Compare · Tello and prepaid SIMs
Tello or Cleat for your US codes when you live abroad
You live outside the US and still have accounts that text a code to a US number. A friend says: just get a Tello SIM, it's cheap. They might be right. Here's the honest comparison, and it starts with what a prepaid plan does better.
By the Cleat team · Updated September 15, 2026
Who this is for
People abroad whose main problem is receiving codes: the bank, the brokerage, a card, PayPal, the tax portal. If you also want to call your mum in Ohio or text your landlord in Denver, read the next section first. It may settle it.
What Tello does better
- It's a real phone plan. You get a number you can call from and text from, in an actual phone. Cleat Line does none of that: it only receives.
- Calls ring. Someone calls, you pick up. On a Cleat line nothing rings, and an incoming call reaches you afterwards as a transcript.
- You can text back. Plenty of things want a reply: a delivery driver, a doctor's office, a two-way confirmation. Cleat can't send one.
- Price. Prepaid plans are built to be cheap. Check Tello's own site for today's prices; if the plan you'd pick costs less than $24.99 a month, that's a real point in its favour.
If calls or replies are part of what you need, a prepaid SIM is the better fit today, and Cleat isn't trying to talk you out of it.
Where a SIM gets awkward from abroad
The number lives in a SIM or eSIM, and that SIM lives in a phone. That's fine until you're in Lisbon, your bank texts a code, and the US line is in the old phone in a drawer at home. A few other things to know before you buy:
- Activation. Tello's help centre says its eSIM must be activated while “physically located within the United States” (Tello). If you've already moved, that matters.
- Roaming and long stays. Carriers set their own rules for using a US plan abroad for months at a time. Read the terms of the exact plan before you rely on it.
- One phone, one person. A code on a SIM reaches whoever holds that phone. Your partner or accountant can't see it unless you forward it by hand.
- A spare phone or a second slot. You need a phone with room for the US line alongside your local one, and it has to be on and connected when the code comes.
The part that's the same
Both are mobile lines, not internet numbers. That's the thing services check before they send a code, and it's why both usually get codes that Google Voice or TextNow don't. How line-type checks work. Neither one can promise every service will accept it. No provider can.
Side by side
| Tello (prepaid SIM or eSIM) | Cleat Line | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A prepaid mobile phone plan | A receive-only US mobile line in a web inbox |
| Line type | Mobile | Mobile, not VoIP |
| Price | See Tello's site for current plans | $24.99 a month, or $249.90 a year; cancel anytime |
| Calls and sending texts | Yes | No. Incoming calls arrive as transcripts |
| Needs a phone | Yes, with a SIM slot or eSIM | No. Any browser, email, Telegram, Slack, Teams, webhooks or the API |
| Set up from abroad | Tello's eSIM activates only “physically located within the United States” | Yes, with a government ID |
| Who sees the codes | Whoever holds the phone | Everyone you invite to the shared inbox, free |
| Owner | The plan's account holder | A person verified with a government ID |
How to decide
- You need to call or reply to people in the US. Get the prepaid SIM.
- You only need codes, and you're already abroad. A Cleat line is less hassle: nothing to activate in the US, no second phone to keep charged.
- Several people need the same codes, like a couple with a joint account or a small team. Cleat's shared inbox does that; a SIM doesn't.
- You want both. Plenty of people keep a cheap plan for calls and put the accounts that matter on a Cleat line.
Moving your codes over
- Sign up, verify your identity (about two minutes) and subscribe. The number is live right away.
- On each account, add the new number or swap it in, then log out and back in to test it. Do the bank first, while the old number still works.
- Connect Telegram, email or Slack so a code reaches you wherever you are.
- Keep the old number active until every account has been moved and tested.
Still weighing everything? See how to keep a US number when you move abroad, Cleat for expats and non-residents and pricing.
Questions
Is Tello cheaper than Cleat?
It may well be. Check Tello's current prices on its own site. The difference is what you get: a phone plan that calls and texts, against a receive-only line with no phone needed and a shared inbox.
Can I activate a Tello eSIM from outside the US?
Tello's help centre says its eSIM must be activated while physically located within the United States. Check with Tello for your situation.
Can I port my Tello number to Cleat?
Not today. Cleat assigns a new US mobile number, and you can't choose the area code.
Will my bank send codes to a Cleat number?
Most services that refuse internet numbers accept a real mobile line. No provider can promise that every one does, so test yours in the first month and cancel if it doesn't fit.
What if a service reads the code out over a call?
The call is transcribed and lands in your inbox like a text, with the code pulled out. You can't answer it or call back.
Sources
Facts about other companies come from their own pages, checked in September 2026.
- Tello Help Center, activating an eSIM outside the US https://tello.com/help_center/how-to-activate-an-esim-outside-the-us
- Twilio, Lookup Line Type Intelligence https://www.twilio.com/docs/lookup/v2-api/line-type-intelligence