We tested Airalo and two of their eSIM solutions. As one of the most affordable services for foreign SIMs, it is used by over five million people. But how is the quality, and can you truly depend on Airalo when visiting another country?
Overall, we were pretty happy with the service but it wasn’t without flaws. Signing up is easy, the prices are great, and it covers 130 countries. Most of the time it worked perfectly, however, sometimes the data signal would be slow and the only solution was restarting the phone. If they can fix that, it will be a perfect service.
Let’s look at every single factor of using Airalo so that you know how it works. If you’re already ready to sign up, then go to Airalo here – otherwise continue reading more about their services below!
Contents
Airalo prices
There are 3 main factors that determine the price you will pay for an Airalo eSIM:
- Country/region
- Timeframe
- Amount of internet data
For instance, if you want a one week data pass with 1 GB in the United States, the price is just $4.50.
But if you want a global 30 day pass with 3 GB, you will have to pay $24.
Overall, the prices are good, but again – it depends on where you’re going and what you need.
Go to the Airalo Store to browse the options and find the right eSIM.
Local, regional and global eSIMs
There are local, regional and global eSIMs.
Local eSIMs are for one single country. For example, if you’re traveling to France, you can buy an eSIM that only works in France. These eSIMs are usually the cheapest, but it can depend on the country.
Then there are regional eSIMs. Examples would be the Eurolink which works in 39 European countries, or the Latamlink which works in 19 Latin American countries. These are slightly more expensive, but obviously they are highly practical since you can use them while traveling around a certain continent or larger region.
Finally there are global eSIMs. These are also called “Discover” SIMs by Airalo. They work in most countries of the world, 130 to be exact. More may be added later as Airalo gains a foothold in more nations. On top of buying eSIMs with data, you can also buy packages that include regular calls and texts. And you can buy a subscription for up to one year. Perfect solution for those who travel all over the world or split time between distant countries.
If you run out of data, most Airalo subscriptions allow you to re-fill with an extra purchase. But there’s usually most value in buying one of the bigger data packages from the start.
How to set it up
Airalo has a guide on how to set up your eSIM. It’s very easy and just takes minutes – we tried it and it works well.
A benefit of using an eSIM is that you can use it while still maintaining your regular SIM. You can still use your regular number for WhatsApp, iMessage, Telegram, and so on – while relying on data from Airalo.
Check the official Airalo setup guide here!
Using Airalo abroad (our experience)
The point of Airalo is to have data on your phone as you’re away from home. So you can use it abroad and it’s all very easy.
We tested Airalo on a trip to South America to see how it works. First by buying a local eSIM for Argentina, then later buying a regional eSIM for the entire Latin America and using it in three different countries.
The local eSIM was incredible: Always worked, it was very fast, and there was nothing to complain about. The amount of data was small, but it was just enough. It worked everywhere we went in Argentina without issues.
With the regional eSIM, it worked somewhat well. In Argentina and Uruguay, there were no issues. But in Chile it was slow at times, sometimes not connecting at all. Only turning the phone off and on again would help, and there was one night when the connection was constantly slow. Perhaps this was just bad luck, but it was a smudge in the experience which had been perfect up until that point.
However, no eSIM solution is perfect and Airalo still ranks really well overall. In some countries, you may still want to pick up a physical SIM, especially if you’re planning on staying for a while, but Airalo is good overall. The main benefit is how simple it is. There’s no need to go anywhere, just install an app, pay, adjust a few settings and then it works. All very easy. This simplicity is why we liked Airalo, even if there were problems with the data connection one night.
Comparison to other eSIM services
There are other eSIM providers that are worth looking at too.
Holafly is the main competitor to Airalo globally. It’s another great provider of eSIMs. Many say that the quality is even better, principally as the connection is faster in some countries.
The downside of Holafly is that they don’t have as many small and low-priced products as Airalo has. If you need a lot of data, Holafly is probably better, but if you’re just traveling for a short time and don’t need much, you will find Airalo easier and cheaper.
Many regular phone providers also offer eSIMs nowadays. Even for travel. So look up your own phone subscription and see if you can buy any upgrade packages to cover data use abroad. It may be more expensive than services such as Airalo or Holafly, but it never hurts to check it out – and then you can compare prices.
Finally, you always have the option of simply buying a SIM when you travel somewhere. Most airports have shops that sell them, and obviously, they are there in every city around the world. Often, this is even cheaper. But it does require you to go down to a store, wait, talk to someone and set everything up when you return to your accommodation. It’s more time-consuming, and for this reason, we prefer Airalo where you can do everything in a few minutes without going anywhere.
Is Airalo worth using?
Definitely. Airalo was overall a great solution when we tested it.
Out of roughly 45 days of using Airalo, there were only issues on two days, and only a major issue (no connection) on one night. So it’s not a perfect solution, but it’s very good. Nothing beats the simplicity of obtaining a data subscription this way, and this is why Airalo is worth using.
Any questions or experiences you want to share? The comment section is open below.
Go to Airalo here if you want to buy a data package for your next vacation!
