Three networks, one registration rule, and a decision that is really about time rather than money. That is the whole of buying a Moroccan SIM.
The three networks
Morocco has three mobile operators. Maroc Telecom is the largest and the oldest, with the widest reach outside the cities. Orange Maroc is the French group’s Moroccan arm, strong in the cities and generally well regarded for data. inwi is the youngest and competes hardest on price, which makes it attractive for a short trip where coverage in the deep south does not matter.
All three sell prepaid cards, all three have shops in the main cities, and all three are regulated by the national telecommunications agency, which is also the body that mandates registration.
For a visitor the practical difference between them is smaller than the marketing suggests. In Marrakech, Casablanca, Fes, Tangier and Agadir, any of the three will do what you need. If you are heading into the Atlas, the desert or the far south, Maroc Telecom’s reach is the one worth paying a little more for.
The registration rule
Morocco registers prepaid SIM cards against an identity document. For a Moroccan that means a national identity card. For a visitor it means a passport, and the shop will scan or photograph it as part of the sale.
This is not a formality you can talk your way around, and it is the reason a card cannot simply be handed to you across a counter. It also means the process takes as long as the paperwork takes, which in a busy airport with a full flight behind you can be a while.
The same rule applies wherever you buy, so a small shop in the medina is not a way to skip it. It may, however, be a way to skip the queue.
What it costs, in money and in time
Two costs, and the second is the one people forget.
The money is modest by European standards. A prepaid SIM itself is cheap, a data bundle is cheap, and the total for a week of browsing, maps and messaging is a small fraction of what a European operator charges for roaming. Prices change, and they are set per bundle rather than per card, so treat any figure you read online as a shape rather than a number.
The time is the real cost. Finding the shop, queueing, registering, having the card activated, checking that data works: ten minutes in a network shop on a quiet morning, and closer to an hour at an airport counter when a widebody has just landed. Shops also keep shop hours, which matters if you land at eleven at night.
Where to buy
Three places, in ascending order of convenience and descending order of speed.
A network shop in a city costs the least and is usually the fastest, because the staff register SIM cards all day and have it down to a routine.
A small phone shop is fine and often open later, and some of them will register you as readily as a network shop. Look for a shop with network signage rather than a market stall.
The airport is the easiest place to find and the slowest to use when a flight has arrived. If you land at a quiet hour it is quick. If you land at a busy one, it is the longest part of your arrival.
The honest comparison
A local SIM does something a travel eSIM cannot: it gives you a Moroccan phone number. That matters if you want a riad to call you back, if you are booking a taxi by phone, or if you want locals to be able to reach you on a number they recognise.
A travel eSIM does something a local SIM cannot: it works the moment you land, with nothing to find, no passport to hand over and no queue. It is data only, so calls go through apps.
Which of those is worth more is a question about your trip rather than about technology. A fortnight touring the country leans towards a local number. A long weekend, or an arrival at midnight, leans towards an eSIM installed before you fly.
What a Moroccan SIM cannot do
Two limits are worth knowing before you buy, because both surprise people.
The first is that a Moroccan SIM is registered to you and cannot simply be passed on. If a friend wants to use it, or you want to leave it with someone at the end of the trip, the registration still points at your passport. That is the purpose of the rule, and it also means that replacing a lost card involves going back to a shop with your passport rather than buying one off a shelf.
The second is that it does not travel. A Moroccan SIM works in Morocco. Cross into Ceuta or Melilla, or take a ferry to Spain, and it either stops working or becomes expensive. If your trip includes a hop to Europe, a plan that covers both is the cheaper arrangement.
One habit that saves trouble
Whichever route you take, keep your own line switched on so that it can receive text messages, and keep its data roaming switched off.
Bank codes, card confirmations and security checks arrive by SMS to your own number. A phone whose own line is off will not receive them, and the moment you need one is always the moment you cannot get one. Data goes on the Moroccan card or the eSIM, messages stay on your own line, and the two do not interfere.
One last practical note, and it catches people out. Prepaid credit expires if it is not used for a while, so a Moroccan SIM bought for one trip may be dormant by the next. If you plan to return, keep the card, and reactivate it when you land rather than buying a new one.