Land at Cotonou, the rest is the country
The flights into Benin go into Cotonou — the country's economic capital and largest city, even though Porto-Novo is the constitutional one. From there, a Benin trip usually fans out: Ouidah for the colonial coast and the Door of No Return, Abomey for the royal palaces, Grand-Popo or the lagoon villages, the Pendjari park up north for wildlife. Cotonou itself is a working West African city — French and Fon on the streets, motorcycle taxis (zem) running everywhere, a CFA-franc cash economy with patchy card acceptance. The connection question is small in scale and obvious in shape: cellular for navigation, messaging, and the apps that don't load on hotel Wi-Fi.
Roamzy charges $12.90 per gigabyte in Benin. That's $0.0126 per megabyte, billed in real time on Beninese networks. No subscription, no expiry on the unused balance, no minimum bundle. One per-MB rate across 192 countries — the figure on the invoice, not a marketing line.
How much will Roamzy actually cost on this trip?
A typical visitor uses 0.4–0.8 GB per day on cellular, with hotel Wi-Fi handling the heavier downloads: maps from the airport to the hotel, WhatsApp with a guide, the camera-translator on a French menu, voice notes home, the bank-app push for the rare card payment. Call it 0.6 GB/day for the math:
| Trip length | Roamzy ($12.90/GB) | Tourist roaming pass | Local SIM at Cotonou |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 days (~2 GB) | $25.80 | $30–70 | $5–15 + KYC and a passport scan |
| 1 week (~4 GB) | $51.61 | $60–130 | $10–25 + paperwork |
| 2 weeks (~8 GB) | $103.22 | $120–280 (often two passes) | $15–35 + 30-day cap |
Competitor prices in columns 3 and 4 are 2025 ranges based on typical offerings; exact figures depend on your home carrier and the airport store you visit. Roamzy's rate in column 2 is our actual published rate from the pricing page.
A local SIM at Cadjehoun airport works if you're staying long enough to make the registration time worth it. For a typical week-long trip, the eSIM attaches in the air and the WhatsApp to your driver moves before you've cleared customs.
Where does Roamzy work in this country?
- Cotonou and Porto-Novo — 4G across the urban core, weaker in the outer arrondissements; the coastal road between them holds signal
- Ouidah — solid 4G on the historic strip and the beach approach; weakens on the sand at sunset away from the village
- Abomey, Bohicon — 4G in the towns and along the RNIE highway north
- The lagoon villages (Ganvié) — signal at the embarkation point, intermittent on the water
- Pendjari and W parks — 3G/4G at the lodge and entry posts; nothing inside the bush — that's wildlife country, not network country
- Northern districts (Natitingou, Parakou, Kandi) — workable LTE in town centers, patchy on the rural roads
Driving the spine of the country (Cotonou to Parakou, RNIE 2) holds signal across most of its length, with brief drops between villages.
How do I install my Roamzy eSIM?
| Plug type | Voltage | Frequency | iOS | Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type C, E | 220 V | 50 Hz | iPhone XS+ | Pixel 3+, Galaxy S20+ |
- Sign in to Roamzy via Telegram or Google
- Top up with a minimum of 20 USDT — stablecoins, no cards, no banks, no FX surcharges
- The QR code appears in the dashboard once payment confirms
- Settings → Cellular → Add eSIM → scan QR (do this on home Wi-Fi before you fly)
- The counter starts the moment you land at Cotonou Cadjehoun (COO)
Supported stablecoins, networks, and common iPhone/Android setup errors are in the FAQ.
What are Roamzy's honest limitations?
- No welcome promo that bait-and-switches the second top-up. The rate on top-up #1 is the rate on top-up #20.
- No fine-print throttling. One rate, full speed — first GB and the tenth both cost $0.0126/MB.
- No auto-renewal. Balance runs out, the eSIM stops.
It's not a marketing gimmick — it's an engineering decision born from indifference to gimmicks. You can't make a tariff cheaper than no fine-print and no expiry — so we don't.
What if my route continues across West Africa?
- Togo — Cotonou–Lomé is a short coastal drive, separate country rate
- Niger — overland north toward Niamey, the eSIM hands over at the border
- If you want the underlying mechanics — how roaming actually gets priced and why it hurts