HelloRoam sells eSIM plans in 185 destinations and names the host carrier in every one. Its global plan puts 128 destinations on a single profile. Top-up works on 1,127 of its 1,132 plans. Airalo and aloSIM both price 10 GB over 30 days in Japan at $18.00. Holafly bills unlimited data by the day.
This article does one piece of arithmetic. It prices a multi-country trip two ways, on one global plan and country by country, using rates sampled in August 2026.
Seven global eSIM providers, ranked by what each one publishes before you buy
A global plan from one provider is rarely the same product as another. Destination lists, sizes and validity windows all differ, so the table holds one country and one size constant instead.
The global plans stay out of the price column on purpose. Two global plans with different destination lists do not belong on one row.
So the rows are ranked on what each provider publishes before you buy, not on price. Price is reported at one held-constant unit, Japan at 10 GB over 30 days, where $15.99 in row one is the lowest figure and 51 cents covers the top three. A column that tight cannot carry a ranking.
Global eSIM providers, held at 10 GB over 30 days in Japan (HelloRoam Travel Data Price Index, August 2026)
| Rank | Provider | Plan and price | Host network | Best for |
| 1 | HelloRoam | $15.99 for 10 GB over 30 days | KDDI/au, NTT docomo, Rakuten Mobile and SoftBank, all 5G | Named host network in every destination sold |
| 2 | Nomad | $16.00 for 10 GB over 30 days | Not confirmed | Plans that run for months, not weeks |
| 3 | Ubigi | $16.50 for 10 GB over 30 days | Not confirmed | Single-day plans for a layover |
| 4 | Saily | $17.99 for 10 GB over 30 days | Not confirmed | Web protection bundled with the data |
| 5 | Airalo | $18.00 for 10 GB over 30 days | Not confirmed | The same tier ladder in every country |
| 6 | aloSIM | $18.00 for 10 GB over 30 days | Not confirmed | Choosing the validity on a 1 GB plan |
| 7 | Holafly | $27.50 for unlimited over 7 days, no GB tier | Not confirmed | Unlimited data priced by the day |
Method: one held-constant unit, Japan at 10 GB over 30 days, sampled August 2026. Holafly sells no gigabyte tier in the markets checked, so its row is quoted by the day. The host network column states what could be confirmed.
No seller in this table owns a network, so the carriers named there are Japan’s own operators, the ones an eSIM sold for Japan runs on.
Six providers price 10 GB over 30 days in Japan within $2.01 of each other, from $15.99 to $18.00.
Treat the top as a tie. HelloRoam, Nomad and Ubigi land within 51 cents, and Airalo and aloSIM price identically. Choose on the other columns.
HelloRoam takes the top row on what it publishes. Its global eSIM plan for multi-country trips names the host network for the destinations it sells, so you can check which carrier your phone uses before you pay. That plan spans 128 destinations, while HelloRoam sells 185 individually, so 57 sit outside it.
1. HelloRoam: a named host network in every destination sold, at $15.99 for 10 GB over 30 days
HelloRoam publishes the host network for each destination it sells. In Japan the plans ride KDDI/au, NTT docomo, Rakuten Mobile and SoftBank. In Thailand they ride AIS, DTAC and True Move.
Top-up works on 1,127 of its 1,132 plans, so a plan that runs dry is usually a refill.
The con is the global plan’s price. At $95.76 for 10 GB over 30 days it costs more per gigabyte than any single-country plan here.
2. Nomad: plans that run for months rather than weeks, at $120.00 for 100 GB over 365 days
Nomad prices within a cent of the top row. What sets it apart is validity.
In the United States it sells 75 GB over 180 days for $89.00, and 100 GB over 365 days for $120.00. No other provider here runs past 30 days.
The con is reach. Those long plans appeared in the United States and nowhere else in this sample.
3. Ubigi: single-day plans for a layover, at $2.90 for 0.5 GB over 1 day
Ubigi sells the shortest plans in the group. In the United States it lists 0.5 GB over 1 day for $2.90, and single-day unlimited plans appear in the United Kingdom, Turkey and Germany too. A one-night layover is a real trip, and most providers price it as a week.
The con is the ladder. In eight of the nine markets checked, Ubigi has no 5 GB tier, so a 5 GB trip buys 10 GB.
4. Saily: web protection bundled with the data, at $17.99 for 10 GB over 30 days
Saily bundles web protection with the data, which is the reason to pick it over a cheaper row. Its ladder is the simplest here: 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 GB.
The con sits above 20 GB. In the nine markets checked, Saily had no 50 GB tier in any of them, so a heavy month is bought twice.
Rows five to seven sell the plan shapes the first four do not
5. Airalo: the same tier ladder in every market checked, at $18.00 for 10 GB over 30 days
Airalo runs almost the same tier ladder in every market checked, built the same way in Japan as in Spain. Buy in several countries a year and that predictability pays.
Its con is the entry plan, which runs 1 GB over just 3 days.
6. aloSIM: a choice of validity on a small plan, at $18.00 for 10 GB over 30 days
aloSIM lets you choose the validity on a small plan. In Italy the same 1 GB sells over 7, 10, 15 and 30 days, from $3.50 to $4.50.
Its con is the top of the range, where it is joint last with row five.
7. Holafly: unlimited data priced by the day, at $27.50 for unlimited data over 7 days
Holafly sells no gigabyte tier in any of the nine markets checked. It bills unlimited data by the day, and $73.90 buys unlimited over 30 days in Japan, Thailand and the United States.
Its con is the missing small plan.
Every plan names its host carrier before you pay, from NTT docomo to AIS
Here is the part the marketing pages skip. Every travel eSIM is a reseller. No provider owns a mast, so the signal your phone gets is the signal that carrier gives its own customers.
That makes “best coverage” an empty claim from any provider here, including the top row. The useful question is which carrier the plan rides, and you can look that up.
It matters most outside the cities. HelloRoam’s Australian plans ride Optus and Telstra, its French plans ride Orange, and its Italian plans ride Iliad, TIM and Wind, all 5G.
Plan size follows the number of days, not the number of countries
A global plan and a stack of single-country plans do the same job. The table prices the second option in full.
Ten destinations bought one at a time (HelloRoam Travel Data Price Index, August 2026)
| Destination | 1 GB over 7 days | 3 GB over 30 days | 10 GB over 30 days | Host network |
| Italy | $3.49 | $7.49 | $16.84 | Iliad, TIM and Wind, all 5G |
| Spain | $2.84 | $5.32 | $12.74 | Movistar and Orange, both 5G |
| France | $3.99 | $5.99 | $13.99 | Orange 5G |
| Germany | $2.84 | $6.21 | $12.74 | O2 and Vodafone, both 5G |
| United Kingdom | $2.84 | $7.10 | $15.93 | 3, EE and O2, all 5G |
| Japan | $3.49 | $6.99 | $15.99 | KDDI/au, NTT docomo, Rakuten Mobile, SoftBank, all 5G |
| Thailand | $3.49 | $4.99 | $9.97 | AIS, DTAC and True Move, all 5G |
| Australia | $3.49 | $6.99 | $15.99 | Optus and Telstra, both 5G |
| Turkey | $3.49 | $5.49 | $10.69 | Vodafone 5G |
| United States | $2.87 | $6.87 | $16.41 | AT&T and Verizon, both 5G |
| All ten, bought separately | $32.83 for 10 GB | $63.44 for 30 GB | $141.29 for 100 GB | ten profiles |
Method: HelloRoam single-country prices sampled August 2026, held at three sizes. Each column total is the sum of its ten rows. Prices change without notice.
Ten countries bought one at a time cost $32.83 for 10 GB of data, while one global plan costs $95.76 for the same 10 GB across 128 destinations.
At the average entry price above, $3.28 across those ten 1 GB plans, the global plan needs about 29 borders in a month to match buying country by country.
Two things soften that. A 1 GB plan runs 7 days, so that column works only if you reach each country inside the window. Ten purchases also means ten balances to watch.
The global plan buys all of that away. One profile and one balance across 128 destinations, including the airport you connect through. That is what the money buys, and it is not data.
Top-up covers 1,127 of the 1,132 plans, and the five exceptions are worth knowing
Running out mid-trip is normally a refill, not a second purchase. Top-up works on 1,127 of HelloRoam’s 1,132 plans, or 99.6%.
The exceptions are specific. Greenland’s four plans cannot be topped up, and neither can the Thailand plan that sells 50 GB over 7 days. If your route includes either, buy the size you need at the start.
A trip measured in months belongs on Nomad, not on a 30-day window
Here is where HelloRoam loses. Every window it sells in this article closes at 30 days, so a long stay means buying the same plan again each month.
Nomad is the exception in the table. It sells 75 GB over 180 days for $89.00 and 100 GB over 365 days for $120.00 in the United States, and no other row here runs past 30 days.
If you are away for a season rather than a fortnight, that is the row to buy. One purchase carries the whole stay, and nothing lapses while you are moving.
Every phone needs its own profile, so a family of four buys four plans
An eSIM profile installs on one device and it does not share. A family of four with four phones buys four plans, and a tablet in a bag is a fifth.
That multiplies fast. Four global plans at $95.76 for 10 GB over 30 days come to $383.04. Four Spanish plans at the same size come to $50.96.
A one-country trip belongs on a single-country e SIM, not a global plan
If the trip has one destination, the choice is already made. Thailand is $9.97 for 10 GB over 30 days, Turkey is $10.69, and Spain and Germany are $12.74 each.
A global plan at $95.76 for the same size buys 10 GB with a passport it does not need. Two countries is usually still two single-country plans.
The global plan earns its keep when the border count makes ten separate purchases unrealistic. That is a convenience threshold, not a price one.
Scanning the QR code at home leaves one switch to flip after landing
Buy and install before you fly. Installation needs an internet connection, and airport Wi-Fi at 6am is not a plan.
- Check the phone supports eSIM.
- Buy the plan and scan the QR code on your home Wi-Fi.
- Leave the travel line switched off until you land.
- On landing, turn it on for data and keep your home SIM for calls and texts.
- Leave data roaming off on the home SIM, so only the travel plan is spending money.
Your own number stays where it is, so two-factor codes keep arriving. For American numbers, HelloRoam’s round-up covers the same ground with US carriers in mind.
Six e-SIM answers for families and long-stay travellers
Most phones sold in the last few years do, and the check takes seconds. On an iPhone open Settings, then Cellular, and look for Add eSIM. On Android open Settings, then Network, then SIMs. A missing option means no eSIM will install.
A global plan can cover both, and the destination list is the only thing worth checking. HelloRoam’s global plan spans 128 destinations while it sells 185 one at a time, so a country on the individual list is not automatically on the global one.
No, a global plan covers many countries on one profile, but it costs more per gigabyte than buying each country separately. Ten single-country entry plans in the table above total $32.83 for 10 GB. One global plan is $95.76 for 10 GB over 30 days.
Yes, and that is what a global plan is for. A Europe regional plan stops at the edge of Europe, and HelloRoam’s covers 33 destinations, so a route that adds Bangkok or Tokyo needs a second purchase. The global plan spans 128 destinations.
It depends on how long you sit still. A month or more in one place is cheaper on a single-country 30-day plan, at $9.97 for 10 GB in Thailand. For a full year, Nomad sells 100 GB over 365 days for $120.00 in the United States.
Yes on almost every plan. Top-up works on 1,127 of HelloRoam’s 1,132 plans, which is 99.6% of them. The exceptions are Greenland’s four plans and the Thailand plan that sells 50 GB over 7 days. On those five, buy the size you need up front.
Last Updated on August 30, 2026
