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Airalo Pricing Review: 240 Same-Size Plans Against HelloRoam (Oct 2026)
HelloRoam is the top pick over Airalo on price, cheaper on 187 of 240 same-size fixed plans read 30 Oct 2026, with Airalo cheaper on 52. HelloRoam refunds an unactivated eSIM for 180 days. Airalo covers 200+ destinations, against the 185 that HelloRoam sells.
The five lowest cost-per-GB rows in this table
Each row is one destination's lowest plan from the top pick, sorted by cost per GB, from the catalogue read 29 Oct 2026. Airalo's prices against these plans follow in the next section.
| Destination | Plan | Price | $/GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 50GB, 7 days | $14.38 | $0.29 |
| Germany | 50GB, 30 days | $30.60 | $0.61 |
| France | 50GB, 30 days | $30.60 | $0.61 |
| Japan | 50GB, 30 days | $30.60 | $0.61 |
| Guadeloupe | 10GB, 30 days | $6.42 | $0.64 |
The first row is Thailand, 50GB for 7 days at $14.38, or $0.29 per GB.
The dearest destination floor in this table is Monaco, at $22.52 per GB, across 185 destinations with a published row.
Where Airalo was cheaper than HelloRoam
On 30 Oct 2026, this site read Airalo's prices on airalo.com, in US dollars, in 42 destinations, and set each against the same-size plan of the top pick. HelloRoam was cheaper on 187 of 240, with 1 tie. Airalo was cheaper on the 52 plans below, 27 of them 20 GB or 50 GB plans.
| Destination | Size | Airalo | HelloRoam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 3 GB | $10.00, 7 days | $10.62, 30 days |
| Austria | 50 GB | $29.00, 30 days | $39.60, 30 days |
| Canada | 3 GB | $9.00, 7 days | $9.49, 30 days |
| China | 50 GB | $49.00, 30 days | $53.99, 30 days |
| Colombia | 5 GB | $16.00, 30 days | $18.00, 30 days |
| Colombia | 20 GB | $39.00, 30 days | $51.00, 30 days |
| Croatia | 50 GB | $35.00, 30 days | $50.40, 30 days |
| Egypt | 10 GB | $33.00, 30 days | $34.49, 30 days |
| Egypt | 20 GB | $42.00, 30 days | $43.99, 30 days |
| Global | 1 GB | $8.50, 7 days | $13.68, 7 days |
| Global | 1 GB | $8.50, 7 days | $26.28, 365 days |
| Global | 3 GB | $24.00, 30 days | $34.92, 30 days |
| Global | 5 GB | $35.00, 60 days | $53.28, 30 days |
| Global | 10 GB | $57.00, 180 days | $95.76, 30 days |
| Global | 20 GB | $66.00, 365 days | $161.43, 30 days |
| Greece | 50 GB | $42.00, 30 days | $44.29, 30 days |
| Iceland | 50 GB | $49.00, 30 days | $51.25, 30 days |
| India | 1 GB | $4.00, 3 days | $4.74, 7 days |
| India | 3 GB | $9.50, 7 days | $10.88, 30 days |
| India | 5 GB | $14.00, 30 days | $15.89, 30 days |
| India | 10 GB | $24.00, 30 days | $27.31, 30 days |
| India | 20 GB | $38.00, 30 days | $48.35, 30 days |
| Israel | 10 GB | $11.50, 30 days | $17.82, 30 days |
| Israel | 20 GB | $16.50, 30 days | $25.20, 30 days |
| Israel | 50 GB | $39.00, 30 days | $66.61, 30 days |
| Mexico | 3 GB | $8.50, 7 days | $8.59, 30 days |
| Mexico | 5 GB | $13.00, 30 days | $13.48, 30 days |
| Mexico | 10 GB | $18.50, 30 days | $24.59, 30 days |
| Mexico | 20 GB | $31.00, 30 days | $37.02, 30 days |
| Mexico | 50 GB | $45.00, 30 days | $101.83, 30 days |
| Morocco | 1 GB | $4.00, 3 days | $4.84, 7 days |
| Morocco | 3 GB | $8.00, 7 days | $14.05, 30 days |
| Morocco | 5 GB | $22.00, 30 days | $22.01, 30 days |
| Morocco | 20 GB | $43.00, 30 days | $46.00, 30 days |
| Morocco | 50 GB | $49.00, 30 days | $93.84, 30 days |
| Netherlands | 50 GB | $36.00, 30 days | $40.22, 30 days |
| New Zealand | 50 GB | $49.00, 30 days | $58.99, 30 days |
| Peru | 20 GB | $41.00, 30 days | $44.85, 30 days |
| Philippines | 20 GB | $30.00, 30 days | $30.59, 30 days |
| Philippines | 50 GB | $48.00, 30 days | $75.61, 30 days |
| Portugal | 50 GB | $35.00, 30 days | $38.43, 30 days |
| Singapore | 1 GB | $4.00, 3 days | $5.49, 7 days |
| South Korea | 50 GB | $49.00, 30 days | $55.49, 30 days |
| Switzerland | 50 GB | $45.00, 30 days | $50.99, 30 days |
| Thailand | 50 GB | $27.50, 30 days | $48.00, 30 days |
| United Arab Emirates | 5 GB | $12.00, 30 days | $14.40, 30 days |
| United Arab Emirates | 10 GB | $20.00, 30 days | $26.10, 30 days |
| United Arab Emirates | 20 GB | $34.00, 30 days | $39.00, 30 days |
| United States | 50 GB | $42.00, 30 days | $52.99, 30 days |
| Vietnam | 5 GB | $11.00, 30 days | $11.09, 30 days |
| Vietnam | 10 GB | $18.00, 30 days | $19.31, 30 days |
| Vietnam | 50 GB | $49.00, 30 days | $78.63, 30 days |
On unlimited stays of 7, 15 and 30 days, the top pick was cheaper than Airalo on 66 of 115. Airalo's unlimited plans gave 3 or 5 GB a day at full speed, more than the top pick's daily allowance in most destinations.
Destinations, refunds and support languages for five providers
Rows follow this site's rubric score, highest first, method of 30 Oct 2026. Destination counts and refund windows come from this site's ledger. The top pick publishes no support-language count: support replies in your own language. No rival support-language or checkout-currency count has a dated source here, so those cells read Not stated.
| Provider | Destinations | Refund | Currencies | Support languages | Rubric |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HelloRoam | 185 | 180 days | 31+ | Not stated | 9.0/10 |
| Holafly | 200+ | 180 days | Not stated | Not stated | 6.3/10 |
| Nomad | 200 | 30 days | Not stated | Not stated | 5.9/10 |
| Airalo | 200+ | 14 days | Not stated | Not stated | 5.5/10 |
| Saily | Not stated | 30 days | Not stated | Not stated | 4.0/10 |
HelloRoam, an eSIM platform, sells 185 destinations, refunds an unactivated eSIM for 180 days and takes 31+ checkout currencies through Stripe.
Airalo refunds within 14 days, per this site's policy record (applies to eSIMs that have not been installed).
The rubric score is the mean of five dated categories at equal weight: price, plan types, checkout and languages, refund window and coverage. It is not a test result or a review score.
Airalo against the four other providers
Airalo and Nomad
Nomad lists 200 destinations and refunds within 30 days. On this site's rubric, Nomad scores 5.9 out of 10 and Airalo 5.5 out of 10. Nomad was the cheapest of all five in 95 of 367 price cells, against 45 for Airalo.
Nomad full review →Airalo and Saily
Saily refunds within 30 days. On this site's rubric, Saily scores 4.0 out of 10 and Airalo 5.5 out of 10. This site does not state a Saily destination count.
Saily full review →Airalo and Holafly
Holafly lists 200+ destinations and refunds within 180 days. Holafly sells only unlimited plans; Airalo sells fixed and unlimited plans. On this site's rubric, Airalo scores 5.5 out of 10 and Holafly 6.3 out of 10.
The Airalo vs Holafly comparison and the unlimited eSIM page cover the two plan types.
Airalo category scores on this site's rubric
Airalo's 200+ destinations give it a Coverage score of 10.0, the top Coverage score of the five. Airalo's composite of 5.5 out of 10 places it fourth of five; a category with no dated source is left out of the average, not scored zero.
Airalo pricing questions
How this review is built
Airalo prices were read on airalo.com on 30 Oct 2026, in US dollars, and the other rows come from the catalogue read 29 Oct 2026. Destination counts and refund windows come from this site's ledger. Rubric scores follow the method of 30 Oct 2026. Price verification method →
What is the difference between eSIM and SIM card?
An eSIM is a digital SIM built into your phone. A physical SIM is a removable plastic card. eSIM activates instantly via QR code without visiting a store. Physical SIM requires a trip to a carrier store or airport kiosk. Both connect to the same mobile networks. Most phones made after 2020 support eSIM.
What are the disadvantages of eSIM?
eSIM disadvantages include limited phone compatibility (pre-2020 devices lack support), inability to physically swap between phones, and some countries requiring IMEI registration within a set period. eSIM plans also cannot be resold or given to others. For travelers, these drawbacks are typically outweighed by instant activation and lower cost.
Can I use eSIM and physical SIM at the same time?
Most modern phones support dual SIM: one physical SIM slot plus one or more eSIM profiles. This lets you keep your home number active on the physical SIM while using an eSIM for local data abroad. iPhone 13+ and Samsung Galaxy S21+ support this configuration. iPhone 14 US models use two eSIM profiles with no physical SIM slot.