Danish phone number and plans: SIM cards, contracts and costs

Why do you need a Danish number early?

Because Danish systems assume you have one. MitID, the digital ID you need for almost everything, usually runs as an app on your smartphone and works over wifi or data, so the app itself does not need a Danish number; but your bank asks for a Danish number during account opening. Employers, the job centre and landlords call it. MobilePay needs a Danish or Greenlandic phone number, and also your CPR number, MitID, a Danish bank account and a Danish card, so a prepaid SIM alone is not enough MobilePay.

Waiting does not save money; it slows down everything downstream. Get a number in your first week, even a prepaid one.

What is the difference between prepaid and a subscription?

Prepaid (taletidskort) is the newcomer route. You buy a starter pack, often for under DKK 100, activate it, and top up when the credit runs out. It needs no CPR number, no MitID and no Danish bank account - Lycamobile, for example, states that tourists can buy a prepaid SIM without identification, a CPR number or MitID Lycamobile.

A subscription (abonnement) is what Danes usually have. You pay monthly for a bundle of data, calls and texts. Most providers require a CPR number and MitID before they will sell you a subscription, which many newcomers do not have in their first weeks CBB Mobil Telenor.

The trade-off is simple: prepaid works immediately, while a subscription is often cheaper per gigabyte for large data allowances but needs paperwork you may not have yet. Compare the price per gigabyte rather than assuming either is always cheaper.

Which plan should you pick for a six-month stay?

Start on prepaid, then move to a subscription with ingen binding (no minimum term) once your CPR number and MitID arrive. Many plans are now sold without binding: CBB, Telenor and most Oister plans say so on their price pages CBB Mobil Telenor Oister. Binding usually comes back when a phone or other equipment is bundled in; Oister, for example, lists six months’ binding on a plan that includes AirPods Oister.

If you will leave within a few months, avoid anything bundled with a handset, and note your notice period on the day you sign, so you can cancel in time before you fly home.

Where do you buy a prepaid SIM?

• Supermarkets such as Netto and Føtex.
• Convenience stores and 7-Eleven.
• Kiosks and phone shops in stations and shopping centres.
• Airport kiosks, if you want a number before you leave the terminal.

Starter packs from Lycamobile and Lebara are the common choice for arrivals, and you can compare their bundles on their own sites Lycamobile Lebara. Take your passport: even where it is not strictly required, a clerk may ask to see it.

Before you buy, check that your phone supports 4G calling (Voice over LTE, or VoLTE): Denmark’s 3G networks all closed at the end of 2025, and some older or imported phones can use data but cannot make calls. You can ask your provider whether your model supports VoLTE Digitaliseringsstyrelsen.

Which providers and budget brands exist in Denmark?

Denmark has three physical networks, and most brands rent space on them.

• TDC NET carries TDC’s own brands, including YouSee and Telmore YouSee Telmore.
• TN-Netværket, the network Telenor and Norlys own jointly, carries Telenor, Norlys, CBB and several smaller brands TN-Network Telenor Norlys.
• 3 carries 3 itself, Oister and Flexii 3 Oister Flexii.

Brands rent capacity on these networks, and the brand you buy does not always say which one on its front page. Before you switch to fix coverage, look for the network or coverage page (in Danish, “netværk” or “dækning”) on the brand’s own site.

The practical consequence: coverage is good on all three, so price and data matter more than the logo. If you switch providers to fix bad coverage, check whether the new brand uses the same network - if it does, nothing will change.

What do plans cost in 2026?

Prices move constantly and intro offers are common, so treat these as bands rather than quotes CBB Mobil Oister Lycamobile:

• Prepaid bundles: from roughly DKK 20-70 per top-up for a modest data allowance, plus the starter pack.
• Basic subscriptions: from about DKK 29 a month for a low-use plan, up to about DKK 69 for 12 GB.
• Mid-range subscriptions: commonly around DKK 100-150 a month with free calls, texts and a solid data allowance.
• Large or free-data plans: typically DKK 150-250, sometimes bundled with streaming services.
• Introductory discounts often apply for the first few months, after which the normal price kicks in. Read that number, not the headline.

These bands were checked against provider price pages in October 2026: Oister lists a 12 GB plan at DKK 69, and free calls with 40 GB at DKK 49 a month for three months, then DKK 99; CBB’s basic plan is DKK 29 with its full-data plan discounted to DKK 109 for the first six months before returning to DKK 219 Oister CBB Mobil.

Always check the price on the provider’s own page before you sign, because comparison sites lag.

What should you check before you sign a plan?

1. The normal price. Many plans show an intro price first: in October 2026 Oister’s 40 GB plan was DKK 49 for three months, then DKK 99, and CBB’s free-data plan DKK 109 for six months, then DKK 219 Oister CBB Mobil. Budget for the second number.
2. The mindstepris (minimum price). The least you will pay over the binding period, setup included. It is printed on Danish offers.
3. Data at home and in the EU. These are often different figures; see the roaming section below.
4. Whether unused data carries over. Terms differ by brand, so look for it in the plan details rather than assuming.
5. Binding and notice. A consumer plan can bind you for at most six months including notice, and notice can be at most one month plus the current month Digitaliseringsstyrelsen.
6. The cost of leaving early. If you leave during the binding period you still pay the monthly fee until it ends. A SIM-locked phone can be locked to one network for at most six months Digitaliseringsstyrelsen.
7. The network. Check which of the three networks the brand uses (see above).

Why might a provider turn you down?

• Credit checks. Subscriptions are sold on credit, since you pay after you use them. Telenor’s terms, for example, say it uses your CPR number for credit approval, may refuse a contract, set a credit limit or ask for a deposit Telenor terms. A newcomer with no Danish credit history may meet this; prepaid involves no credit check.
• A foreign payment card. Some checkouts work smoothly only with a Danish card or MobilePay. If your foreign card is refused, stay on prepaid until your Danish bank card arrives (see opening a bank account).
• No CPR or MitID yet. Prepaid is the way round it.

If you need data for a laptop before home internet is installed, mobilt bredbånd (mobile broadband) is a data-only SIM for a router or dongle; Oister and others sell it. It gives no usable phone number. See home internet in Denmark for the fixed-line side.

Should you get an eSIM or a physical SIM?

Both exist here. Most providers offer eSIM, which is installed remotely and lets you keep your home SIM in the phone for incoming SMS from your bank back home.

The distinction that actually matters: a travel eSIM gives you data, not a Danish number, so it is no use for MobilePay, or for banks and employers that want a +45 number. MitID itself is not tied to a Danish number, since the app works over any data connection, but you will still need the number for almost everything else. If you want the number, take a Danish prepaid or subscription. Many people use a travel eSIM for week one and a Danish SIM from week two.

How do you keep your number when you switch?

Number porting is standard and normally free. When you move from prepaid to a subscription, or between providers:

1. Give the new provider your current Danish number.
2. They handle the transfer with your old provider.
3. Keep the old SIM active, and keep prepaid credit topped up, until the transfer completes; a prepaid SIM left unused can be locked before the port goes through.
4. Check that SMS still arrives before you rely on it for banking codes.

Keep the same number through the switch. Re-registering a new number with your bank and employers is far more annoying than waiting a couple of days.

The rules behind this are in the Danish telecom act, and Digitaliseringsstyrelsen sets them out Digitaliseringsstyrelsen:

• One working day. Once the new subscription has started, the number must move by the end of the next working day after your old provider receives the request.
• Binding does not block the move. You can port during a binding or notice period, but you still owe the old provider until it ends, so you may pay for two plans for a while. You can agree a later porting date to avoid that.
• Do not cancel the old plan yourself first. The new provider cancels it for you. If you cancel first, you keep the right to port the number for at least a month, and after that you lose it.
• Delays are compensated. Each provider sets the compensation for a late or unauthorised port in its terms; Oister, for example, lists DKK 500 for a number moved without your request Oister.

How much data do you actually need?

For messaging, maps and email, 5-10 GB a month is plenty. If you stream video on the move, use your phone as a hotspot for work, or make a lot of video calls, aim for 50 GB or more. “Free data” plans have a fair-use limit, after which speed drops, so check the small print Lycamobile.

Most Danes are on wifi at home and work, so huge data packages are often wasted money.

What are the EU roaming rules?

You can use your Danish plan in other EU and EEA countries at no extra charge, under the “roam like at home” rules, within fair-use limits that follow EU rules and are set out in your provider’s terms EU roaming rules. This does not automatically cover non-EU destinations such as the Faroe Islands, Greenland, the UK and Switzerland, though some Danish plans include them, so check your plan before you travel.

“Free data” does not mean free data abroad. Under EU rules a provider may cap roaming data on cheap or unlimited plans, with the cap worked out from the plan’s price, and it must tell you the limit in advance and alert you when you reach it EU roaming rules. You see this on Danish price pages: Oister’s free-data plan includes 40 GB in the EU, and Telenor sets a 1,000 GB fair-use limit in the EU on its free-data plan Oister Telenor. Above the limit you pay a surcharge capped by EU rules.

That covers holidays and short trips. Your provider may also check your usage over four months: if you spent more time abroad than at home and used more abroad than at home, it can ask you to explain within 14 days and then start charging extra EU roaming rules. If you move abroad but keep a Danish subscription, or live outside Denmark while using a Danish plan, the fair-use rules get tighter, so check your provider’s terms.

What if you lose your phone or change it?

Your MitID is tied to your devices, not to your phone number. The app is activated per device, so when you get a new phone, activate the MitID app on it before you wipe or hand in the old one; you can also keep the old phone as a backup authenticator, or block it if you plan to sell it MitID. Changing your number does not break MitID, but it is still worth telling your bank.

If you lose the phone, work in this order:

1. Secure the accounts first. Block the MitID app on the lost phone, ask your provider to block the SIM, and tell your bank and MobilePay, so nobody can use what is on the device MitID.
2. Get your MitID back. MitID does not use SMS codes, so a replacement SIM does not restore it. If you have another authenticator, such as a code display, audio code reader or chip, use that. If the app was your only one, activate a new MitID app: if your passport or ID card has a chip and is supported, you can scan it and your face in the app, otherwise use an activation code from a Citizen Service Centre (Borgerservice). Copying from another device only works if MitID is still active on one MitID.
3. Then replace the SIM with the same number, so calls and your bank’s messages reach you again. Contact MitID support if you get stuck; they can verify you by a valid Danish, Greenlandic or Faroese passport or driving licence number.
4. Order a code display as a backup now, before you need it.

Cancelling a subscription is usually straightforward, and Danish law caps what a provider can tie you to: in a consumer contract the binding period may not exceed six months including notice, and the notice period may be at most one month plus the current month, so you can end a six-month contract with effect from its end if you give notice in time Digitaliseringsstyrelsen. Longer binding periods are lawful only in business contracts, where small companies can be bound for up to 24 months. The new provider often cancels the old one for you when you switch, as CBB does CBB Mobil. If you bought the handset on instalments, that is a separate agreement and you normally keep paying for the phone after you cancel the subscription, so check what you still owe for the handset, and note that notice periods mean you may keep paying the old provider for a while after the switch.

What it costs and how long it takes

You can have a working Danish number the same day you arrive, and a cheaper subscription once your CPR number and MitID are in place.

Common mistakes

• Waiting weeks to get a number. Your bank, employer and MobilePay all expect a Danish number, and little else can be set up without one.
• Buying a travel eSIM and expecting a Danish number. Data-only plans give no number.
• Choosing a plan on the intro price. Check the price after two to three months.
• Switching to a brand on the same network to fix coverage. Nothing will change.
• Throwing away the SIM packaging. Keep the number and PUK code written down.
• Assuming any phone will work. All Danish 3G networks closed at the end of 2025, so your phone needs 4G and VoLTE to make calls; some older or imported phones can use data but cannot call Digitaliseringsstyrelsen.
• Closing the old SIM too early. Wait until the transfer has gone through and your bank’s codes arrive on the new SIM.

If something goes wrong

If your SIM stops working, check whether the credit has run out, then whether the plan was cancelled for non-payment. Prepaid SIMs and balances expire if unused for long enough: Lycamobile, for example, locks a SIM after three months without outgoing calls or texts and can reclaim the number permanently about a month later, so top up or use it regularly and check your brand’s terms Lycamobile.

If you lose your phone, follow the steps in the section on losing your phone above: block MitID and the SIM first, then restore MitID MitID.

If coverage inside your flat is poor but good outside, the network is probably fine and the building is the problem, which is common in older Copenhagen blocks. Ask your provider about wifi calling, and use your home broadband for calls.