Quick answer: Airalo and Saily are the cheaper choice if you track your data and buy by the gigabyte. Holafly is the choice if you want unlimited data and would rather pay more than think about a data counter. For most nomads moving between countries every few weeks, a fixed-GB plan from Airalo or Saily beats Holafly's unlimited premium, unless you stream or video-call for hours every day.
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Picking a travel eSIM looks simple until you compare the actual plans: Airalo and Saily charge by the gigabyte, and Holafly sells "unlimited" with a daily speed cap most people never read the fine print on. An eSIM is a digital SIM card built into your phone's hardware, so you activate a data plan by scanning a QR code or installing an app profile instead of swapping a physical card. For a nomad, that means you can carry a local plan and a backup plan on the same phone, switch countries without hunting down a SIM shop, and keep your home number live on your physical SIM the whole time.
This guide compares Airalo, Holafly, and Saily on what changes your trip: pricing, hotspot tethering, coverage, and what happens when the data runs out.
What's the difference between Airalo, Holafly, and Saily?
Airalo and Saily sell fixed-data plans (you buy a set number of gigabytes for a set number of days), while Holafly sells almost entirely unlimited-data plans at a flat price. Airalo is the largest marketplace by country count, Saily is built by Nord Security (the company behind NordVPN) and ties into that ecosystem, and Holafly leans hardest into "never count your gigabytes again" as its whole pitch.
All three are data-only eSIMs by default: none of them give you a real local phone number for calls or SMS, so you'll still lean on WhatsApp, Signal, or a VoIP app for voice. Keep that in mind if a hotel or delivery driver needs to call a local number.
Airalo vs Holafly vs Saily: How Do They Compare on Price?
As of 2026, Airalo and Saily charge by the gigabyte and undercut Holafly on anything short of heavy daily streaming, while Holafly charges a flat unlimited rate that gets more competitive the more data you burn through each month.
| Criteria | Airalo | Holafly | Saily |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan model | Fixed-GB local, regional, and global plans; a handful of single-country unlimited plans | Almost all plans unlimited data, with fair-use throttling; one fixed 25GB "Global Light" plan | Fixed-GB local, regional, and global plans, plus the unlimited "Saily Ultra" subscription |
| Pricing example (Thailand, ~30 days) | 10GB for around $11 (airalo.com) | Unlimited for around $74.90 (esim.holafly.com) | 10GB for $10.99 (saily.com) |
| Tethering / hotspot | Included, drawn from your existing GB balance, no separate cap reported | Included but usually capped around 500MB-1GB/day on per-trip plans; unlimited hotspot only on the $59.95/month Unlimited subscription | Included on all plans at no extra cost or reported cap |
| Coverage breadth | 200+ countries for local eSIMs; 170+ countries and networks on the Global eSIM | 160+ destinations | 150-200+ countries depending on plan tier; Saily Ultra covers 113-121 countries |
| Top-ups | Top up the same eSIM anytime; auto-renewal available once data drops to 10% | No traditional top-up; buy a new plan, or let a monthly subscription auto-renew | Buy a new regional or global plan as needed; Saily Ultra auto-renews monthly |
| Best for | Budget-conscious nomads who track usage and hop between countries often | Heavy streamers and daily video-callers who'd rather pay a flat rate than watch a data counter | Nomads who want the cheapest per-GB entry price or already use NordVPN's ecosystem |
Airalo's catalog is still overwhelmingly fixed-GB, but it has started adding single-country unlimited options on select networks. In Thailand, for example, third-party eSIM trackers list an unlimited plan on the dtac network at roughly $20 for 15 days and $35 for 30 days, throttled to a slower fixed speed after heavy use. That's a narrower unlimited lineup than Holafly's, but worth checking if your destination has one.
Holafly's "unlimited" is not throttle-free: standard per-trip plans run at full speed up to a daily high-speed cap (commonly 1-3GB depending on the destination) and then drop to a reduced speed for the rest of that day. The $59.95/month Unlimited subscription is the one tier without that daily cap.
Does Airalo, Holafly, or Saily allow hotspot tethering?
Yes, all three support hotspot tethering, but Holafly is the one with a real limit to plan around. Because Airalo and Saily sell you a fixed data allowance, hotspotting your laptop just draws from that same balance, so there's nothing separate to run out of. Holafly's unlimited-data plans, by contrast, usually cap tethered (shared) data at around 500MB to 1GB per day even though the plan itself is unlimited for the phone that holds the eSIM. If you need to hotspot your laptop for a full remote workday, that daily cap can bite; Holafly's own $59.95/month Unlimited Plan is the exception, since it includes unlimited hotspot. A 1GB shared cap sounds generous until you're on back-to-back video calls; it's easy to burn through it before lunch.
Which has the best coverage for nomad destinations?
Airalo covers the most ground on paper: 200+ countries for its local eSIMs and 170+ countries and networks bundled into a single Global eSIM. Saily is close behind, with plans spanning roughly 150 to 200+ countries depending on the tier, though its all-in-one Saily Ultra subscription narrows that to 113-121 countries. Holafly covers 160+ destinations, which comfortably includes the popular nomad hubs (Mexico, Thailand, Portugal, Indonesia, Colombia) but gives you a smaller total map than Airalo if you're chasing a long, unusual route.
Coverage width matters less than it looks once you're actually nomading: most people run one country-specific or regional plan at a time rather than a single global SIM for a whole year, so check the specific country you're flying to next rather than the total country count.
How do top-ups and renewals work?
Airalo lets you top up the exact same eSIM you already installed, so you don't have to reinstall a new profile mid-trip, and it can auto-renew once your balance drops to 10%. Saily works similarly: buy another local, regional, or global plan when you're running low, or let Saily Ultra auto-renew monthly if you're subscribed to it. Holafly doesn't have a traditional top-up; per-trip plans are one-time purchases you replace with a new plan when they expire, while the monthly Unlimited and Light plans simply auto-renew every 30 days until you cancel.
Who should pick which eSIM?
Pick Airalo if you want the widest country selection, you're comfortable buying a fresh plan (or topping up) every time you land somewhere new, and you'd rather pay less per gigabyte than pay for data you won't use.
Pick Holafly if you're on video calls for work most of the day, you stream a lot, or you simply don't want to think about a data counter, and you're fine paying a premium and living with the tethering cap unless you're on the $59.95/month Unlimited Plan.
Pick Saily if you want the lowest fixed-GB pricing in this comparison, tethering with no extra cap matters to you, or you already pay for NordVPN and like the idea of one company handling your security tools and your travel data.
Skip all three if you're settling in one country for 6+ months. At that point a local prepaid SIM from a carrier store is almost always cheaper per gigabyte than any travel eSIM, and you'll usually get a real local phone number in the deal.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Airalo or Holafly?
Airalo is cheaper for most nomads because it charges by the gigabyte instead of a flat unlimited rate. A 10GB, 30-day Thailand plan runs around $11 on Airalo versus roughly $74.90 for an unlimited 30-day Holafly plan, so Holafly only pencils out if you'd otherwise burn through far more than 10GB in a month.
Can I use Airalo, Holafly, or Saily for hotspot tethering?
Yes, all three allow tethering. Airalo and Saily draw hotspot use from your regular data balance with no separate limit, while Holafly's per-trip unlimited plans usually cap shared data around 500MB-1GB per day unless you're on its $59.95/month Unlimited Plan.
Do I need one eSIM per country, or can I use one for a whole trip?
You can use one regional or global plan for a multi-country trip, or buy a cheaper single-country plan for each stop; all three providers offer both options. Regional and global plans cost more per gigabyte than single-country plans, so they're worth it mainly when you're crossing borders frequently in a short window.
What happens when my eSIM data runs out?
On Airalo and Saily, your connection stops until you top up or buy a new plan, so it's worth setting a low-balance reminder or turning on auto-renewal. On Holafly's standard unlimited plans, you don't run out of data, but you can hit the daily high-speed cap and drop to reduced speed for the rest of that day.
Do these eSIMs work for phone calls and texts?
No, not by default. Airalo, Holafly, and Saily are data-only eSIMs, so calls and texts go through apps like WhatsApp, Signal, or FaceTime over your data connection instead of a traditional phone number.
Which eSIM is best for a nomad staying in one country for months?
For stays longer than a few months, a local prepaid SIM bought in-country is usually the better deal, since travel eSIMs are priced for shorter trips. If you still want the eSIM convenience, Saily's or Airalo's larger fixed-GB plans tend to work out cheaper long-term than Holafly's flat unlimited rate.
Bottom line: which nomad eSIM should you buy?
If you're not sure how much data you'll use, start with a fixed-GB plan from Airalo or Saily. It's the cheaper starting point, and topping up mid-trip is easy on either one. That's my own default too, and I only switch to Holafly on trips where I know I'll be on video calls most of the day, since that's the one case where paying more to stop watching a counter is worth it.
Get Airalo for the widest country selection and the lowest fixed-GB pricing, Holafly if you want unlimited data and don't want to think about it, or Saily if you already use NordVPN or want the cheapest per-gigabyte entry price. You can also browse full profiles for Airalo, Holafly, and Saily, or see every option we've reviewed in the eSIM & Connectivity directory.
Related in the NomadGear directory
- Airalo - the largest eSIM marketplace, covering 200-plus countries and regions
- Holafly - unlimited-data eSIM plans, no GB counting
- Saily - Nord Security's travel eSIM app
- Maya Mobile - budget-focused eSIM plans across 165-plus countries
- aloSIM - budget eSIMs plus free US calling and texting
- Yesim - pay-as-you-go eSIM data that rolls over