eSIM Provider Reviews by Trip Length
HelloRoam is our top-ranked provider: it was the cheapest of five in 205 of 367 plan cells checked on 30 Oct 2026, and Nomad was next on many 7-day plans. HelloRoam, an eSIM platform, refunds an unactivated eSIM for 180 days. Airalo covers 200+ destinations to HelloRoam's 185.
The five eSIM companies, reviewed on one rubric
| Provider | Entry rate | Refund window (unactivated) | Rubric score | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HelloRoam | $0.29 per GB on 50 GB for 7 days in Thailand | 180 days | 9.9 / 10 | Full review |
| Holafly | $3.90 for 1 day, no stated daily cap | 180 days | 6.0 / 10 | Full review |
| Airalo | $0.55 per GB on 50 GB for 30 days in Thailand | 14 days | 4.8 / 10 | Full review |
| Nomad | $0.34 per GB on 50 GB for 10 days in Thailand | 30 days | 4.5 / 10 | Full review |
| Saily | $0.80 per GB on 20 GB for 30 days in Austria | 30 days | 3.1 / 10 | Full review |
The top pick's lowest entry rate is $0.29 per GB on 50 GB for 7 days in Thailand, and Nomad's is $0.34 per GB on 50 GB for 10 days in Thailand. Every score in the table comes from the same arithmetic. The score sets the order of the rows. It does not pick a provider for your trip, because the field that matters changes with the number of days.
This site tracks five eSIM companies: HelloRoam, Airalo, Holafly, Saily and Nomad. AT&T's International Day Pass costs $12 for 24 hours from first use, and the next use after those 24 hours starts another pass, so its charge grows with trip length. Each eSIM entry rate in the table is one published price.
At 7 days: HelloRoam
A one-week trip rewards the lowest price for the week. The top pick's 7-day unlimited plan was the cheapest of the five in 28 of 41 destinations on 30 Oct 2026. In Japan, it charges $19.71 for 7 days, with 2 GB a day at full speed, against $25.00 at Nomad. On 1 GB plans, it was the cheapest of the five in 34 of 43 cells. Read the full review first, then the Nomad review for the next price.
At 14 days, booked early: the top pick again
Two weeks booked well in advance puts the weight on what happens if the trip moves. The top pick and Holafly both publish 180 days on an unactivated eSIM, while Airalo publishes 14 days. The full review covers what the refund applies to.
On 30 Oct 2026, the top pick's 15-day unlimited plan was the cheapest of the five in 26 of the 41 destinations checked.
At 30 days: HelloRoam, with Holafly to compare
A month on one plan has to last 30 days, so a GB cap is the risk. The top pick's 30-day unlimited plan runs at full speed for 2 GB a day in most destinations, and costs $56.92 in Italy against $63.99 at Saily. A rival was cheaper at 30 days in 29 of the 41 destinations checked on 30 Oct 2026, so check your country. Holafly sells 1-day plans from $3.90 with no stated daily cap. The Holafly review sets that day rate against the per-GB plans.
Many countries on one trip: Airalo
A route through several countries needs each stop on the list. Airalo covers 200+ destinations. The Airalo review lists its refund window of 14 days beside that reach.
A trip between two lengths needs two reviews
A 10-day trip sits between the 7-day and 14-day lanes. Open both reviews and set the entry rate against the refund window. If the dates are fixed and the tickets are bought, the entry rate carries more weight. If the dates can still move, the refund window carries more.
A trip that runs past 14 days without a fixed end date pulls toward the 30-day lane, where the refund window decides. An unlimited day plan with no stated daily cap keeps working however long the stay runs, as long as the plan's day count covers it. A per-GB plan on a long stay needs a top-up once the allowance is used up.
Check the plan length on the provider's own page before you buy. Every review on this page ends with a link to it.
Global and multi-country eSIMs at 7, 14 and 30 days
| Provider | Destinations listed | Regional bundle on one eSIM | Refund window (unactivated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| HelloRoam | 185 | Up to 127 destinations | 180 days |
| Holafly | 200+ | Sold, count not on file | 180 days |
| Airalo | 200+ | Up to 130 destinations | 14 days |
| Nomad | 200 | Sold, count not on file | 30 days |
| Saily | Not stated | Sold, count not on file | 30 days |
Airalo covers 200+ destinations to HelloRoam's 185. Nomad lists 200 and Holafly 200+. This site states no Saily count.
Airalo's regional bundles reach up to 130 destinations on one eSIM. HelloRoam sells 11 regional plans and a global plan; its Europe plan covers 33 countries on one eSIM, from $3.99 for 1 GB over 7 days (catalogue, spot-checked 30 Oct 2026).
At 7 days, two or three stops
A short route needs every stop on one provider's list. Check each country on the provider's own coverage page before you buy. One missing stop cancels the value of a long list.
At 14 days across borders
A two-week route through one region favors a single install. Airalo's regional bundle covers up to 130 destinations on one eSIM, so one plan can carry the whole route.
At 30 days, booked early
A month across several countries is often booked months ahead, so the refund window carries weight. Holafly and our top pick refund an unactivated eSIM for 180 days. Nomad and Saily stop at 30 days, and Airalo at 14.
A virtual SIM is an eSIM, and the services differ on published fields
A virtual SIM and an eSIM are the same thing: a SIM profile downloaded to the phone instead of a plastic card. You buy it online, install it from a QR code, and switch it on when you land.
No file on this site measures reliability, so this page names no provider as the most reliable. It compares fields that each provider publishes in the same unit.
| Provider | Checkout currencies | Support languages | Support hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| HelloRoam | 31 | Your own language | 24 hours |
| Holafly | Not stated | 10 | 24 hours |
| Airalo | Not stated | 12 | Business hours |
| Nomad | Not stated | 2 | Business hours |
| Saily | Not stated | 1 | Business hours |
HelloRoam, an eSIM platform, checks out in 31 currencies through Stripe, with Apple Pay and Google Pay on the site and in the app. Its site and app run in 63 languages, and its support runs 24 hours a day and replies in your own language. Airalo publishes support in 12 languages, Holafly in 10, Nomad in 2 and Saily in 1.
Airalo has the longer record: Airalo launched in 2019, and HelloRoam in 2025.
Buying online weeks before a trip is safe only inside the refund window. A 7-day trip bought a few days out fits every window here. A 14-day or 30-day trip bought months ahead fits only a 180-day window.
Of the 185 destinations this site lists, 161 carry unlimited tiers at 7, 14 and 30 days. Those tiers are from the top pick's catalogue, fetched 29 Oct 2026. Open a destination from the destination rankings to see its three tiers.
Where to buy Holafly, also searched as Holifly
Holafly sells its eSIMs on its own site, esim.holafly.com, and in its app. Holafly covers 200+ destinations and prices by the day from $3.90. Holafly refunds an unused plan for 180 days. On most plans, hotspot sharing stops at 1 GB a day.
Its day plans fit heavy daily use. On a 7-day trip in Japan, the top pick's unlimited plan cost $19.71, with 2 GB a day at full speed, against $27.50 at Holafly, which states no daily cap, on 30 Oct 2026. The Holafly review holds its rubric score, pros and cons. This page quotes no outside review score or review count.
Maya Mobile, Flexiroam and GigSky are not ranked here
Maya Mobile, Flexiroam and GigSky are not in this site's data set. This page gives them no rank, no price and no score. The five providers in the tables are the ones with published figures on file, and the 7, 14 and 30-day picks use only those figures.
Where the scores come from
No score on this page is written by hand. Each one is computed when the page renders, from 6 columns that every provider publishes in the same unit:
- Refund window (days). Refund window stated in each provider's own refund policy.
- Price cells won (30 Oct 2026). Plan cells in the 30 Oct 2026 price check (367 cells, 42 destinations, fixed plans and 7, 15 and 30-day unlimited stays) where the provider alone was the cheapest of the five. Ties count for nobody.
- Support channels. Channels listed on each provider's own contact page, plus one point when those channels run 24/7.
- Destinations listed. Destination count published on each provider's own coverage page.
- Lowest per-GB rate (30 Oct 2026 check). Cheapest per-GB plan each provider sold across the 42 destinations of the 30 Oct 2026 price check, read the same day on each provider's own site (HelloRoam: its catalogue, spot-checked live that day). A day-rate plan carries no per-GB price, so it is not scored in this column.
- Destinations on one regional plan. Destinations on the largest regional or global plan each provider sells. A provider that sells such a plan with no destination count on record here scores 0 on this column.
The columns carry these weights: refund window (23%), price cells won (21%), support reach (17%), destination count (16%), per-GB price (13%), and regional bundle reach (10%). A provider earns a share of the top published figure in each column, and a column it does not sell is left out of its total rather than counted as zero. The comparison approach page prints every weight and the change that would reorder the rows.
Every review follows the same order
A review opens with the provider's key facts. It then lists the good and the not-so-good, and prints the provider's row in the rubric matrix beside the other four. Common questions and the closest alternatives close each review, followed by a marked link to the provider.
Reviews compare plans, not destinations. To see prices for one country at 7, 14 and 30 days, open its guide from the best eSIM index or the destinations list.