Do you need a Brazilian SIM card?
In practice, yes. International roaming is fine for the first 48 hours but expensive and unreliable for a real stay.
More importantly, a Brazilian number is a verification prerequisite for most of the apps you will need:
- Banking and digital wallets, accounts are usually tied to a BR phone number
- Pix, traditional Brazilian bank apps tie it to a local number (Liminal’s Pix does not, see below)
- Uber, 99, iFood, drivers and couriers WhatsApp you constantly
- WhatsApp itself, a Brazilian-registered number is socially expected to avoid gringo prices
Beyond apps, mobile data in Brazil is cheap. A typical unlimited prepaid plan is R$30–50/month, less than most international roaming gets you for a single day.
The three networks (and what happened to the fourth)
Brazil consolidated to three major mobile carriers after Oi Móvel’s assets were sold in April 2022 (R$6.98B deal) and split between TIM, Vivo, and Claro.
- Vivo (Telefónica), generally best national coverage and the strongest brand in São Paulo and the south. Solid in Florianópolis.
- Claro (América Móvil), strong in urban centres, competitive on data plans, good 5G rollout.
- TIM (Telecom Italia), strong in the south of Brazil including Florianópolis, and the most foreigner-friendly carrier (see below).
For Florianópolis specifically, TIM and Vivo are usually the top two on coverage tests. Claro is fine in Centro and Lagoa but can thin out in the more remote beach areas.
The CPF problem (and how to work around it)
Technically, prepaid SIMs in Brazil do not legally require a CPF, only a valid ID. In practice, Vivo and Claro will refuse without one. TIM is the major exception: TIM consistently sells prepaid SIMs to foreigners on passport alone.
Three ways to handle this:
- Apply for a CPF before you fly, it is free, can be done at any Brazilian consulate or via Receita Federal’s online form, and you generally have your number within days.
- Use TIM on arrival, easiest path if you do not have a CPF yet.
- Use a tourist eSIM (Holafly, Airalo, Yesim) for the first week, no CPF needed, activates instantly, but the local number is virtual and may not pass all app verifications.
Most longer-stay arrivals end up with a CPF and a real Brazilian SIM within their first two weeks. If you plan to be in Brazil 6+ months, CPF-first is the move.
Costs and plans
Prices in 2026, prepaid:
- TIM tourist plan, ~R$25 for 1.5 GB + unlimited calls, 7 days. Add ~R$10 SIM fee.
- Vivo prepaid, R$9.99 for 2 GB / 7 days; R$29.99 for 6 GB / 30 days.
- Claro prepaid, R$10–30 for 2–12 GB across 7- and 30-day windows.
- Typical monthly resident plan, R$40–80 for unlimited data, calls, and WhatsApp zero-rated.
WhatsApp data is zero-rated on most Brazilian plans; it does not count against your allowance. That is part of why WhatsApp is, functionally, the country’s second operating system.
eSIM in Brazil
eSIM has been legal in Brazil since 2019. Vivo, Claro, and TIM all support it. Most modern phones (iPhone XS or later, Pixel 4 or later, Samsung S20 or later) can run a Brazilian eSIM in parallel with a home-country SIM.
Practical advantages: you can have your Brazilian number live the moment your plane lands, without a SIM tray swap. Practical disadvantages: in-store eSIM activation at the big three still tends to need a CPF, so the easy “buy at the airport” path is still a TIM or Vivo physical SIM.
Tourist eSIMs for the first week
If you want connectivity from the airport without committing to a Brazilian SIM, the international eSIM operators are a clean bridge:
- Holafly, unlimited data plans, single-country and regional
- Airalo, pay-per-GB, cheapest for short stays
- Yesim, flexible regional plans
- BitJoy and similar, Brazil-specific, no CPF needed
These get you Google Maps, Uber, and WhatsApp working in the airport taxi line. For real day-to-day use, Pix, banking apps, app verifications, switch to a Brazilian SIM within the first week.
Connectivity is the first step. Money is the second
A SIM gets your phone working. A multi-currency wallet gets your phone useful.
Most foreigners arrive with a working SIM and a stuck financial setup, foreign card declines at the airport SIM kiosk, FX markups on every R$50 transaction, SWIFT delays on rent deposits. Sorting both before you fly turns the first 48 hours from “scavenger hunt” into “ordering coffee like you live here.”
With Liminal, your USD/EUR/GBP balance pays the SIM kiosk in BRL via Pix, no card needed, and your landlord, coworking pass, and first Uber follow the same path.
And here is the part that surprises people: Liminal’s Pix does not depend on a Brazilian bank account or a Brazilian phone number. So you can pay by Pix the moment you land, even on a tourist eSIM, before you have a local SIM at all. The only thing you need is a CPF, which you can get before you fly.