BEST 2024 International eSIMs Compared (5 Continents, 21 Months)
Вставка
- Опубліковано 9 чер 2024
- After testing travel eSIMs across 5 continents, here is the best international eSIM for travel in 2024 (based on your travel style). Click “More" for eSIM discount codes. Check if your phone is eSIM compatible: bit.ly/3NYXGYW
Airalo discount link: bit.ly/3IlWfkX
Use discount code UNTETHERED at checkout.
Nomad discount link: bit.ly/3RM8hYb
Use discount code UNTETHER at checkout.
Holafly discount link: bit.ly/3NRSfLm
Use discount code PROJECTUNTETHERED at checkout.
US Mobile plan with international data: bit.ly/3PKRANl
People keep asking me what’s the best international eSIM company, so I decided to do an “official” experiment to settle this once and for all for 2024.
Here are the full experiment results: bit.ly/4aScvGA
___
🔴 M O R E C O O L V I D E O S 😎 :
▶ How to Receive Verification Codes Overseas (Like Bank SMS Texts): • How to Receive Verific...
▶ Holafly Review (& Setup Guide): • Holafly Review - Best ...
▶ Airalo Review (& Setup Guide): • Airalo Review - Best t...
___
🟠 OTHER COOL STUFF:
▶ My fav new travel hacking credit card: bit.ly/45BbPm2
▶ [FREE DOWNLOAD]: 100+ WAYS TO MAKE MONEY TRAVELING: bit.ly/2Qku25X
▶ [FREE COURSE] Earn Your First $1K Freelance Writing: bit.ly/2Sil9Xg
▶ [ULTIMATE BLUEPRINT] How to Become a Digital Nomad for Beginners: bit.ly/3fkkgLa
___
🔴 C H A P T E R S:
0:00 Best Travel eSIM Test
1:15 Best International eSIM for NORMIE TRAVELERS
3:10 Runner Up eSIM for NORMIE TRAVELERS
3:53 Best Travel eSIMs for DATA HOGS
6:40 Best Travel Data Plan Options for NOMADS
8:06 Global eSIM Plan Strategy for Country Hoppers
9:15 Important Travel eSIM Tips
___
🟣 A L I T T L E A B O U T U S
Heyo! Mitch and Day here 👋🏼
We’re just your typical American-Colombian couple determined to live every second of our precious time here on earth to the fullest. After a 10-month solo backpacking trip through South America, I (Mitch) stopped in Cali, Colombia to take salsa dancing classes 💃🏻. I only planned to stay for a couple weeks, but God had other plans for me. I met a cute Colombian girl (Day) in class, those couple weeks turned into a couple years, and before we knew it...we were married 👰🏻🤵🏼
Now we’re traveling the world full time as digital nomads, supporting ourselves by working online 👨💻👩💻
Our goal with these videos is to inspire you to step outside your comfort zone, give you an inside peek at our crazy imperfect lives, and show you that you don’t have to be rich to live an extraordinary life...all you need to do is make the choice!
___
⚠️ DISCLAIMER ⚠️: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission (at no additional charge to you!). I believe in and have experience with everything I recommend. Thank you for your support!
I'd love it if you shared this video with your travel friends 😇 And if you're wondering about the other eSIM companies I tested or how I gathered data, check out the full write-up here: bit.ly/4aScvGA
Also, hit the SUBSCRIBE button to get all the new travel hacks I discover to travel smarter for less See ya in the next one!
this was both timely and helpful, appreciate you doing the hard yards!
I used AIRALO in Japan, I bought and installed ahead of my visit (it doesn't activate until you connect) the second the plane landed I turned off airplane mode and turned on my data and it CONNECTED INSTANTLY. Data was fast and reliable. Couldn't have been any quicker or smoother. TOTALLY RECOMMEND
I’m glad you enjoyed it!! 🤓
I think there are other ways to get tickets. For example TrainPal I just used?
Airalo is so overpriced!
Did you have to unlock your phone first? Assuming if from us
@@britney7034 Phones are not locked anymore
Fantastic overview. Well done . I now have a better grasp of which to chose . 👍🙏
Fantastic and very well-informed video, thanks a lot buddy
I’ve now used Airalo in 4 different countries across Europe & the Middle East in the past 4 months and it’s been fantastic. Very easy to install and very good packages. Like the video says there aren’t many options sometimes but for my usage it’s great.👍
Thank you for the video. I am right at the " pick an Esim" for an upcoming trip. Good timing.
I hope you found it helpful! :-)
Great video. I like the details that you provide. It shows that you have learned from previous mistakes. Thank you
Great video and information. Much appreciated!!
Thanks for this video. Super helpful as I am planning a year long round the world trip.
Given me some providers to research further! 🙏🏼
This was very helpful!!! Thank you..
Thank you for this info save me so much time looking around
love your content! thanks so much!
Great video. Thanks so much!
One thing missing from this video is speed tests, especially when compared to local SIM cards. This is important because these global eSIMs are generally slow (sometimes, depending on the country, painfully slow). However, I do understand that making this kind of video is not easy, so I appreciate your work! It was very helpful. Cheers.
I did actually run speed test and will be including the screenshots in the individual written reviews I add to the website. But I'm not sure how applicable they'll be to the entire world since I ran all the tests in one city.
I haven't found esims being slower.
@@sailingvesseliara4077 Yes, eSIMs are similar to physical SIMs, but in the case of Airalo, their eSIMs route your traffic through other countries before reaching you, which can result in slower speeds. Additionally, there is the factor of prioritization by the local carrier in certain situations.
@@sailingvesseliara4077 I understand, and I'm not disagreeing with you. In my home country, I recently switched from a physical SIM to an eSIM and didn't notice any difference. And I shouldn't notice any difference. However, the purpose of this video is to compare these globally-oriented traveler eSIMs with local SIM cards, and in my experience, they are generally slower due to the issues I mentioned (I travel quite a lot). There are tons of posts on Reddit and other forums discussing this.
So true, I’ve used Airalo while visiting the US and while everything works fine, if you’re on video via WhatsApp or FaceTime, it throttles and cuts out the audio. The speeds are usually 5G but it drops to LTE and 3G when you initiate a video or audio call.
Thank you for this video, very interesting and important information ❤
Excellent video! Thank you!
Very helpful video! Thanks a lot. 🙂
great video . Thanks
Well deserved your thumbs-up nice video
Very unique information in this video. Actual comprehensive testing. Thank you for the video!
You're very welcome! I'm glad you found it useful! 🤓
@@ProjectUntethered one question I have is that in certain scenarios, even in developed countries like Switzerland you must have a way to call local numbers eg. The local family owned cab company in out of the way yet highly touristy city of Grindelwald. Which of these provide a local phone number. In thought it was just the Holafly one? But MOST IMPORTANTLY is there a global eSIM that offer a local number seamlessly in the supported countries?
@qakbot100 holafly offers this in Europe but I haven’t tested yet. I just load up a little bit of Skype credit for whenever I need to do this, but tif someone has discovered a better option, I’d be interested to hear! Up until now most places we’ve visited use WhatsApp, so it hasn’t been a huge issue.
@@ProjectUntethered from what I’ve head on the HolaFly page, with their European eSims, you’ll get an Austrian phone number, regardless of whether you get an eSIM for Italy or Germany. That does help much as local folks in those countries will still have to make an international call
I fully agree to your recommendations regarding Airola, Nomad.
Good video, thanks for the comparision, would love to see a speed comparison of the different carriers. I've only used Airlo and while generally happy with the service, in some places the speed was pretty bad.
I took speed tests for each one here in Thailand, but I’m not sure how useful they are since it really depends on the local carrier and would vary by destination. I plan to add the speed test results to my written reviews over the next couple weeks though!
This is SO helpful! Thank you!!
Informative video! I have used Airalo on my previous two trips and it has worked well and is affordable.
Good summary,
I like Mobi and Airalo...
Cheers
Very interesting and informative! Thank-you.
great bro. thanks
Thanks for the discount code ;-)
Thank you for the follow up video!
I just got a phone that's esim compatible recently. Prior to this, I used data roaming for shorter trips but that gets expensive super fast.
I used Airalo in India 5 months ago. Worked everywhere I traveled. Streamed video one night. Sent videos and pictures home every day. I bought 10 GB but only used a little over 6 over 10 days. You can buy 1, 3, 5, 10 & 20GB packages. Easy to check on how much data left.
Here is an update, Airalo is no longer working in India, I landed a week ago in Mumbai only to find the app wouldn't open, tried reinstalling etc but no use. Did a search and found out Airalo hasn't worked since around January. Contacted Airalo and they agreed to refund me. Airalo are total clowns for even selling a eSIM when they no longer work in India. They helpfully said I could keep the money I paid as credit!
Just used an E-Sim for the first time in South Africa in September. Went with Airalo is was great!
Awesome information.
I didn't know anything about us mobile having anything on international plans thanks for the information
I think it’s somewhat new! 😎
This was great.
Wow.
this was super helpful!!! Going with Holafly, guess I'm a datahog lol
😂😂😂
We really like Airalo and they have sales!
Just used Holafly in Morocco and the service was seamless. Visiting Latin American next and will buy their regional plan.
That's awesome! Que tengas buen viaje! 😎
@@ProjectUntethered Gracias 😎
I travel mostly in SE Asia, so buy Airalo Regional eSIM. Those now cover Singapore, so don't have to buy another for that area
Thank you for this amazing information.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you so much for this! I usually only use local WiFi spots and nothing else, but that can be limiting sometimes. Usually in Croatia, Germany and Italy. My husband is going to Ecuador in July. Any idea what’s best for there? Or the same as you already mentioned?
And how do you know if your phone is compatible with eSIMs? How can you check that? Thanks!!
you got a like and a sub
thankyou
Great Video. Thanks for doing it. When comes to deciding on how many gigs to buy for our 45 day trip to western Europe. Last month in the US my phone says I used 337MB of "Mobile Data" and 27.27 gigs of "wifi data". Not sure how I translate this to an ESim plan. Thanks.
Great advice. I do regret I didn't find your video earlier. Uk three charged me just for update maps 87£ in Shanghai.
Oh no!! I'm sorry to hear that 😣
Noob, do your research!!
I simply call me carrier before going to Europe for a month. I give them the dates and country names. That's all and it works perfectly as usual. Don't need anything or do anything else. PIXEL android phone, BTW.
thanks for the information! What about for China, i am planning a trip there, which E-sim do you think could work properly there?
So, I’m traveling to South East Asia in the near future (Japan, Philippines, Korea, Singapore, HK , etc) what do you suggest I use and what tips? Thanks and more power 🙏🏼👍
Hello, I'm from the UK and will be working on a cruise through USA, Mexico and Alaska. Do you have advice for the best e-sim?
Thank you in advance :)
I’m a Holafly user. By my reckoning it’s worth the extra one euro per day to have an unlimited plan and not have to worry about it.
Totally agree that it's nice not having to monitor your data and limit yourself all the time.
Appreciate all the work you put into this Mitch! Purchased an Airalo regional plan for a cruise I was just on (good to have data "just in case"). It covered much of Central America so it was worth the multi-country premium to me.
Canadians - as you know the mobile/media oligopoly here is terrible. Make sure you check and ensure that Rogers/Bell/Telus didn't sneak their expensive "Roam like home" add-on to your existing plan.
Nice! Did it work in the water or just on land?
Nice! Did it work in the water or just on land?
@@ProjectUntethered We could get 3G in the water near the shore, which isn't great, but enough to send messages
Phone your provider. I use Virgin. Tell them to take roaming off!
@@catherinemori4496I have Virgin as well. I used the online chat to get them to take it off. Same difference, I guess. But annoying that you can't remove it yourself.
I recently found you and I love your scientific approach. Just subscribed! This seems like a basic question, but I can't find the answer. In a global plan that is 20G for 365 days- is that 20G each month or 20G total across all 12 months? Thanks for your help!
20gb for 365 days. Not monthly total is 20gb
Airolo works fine for me.
Going to Cuba holguin for 2 weeks, what do you recommend as a sim card E sim thank you
Subbed
Dent. Not all countries in MEA, but lots of features, packages, marketplace. Global plan, 365 days, can win free data, etc! Not sponsored by Dent, but very satisfied!
Will test that for my experiment next year!
I find orange Travel to have great plans with calling and text options.
For a short vacation, can you make a video on international roaming of your own country vs international sim comparison as an example
It seems like a common one people use is the international passes from Verizon and AT&T, which cost $10 per day. So if it were only a day or two, then it might be similar prices as an international esim. I’m not sure what the options are for carriers that aren’t from the US though
Im going thailand, I'm better off with the AIS eSim tourist package right?, that gives me a thai number to, and i can use all the social apps/messaging apps alongside my other physical sim to.
great video! any options if we want to use local calling? for example to talk to tourist guides/call a cab etx
We’ve found the WhatsApp, Fb messenger,
or other messaging apps are used widely around the world, and we rarely find instances where we need an actual local number (although there have been a couple). In these cases, I just have some Skype credits loaded up in case of emergency.
Thankew! Brother.
Tried Airalo in US and Phillipines. Worked fine but the instructions were not completely correct. Asked customer service about setup before traveling and they were a bit hit and miss. Having said that, esims are cheaper and beats the hell out of switching and swapping standard sims!
Nord VPN have introduced country specific esims
I’m going to New Zealand and Australia in two weeks. Which one you suggest?
Im planning going on a cruise which would you recomend
My experience with Airalo in Vancouver Canada was poor. Whichever cellular provider they contract with had inadequate signal in many common places, such as an underground parking lot where I was trying to pay for parking. Repeatedly.
I appreciated another vid where you mentioned eSIM, it encouraged me to try out my first one. With your discount code it was almost free :) I'm a long term traveller but I got a small Airolo for country I'm only in for a few days. It was a bit confusing to know if I'd set it up properly but their customer service (WhatsApp chat) was immediately responsive and great! I'll get a small one for my next country too,- Cambodia- just for the first few days, then get a local SIM cos it's so cheap there and having a local phone number is good for Passap.
You’re welcome!Yeah the local number comes in handy sometimes when registering for local apps. That can be a downside for sure. Some esims do include phone numbers though, but most don’t.
I think Holafly can give you a local number.
@@ProjectUntethered The Airalo Global eSIM has an option for Data + Calls + Text, you get a +43 number for global usage.
T-Mobile has the international plans built in. Just add your VPN and local access to apps-here we come.
5GB of "high speed" and then throttled, unlimited text and 0.25/min calls in 215+ countries including 11 European
Worth the comparison to eSiM
That sounds interesting! Is that 5GB per day or per month? And how much does that plan cost?
Arrived in Vietnam today and received a text from T-Mobile stating that the above mentioned was included in my plan. Was going to get an eSim at the airport but have been using my phone without any issues so far.
@ProjectUntethered TMK, the 5GB is until you hit the 5GB...by use, not by time. Some plans are 5GB, 10GB, or 15GB high speed. Bottom line is you get unlimited data no matter how you look at it.
Caution, read your plan, and confirm with the provider to ensure the country of travel.
Further, your home base must be US.
@hdnjewl if data is all you're worried about...enjoy your plan. If you need a local number for whatever reason...consider the local eSIM.
I am not tech savy. I planned to ask my provider Tmobile to unlock. I fly on May 8, when do I have them unlock?
Once unlocked, I then get esim upon arriving Narita terminal 1. Is it possible to have the staff at the store to install esim for me?
Anything else i need to know or do?
Is it safe to use esims . Are there any rrisks related to security attacks using them?
Does a USA esim can receive bank codes when I am in the Philippines?
I will appreciate your response
Don't be surprised if you make mistakes; locals are usually friendlier than you think. Use tools like Immersive Translate to overcome language barriers.
What's the point of having an esim as a 'digital nomad' when you can't work on it with your laptop? Thx Holafly
yes Bro... but i 'm planning to go in indonesia and check many solutions.... holafly 23 days 60 euro around 1 milion IDRupies then XL AXIATA an operator has the eSim too and cost me 70.000 IDR ofr 30 days with 186 GB.... no way....almost then 10 times left the money....
Extremely helpful and profound video, thanks a lot! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
One question: when you're abroad for your home line data roaming is logically switched off, but will a eSIM service automatically take over for apps like WhatsApp or iMessage? Thanks 🙏🏻
Yup! You can choose which SIM you want to use for iMessage, data, etc.
@@ProjectUntethered thanks! 🙏🏻
Am I right that the eSIM just provides data and not a new phone number? Or will WhatsApp just work with the new phone number. Nobody at home actually knows that number... I'm still confused 🙈
I'm travelling in europe for 44 days. As most plans have 30 or 90 days, I have a few questions.
Airlo
10GB for 30 Days
37USD
Nomad
10GB for 30 Days
22USD
Holafly
44 Days Unlimited
90USD
Am I able to buy a new nomad or airlo e sim if I run out of data?
What about travel to Europe where EU countries all use the same SIM but a couple of important destinations don't (think Switzerland), what's a good option there?
And what about cruising the Carribean, multiple countries over a 10 day period?
Mark in Melbourne (we don't all live in the US).
can you have 2 e sims active on your phone at the same time ? 1 world and 1 country specific
Where do you get the physical esim card from?
Best app to use for Madrid Spain? I want fast and reliable eSIM since I’m playing pokemon GO for hours and I’ll be in Madrid for 5 days
Bought a 30 day sim in Bangkok. Unlimited for 999 baht. Hard to beat.
off lazada or from 7-11?
What's the data service like in Pakistan with Nomad. Anybody know?
When i was in Egypt my Airalo esim would not work with uber. All other data features worked. Tried Airalo support and they couldn't figure the issue too. Any suggestions?
Which one is best for euro wide
Hi. I am only in Europe for less than 2 weeks but will need to use my phone/data in Switzerland for a few days. Would these plans/eSimms be fine there or do you have other suggestions. Thanks so much.
Yup, these should work. You can chose whether you want a plan that covers the Europe region (just make sure it includes all the countries you'll visit). Or you an buy individual plans for each country, although with some companies, you may find that the minimum plan length is 7 days, so you'll be paying for a little bit that your not using.
I got 10GB for $10 in Morocco from orange.
you should've mentioned vegolink, which has reasonable pay as you go by the mb prices to use while you find one to buy for gigabytes
I'll have to test that one out in the future!
Is there any e sim service that offer text messages and calls?
Have to look at average cost per user for intl from the biggies like AT&T. $10/day first phone, $5 all subsequent phones. So me and my wife avg $7.50 for unlimited data and no hassle. Took our family of 6 to Rome which averaged out to $5.83 per day per user. Again, not bad when it comes with unlimited data and zero eSIM hassle. Activate once and never have to fiddle with it again for future trips.
I guess it comes down to the convenience factor and how much data you all use. For example, if each person only used 2GB on a 15 day trip, Airalo would cost you $48 for the entire family, while AT&T costs you $524. But again, all comes down to priorities and budget!
@@ProjectUntetheredgood point. Maybe I misunderstood how cheap Airlo is. I’ll take a deeper look at these options thanks
Okay, I have a question. I tried contacting Holafly, but they are Spanish and the chat doesn't work in English. I am going on a cruise, (Bucket list Queen Mary 2) so I'm pretty sure the data roaming would be a lot. Do these esim plans work for cruises?
They should have an English version of their site as well. Is the link in the description sending you to the Spanish version? I have never tested on a cruise, so their chat would be the best people to ask. My gut says that it might not work, but I could be wrong
Global HI is $10 f0r 10Gb - global plan. Blows all of these out of the water.
Hi, i just tried to install esim Maya mobile from Bulgaria for Turkey, however it did not work. I called Apple and they could not find a reason. Asked me to request a refund and try with another network provider.
Thank you so much for sharing this information but I had a couple questions. Did you keep your original number? Did you port it? If you ported it, how did you handle communication until you got a local sim? Our family is moving to Brazil for one year and then will be returning to the US. We can’t get rid of our cell number because we have had it forever. I’m worried about porting our number and not being able to receive 2 factor verification from our bank like you mentioned in a previous video. We won’t be in the States any for any amount of time for that year for our domestic usage to exceed our international usage to continue our coverage in the States. Sorry for all the questions, we are new to this.
you don't port anything you don't have a phone number it's DATA only.
You had mentioned to disable the data roaming on the phone when using an esim. Should one just disable the home country Sim card?
I'd like to know this as I'm unsure too
Just get a local sim in each country, what's the point of international SIM? It's way too expensive.
Great video. I’m in an unusual situation in that whilst I have an employer provided mobile phone, I can take the phone OS, however not the physical SIM card.
I assume then that an eSIM will not work for me and that I won’t be able to get text/sms and calls to my phone number if the physical SIM is not installed. Is that correct and is a local physical sim card the only other option (outside of my carrier international roaming)?
Hmmm yeah I'm not sure of a solution for that one. Unless you're able to switch your employer physical SIM for an eSIM before you leave. Or I guess the only other option is to leave the physical SIM with a family member (maybe on their phone if they have a slot open?) and have them forward you any messages. Might have to get creative!
@@ProjectUntetheredmy phone does have a eSIM too. So a physical sim with one carrier and eSIM with a different carrier. Does that change anything in my situation do you think? I noted my iPhone SE (3rd generation) still can add another eSIM….
Effectively, does it mean if I have to remove the physical sim from the phone, then the eSIM won’t work and I can’t get text/sms and phone calls? Cheers
Android does not require you to have a physical sim
@@markylonwhat about iPhone? If you don’t have a physical siem will the e-siem work?
@@britney7034 yes no sim required
Are you by any chance in Chiang Mai? The place looks familiar.
Wow great guess! Yes it is a cafe that is decorated like Versailles 😎
@@ProjectUntethered I live in Chiang Rai and have been to that place twice in CM. I lived in Chiang Mai for three years when I was teaching English.
Check out 3 Hong Kong for World eSIM
this might be the stupidest question but data with these apps.......do they give you a new number? can you place phone calls? or this is just data for apps, youtube etc?
I purchased an Airalo e-sim for the vacation in Florida. I had a problem in having the e-sim work with a Galaxy S24+. The Airalo instructs to activate roaming in the settings in order to make the e-sim work. However, I do not what to activate the roaming while overseas. It seems the Galaxy S24+ does not allow to activate roaming per e-sim. The roaming setting is universal for all the sims. The iPhones seem to have an option to deactivate the roaming in my primary e-sim and activate the roaming only in the secondary e-sim.
Oh wow that is interesting that you can’t activate them separately! What about if you just turn your primary line off and only have the eSIM line active (and roaming) while traveling?
@@ProjectUntethered It is strange indeed. I did not want to turn off the primary e-sim altogether as I need to receive calls to that number anyway whilst travelling. I just wanted to deactivate the data roaming in the primary e-sim. The workaround was going to SIM manager=>Preferred SIMs and set the calls and messages to the primary e-sim the mobile data to the secondary e-sim.
This a good review of digital eSims but as a "Normie" traveler I have found I still need 'talk' along with data. Calling for a taxi ,etc, WhatsApp, FB or Skype is rarely handy. There are a few global eSims that offer talk and data but they are more useful for people that do less frequent but more far ranging travel.
Interesting! I guess I normally just use rideshare apps vs calling taxis, and when we did have to call taxis, they always used whatsapp. But I guess it depends on your experience! If your eSIM doesn't have calling, you can also load up a couple bucks in Skype credits to use for local phone calls in case of emergency. :-)
So I got round this by buying a Airalo digital sim and if I needed to make a phone call, I used SKYPE APP on my phone which allows me to make landline calls using data. But to be honest who calls for a taxi when you have Uber and other ride apps?
I had such a bad experience with airalo in Japan. I had trouble from the start from getting the eSIM to connect to the network and the data drop offs throughout the whole trip. I strongly don’t recommend airalo for Japan.