Local data in Cape Verde is cheap, and unusually for a small island state, both operators will sell it to you online before you leave home. Alou, the larger network that used to be called CVMovel, sells 5 GB for thirty days at 700 escudos, about 6.35 euros, as an eSIM from its own website. Unitel T+, the smaller network that Airalo and Nomad ride, runs a separate tourist shop selling Morabeza eSIMs from 10 euros for 10 GB with no documents required.
That turns the usual SIM-card trade-off on its head. Elsewhere in West Africa the local card is cheap but costs you a queue and a passport check; here the cheapest option involves neither. The physical cards still matter for people who prefer a shop, need a router SIM, or land on an island with no airport desk, and the rules for those are set out below.
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Alou or Unitel T+: Choosing Between the Only Two
A visitor buying a local line in Cape Verde has exactly two counters to choose between. Alou, the Cabo Verde Telecom brand that absorbed CVMovel in July 2023, carries roughly two thirds of active SIM cards. Unitel T+, owned by Angola's Unitel group, carries the other third and is the network underneath every travel eSIM sold for the islands. Both sell prepaid SIM cards, both now sell eSIMs direct, and both price everything in escudos.
| Alou | Unitel T+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Share of active SIMs (ARME, March 2026) | About 68 percent | About 32 percent |
| Former name | CVMovel, until July 2023 | T+, before the Unitel branding |
| Own eSIM for visitors | Yes, at alou.cv/esim, passport number on the form | Yes, Morabeza plans at esim.uniteltmais.cv, no documents |
| Used by travel eSIMs | No | Airalo and Nomad |
| Reputation for reach | Wider on Santo Antao, Fogo and Brava | Strong in towns, thinner in interiors |
For a stay on Sal or Boa Vista, pick on price and convenience, because both networks cover the resort towns well. For a trip that heads into the mountains of Santo Antao or up to the caldera on Fogo, the larger network is the safer bet, and that is the one no travel eSIM brand gives you. A sensible pattern for hikers is a travel or Morabeza eSIM for arrival and an Alou pack for the outer islands.
The escudo shortcut
The Cape Verdean escudo is pegged to the euro at 110.265. Knock two zeros off and subtract a tenth, and you have euros: 1,100 escudos is 10 euros, 700 escudos about 6.35. Every price on this page converts that way.
Morabeza: Unitel's Own Visitor eSIM
The single most useful thing to know about Cape Verdean mobile data is that Unitel T+ runs a tourist eSIM shop of its own, separate from its main website, at esim.uniteltmais.cv. The plans are named Morabeza, the word Cape Verdeans use for their particular brand of welcome, and they are sold in euros or escudos to people who have not yet arrived. Unitel says no documents are needed, only an account, and that a plan bought abroad activates automatically on landing. You have 45 days from purchase to start it.
| Plan | Data | Validity | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morabeza 10 | 10 GB | 10 days | 1,100 CVE (10 euros) |
| Morabeza 15 | 15 GB | 15 days | 1,650 CVE (15 euros) |
| Morabeza 25 | 25 GB | 15 days | 2,750 CVE (25 euros) |
| Morabeza ilimitado 10 | Unlimited | 1 day | 1,100 CVE (10 euros) |
| Morabeza ilimitado 20 | Unlimited | 3 days | 2,200 CVE (20 euros) |
| Morabeza ilimitado 30 | Unlimited | 8 days | 3,300 CVE (30 euros) |
| Morabeza ilimitado 45 | Unlimited | 15 days | 5,000 CVE (45 euros) |
Every plan also carries 30 minutes of national calls and comes with a Cape Verdean number, which you can use to renew at Unitel shops, ATMs or agents as well as online. Unlimited plans can be renewed twice before you have to switch to a capped one. One inconsistency is worth flagging: the plan cards list the 30 euro unlimited plan as eight days, while the description further down the same page talks about seven- and fifteen-day unlimited options. We have used the plan-card figures.
Read the one-install rule before you buy
Each Morabeza QR code installs once. Delete the eSIM, or move to a new phone, and you must buy another. Install it on the phone you are travelling with, and leave it alone.
Against the travel brands, the comparison is stark. Ten gigabytes costs about 10 euros here and 45 dollars on Nomad, on the very same network. What you give up is an established English app and international support. We did not complete a purchase, so we cannot say which foreign bank cards the checkout accepts.
Alou's Packs, and Its eSIM Shop
Alou sells its bundles under the D'Kel Bom name, and it now offers them as an eSIM bought online at alou.cv/esim, as well as on physical cards from its shops. The online purchase form asks for a document type, and Passaporte is one of the three options alongside the Cape Verdean BI and CNI identity cards, so a foreigner can complete it with a passport number. The packs below are from that page in October 2026.
| Pack | Data | Extras | Validity | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 2 GB | Unlimited Alou-to-Alou calls and texts | 7 days | 300 CVE |
| Month 1 | 5 GB | Unlimited Alou-to-Alou calls and texts | 30 days | 700 CVE |
| Month 2 | 7 GB | Plus 15 minutes to other networks | 30 days | 1,000 CVE |
| Month 3 | 9 GB | Plus 30 minutes to other networks | 30 days | 1,500 CVE |
| Month 4 | 12 GB | Plus 65 minutes to other networks | 30 days | 3,000 CVE |
| Month 5 | 15 GB | Unlimited national calls, 20 international minutes | 30 days | 5,000 CVE |
Five gigabytes for a month at 700 escudos is about 6.35 euros, which makes Alou the cheapest data in the country for a normal holiday allowance, and it is on the bigger network. The scale is odd at the top, where 15 GB costs seven times the 5 GB pack because it bundles unlimited calls, so most visitors should stop at Month 2 or Month 3.
Alou also sells data-only Netmovel packs aimed at mobile routers: 3 GB for 850 escudos, 6 GB for 1,650 and 10 GB for 2,500, each for thirty days. They are poorer value than D'Kel Bom for a phone, but they are the ones to ask for if you are putting a SIM in a travel router for a family apartment in Mindelo.
Unitel T+ Over the Counter
If you buy a physical Unitel T+ card in a shop rather than the Morabeza eSIM, you are on the operator's ordinary prepaid packs, which reward people who stay. The headline monthly bundle is 5,000 MB for 1,250 escudos, and the allowance rises on renewal: 6,250 MB the second time, 7,500 MB from the third activation onward, as long as you renew before it lapses. A 2 GB monthly pack costs 800 escudos and 1 GB costs 500.
| Unitel pack | Data (1st / 2nd / 3rd activation) | Validity | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily | 30 / 50 / 70 MB | 24 hours | 70 CVE |
| Weekly | 250 / 500 / 750 MB | 7 days | 250 CVE |
| Monthly | 1,000 / 1,250 / 1,500 MB | 30 days | 500 CVE |
| Monthly | 2,000 / 2,500 / 3,000 MB | 30 days | 800 CVE |
| Monthly | 5,000 / 6,250 / 7,500 MB | 30 days | 1,250 CVE |
| Play High Score | 5,000 MB plus unlimited Play calls and texts | 30 days | 500 CVE |
The Play tariff is the bargain on paper, 5 GB for 500 escudos, but Unitel says you join it only in a Unitel T+ shop, and the free calls only work between Play customers. For a visitor the honest summary is that Unitel's shop packs are fine, Alou's are cheaper per gigabyte, and the Morabeza eSIM is the easiest of the three because you never see a counter.
Buying a Card: Passports, Desks and Island Shops
Both operators register prepaid lines to an identity document, and in practice that means your passport. Travel guides written in 2026 report that the shop links your details to the card's serial number and that the process takes about fifteen minutes, and that small kiosks are less dependable at registration than the operators' own stores. A blank SIM is reported at 100 to 200 escudos before any pack, though neither operator publishes the card price.
How a counter purchase goes
1. Pick your island for the purchase. Sal and Praia have desks near the arrivals exit at their airports, Mindelo and Praia have the busiest town shops, and the small islands have one or two stores each.
2. Bring the passport itself. A photo on your phone is not reliably accepted.
3. Ask for the pack by name, D'Kel Bom Mes 1 at Alou or the 1,250 escudo monthly at Unitel, so the clerk does not sell you a voice tariff.
4. Check the balance before you leave and make sure the data pack is active, not just the credit.
Top-ups, recargas, are sold in supermarkets, pharmacies, petrol stations and corner shops all over the islands, and on Sal you can buy them in Santa Maria's grocery stores late into the evening. The airport desks are the exception to the convenience rule: guides report them closed for late arrivals, and many package flights from northern Europe land in the evening. If yours does, plan to arrive with an eSIM working and visit a town shop the next morning.
Night arrivals on Boa Vista
We found no reliable report of an operator desk at Boa Vista's Aristides Pereira Airport (BVC). If your package lands there, treat an eSIM as essential for the first evening and buy any local card in Sal Rei.
Where a Travel eSIM Still Makes Sense
In most countries this page argues that a local SIM is cheaper but slower to get. Cape Verde is different because two cheap local eSIMs can be bought online, so the paperwork argument mostly evaporates as well. Airalo and Nomad cost three to five times more per gigabyte than Morabeza on the same network, and more again against Alou.
Reasons to pay the travel-brand premium
Reasons to go local
For a three-night stopover on Sal, Airalo's 9 dollar gigabyte is perfectly reasonable money for not having to think. For anything longer, the local options win on cost by a wide margin. The Cape Verde eSIM guide sets out the Airalo and Nomad plans side by side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I buy Alou's eSIM from abroad with a foreign passport?
The form on alou.cv/esim lists Passaporte as an accepted document and includes a nationality list covering foreign countries, so the paperwork side appears to be designed for it. We did not complete a purchase, so we cannot confirm whether foreign bank cards are accepted at checkout. If it fails, Unitel's Morabeza shop, which asks for no document at all, is the fallback.
Is the Morabeza eSIM really document-free?
That is what Unitel T+ says on its own portal: no documents are needed, though you must create an account and log in to buy and to see your QR code. It is a Unitel product on the Unitel network, and it comes with a Cape Verdean number, so it is not a reseller workaround. Buy it at esim.uniteltmais.cv rather than through a third party.
Which network should I pick for hiking on Santo Antao?
Alou, if you can. It is the larger operator and is consistently described as reaching further on the mountain islands, while every travel eSIM rides Unitel T+. Neither network covers the deep ribeiras reliably, so download offline maps in Porto Novo or Ribeira Grande whatever you carry.
What does a week of data cost on a local line?
Alou's weekly D'Kel Bom pack is 2 GB for 300 escudos, under 3 euros, and its 5 GB monthly pack is 700 escudos, which is better value even for a week. Unitel's Morabeza 10 is 10 GB for ten days at 10 euros. By comparison, Airalo charges 24 dollars for 3 GB over seven days.
Will the old CVMovel SIM I bought years ago still work?
It may, if the number was kept active with top-ups, because the network simply changed its name to Alou in 2023. Most prepaid numbers lapse after a period without recharges, though, so if it has been a year or more, expect to buy a new card.