Lotso Travel review: our own eSIM, with its weak spots

Aventure SIM is run by the team behind Lotso Travel. That's why this review has no overall score and no star rating: a company scoring its own product isn't a review anyone should trust, and search engines treat it that way too. Lotso gets the same six criteria as every other review, described in words, and the same price data from our price index, pulled from the same file.

What Lotso is, and how it sells data

Lotso sells eSIMs for "190+ countries" at lotsotravel.com. Like most eSIM brands, it sells carrier data through wholesale partners under its own catalogue and prices. There are two kinds of plan:

• Fixed data per country: 1, 3, 5, 10 or 20 GB, each valid for 5, 10, 15 or 30 days. This is where Lotso is competitive.
• Daily plans: 2, 3 or 5 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps for the rest of the day, for 5 to 30 days. These are Lotso's answer to "unlimited", and they're honest about the cap, but they aren't open-ended unlimited.

Lotso also sells at a lower price to people who arrive through a referral link. Everywhere on this site we compare its public price, because that's what a visitor sees and what competitors' public prices should be measured against.

Where Lotso is cheapest, and where it isn't

On our standard trip (14 days at 0.5 GB a day, so 7 GB), Lotso was the cheapest of seven providers in five places: Iceland, Norway, the UK, its Europe regional plan and Indonesia, all at $15.99 or $16.99 for 10 GB over 15 days. In the US and New Zealand it came second.

Then the bad news. Lotso's catalogue prices some countries very high:

The Nepal row is the one to remember. Maya Mobile sells a 14-day unlimited pass there for $27.99. If you're trekking in the Himalaya, buy from Maya or Nomad, not from us. Our Nepal SIM guide also explains why a local Ncell tourist pack can beat every eSIM on price.

For heavier use (1.5 GB a day), Lotso's daily plans make it middling: its median two-week cost was 2.14× the cheapest full-speed option, the worst of the seven, because those daily plans cost roughly $33 to $80 for 15 days.

Networks: Lotso doesn't tell you

Lotso's plan cards don't name the local operator. Its homepage says "one provider, dozens of local networks". That's the same position as Maya Mobile, and it's a real weakness off the beaten path, where one operator may have a mast in a valley and another may not. On the Everest trail, for instance, trip reports say NTC holds a signal higher up than Ncell (see the Everest Base Camp guide). With Nomad, Holafly or Airalo you know which you're buying; with Lotso you don't.

Hotspot, top-ups and the missing phone number

Hotspot is included on all plans, per Lotso's FAQ, and current eSIMs can be topped up from the site. Older Lotso eSIMs can't be topped up, so you may need a new eSIM, which means installing it on Wi-Fi.

Lotso is data only. There's no number, no calls, no texts. For most travellers that's fine (WhatsApp works on data, and your home SIM can stay on for bank codes), but if you need a number on the eSIM itself, Saily sells a US number add-on for $1.99 a month and some Nomad eSIMs include a local number.

Refunds and support: the weakest part

Lotso's terms of service say refunds are "generally available only for unactivated eSIMs within a specified number of days (e.g., 14 days) of purchase", so 14 days is offered only as an example, not a firm commitment. Activated or partly used plans are excluded, and "you may delete your eSIM profile from your device at any time, but this does not entitle you to a refund". The validity clock starts at the earlier of your first connection to a partner network or a set number of days after purchase, which is common but worth knowing if you buy months ahead.

Compare that with Nomad (30 days, money back to the card), Saily (30 days for unused plans) or Holafly (six months). Lotso's terms are the vaguest of the seven on this point.

Support is by WhatsApp and email, "usually replying within one business day". There's no app and no published 24/7 line. Airalo, Saily, Holafly and Maya all publish round-the-clock chat. If you're the kind of traveller who installs an eSIM at the gate and wants help in minutes when it doesn't connect, that difference matters.

Who should buy something else

• Trekking in Nepal, Tanzania or Morocco: Nomad for light use, Maya Mobile for two weeks or more.
• Patagonia or Costa Rica: Ubigi or Nomad were cheaper.
• You need a phone number: Saily.
• You want 24/7 chat and an app: Airalo or Saily.
• You want to know the network: Nomad or Holafly.

And who should pick Lotso: anyone on a one- to three-week trip in Europe, the UK, Iceland or Norway who uses up to about 10 GB and doesn't need a number. There, on 31 October 2026, nothing we priced was cheaper.