So you’ve decided to ditch the physical SIM card for your next trip in favor of an eSIM? Good choice, no more fiddly tiny SIM cards to lose, no more expensive roaming and no more waiting in line when you should be on vacation – purchases can be made from right there on your phone.

There are an endless amount of eSIM choices out there, but perhaps you’ve narrowed down your eSIM choice to either Airalo – a relative veteran in the eSIM space, or Saily – the newer kid on the block. In this Airalo vs Saily comparison, we’ll compare both brands like for like on a number of key factors and deliver our verdict on which is best.

The key facts

	Airalo	Saily
Review Score	4/5 in our Airalo review	4.1/5 in our Saily review
Prices	Varies significantly depending on Location. Example… USA: 5 GB, 30 Day validity – $14.50	Varies significantly depending on Location. Example… USA: 5 GB, 30 Day validity – $11.50
Discounts	N/A	15% off on all plans: country, regional, global, cruise & ultra plans for new & existing customers with code: TEE15 Take a look at our Saily promo code page for the latest offer
Services Included	Most plans mobile data only, a few plans with calls. Many plans with different validity options available	Data only plans. Saily ultra plan: 30 GB per month for $59.99 with numerous perks/benefits Calls and phone number available with separate purchase
Cellular Network	4G and 5G, depending on location	4G and 5G, depending on location
Number of Countries	200+	200+
Tested in	12 Countries, Belgium, Colombia, France, Malaysia, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam	17 Countries, Belgium, China, Colombia, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States
Top Speed Recorded	567 Mbps (France)	753 Mbps (Korea)
Customer Support	9 minutes via WhatsApp chat	1 minute via in app chat
Best In…	🥈 2nd in United Arab Emirates 🥉 3rd in Vietnam	🥇 1st in United Arab Emirates 🥇 1st in United Kingdom

Airalo

Founded in Singapore, Airalo arrived on the scene back in 2019, claiming to be the world’s first eSIM store. That’s a pretty big claim, but with over 10 million users and coverage in more than 200 countries, they’ve definitely earned their stripes in the travel eSIM market.

Here at TEE, we’ve been around the eSIM block a few times. We’ve tested everything from the big players to the obscure startups, and had our fair share of hits and misses. Airalo was one of the first that we tested, being an early bird in the market. After putting it through its paces extensively (and we mean extensively), we think that Airalo is a solid option. Here’s a summary of our Airalo review:

Airalo impressed us with its consistently reliable signal, app and loyalty program. However, we’d love to see some cheaper pricing in particular. We awarded it 4/5. But hey, don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what the masses are saying:

• App Store score: 4.6/5
• Play Store score: 4.6/5
• TrustPilot score: 3.9/5

Saily

Facing off against Airalo is Saily, a relative newcomer to the eSIM market but one that very much packs a punch. Saily was created by the team behind what is actually our favorite VPN these days, NordVPN so you can expect a solid experience that we hope will only improve as it enters year 2.

Considering it launched more recently, we think Saily is doing a pretty solid job of things so far. We gave it 4.1/5 in our review. Elsewhere around the internet, scores are universally high.

• iOS App Store: 4.7/5
• Google Play Store: 4.9/5
• TrustPilot: 4.7/5

Airalo vs Saily: The speed comparison

 

  

What stands out from our testing is not just how many countries each provider wins, but the size of those wins. While both Airalo and Saily are faster in 4 countries each, the total speed difference is very uneven. Airalo’s wins amount to a combined advantage of just 16 Mbps, whereas Saily’s faster results add up to a whopping 1210 Mbps. In real world use, that means Saily’s speed advantages are far more noticeable, particularly for streaming, video calls and hotspot usage.

Airalo vs Saily: Plan and pricing comparison

We’ve pulled live pricing from both brands into the interactive table below. Prices vary by country, so the best way to compare costs is to filter by your destination and see which option is cheaper for your trip.

As a general rule, we focus on the price per GB as the most useful way to compare costs. Just make sure you’re comparing plans with the amount of data you actually need, as the price per GB usually drops when you buy larger data packages.

Overall, Saily tends to offer better value for most trips as it’s usually cheaper at low and mid sized data amounts, typically around 1 GB to 5 GB, which is where a lot of users will sit. As data allowances increase into higher tiers like 10 GB and above, Airalo becomes more competitive and in some destinations offers better value. Pricing will always vary by country, but for typical short to medium trips, Saily often comes out ahead.

The full breakdown: Airalo eSIM vs Saily eSIM

Note: Scores are based on our multi-country testing, hands-on experience and performance benchmarks across several destinations.

Our opinion: Saily takes the win