Simbye vs Airalo vs Holafly vs Saily: The 2026 Travel eSIM Comparison

Last updated: 3 August 2026 — every price and policy below was verified on the four providers’ own websites on this date.

Four of the most recommended travel eSIM brands, four different philosophies. Airalo is the marketplace. Holafly bet on unlimited data. Saily leans on the Nord Security ecosystem. Simbye built its lineup around the feature the other three treat as an add-on: being reachable.

Everything below comes from what the providers publish themselves — product pages, help centres, fair-use policies and terms, checked on the date above. Where a fact could not be verified on a provider’s own site, we say so rather than estimate.

Quick verdict: which one fits which traveller

Best overall

If you need to be reachable

The only provider here with a real phone number on the eSIM itself — calls and SMS in the native dialler, no app in between. Cheapest entry price, and the only one that lets you build a custom plan.

From $2.99 · 190+ destinations

Widest choice

If you want the biggest catalogue

200+ locations and the broadest selection of local packages. Data-only by default; a number exists only on the global Discover+ plan.

From $4.00 · 200+ locations

Unlimited focus

If you only want unlimited

Unlimited data in 160+ destinations, one simple product. No small plans, hotspot capped at 1 GB per day, and a number only on subscription.

From $11.90 · 3 days, unlimited

Security extras

If you use the Nord ecosystem

Plans from $3.99 with in-app security features, plus the cheapest occasional US number — with ID verification and calls billed separately.

From $3.99 · 200+ destinations

The full comparison

Entry price	$2.99	$4.00	$11.90 / 3 days	$3.99
Small data plans	from 1 GB	Yes	Unlimited only	Yes
Destinations	190+	200+	160+	200+
Unlimited plans	50+ destinations	Yes	160+ destinations	Yes
Real phone number	24 plans	global plan only	subscription only	paid add-on
Calls in normal dialler	Yes	Discover+ only	No — VoIP in app	local calls only
SMS codes arrive in	the messages app	Discover+ only	the Holafly app / email	with paid SMS pack
ID verification	None	Not stated	Not required	Required for number
Number pricing	included in plan	included in plan	subscription	$0.99/mo + call packs
Purchase model	one-off	one-off (opt-in renew)	one-off or subscription	one-off + subscriptions
Hotspot	included	no device limit	1 GB per day	allowed
Unlimited fair-use	—	3 GB/day → 1 Mbps	not published centrally	5 GB/day → 1 Mbps
Build your own plan	Yes, in app	No	No	No
Cashback	5% wallet	—	—	3% credit

Price: the entry point differs by a factor of four

The four providers start from very different places, and the gap at the bottom of the range is wider than most comparisons admit.

Simbye starts at $2.99 for 1 GB. Saily follows at $3.99, Airalo at $4.00. Holafly‘s cheapest verified plan is $11.90 for three days of unlimited data — because Holafly does not sell small plans at all: its travel eSIMs are unlimited only.

That is a defensible design choice; nobody counts gigabytes on an unlimited plan. But it means a weekend traveller who needs 500 MB pays roughly four times what the same trip costs elsewhere. On a two-week trip with heavy daily use, the maths reverses. Entry price and total trip cost are two different questions, and only one of them usually makes it into comparison tables.

The phone number: four providers, four different meanings

All four now use the words “phone number” in their marketing. They mean four different things, and the differences are worth understanding before you buy.

Holafly — an app-based number, on subscription

Holafly’s travel eSIMs have no number. Their own USA page states it plainly: the digital SIM “only comes with cellular data. It does not include a local phone number for phone calls or text messages.”

Since November 2025, Holafly’s subscription plans include a dedicated +1 or +44 number. The conditions matter: incoming SMS only, delivered through the Holafly app or a linked email address rather than the phone’s messages app, with calling over VoIP rather than the cellular network. No outgoing SMS, no traditional cellular calls, and only on a monthly or annual subscription.

Saily — a US number as a paid add-on

Saily’s standard eSIMs are data-only; its help centre describes the service as “data-only connectivity”. Since June 2026 a US number can be added for $0.99 per month. Three conditions apply: it is an auto-renewing subscription, identity verification is required in the app after purchase, and calls and SMS are not included — they are sold as separate packages, with minutes consumed by incoming as well as outgoing calls. International calling is not supported on the base setup.

Airalo — a number on one global plan

Airalo’s help centre states that “most eSIMs from Airalo are data-only plans, they do not come with a phone number.” The exception is the Discover+ global plan, which includes a US-based number with calls and texts. Any of the 200+ country or regional packages is data-only.

Simbye — a real cellular line on 24 plans

Simbye provisions an actual mobile number with the eSIM profile, so it behaves like a native SIM line: calls ring in the phone’s standard dialler, SMS arrives in the standard messages app, there is no companion app, and no identity check is involved.

Why this matters in practice: a data-only eSIM is perfect until a bank sends a one-time password, a hotel calls back about a booking, or an app insists on verifying you by SMS. Switch off the home SIM to avoid roaming charges, and your own number stops existing on any network at exactly that moment.

Unlimited data, and what the small print says

All four sell unlimited plans; all four handle the fine print differently.

Airalo publishes an exact rule: 3 GB per day at full speed, then 1 Mbps for the remainder of the 24-hour period. Saily publishes 5 GB per day, then up to 1 Mbps, reduced to 3 GB in some destinations. Holafly states its unlimited data “isn’t throttled”, while its own FAQ acknowledges that operators may reduce speeds under their fair-usage policies and its terms permit restrictions where usage is “deemed excessive”; exact thresholds are listed per destination rather than centrally. Simbye offers unlimited plans in more than 50 destinations, including the US plan that pairs unlimited data with the +1 number and unlimited domestic calls.

Hotspot: the limit people discover too late

If you tether a laptop or share with a travel companion, check this before buying. Holafly caps hotspot sharing on travel eSIMs at 1 GB per day — a seven-day plan gives seven shareable gigabytes in total, though its subscription plan advertises unlimited hotspot. Airalo allows tethering with no stated device limit, Saily permits it within its fair-use policy, and Simbye includes it. For anyone working from a laptop abroad, that single line matters more than the headline price.

Build Your Own eSIM: unique to one provider

Simbye’s app includes something none of the other three offers in any form: the traveller assembles the plan. Pick the countries — up to ten, from a list of 122 — choose the data volume between 5 and 50 GB, set the duration, and the price adjusts to that exact trip.

For a route through Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, that replaces three purchases with one, and nothing is paid for coverage that goes unused. It is available in the Simbye app on iOS and Android rather than on the website.

Activation, compatibility and support

Technically all four work identically: buy online, receive a QR code by email within minutes, scan it, and the profile installs. All four support every eSIM-capable smartphone — iPhone XS and newer, Samsung Galaxy S20 and newer, Google Pixel 3 onwards, and most recent mid-range Android devices.

One rule applies regardless of provider, and it is the single most useful sentence here: install the eSIM at home, over Wi-Fi, before flying. Installation needs an internet connection, and the arrival airport is precisely where you do not have one.

All four advertise 24/7 support. Simbye states assistance in 12 languages; Airalo, Holafly and Saily each run round-the-clock chat.

So which one should you choose?

Simbye if being reachable matters — verification codes, callbacks, a number that simply rings — if you want the lowest entry price, or if your trip fits no ready-made plan.

Airalo if you want the largest catalogue of local packages and are comfortable being data-only.

Holafly if you want unlimited data and nothing else, and do not tether much.

Saily if you are already in the Nord ecosystem, or want the cheapest occasional US number and accept the ID check and per-package call pricing.

Frequently asked questions