Nomad and Saily scored highest (3.9 out of 5), followed by Ubigi (3.5). Nomad is the cheapest for most trips and names every network; Saily is the best for sharing data and the only one with a phone-number add-on; Ubigi wins in Patagonia and has the most usable unlimited cap. Airalo, Holafly and Maya Mobile are better for heavy users than for trekkers. Lotso Travel is run by our team, so it's assessed on the same criteria but not given an overall score.
Every review on this site uses the same six criteria, the same price data and the same sources, and you can sort the table below by any of them. Price is weighted heaviest (30%) and is computed from our price index, not typed in: it's the median cost of each provider's cheapest sensible plan across our 18 destinations, relative to the cheapest provider in each, for a light and a heavy two-week trip. The other five criteria are scored from each provider's own published policies, with the reasoning written next to every score. The full rubric is on the methodology page.
Seven eSIM providers · sortable
Scores, prices and policies side by side
| Details | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nomad | 3.9 | 9/18 | $19 | Excellent | 30 days | |
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| Saily | 3.9 | 0/18 | $28.49 | Weak | 30 days | |
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| Ubigi | 3.5 | 3/5 | $19 | Weak | 14 business days | |
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| Airalo | 3.2 | 0/18 | $48 | Good | Not stated; credit only in app | |
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| Holafly | 3.1 | 0/17 | $51.50 | Excellent | 6 months | |
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| Maya Mobile | 3.1 | 1/18 | $27.99 | Poor | No deadline stated | |
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| Lotso TravelOurs | Not scored | 5/18 | $30.99 | No | "e.g., 14 days" (an example) | |
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Score: our six-part rubric out of 5 (how we score). We run Lotso Travel, so it gets the same criteria in words but no overall score. "Cheapest in" counts destinations where the provider had the cheapest 14-day plan for 0.5 GB a day; "Typical 14 days" is its median price for that trip across the destinations we could price. "More" opens each provider's unlimited cap, hotspot, phone-number and support policies. Prices checked 31 Oct 2026; policies 1 Nov 2026.
The seven reviews
Why price isn't the whole score
The cheapest eSIM in a city isn't always the right one on a trek. Three things matter more off the beaten path than they do in a capital:
- Which local network you're on. On the Everest trail, trip reports say NTC holds a signal higher up than Ncell; in Argentine Patagonia, a local guide points to Claro reaching further than Movistar, which most eSIMs use. A provider that names its network lets you plan; one that doesn't leaves you guessing. That's 15% of the score.
- Whether you can share and top up. On a trip with a partner, one eSIM with hotspot is often cheaper than two. That's another 15%.
- What happens when it goes wrong. You'll install an eSIM at the airport or in a trailhead town with patchy Wi-Fi. A 30-day refund window and support that answers at 3 am your time are worth paying for. Refunds and support together are 25%.
What these reviews are, and aren't
We compared published prices, policies and coverage information, read from each provider's own pages: prices on 31 October 2026 and policies on 1 November 2026. We didn't buy or test these eSIMs or measure speeds, and we say so on every review. When a provider's pages contradict each other (Maya Mobile's "no speed caps" marketing against its help centre's 10 Mbps throttle, for example), we quote both.
Aventure SIM is run by the team behind Lotso Travel, which competes with every provider here. We don't take affiliate commissions from anyone. How we keep that conflict from bending the reviews is on the methodology page; the head-to-head comparisons apply the same data to the pairs people search for most.