Provider review
Airalo review
Airalo is still the biggest name in travel eSIMs by user count and destination coverage. Newer rivals now beat it on trust scores and support speed. Here is what the pricing, coverage and review data actually show.
Updated August 2026
- Trustpilot, 34,000+ reviews
- ~4.0 / 5
- Countries and destinations
- 200+
- The original travel eSIM
- Since 2019
Trustpilot, 34,000+ reviews
Countries and destinations
The original travel eSIM
The bottom line
Our verdict in short
Verdict
Summary
Pros and cons
Pros
- Widest single-country destination catalogue
- Direct install on iOS with no QR scan
- App rated 4.6–4.7 on both stores
- Instant activation and in-app top-ups
- Longest track record in the category
Cons
- Trustpilot score trails newer rivals
- Unlimited plans have a daily fair-use cap
- Deleted eSIM profiles cannot be reinstalled
- Rural coverage can be inconsistent
- Refund path is poorly signposted
Background
Who is behind Airalo?
Airalo was founded in Singapore in 2019 and is widely credited with bringing travel eSIMs to a mainstream audience. Before it existed, eSIM data for travellers was a niche, carrier-by-carrier affair.
That head start is still its main asset. The company has scaled to more than 200 destinations and one of the largest user bases in the category. Like every provider here, it does not run its own network; it resells access from local carriers in each destination through its app.
Performance
Speed and coverage
Coverage spans 200+ countries and territories via local carrier partnerships, at 4G/LTE or 5G depending on where you are. 5G is not everywhere, and even inside a 5G destination, rural areas fall back to 4G.
Independent speed testing across streets, indoor spaces and subways shows results varying meaningfully between locations in the same city. That matches the broader pattern: strong and consistent in major European and North American cities, more erratic in rural areas and some developing markets.
Experience
App and website
The app rates highly on both stores — roughly 4.7 on iOS and 4.6 on Android — and is easy to live with once you are past the first setup, which several reviewers find slightly less obvious than newer competitors.
One genuine advantage: on iOS, Airalo supports direct eSIM installation with no QR code to scan, which is faster than the flow most rivals use. Plans, top-ups and destination switching all happen inside the app.
Reputation
Trustpilot and user sentiment
Airalo's Trustpilot score sits around 3.9–4.0 from more than 34,000 reviews. Respectable, but visibly behind newer rivals sitting closer to 4.7. Positive reviews consistently cite easy setup and destination breadth.
Negative reviews cluster around three themes: activation failures (most often traced to weak Wi-Fi during setup), inconsistent rural coverage, and a refund process that is not clearly signposted in the app.
The single most repeated warning: once an eSIM profile is deleted — including during a phone upgrade — it cannot be reinstalled or recovered.
Pricing
Real plan pricing
| Destination | 7 days | 10 days | 15 days | 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | $21.50 | $31.00 | $39.00 | $49.00 |
| Mexico | $25.00 | $32.00 | $40.00 | $59.00 |
| United States | $27.00 | $35.00 | $49.00 | $69.00 |
| United Kingdom | $27.00 | $35.00 | $49.00 | $72.00 |
| Italy | $27.00 | $35.00 | $49.00 | $72.00 |
| Japan | $27.00 | $35.00 | $49.00 | $72.00 |
| Europe (regional) | $27.00 | $35.00 | $49.00 | $72.00 |
| Asia Pacific (regional) | $26.00 | $35.00 | $49.00 | $73.50 |
Across the destinations we monitor, 7-day unlimited plans average around $30 and 30-day plans around $72. Smaller fixed-data plans cost considerably less — entry-level 3GB plans start under $7 in several destinations, which is the better buy for a short trip. Figures come from our own tracked pricing and move over time — treat them as a guide to the price band rather than a quote. Always confirm the current price on the provider's own checkout page before buying.
