Gear
Kit for working from anywhere
The physical stuff and travel-ready essentials that earn their place in the bag — laptop stands, chargers, earplugs, eSIMs and ergonomics. Every price is checked against the vendor's own page, and the date we checked is on the card.
Editors' picks
Start here if you only take one thingSafetyWing Nomad Insurance
PickTravel medical cover you can start while already abroad
Price · Essential $62.72 per 4 weeks for ages 18-39; Complete $177.50 per month for ages 18-39. Prices vary by age and cover region (read 2026-07-27)
Subscription travel-medical insurance aimed at long-term travellers and remote workers, billed in four-week or monthly blocks rather than per fixed trip.
Why we recommend it
The subscription structure is the point: normal travel policies want a fixed return date, which does not fit an open-ended stint. Read the policy document rather than the marketing page — travel medical insurance is not health insurance, and what counts as a pre-existing condition or an excluded activity is where these policies actually bite. Check it covers you working, not just travelling.
Best for · open-ended trips · people who left without cover
Speedtest by Ookla
PickSettle the wifi argument in ten seconds
Price · Free. No pricing, paywall or paid tier appears anywhere on the page (read 2026-07-27)
Measures download and upload speed, latency and jitter against a nearby server, in the browser or an app.
Why we recommend it
Run it before you unpack, and run it again at the hour you actually take calls — shared building wifi at 9pm bears no relation to 9pm. Latency and jitter matter more than raw download for video calls; a 200 Mbps line with 300ms jitter will still make you unintelligible.
Best for · vetting accommodation · checking a cafe before you commit to a day
Hardware
3Anker Prime Charger (100W, 3 Ports, GaN)
One brick instead of three
Price · EUR99.99 list on Anker's Nordics store, with a time-limited coupon showing EUR48.00 at the time of checking. Price and store vary by region — anker.com redirects by location (read 2026-07-27)
A compact 3-port GaN wall charger delivering up to 100W, enough for a laptop and two other devices at once.
Why we recommend it
The practical win is weight and outlet count: hotel and rental desks often have one reachable socket, and a single 100W GaN brick means your laptop, phone and headphones all charge from it overnight. Check the plug standard for your destination separately — this is the charger, not the adapter.
Best for · anyone carrying more than one device
Loop Earplugs (Switch 2)
Turn the volume of the room down, not off
Price · Loop Switch 2 regular price EUR54.95 (read 2026-07-27)
Reusable filtered earplugs with switchable attenuation modes, so you can dial the room down without full isolation.
Why we recommend it
We prefer these to noise-cancelling headphones for two situations travel throws at you constantly: sleeping in a room on a loud street, and working somewhere you still need to hear if someone speaks to you. They also weigh nothing and do not need charging.
Best for · noisy coworking · light sleepers · long flights
Roost Laptop Stand (V3)
Eye-level screen that weighs almost nothing
Price · $69.26 for the V3 during a 20%-off banner at time of checking; other variants listed at $79.96 and $99.95. Note roostlaptopstand.com does not resolve — therooststand.com is the live official store (read 2026-07-27)
An ultralight folding stand that raises a laptop screen to eye level and packs down to roughly the size of a pen case.
Why we recommend it
The thing nobody budgets for is that a month of working hunched over a laptop on a kitchen table does real damage. A stand plus any separate keyboard fixes it, and this one is light enough that you will actually carry it rather than leaving it behind after week one.
Best for · long stays · anyone whose neck already complains
Connectivity
4Speedtest by Ookla
PickSettle the wifi argument in ten seconds
Price · Free. No pricing, paywall or paid tier appears anywhere on the page (read 2026-07-27)
Measures download and upload speed, latency and jitter against a nearby server, in the browser or an app.
Why we recommend it
Run it before you unpack, and run it again at the hour you actually take calls — shared building wifi at 9pm bears no relation to 9pm. Latency and jitter matter more than raw download for video calls; a 200 Mbps line with 300ms jitter will still make you unintelligible.
Best for · vetting accommodation · checking a cafe before you commit to a day
Holafly
Unlimited-data travel eSIM by destination
Price · Priced per destination and duration. Spain plans sampled: 3 days $11.90, 5 days $17.50, 7 days $23.90, 10 days $32.90, 15 days $44.50, 30 days $64.50 USD. Other countries differ — check your destination (read 2026-07-27)
Travel eSIMs sold as fixed-duration unlimited-data plans for a specific country or region, installed before you fly.
Why we recommend it
The unlimited framing is what makes this worth the premium over per-GB rivals if you expect to tether a laptop through it during a wifi outage. Install and activate it while you still have working wifi at home — doing it at an airport on a dying battery is how people end up paying roaming rates anyway.
Best for · heavy data users · people who tether their laptop
Nomad eSIM
Pay-per-GB data eSIMs in 200+ destinations
Price · Per-destination per-GB pricing. Public homepage examples: Italy from EUR0.61/GB, Turkey from EUR0.54/GB. Full plan pricing sits behind sign-in. Note getnomad.app now redirects here (read 2026-07-27)
Prepaid data eSIM plans priced per gigabyte across a large list of countries and regions.
Why we recommend it
Cheaper than unlimited plans if you are mostly on wifi and just need maps and messaging between spots. Be aware the detailed prices are behind a sign-in wall, so compare before you commit.
Best for · light data users · long stays where unlimited is overkill
Starlink Roam
Satellite internet where there is no line to rent
Price · Hardware from $199 in select areas; service Roam 100GB from $55/month, Roam 300GB $80/month, Roam Unlimited $175/month. The Unlimited tier includes international use in 160+ countries (read 2026-07-27)
Portable satellite internet service with hardware you carry, aimed at travel and locations without fixed broadband.
Why we recommend it
Overkill for a city trip and priced accordingly, but it is the only honest answer if your destination genuinely has no reliable line and your income depends on being online. Check the terms for your specific countries before assuming international roaming is included.
Best for · rural stays · vanlife · people who cannot risk an outage
Focus
5Brain.fm
Functional music engineered for focus
Price · $14.99/month or $99.99/year (read 2026-07-27)
Streams music built around task modes for focus, relaxation and sleep rather than a normal playlist.
Why we recommend it
The genuine remote-work use is masking an unpredictable cafe rather than any claim about brainwaves — pair it with decent headphones and an unfamiliar noisy room becomes workable. Try the trial honestly before paying; it does not suit everyone.
Best for · working in noisy cafes · people who find lyrics distracting
Endel
Adaptive soundscapes that shift as you work
Price · No price shown on endel.io itself; the checkout funnel listed EUR59.99/year (about EUR5/month), EUR12.99/month, and EUR279.99 lifetime. Funnel prices are frequently discount-gated, so confirm at checkout (read 2026-07-27)
Generates personalised soundscapes that change in real time, with modes for focus, relaxation and sleep.
Why we recommend it
We rate the sleep modes above the focus ones — the first week in a new timezone is where this earns its keep. Be aware pricing only appears once you are in the checkout flow, which we think is a mark against it.
Best for · adjusting to a new timezone · light sleepers
Freedom
Blocks the distracting sites across every device at once
Price · Free plan; $3.33/month billed yearly; $8.99/month monthly; $99.50 one-off lifetime (listed as 50% off $199) (read 2026-07-27)
Schedules blocking sessions that apply simultaneously to your laptop, phone and tablet so you cannot simply switch device.
Why we recommend it
The cross-device part is the bit that actually works; single-device blockers just move the problem into your hand. Worth it if your focus problem is genuinely compulsive rather than environmental.
Best for · people who reach for the phone when work gets hard
Raycast
Run everything from one keystroke
Price · Free forever; Pro $10/month or $8/month billed annually; Teams Pro $15/user/month or $12/month annually; Advanced AI add-on +$8/month (read 2026-07-27)
A macOS launcher and command palette for searching, running app actions, extensions, snippets and AI prompts without leaving the keyboard.
Why we recommend it
A marginal-gains tool rather than a necessity, but the clipboard history and snippets pay for themselves when you are re-typing the same address and reference numbers into visa and booking forms. Free tier covers most of it.
Best for · Mac users · people who live in the keyboard
RescueTime
Find out where the day actually went
Price · Solo Focus $7/month billed annually ($84/year) or $9 monthly; Solo+ Timesheets + Focus $12/month annually ($144/year); Team Focus $10/user/month annually ($120/year) (read 2026-07-27)
Runs in the background categorising the apps and sites you use, then reports how your time was really spent and can block distractions during focus sessions.
Why we recommend it
Useful precisely once you have been somewhere a few weeks and the novelty has worn off — it will tell you honestly whether you are working four hours or nine. Be aware it is always-on monitoring of your own machine; some people find that uncomfortable.
Best for · people who suspect the day is leaking
Health & wellbeing
4SafetyWing Nomad Insurance
PickTravel medical cover you can start while already abroad
Price · Essential $62.72 per 4 weeks for ages 18-39; Complete $177.50 per month for ages 18-39. Prices vary by age and cover region (read 2026-07-27)
Subscription travel-medical insurance aimed at long-term travellers and remote workers, billed in four-week or monthly blocks rather than per fixed trip.
Why we recommend it
The subscription structure is the point: normal travel policies want a fixed return date, which does not fit an open-ended stint. Read the policy document rather than the marketing page — travel medical insurance is not health insurance, and what counts as a pre-existing condition or an excluded activity is where these policies actually bite. Check it covers you working, not just travelling.
Best for · open-ended trips · people who left without cover
Headspace
Guided meditation, sleep and focus
Price · Annual EUR57.99/yr shown discounted to EUR34.79/yr (about EUR2.90/month) under a limited-time 40%-off first-year offer; monthly EUR12.99 with 7 days free. EUR pricing served to our location (read 2026-07-27)
Structured guided meditation courses plus sleep and focus audio.
Why we recommend it
The structured courses suit people who have never meditated and want telling what to do, which is most of us. Note the headline annual price is a first-year promotion — it renews higher, so diarise the renewal date.
Best for · first-time meditators · people struggling to switch off abroad
Insight Timer
An enormous free meditation library
Price · Core library free; Member Plus described on the page as US$60 a year, unlocking Insight Courses and premium features (read 2026-07-27)
A very large library of free guided meditations, talks and sleep audio, with an optional paid tier for courses.
Why we recommend it
The free tier here is vastly larger than most apps' paid tiers, so it is the sensible first thing to try before subscribing to anything. Loneliness and disrupted sleep are the two most common things that end a remote stint early, and this costs nothing to keep on your phone.
Best for · people who won't pay for meditation · insomnia in new timezones
Strava
Keeps you moving when the routine disappears
Price · Free tier available; subscription EUR10.99/month or EUR69.99/year; Strava + Runna plan EUR149.99/year. Prices are country-specific and this page served EU rates (read 2026-07-27)
Activity tracking for running, cycling and other exercise, with a social feed, routes and segments.
Why we recommend it
The route-discovery side is the genuinely useful part in an unfamiliar city — you can see where locals actually run rather than guessing from a map. When the gym routine and the commute both vanish, having something that notices you have not moved in four days is worth more than it sounds.
Best for · runners and cyclists · exploring a new city on foot
Need the software side too?
The full resource library covers VPNs, tax tools, project management and everything else — filtered by what it's for, what it costs, and when in the move it earns its place.