Pick Airalo for most trips; pick Holafly for its refund terms and network clarity. Both now sell unlimited passes first, at similar headline prices, but Airalo was a few dollars cheaper for two weeks in 16 of the 17 destinations we could compare, publishes its fair-use cap (3 GB a day, then 1 Mbps) and puts no limit on hotspot devices. Holafly names the network more clearly, often two of them, and gives six months to claim a refund in cash. If you use under 1 GB a day, neither is good value: Nomad costs a third to half as much.
| Pick Airalo if… | Pick Holafly if… | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | You want the cheaper unlimited pass in most countries | You're in Argentina, where a 15-day pass beat two 7-day ones |
| Sharing | You'll hotspot a laptop or a partner's phone | You won't share at all |
| Fair use | You want the throttle point in writing | You're happy with "rarely applied" |
| Refunds | You'll buy again and credit is fine | You want money back, with six months to ask |
| Networks | The primary network is enough | You want two named networks where possible |
We compared both providers' public pages: prices on 31 October 2026, policies on 1 November. We didn't test either on the ground. Aventure SIM is run by the team behind Lotso Travel, a competitor of both.
Head to head · 17 destinations both sell
Airalo vs Holafly: who's cheaper for your trip?
Buying the cheapest fitting plan in all 17 destinations would cost $813.51 with Airalo and $874.50 with Holafly. A plan that stays at full speed counts as the winner over a cheaper one that slows down. Our price index's standard trip: 0.5 GB a day.
| Destination | Airalo | Holafly |
|---|---|---|
| JapanAiralo: SoftBank (+ others) · Holafly: KDDI / SoftBank | $48Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $50.50Unlimited · 15 days |
| IndonesiaAiralo: Indosat (+ others) · Holafly: XL / Telkomsel | $48Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $51.50Unlimited · 15 days |
| TanzaniaAiralo: Halotel (+ 1 other) · Holafly: Vodacom | $49Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $54.90Unlimited · 15 days |
| MoroccoAiralo: Orange (+ 1 other) · Holafly: inwi, Maroc Telecom, Orange | $49Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $59.90Unlimited · 15 days |
| PeruAiralo: Movistar · Holafly: Movistar / Claro | $44Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $45.90Unlimited · 15 days |
| ChileAiralo: Movistar (+ 1 other) · Holafly: Telefónica (Movistar) | $50Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $51.50Unlimited · 15 days |
| ArgentinaAiralo: Movistar · Holafly: Telefónica (Movistar) | $692 × Unlimited · 7 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $51.50Unlimited · 15 days |
| EcuadorAiralo: Otecel (Movistar) · Holafly: Movistar | $52Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $54.90Unlimited · 15 days |
| Costa RicaAiralo: Liberty · Holafly: Claro / Liberty | $49Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $51.50Unlimited · 15 days |
| MexicoAiralo: AT&T (unlimited); Movistar (fixed) · Holafly: Movistar / Telcel | $24.5010 GB · 15 days | $44.90Unlimited · 15 days |
| United StatesAiralo: T-Mobile (+ 1 other) · Holafly: AT&T / T-Mobile | $46Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $50.50Unlimited · 15 days |
| CanadaAiralo: Bell · Holafly: Bell / Telus | $44.01Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $50.50Unlimited · 15 days |
| IcelandAiralo: Síminn (+ 1 other) · Holafly: Nova / Sýn | $48Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $51.50Unlimited · 15 days |
| NorwayAiralo: Telia (+ 1 other) · Holafly: Telenor / Telia | $48Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $50.50Unlimited · 15 days |
| United KingdomAiralo: EE (+ 2 others) · Holafly: EE, Three, VMO2, Vodafone | $48Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $51.50Unlimited · 15 days |
| Europe (regional)Networks not named | $49Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $51.50Unlimited · 15 days |
| New ZealandAiralo: Spark · Holafly: Spark | $48Unlimited · 15 days, 3 GB/day full speed | $51.50Unlimited · 15 days |
| Policy | Airalo | Holafly |
|---|---|---|
| How it sells data | Unlimited day passes on most country pages; fixed-GB packages behind a filter | Unlimited only, sold by number of days |
| Unlimited cap | 3 GB/day, then 1 Mbps | Not published |
| Hotspot | Yes, no device limit | Capped (1 GB/day typical) |
| Phone number | Not stated on the country pages we read | No local number (Japan page: "does not include a local phone number") |
| Top-ups | Yes; packages can auto-renew when 10% of data remains | Extend by buying more days |
| Refunds | Not stated; credit only in app | 6 months |
| Support | 24/7 | 24/7 |
Cheapest plan from each provider that covers the whole trip at full speed where possible ("slows" means the daily cap is below your use). Public USD prices checked 31 Oct 2026, policies 1 Nov 2026; every price links back through the price index.
Price: close, and Airalo usually wins
Both sell unlimited data by the day, so the comparison is unusually clean. For 15 days, Airalo charged $48 in Japan, Iceland, Norway, the UK and New Zealand; Holafly charged $50.50–$51.50 in the same places. In Peru it was $44 against $45.90, in Tanzania $49 against $54.90, in Morocco $49 against $59.90.
Holafly's one win is Argentina, where Airalo's page offered no 15-day pass, so two weeks meant two 7-day passes ($69) against Holafly's $51.50. In Nepal, Airalo's 15-day pass was $79, so two 7-day passes ($70) were its cheapest two weeks; Holafly's Nepal page was in euros only, so it's not in our dollar comparison.
Switching the tool to heavier use changes very little, because both are unlimited: the total moves from $814 vs $875 to $832 vs $875. What does change the answer is going light: at 0.5 GB a day, Nomad's fixed plans were cheaper than both everywhere.
The differences that matter off the beaten path
Networks. Holafly's pages are the clearest we've read: Vodacom in Tanzania, Movistar and Claro in Peru, Bell and Telus in Canada, Nova and Sýn in Iceland. Airalo names its primary network (Halotel in Tanzania, Movistar in Peru, Bell in Canada, Síminn in Iceland) and sometimes "+ 1 other" without naming it. In Peru, a trek operator writing in June 2026 says Movistar has the best coverage on the Inca Trail and at Machu Picchu, which both offer. In Tanzania they use different operators entirely, Halotel for Airalo and Vodacom for Holafly, so it's worth checking which covers your safari circuit or mountain route. Our Kilimanjaro guide has what's known.
Fair use. Airalo publishes its number: "The default daily high-speed data threshold is 3GB", then 1 Mbps until the daily reset (policy). Holafly says operators may apply a fair-usage policy "temporarily applied for no more than one (1) day" and calls it rare, without a threshold.
Hotspot. Airalo: "There is no limit on tethering or the number of devices you connect", inside the 3 GB. Holafly: a per-destination daily allowance shown in MB (1 GB a day where we checked). For a couple on one eSIM, Airalo is the only real option of the two.
Refunds. This is Holafly's clearest win. It allows six months to ask, full refunds for unactivated eSIMs, full or partial refunds for connection problems (a $3.50 admin fee can apply, depending on how much data you used), paid back to your bank in 3–5 business days. Airalo's in-app refunds are Airmoney credit only.
Support and app. Both publish 24/7 chat and have mature iOS and Android apps. Call it a draw.
What neither does well
Neither suits a light-use trekker: two weeks of unlimited at $44–$60 buys data you'll mostly spend out of signal. And neither helps where there's no mast at all, which on the Torres del Paine W, above Namche or high on Kilimanjaro is most of the day. For that, see satellite messengers compared.
Full reviews: Airalo · Holafly · all seven providers.
Questions people ask
Is Airalo or Holafly cheaper?
Airalo, in most places. For a 14-day trip, Airalo's cheapest fitting plan was cheaper than Holafly's in 16 of the 17 destinations both sell in US dollars (Argentina was the exception), on prices read 31 Oct 2026. Across all 17, the two-week total was $814 with Airalo and $875 with Holafly.
Which is better for hotspot, Airalo or Holafly?
Airalo. Its fair-use policy says there's no limit on tethering or the number of devices; tethered data counts toward the 3 GB daily full-speed allowance. Holafly sets a daily hotspot allowance per destination, shown in MB on each page; 1 GB a day on the pages we read.
Which has the better refund policy?
Holafly. It gives up to six months to request a refund, with money back to your bank account in 3–5 business days. Airalo refunds in the app are paid in Airmoney, its in-app credit.