Ever since Russian services started cutting off foreign IPs, people living abroad have had two working tools: a Russian SIM in roaming and a VPN exiting through a Russian server. The official advice pushes the first; we, obviously, build the second — so let's compare them honestly, point by point.
How each one works
A SIM in roaming. The phone's traffic flows through the Russian carrier's infrastructure, and the IP stays Russian. To the services you are "home" — but only on that one device, and only while the roaming is paid for.
A VPN with a Russian IP. The app builds an encrypted tunnel to a server in Russia, and any device's traffic — phone, laptop, TV — travels through it. To the services you are "home" too, and the SIM plays no part at all.
Point by point
| Criterion | SIM in roaming | VPN Russia |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Roaming tariffs run several times above local service | A flat subscription |
| Traffic | Since May 2026 — a 15 GB/month cap on international traffic, then ~150 ₽/GB | No caps |
| SMS codes | ✅ They arrive — the trump card | ❌ Can't deliver them |
| Devices | Only the phone holding that SIM | Phone, tablet, laptop, TV |
| Streaming and video | The cap dies in a couple of evenings | Watch as much as you like |
| Reliability | Roaming is shaky in parts of Asia and the Middle East | Works over any local internet |
| If the SIM is already gone | Restoring it means a trip to Russia | Works right away |
When roaming is irreplaceable
In exactly one scenario: receiving SMS codes from banks and Gosuslugi. It is the one thing a VPN physically cannot do — we broke that down separately. And for this role the SIM needs no data plan at all: a minimal tariff, and incoming SMS in roaming are free with most carriers.
When the VPN wins
In every other one: daily work with Gosuslugi and the banks, Kinopoisk in the evening, the work laptop, the TV. Pushing all of that through roaming means hitting the cap in the first week and paying per gigabyte after.
The verdict: not "or" but "and"
The optimal 2026 setup is a hybrid where each tool does what it does best:
- A Russian SIM on the cheapest tariff — lives in the phone for the SMS codes, with data switched off.
- VPN Russia — all the traffic on every device: banks, government portals, streaming.
That way the roaming caps never touch you, the codes arrive, and Russian services work on every screen.