The eSIM you bought at the airport gate works. That is not usually the problem. The problem is the one discovered three days later, standing outside a station trying to tether a laptop, when it turns out hotspot was never included and the plan you compared on price per gigabyte was the one plan that quietly disallows it.
Six providers below. Price per gigabyte is the only directly comparable number in this market, so that is where the table starts — but most of what goes wrong on a trip is not in it, so most of this piece is about the rest.
The Short Version
- There is no overall winner, and anyone claiming one is guessing at your trip. The cheapest provider changes with destination, duration and how much data you actually use.
- Light users and heavy users should buy from different companies. The lowest entry price and the lowest cost per gigabyte are almost never the same provider.
- Hotspot is the most common nasty surprise. Unlimited plans in particular often exclude tethering, which is exactly when you need it.
- A travel eSIM gives you data, not a phone number. Your usual number stays reachable on your physical SIM only if you leave it enabled, and roaming charges follow.
- Check the destination’s rules before the price. Turkey’s regulator has blocked the storefronts of most major travel eSIM providers since mid-2025, which no comparison table will save you from.
The Only Number Worth Comparing
Plans are sold in incomparable shapes — 1GB for seven days, 10GB for thirty, unlimited for a week — so the only way to line them up is to divide price by gigabytes and look at the result. Do that and the market sorts itself clearly: entry plans are expensive per gigabyte and large plans are cheap, with the spread running from roughly $1 to well over $5 per gigabyte for the same destination.
Which is why the single most useful thing you can do before buying is estimate your actual consumption. Maps, messaging and the occasional search is one to two gigabytes a week. Add social media and it doubles. Add video, music streaming or tethering a laptop for work and you are into ten gigabytes a week territory, at which point the pricing logic inverts completely and the provider you would have picked for a weekend city break becomes the expensive one.
Three things the per-gigabyte figure hides. Whether hotspot is permitted. Whether you can top up in place or must buy an entirely new plan. And whether “unlimited” has a fair-use throttle, which it almost always does.
The Six, at a Glance
| Provider | Model | Roughly | Hotspot | Strongest for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airalo | Fixed data packs | About $3/GB at 10GB | Usually yes | Widest destination coverage |
| Nomad | Fixed data packs | About $2.30/GB at 10GB | Yes | Heavier use at good value |
| Ubigi | Fixed data packs | Often the lowest per GB | Yes, unlimited | Tethering and laptops |
| Saily | Fixed data packs | From about $4.99 for 1GB | Varies | Short trips, light use |
| Holafly | Unlimited, time-based | Flat daily rate | Often not included | Heavy single-device use |
| Roamless | Pay as you go credits | About $2.45/GB | Yes | Unpredictable trips |
Indicative figures gathered in October 2026 and converted to a per-gigabyte basis for comparison. Prices vary substantially by destination and change frequently, and much of the published comparison in this category is affiliate-funded, so check the provider’s own checkout for your specific country before buying.
The Six, in Detail
1. Airalo
The biggest name, and the one with the widest reach — comfortably over 160 destinations, which means it is the provider most likely to simply have the country you are going to.
For a multi-country trip that crosses regions, or for somewhere obscure, the coverage breadth is worth paying for. The app is mature, installation is as close to painless as this category gets, and regional bundles cover most of a continent on one plan.
Where it falls down: per gigabyte at volume it is among the more expensive here, running around $3 per gigabyte on a 10GB pack where competitors are closer to $2. If you are a heavy user going somewhere well-served, you are paying a premium for coverage you do not need.
2. Nomad
The value option once you are buying real quantities of data. On a 10GB month-long pack it works out around $2.30 per gigabyte, and its regional bundles get cheaper still at scale.
Hotspot is supported, which combined with the pricing makes it the sensible default for anyone working while travelling. Coverage is good without matching Airalo’s breadth, and the app handles multiple active plans cleanly.
Where it falls down: the small plans are unremarkable, so for a three-day city break there is no advantage. Coverage gaps are more likely than with Airalo in less-travelled countries.
3. Ubigi
Consistently among the cheapest per gigabyte, and the one that behaves best if you intend to tether. Unlimited hotspot on its plans is the specific reason to pick it over cheaper-looking rivals.
It also has an unusual advantage: Ubigi is pre-installed as a provider on a number of recent laptops and tablets with built-in cellular, so on those devices there is no app and no QR code, just a plan purchase. For anyone carrying a cellular iPad or a Windows laptop with a modem, that is a genuinely different experience from the rest of this list.
Where it falls down: the brand is less visible, the interface is plainer, and the country list is narrower than Airalo’s. Europe coverage is strong; some regions are thinner.
4. Saily
From the company behind NordVPN, and the friendliest entry point for a short trip — around $4.99 for a gigabyte, with regional plans covering dozens of countries on one purchase.
It bundles a VPN and ad blocking into the app, which is a reasonable fit for the actual use case: joining unfamiliar networks in airports and hotels. If you already trust the parent company’s products, the integration is tidy.
Where it falls down: the entry pricing that makes it attractive for a weekend does not scale, and at larger data volumes it is beaten clearly by Nomad and Ubigi. Check hotspot support on the specific plan rather than assuming.
5. Holafly
The one that sells time rather than data. You buy a number of days of unlimited use at a flat daily rate, which removes the anxiety of watching a counter and is genuinely pleasant on a holiday where you intend to use maps and video without thinking.
For a single phone on a long trip with heavy use, the maths can work out well against buying gigabytes. The pricing is also easy to understand, which in this market counts for something.
Where it falls down: two significant caveats. “Unlimited” carries a fair-use ceiling, reported around 90GB a month, beyond which speeds drop. And hotspot is frequently not included at all, which makes it a poor choice for anyone travelling with a laptop or sharing with a partner. On a light-use trip the flat rate is also simply worse value than a small data pack.
6. Roamless
A different model again: you buy credit rather than a plan, pay roughly $2.45 per gigabyte as you use it, and the credit does not expire.
That suits two situations unusually well. Trips where you have no idea how much data you will need, and frequent travellers who would otherwise buy a fresh plan every few weeks and waste the remainder each time. Nothing is stranded at the end of a trip.
Where it falls down: the per-gigabyte rate is mid-table rather than best, so for a predictable heavy trip a Nomad or Ubigi pack is cheaper. It is also a smaller operation with less of a track record than the names above.
What Actually Goes Wrong
- Your phone cannot take an eSIM, or is locked. Most phones from roughly 2019 onward can, but a carrier-locked handset may refuse regardless. Check both before you are at an airport.
- You install it at the destination with no connection. Installation needs internet. Install before you fly and activate on arrival — every provider supports this and most travellers get it the wrong way round once.
- Hotspot is off. The single most common complaint, and concentrated among unlimited plans. If you carry a laptop, treat tethering as a hard requirement and verify it on the plan page.
- Nobody can call you. A data eSIM has no usable number. Keep your physical SIM active for calls and texts, with data roaming switched off, or accept that you are reachable only over internet messaging.
- The destination blocks it. Turkey’s telecommunications regulator has blocked the storefronts of most major travel eSIM providers since July 2025. Buy before you arrive, or expect it not to work.
- Topping up is not possible. Some providers let you add data to a running plan; others require a fresh purchase and a fresh install. Running out mid-trip is the moment you discover which.
How to Choose
- Estimate your weekly data honestly. Check your phone’s usage for a typical week at home. Travel use is usually higher, because you navigate more.
- Decide if you need hotspot. Laptop, tablet or travelling companion means yes, and it eliminates several otherwise attractive options.
- Convert every candidate to price per gigabyte. Divide the plan price by the gigabytes. It takes a minute and is the only honest comparison.
- Check the country, not the region. Regional bundles have gaps, and the gap is sometimes the one country you are actually visiting.
- Install before you fly, activate on landing. Non-negotiable, and the cause of most first-time trouble.
- Keep your home SIM for calls. Data off, calls on. Your bank’s one-time passcodes still arrive by SMS to that number more often than you would like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I keep my normal phone number?
Yes, on your physical SIM, which stays in the phone and keeps working for calls and texts. Most travel eSIMs are data-only and give you no number of your own. The usual setup is physical SIM active for calls with data roaming disabled, eSIM carrying all the data.
Is an eSIM cheaper than my network’s roaming add-on?
Usually, and sometimes by an enormous margin outside your home region. Within the EU, for EU residents, roam-like-at-home rules often make your own tariff the better deal and an eSIM unnecessary. Outside it, daily roaming charges of several pounds or dollars add up fast against a plan costing a few dollars per gigabyte.
Does unlimited really mean unlimited?
No. Every unlimited plan carries a fair-use policy, and the practical ceiling is typically somewhere in the tens of gigabytes per month, after which speeds are reduced rather than cut off. For normal travel use you will not reach it; if you intend to work remotely on it for a month, read the policy first.
Can I use one eSIM across several countries?
Yes, with a regional or global plan, and it is usually the right choice for a multi-country trip. Check the included country list rather than the region name, because coverage within a region is rarely complete and the exclusions are not advertised.
What happens when the data runs out?
The connection stops. Some providers let you top up an existing plan from the app, which is seamless; others require buying and installing a new one, which requires internet you no longer have. Find out which yours does before you need to know, and if in doubt buy slightly more data than you expect to use.
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