €15 a month.
Stepping up to 15 to 30 GB puts you at €15 to €25, and unlimited data is €30 to €40 with most providers.
Most providers let you move up or down a data tier mid-contract, so start low rather than buying headroom you may not use.
Pair whatever you choose with home internet rather than tethering, which is the expensive way to do it.
Networks And Providers
The Three Actual Networks
Everything in the Netherlands runs on one of three networks: KPN, Odido (formed from T-Mobile and Tele2) and Vodafone.
KPN has the strongest rural and suburban coverage; Odido is strong on urban 5G speed.
The Budget Brands
Lebara starts around €4 and supports customers in English, which is why it turns up in every expat recommendation.
Simyo runs on KPN’s network from about €5 and offers eSIM, giving you KPN coverage at a budget price.
Youfone and Budget Mobiel both sit in the same bracket with larger data bundles.
Hollandsnieuwe starts around €7.50 and discounts further if you also take Ziggo at home.
Choosing By Address, Not By Brand
Check the coverage map for your actual postcode before signing, because the differences are local rather than national.
If you commute by train or take day trips out of the city, coverage along the route matters more than peak speed in the centre.
Calling Abroad
Calls and data within the EU are covered by your Dutch bundle at no extra cost under EU roaming rules.
Calls to the United States, the UK and anywhere outside the EU are not, and this is where bills go wrong.
Budget Mobiel includes a monthly allowance of international minutes to a long list of countries, and Lebara builds its plans around calling abroad.
Check the specific destination rate rather than the “international” headline, because rates vary hugely by country.
For calls home, an internet call over your data bundle costs nothing beyond the data.
Buy international minutes only if you need to reach landlines or numbers that are not on an app.
Signing Up
Prepaid needs only a passport, so you can do it on arrival.
A postpaid contract normally needs ID, a BSN and a Dutch IBAN for the direct debit.
Start prepaid while your residence permit and registration are in progress, then port the number to a monthly plan once the paperwork lands.
Porting keeps the number you have already given to your bank and your GP, which is the point of doing it in that order.
